by Jason Joyner | Jun 17, 2007 | Blog, Father's heart, Jesus
I have been wonderfully blessed with three special boys (yes, so far we specialize). I know that it is by God’s grace, because I do not deserve my beautiful wife and these three gifts from heaven that we have to raise.
However, I still have some issues when Father’s Day comes around. My father died of a heart attack at the age of 52; I was only 5. My mother did over and beyond what she could in my life, but there was always a void from being fatherless. Part of it manifested through being one of the youngest and smallest in my class. I don’t know for sure, but I believe that I would’ve had more self-confidence and ability to stand up for myself if my dad had been around. I never quite fit in with my peers. High school was an awkward time for me, to be sure.
After high school I attended a Discipleship Training School through YWAM Montana . This is an intensive three month training program, emphasizing the character and ways of God, followed by a two month practical outreach. It was an amazing time that really cemented a lot of things in my walk with the Lord. Nothing compared, however, to the teaching of David Graham on the Father’s heart.
He shared for a week in September about how the Father loved us so unconditionally. He described the adoption we have in Him, and how it made us sons and daughters of the King. Me, a prince of Heaven? It sounded wonderful, but it was all head knowledge. Thankfully, God has a way to move beyond our intellect.
David was speaking out of Romans 8 and Galatians 3:26 – 4:7 one day. He shared how our adoption gives us the stature of God. We take on His character and standing through this. As he described how God “sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” (Gal 4:6, NKJV) Abba is an Aramaic term that shows deep affection, like the term Daddy in modern America. This hit something deep within me, and I felt the churning of emotion and hurt inside.
David began to minister to different people in my school who were undergoing similar revelation from God on what it meant to be a child. Finally, it felt as if a fount, long blocked up by junk in my life, was released. A torrent of emotion and pain flooded out of me, washed away with divine love from my heavenly Father. No longer was I fatherless. No longer was I insignificant. I was a child of the King. So much fear, self-doubt, and insecurity was cleaned out of my life that day. I truly felt like a “new creation” at that time.
That was 9/24/91. It was my 18th birthday. It also became the first Father’s day that I truly could comprehend. Now I have a Father in heaven that looks over what I do, and it is my greatest joy when I hear, “Well done, son.”
My prayer for my boys is that they will understand the Father’s heart for them without going through the turmoil that I did. I also pray that anyone who reads this, and doesn’t know about the glorious freedom of the children of God, will also experience God as their Father.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 17, 2007 | Blog, Father's heart, Jesus
I have been wonderfully blessed with three special boys (yes, so far we specialize). I know that it is by God’s grace, because I do not deserve my beautiful wife and these three gifts from heaven that we have to raise.
However, I still have some issues when Father’s Day comes around. My father died of a heart attack at the age of 52; I was only 5. My mother did over and beyond what she could in my life, but there was always a void from being fatherless. Part of it manifested through being one of the youngest and smallest in my class. I don’t know for sure, but I believe that I would’ve had more self-confidence and ability to stand up for myself if my dad had been around. I never quite fit in with my peers. High school was an awkward time for me, to be sure.
After high school I attended a Discipleship Training School through YWAM Montana . This is an intensive three month training program, emphasizing the character and ways of God, followed by a two month practical outreach. It was an amazing time that really cemented a lot of things in my walk with the Lord. Nothing compared, however, to the teaching of David Graham on the Father’s heart.
He shared for a week in September about how the Father loved us so unconditionally. He described the adoption we have in Him, and how it made us sons and daughters of the King. Me, a prince of Heaven? It sounded wonderful, but it was all head knowledge. Thankfully, God has a way to move beyond our intellect.
David was speaking out of Romans 8 and Galatians 3:26 – 4:7 one day. He shared how our adoption gives us the stature of God. We take on His character and standing through this. As he described how God “sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” (Gal 4:6, NKJV) Abba is an Aramaic term that shows deep affection, like the term Daddy in modern America. This hit something deep within me, and I felt the churning of emotion and hurt inside.
David began to minister to different people in my school who were undergoing similar revelation from God on what it meant to be a child. Finally, it felt as if a fount, long blocked up by junk in my life, was released. A torrent of emotion and pain flooded out of me, washed away with divine love from my heavenly Father. No longer was I fatherless. No longer was I insignificant. I was a child of the King. So much fear, self-doubt, and insecurity was cleaned out of my life that day. I truly felt like a “new creation” at that time.
That was 9/24/91. It was my 18th birthday. It also became the first Father’s day that I truly could comprehend. Now I have a Father in heaven that looks over what I do, and it is my greatest joy when I hear, “Well done, son.”
My prayer for my boys is that they will understand the Father’s heart for them without going through the turmoil that I did. I also pray that anyone who reads this, and doesn’t know about the glorious freedom of the children of God, will also experience God as their Father.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 4, 2007 | Blog, Father's heart, musings
Saturday was more like a mid-summer day here in Idaho. The stifling air wilted me as I mowed my lawn in the heat. So much for the idea of getting up early to work in the coolness of the morning. The grass wasn’t going to cut itself, so I pressed into the machine, trudging behind like a slave to suburbia.
My two older boys played happily on the slip-n-slide I had pulled from the garage earlier. We don’t always get to pull out the water toys this early in the season, but no sense in waiting if the weather cooperates. Besides, it kept the kids from begging for some Xbox time, so when there was enough grass mowed I had put it out so the boys could be boys.
Finally the heat had worn down my resistance. I found the siren call in the freezer-ice cream. A couple of scoops should help me conquer my task. I whipped out the scooper and soon had a foaming Coke float for me, while the boys would enjoy a bowl with chocolate syrup drizzled over their treat.
I walked carefully down the stairs, not wanting an ice cream bath. The boys squealed with delight at their bounty, and sat in the grass content with the cool confection sliding down their throat. I sat in the shade, taking my time before braving the elements once again.
As I tossed back the yummy mixture of melted ice cream and Coke, my middle son walked up to me with his empty bowl outstretched. His blue eyes sparkled. A wide grin extended across his small face. Silently he handed off the dish and started back toward his playground. One more glance back to his dad, the fresh smile still plastered in place, before he turned his attention to noise and splashes.
There was something that passed in that simple exchange of a smile between a son and a father that day. No words were spoken, but the love he had for me was evident in the fixed gaze he held with me. The gift was acknowledged and more than compensated in that quiet moment. I don’t know what his eyes saw in return, but I hope the love and pride I have in him as my precious son was shared with him in a similar manner.
Sometimes our relationship with our Father God is just as simple. Whether appreciating the smooth taste of vanilla, sugar, and cream, standing on a rocky outcropping watching the view unfold below us, smelling the freshness of impending rain in a summer thunderstorm, or the kindness of a helping hand at an opportune time, we have an encounter with the divine in such moments.
He didn’t create automons to obey His every command. He made us with significance and honor, the price being the very real likelihood that we would walk away from Him in our pride and doubt. Still, we had the free will to choose life or death, and continue to do so every day. Why He was willing to do such a thing will always be a mystery to me. Maybe when I get to heaven I can ask Him if it was worth it all. But I think I had a glimpse of the answer just this weekend.
It was in ice cream with chocolate syrup and the smile of a young boy.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 4, 2007 | Blog, Father's heart, musings
Saturday was more like a mid-summer day here in Idaho. The stifling air wilted me as I mowed my lawn in the heat. So much for the idea of getting up early to work in the coolness of the morning. The grass wasn’t going to cut itself, so I pressed into the machine, trudging behind like a slave to suburbia.
My two older boys played happily on the slip-n-slide I had pulled from the garage earlier. We don’t always get to pull out the water toys this early in the season, but no sense in waiting if the weather cooperates. Besides, it kept the kids from begging for some Xbox time, so when there was enough grass mowed I had put it out so the boys could be boys.
Finally the heat had worn down my resistance. I found the siren call in the freezer-ice cream. A couple of scoops should help me conquer my task. I whipped out the scooper and soon had a foaming Coke float for me, while the boys would enjoy a bowl with chocolate syrup drizzled over their treat.
I walked carefully down the stairs, not wanting an ice cream bath. The boys squealed with delight at their bounty, and sat in the grass content with the cool confection sliding down their throat. I sat in the shade, taking my time before braving the elements once again.
As I tossed back the yummy mixture of melted ice cream and Coke, my middle son walked up to me with his empty bowl outstretched. His blue eyes sparkled. A wide grin extended across his small face. Silently he handed off the dish and started back toward his playground. One more glance back to his dad, the fresh smile still plastered in place, before he turned his attention to noise and splashes.
There was something that passed in that simple exchange of a smile between a son and a father that day. No words were spoken, but the love he had for me was evident in the fixed gaze he held with me. The gift was acknowledged and more than compensated in that quiet moment. I don’t know what his eyes saw in return, but I hope the love and pride I have in him as my precious son was shared with him in a similar manner.
Sometimes our relationship with our Father God is just as simple. Whether appreciating the smooth taste of vanilla, sugar, and cream, standing on a rocky outcropping watching the view unfold below us, smelling the freshness of impending rain in a summer thunderstorm, or the kindness of a helping hand at an opportune time, we have an encounter with the divine in such moments.
He didn’t create automons to obey His every command. He made us with significance and honor, the price being the very real likelihood that we would walk away from Him in our pride and doubt. Still, we had the free will to choose life or death, and continue to do so every day. Why He was willing to do such a thing will always be a mystery to me. Maybe when I get to heaven I can ask Him if it was worth it all. But I think I had a glimpse of the answer just this weekend.
It was in ice cream with chocolate syrup and the smile of a young boy.
