Freshwater: Daddy's Girl

Freshwater

Located in the wilds of Wyoming, the name Freshwater was chosen as a Western analogy to Christ. Just as He is the Living Water, and we must have Him to have eternal life, any desert dweller knows the importance of fresh water to life, both for self, and the nourishment of crops or livestock. By taking nourishment in God and His word, we strengthen our own relationship with Him, our faith, and the quality and abundance of our fruitfulness.

Our keystone verse is from Jeremiah, Chapter 17, Verse 8: "For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see whenSave heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."

The fruit that we speak of is mentioned in Galatians 5:22
"²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

And the heat could be anything we experience that might test our faith in God; trials and tribulations, relationships, anything that focuses our love and attention anywhere but on Him...

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Daddy's Girl

Daddy's Girl

I'm the center of Daddy's World

I know I'm Daddy's number one

Because he loves me just like a son

Daddy's Girl

Anyone remember that old Red Sovine song? I had a tape that I used to listen to over and over with my dad. That was one of my favorites, as was "It'll Grow Back", "Teddy Bear", "Phantom 309", and "Giddy Up Go".

I have lots of wonderful memories of times spent with my dad growing up. An ice cream cone bigger than my head in Farson, WY, the best cheeseburger in the world at the Edgerton Cafe (which was green then), camping out behind the chutes in Cheyenne at Frontier Days, listening to concerts and going to Cowboy Church, hanging out in the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma at the timed event, meeting Cactus, when Dad brought Cactus home (okay, that wasn't a childhood memory), Shorty, elk hunting, the endless dirt road with bountiful gullies that ran next to the highway for 50 miles before we found an out...boy were the guys at that railroad depot surprised!

I remember bouncing across the dirt roads of Wyoming, listening to Chris LeDoux...we had worn out tapes of Chris LeDoux long before Garth Brooks ever sang about them!

But the most important thing that I remember is that my dad always loves me, no matter what. He and my mom are wonderful, living examples of the kind of parent I want to be, and the way I want to live my life. Their lives truly show God's love and light up the world around them. I am so thankful for both of my parents, and have been greatly blessed. Happy Father's Day Dad!

One really amazing and wonderful thing about having such great parents who share the love of Christ, is that I am able to understand forgiveness and love, concern, and care. It is still kind of incomprehensible to me that God loves me even more than that, but I at least have an idea. My Heavenly Father gave His son to save me, in spite of all the garbage I've done and thought in my life. He loved me even though I was (and am) a sinner and deserve nothing but death. All I had to was ask Him to forgive me and come into my heart. When I mess up, which I do, He takes me back. If I truly repent, He forgives me and brings me back into the fold.

All of us are sinners. Nobody's perfect (nope, not Hannah Montana either), and all of us have made and will make mistakes and do things that are wrong. The Bible says "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23), and "The wages of sin are death." (Romans 6:23).

However, that's not the end. He has given us a way out. God sent His son to be the ultimate sacrifice, so that His blood could cover our sins.

If we accept Him, believe in Him and confess that He is Lord, then He will forgive us. (Romans 10:9-10) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

God knew that we would be and are sinners, and He loved us anyway. ^{Romans 5:8 tells us "}But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Let your Heavenly Father show His love for you today.