Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.
I used to call him old man.
That would be my dad.
It started just after my graduation from college in 1979
when he purchased a Lazy Boy recliner.
It wasn't long after that,
that the new invention of the television remote
came into his hands.
I remember telling him as an arrogant twenty something...
I can't believe that you are so lazy
that you can't get out of your Lazy Boy
to change the channel!
My, oh my, how times have changed since then,
as I look upon my satellite dish
with dual receivers and dual remotes
from my cushy sectional sofa.....
It was the Lazy Boy, I believe,
that accelerated my dad into being an old man
At first, he would begin to nod off in the chair by the 10 o'clock news.
Soon after, he was in la la land by the nine o'clock documentaries
Within a year,
nothing was guaranteed after the 8pm sitcoms,
If you wanted to know something from my dad,
you had better ask him by Jeopardy.
or just wait till breakfast.
Meanwhile I was a night owl.
I loved staying up till midnight and beyond.
The late night news,
The Tonight Show,
and later on,
the Letterman Show,
they were all staples of my daily schedule.
Over the years,
I have remained a night owl.
That is until I began building my house this year....
If there were an awards committee
for the best first halves of movies,
I should be on it.
Start a flick after 9pm???
you might as well ship it right back to the video store.
Olympic coverage till midnight????
you might as well award the gold by sunset.
American Idol??
Please....
the furthest I have made it into that show is:
This...........
is.............
American......
Lights out.
Game, set, match.
I have really tried to stave off my senior citizen evening nap.
After working a full time job ,
and coming home to construction,
I have come to cherish an hour or two of relaxing in front of the TV before bedtime.
Against every doctor recommended diet,
I have found that eating late night dinners helps.
It's quite a feat to fall asleep while eating.
Turning the temperature down helps too,
nothing like trying to fall asleep while you are shivering.
But I have found that the best solution to avoid being like my dad,
is to remain upright.
No lying down on the couch,
no pillows,
no blankies.....
That was till last evening.
I was sitting upright at full attention at 7pm,
soda and snacks in hand.
Nothing like a good hockey match to get your blood going.
USA versus Canada!
Olympic medals at stake!
Patriotic pride on the line!
Let's get fired up!
USA! USA! USA!
I woke up in the third period
with drool running down my cheek.
I have officially become my dad.
Then I realized.....
He may have ended the day in a Lazy Boy,
but he was anything BUT lazy.
His evening snores trumpeted to the world
that he had put in a hard day's work.
His evening nap
was a recognition of all the energy
he expended daily for his family.
I also realized,
there isn't anything wrong
with being like your dad.
Not when your dad was a man of God.
As children of God,
we are all called to model our heavenly Father,
as exampled in the flesh by Jesus.
We are even told in the Sermon on the Mount,
to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.*
That is, perfect as in mature,
casting off those qualities
that lead to destructive ends.
I used to call him old man.
Now I realize there's nothing wrong with that,
not if those advancing years leads to spiritual maturity.
So call me old man,
or whatever you want.
Just don't call me after 8pm.
It will probably go right to voice mail......
*Matthew 5:48
I used to call him old man.
That would be my dad.
It started just after my graduation from college in 1979
when he purchased a Lazy Boy recliner.
It wasn't long after that,
that the new invention of the television remote
came into his hands.
I remember telling him as an arrogant twenty something...
I can't believe that you are so lazy
that you can't get out of your Lazy Boy
to change the channel!
My, oh my, how times have changed since then,
as I look upon my satellite dish
with dual receivers and dual remotes
from my cushy sectional sofa.....
It was the Lazy Boy, I believe,
that accelerated my dad into being an old man
At first, he would begin to nod off in the chair by the 10 o'clock news.
Soon after, he was in la la land by the nine o'clock documentaries
Within a year,
nothing was guaranteed after the 8pm sitcoms,
If you wanted to know something from my dad,
you had better ask him by Jeopardy.
or just wait till breakfast.
Meanwhile I was a night owl.
I loved staying up till midnight and beyond.
The late night news,
The Tonight Show,
and later on,
the Letterman Show,
they were all staples of my daily schedule.
Over the years,
I have remained a night owl.
That is until I began building my house this year....
If there were an awards committee
for the best first halves of movies,
I should be on it.
Start a flick after 9pm???
you might as well ship it right back to the video store.
Olympic coverage till midnight????
you might as well award the gold by sunset.
American Idol??
Please....
the furthest I have made it into that show is:
This...........
is.............
American......
Lights out.
Game, set, match.
I have really tried to stave off my senior citizen evening nap.
After working a full time job ,
and coming home to construction,
I have come to cherish an hour or two of relaxing in front of the TV before bedtime.
Against every doctor recommended diet,
I have found that eating late night dinners helps.
It's quite a feat to fall asleep while eating.
Turning the temperature down helps too,
nothing like trying to fall asleep while you are shivering.
But I have found that the best solution to avoid being like my dad,
is to remain upright.
No lying down on the couch,
no pillows,
no blankies.....
That was till last evening.
I was sitting upright at full attention at 7pm,
soda and snacks in hand.
Nothing like a good hockey match to get your blood going.
USA versus Canada!
Olympic medals at stake!
Patriotic pride on the line!
Let's get fired up!
USA! USA! USA!
I woke up in the third period
with drool running down my cheek.
I have officially become my dad.
Then I realized.....
He may have ended the day in a Lazy Boy,
but he was anything BUT lazy.
His evening snores trumpeted to the world
that he had put in a hard day's work.
His evening nap
was a recognition of all the energy
he expended daily for his family.
I also realized,
there isn't anything wrong
with being like your dad.
Not when your dad was a man of God.
As children of God,
we are all called to model our heavenly Father,
as exampled in the flesh by Jesus.
We are even told in the Sermon on the Mount,
to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.*
That is, perfect as in mature,
casting off those qualities
that lead to destructive ends.
I used to call him old man.
Now I realize there's nothing wrong with that,
not if those advancing years leads to spiritual maturity.
So call me old man,
or whatever you want.
Just don't call me after 8pm.
It will probably go right to voice mail......
*Matthew 5:48
.
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