A Father's Day Tribute to the Three Best Dads E-vah

My 3 Dads…a Father’s Day Tribute to the Three Fathers in my Life

Father #1, or as I like to call him, Dad!
Sometimes when I call Dad, I say, “Hey!  It’s your favorite daughter!” And he replies, “Oh… hey there, Jen!”
He always makes me laugh, that guy!

I love his dry sense of humor.  I love that he always tells me he loves me before we end our conversation.  I love that he prays for me every night.  Most of all, I love that he hung in with us, me and Jen (the favorite daughter), when we were pre-teens.  He stayed.  He became mom and dad.  He made (or ordered…God bless Pizza Hut) dinner every night.  How many frozen veal cutlets did we heat up?!  He sat and patiently watched with us as we caught up on “Days of our Lives” on the family VCR.    (Although I think that he secretly became a soap fan.). He took me to the mall.  (New clothes=teenage survival).
He drove me to look at colleges, all the while waxing eloquently about the wisdom of staying close to home.  He welcomed me back on short breaks from school, and he supported me as I mission-tripped every summer.  All these years later, I still miss riding in the car with him and listening to all that wonderful-yet-unsolicited advice.  He is a great dad.

Father #2, or as I like to call Him, Lord.
God is the second Father I met in my life, although theologically speaking, he was there long before the first one was!  He took care of me since I was a little girl.  He no doubt saved my life on many occasions, some I probably don’t even know about.  He reached out to me when I wasn’t even looking for Him.  He has shown himself to me in a thousand ways on ten thousand days.  I love all that He says to me.  (Okay people, don’t get freaked out here…I am referring to the Bible, not an audible voice.). I could go on, but there are not enough words to give him enough credit.

Father #3, or as I like to call him, Babe!
Okay, okay, I know he is not MY father, but y’all, no Father’s Day tribute would be complete without me calling out the glory of my Hot Babe.  This man is simply amazing.  He was born to be a dad.  He could teach a class on it.  He could do a documentary.  My kids have no idea how blessed they are.  They don’t know that most kids don’t get taken on dates with daddy, don’t get ice cream and bowling every weekend, don’t get told, “I love you” all day long.  My husband works his tail off (cute little tail) to give a beautiful home and life to me and our four kids.  Let’s just say, he has a very happy wife.  No doubt, the fruit of his fathering will be seen in future days…his children will love the Lord and will raise up a generation of God-worshippers…Babe’s daily prayer for them.  So, even though he is not MY father, I feel blessed just to watch this man in action.  It just doesn’t get better than him.  He loves his people well.

Happy Father’s Day to all you dads who read this, because, no doubt, you love your people too, and they too are blessed.

We are some Messed-Up People!

THAT is a statement my kids hear, at least every other day, in the Burwell home.  And we are!  Just come over for, well, ten minutes and the "Messed-Up" becomes very obvious.  We kick, we pinch, we slap, we tease, we bully.  We say things like, "I wish I still lived with my BIRTHMOM instead of YOU."  Or, "I wish we didn't get so many kids all the time!"  Or, one of my all-time favorites, "You are only my THIRD FAVORITE MOTHER."  (This from a Burwell who does indeed have three moms and clearly, she ranks them periodically.)

Sadly, it isn't just the children who are Messed-UP; yep, it is the parents too (especially the mom.  Babe, on the other hand, is not nearly so Messed-Up.  Plus he is HOT and that goes a long way, my people!)  I have to apologize to one or more of my kiddos every day, as my Messed-Up-Ness has sneaked back out.  (I am much better at hiding mine than they are; in fact, some of YOU may have never seen it!  Trust me.  It is there.  Ask my "family of origin".  Or at least, that is what my therapist always called them.)

Now, I have to tell you that when I was growing up, I dreamed of being a mom!  In my dreams, things never looked quite like they have actually turned out.  In my dreams, I drive a dream-mini-van (as opposed to a 2003 Odyssey that is currently blue-book valued at, wait for it...$500.  No I did not leave out a zero just now).  I listen to dream-music (probably 80's hits) spill out of the speakers.  We all smile our dream-smiles (with perfectly straight teeth, because who ever dreamed of paying out $300/month for braces!?). I tell my dream-children how very much that I love them, and they say something to the effect of, "No, WE love YOU.  We could not be more blessed than we are to have YOU.  And now, will you please teach us more about God and Jesus?"

But my people, my dream is but a dream!  I tell you that Reality is Messed-Up.  (It is at this point that I wish my descriptors did not have to be PG rated!  But go ahead and think that word in your head.  Yep.  Say it like it is!). And how did Reality get like this?  Because, back to my original confession ("We are some Messed-Up People!"), Reality consists of those who are Messed-Up and the Messed-Up things that we do.  In our house we call it "sin".  Others may say, mistakes, weaknesses, bad choices, stupid decisions!  It all looks the same, no matter what we call it.  Messed-Up Me loves myself, wants the best for myself, and is committed to defending and protecting myself.  You can imagine the trouble that these qualities get me into!  And I see said-qualities in my kids;  apparently they are not genetic, because even our three adopted are Messed-Up.

So, like I said, a few times a week we tell our kids how Messed-Up we all are.  But then we offer them hope.  Christmas is the perfect time to talk about the Un-Messed-Up One who can fix us and "fit us for heaven" as the carol goes.  I can't imagine the Mess we would be without Him!!!!

But for now, we keep confessing our Messed-Up-Ness and praying to change.  I encourage you to join me in this! Go ahead, embrace the Mess!  (Don't we all have it?!  Please tell me yes, or I am going to feel REALLY Messed-Up!). And remember, if you need to feel a little better about YOUR mess, come to our house!   We are the house with the screaming and kicking children inside; if you forget our house number, just hang your head out the window and listen for us.

God Bless Public School!

God bless public school!  I mean, really.  What would I do without those angel teachers who receive my children every day for almost eight hours and teach them to read, write, and do all kinds of computations with numbers?  I always have a special place in my heart for these educators just after a long summer (this one!), desperately trying to hold things together here on Glenbarr Drive!  Oh my word.  The countdown till the beginning of school begins…well….just after Memorial Day.  (Only 87 days to go…I can do this.)

So, I thought I would take a few minutes to celebrate our wonderful school…the very good gift that God has given us:  Wilson Creek Elementary School.  We are Wildcats.  Respectful, responsible, and ready to learn.  (At least until we get home, right?). This is our sixth year to be Wilson Creekers.  Cate is in...you will not believe…FIFTH grade.  Practically a middle schooler!  Already driving!  (I mean, not really.  But SO grown up!)  We have met the community through this child, and the next three that followed her to the school.  Babe and I met more neighbors at the bus stop on the first day of kindergarten than we had met in the previous six years that we had lived in the neighborhood!  (I mean, really!)  Wonderful, diverse Wilson Creek!  Look around…only about 25% of the faces that you see look like yours.  (Hmm…kind of sounds like our family.)  How special for my kids to grow up shoulder to shoulder with the nations.  They hardly notice skin color.  To them the name “Lakshmi” sounds the same as “Ella”.  A summer vacation “back to Korea” is the same as a week at the Gulf Coast.  Speaking two or three languages is just what most kids do.  (Yes, the Burwell kids are a little behind on this.)  On any given play date with school friends, several continents are represented.  Personally, I come from a land of Vanilla people. THIS land in which my kids get to live is so much more fun, and a truer representation of the world that God has made.  I literally thank Him all the time for this great school…this experience that my kids get to be a part of.  It is invaluable.  (And sponsored by your tax dollars...Thank you.).

I want to teach my kids to look at the good things in our lives and trace them back to the hand of God.  To make the connection that HE is behind the good in our lives.  So, Wilson Creek teachers and administrators, a special shout out to you for being a huge gift from God to the Burwells!  You are loved.  And yes, God bless public school!  And now, my next prayer?  Year round school!!!!!