Father's Day

Julie was asked to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting today on Father's Day. She was so excited all week to share her thoughts about her dad. It has been fun watching her put her feelings into words and see the love she has for Craig. He is such a great dad! Just as the meeting started, the power went out in the area. They waited for a few minutes to see if the power would return, but when it didn't the meeting went forward with the emergency lights and the doors and curtains open for light. So, with no microphone and a flashlight in hand to see her notes, she delivered a great talk. She took all that drama training and used it to project and was heard more than the other speakers. I was very proud of her and wanted to share her talk.

"Good morning. I would like to say a happy father’s day to all of the dads out there. I am very excited to speak today about one of my favorite things: my dad. I hope that as I share some of my thoughts and feelings about my dad that you will all be able to think of the important part fathers have had in your lives. There are many lessons learned from fathers. I would like to share a few lessons I have learned from my dad.

My dad has taught me to have a good sense of humor. He always finds some way to make our family laugh. When he would play catch with us when my brother and I were little, he would sit on the edge of our deck. If the ball landed even two feet away from him, we would have to run over, get it, and hand it to him. So we had to learn good aim. Another thing I think of when I think about his desire to have a good time and help us enjoy life is whenever Brian and I are in the car with him, he always blasts rock music like Kansas or Styx really, really loud. So loud, we often find ourselves yelling what?!

When my brother and I were little, my dad would sometimes take us to work with him. He had a whiteboard along the side of his office that my brother and I would split in half and we would each draw a picture on our half. My dad would then leave our pictures up for all of his co-workers to see. If he had to write something on his whiteboard, he would find a blank space above or below our drawings. And the next time we would come to his office, our pictures would still be there and we would draw new ones for him to work around. Family vacations have also been important to him and we have enjoyed his love of baseball as a family. When we’ve gone to baseball games, he has taught me to keep a scorecard. All of these things help me realize how important our family is to him.

My dad has taught me the importance of testimony. In Family Home Evenings, he has shared his testimony with us and I see it in the things he does. It is important to attend church, to have family prayer, to read the scriptures together, to be honest, to keep our standards, to pay tithing, and to be grateful for what we have.

My mom has told me that when I was born, my dad confessed that he was very nervous to be a dad because he didn’t know how he would do. So, he picked me up and walked around the hospital room and talked to me. He told me that if we would stick together, we would make it. As I think of all the things my dad has taught me, it helps me catch a glimpse of how Heavenly Father feels about his children. It also tells me that if we will stick with him and learn from him that we will make it together. I am so grateful for my dad."