Joshua 24:15 KJV

… but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Every year, Father’s Day is bittersweet to me. This coming December my dad will have been in heaven for 19 years. I have not seen him or spoke with him in that amount of time. While I do wish he was still here, I am very thankful for the time he was here with us. His short time with us was in no way wasted. 

The easiest message that I preach all year is Father’s Day. If there was anything hard about it, it would be not having enough time to share all that I have learned from my dad. I have countless examples of a man that made the decision not only to serve God in front of us boys, but to lead and guide us to follow God’s plan for our lives as well. 

Joshua 24:15 says, “…as for me and my house, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.” My dad was not a closet Christian. He was not a Sunday morning Christian. Dad loved God and lived for God every day of his life. If he missed it in front of us, he would ask us and God for forgiveness. He loved us and we had no doubt, but he was also a man of great authority. God’s word ruled his life, and then his word ruled our home. We did not have options, we had direction. I never remember a home of confusion, because we always had direction. We were always told exactly what we were going to do. That was not out of a domineering spirit, but a spirit that was submitted to God and had a vision for his life and our family. That is not the same thing! 

Above all else, Dad practiced what he preached. He left his family and the only life he’d ever known in Marion to go to Oklahoma and be trained for ministry. He came back and started a church in a town where not a soul knew him. The list goes on and on. He never took the easy way, but always took God’s way. It was hard, but he walked by faith and God sustained us every step of the way! 

I thank God today for the example that my dad, Danny Wallace, left for me and many others. I owe much that I am today to his decision to serve God and lead our family in the ways of the Lord. Thank you Dad! 

Happy Father’s Day!