Happy Birthday Pops!

Here’s a few of my favorite memories and things I love about my dad.

Thunderlips - When I was little, every day when my dad got home from work we played a wrestling/fighting game called Thunderlips. I was Rocky Balboa and he was Thunderlips (a wrestler played by Hulk Hogan in Rocky3). To this day I can clearly hear my dad yelling, “you’re in trouble Balboa!”. I remember thinking he sounded just like Hulk Hogan. I also remember feeling so lucky that I had a WWF wrestler in my own house.

Farnsworth - My dad often told bedtime stories about a little boy named Farnsworth. There were several variations of the story, but it usually involved Farnsworth taking his dad’s gun without permission, and an inevitable encounter with a bear. All versions were similar, and I’m sure I listened to a few repeats, but each time I was totally into it.

Basketball - More Saturday and Sunday afternoons than I could possibly count were spent in our driveway playing Basketball. In addition to those weekend games, there were times during the week I would be playing with my friends when my dad got home from work. He would run into the house at a hundred to change out of his work clothes so he could get in on the action. Without exaggeration playing basketball with my dad were some of the best times of my life.

Spiritual Life - My dad has always been a great example of what it means to be a Christian man. He can make mistakes like anyone else, but he often puts the needs of other people ahead of his own. One of the greatest things I’ve learned from my dad is that you’re not too good, too important, or too busy to help someone. There is no doubt in my mind that this attitude is so ingrained in him because of the love he has personally received from Jesus Christ. This passage from Philippians kind of sums up what I’ve seen in his life, and what I will hopefully follow in.

Philippians 2:3-11 “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.  You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.  Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,  he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.  Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."


Happy Birthday!

Love,

Jim