For Preston's weekend, Jeff and I both wrote him a letter,
11-11-10
To my oldest son Preston –
As you turned 12 years old this year, I am so excited to have this getaway passport to purity weekend with you Preston before you turn 13 & enter your teenage years next year! Preston, you are growing up & becoming a young Man of God & this weekend will mark a major change in your life forever. I am so excited about your teenage years & the amazing plans & future God has for the rest of your life Preston as a Man of God! You will never forget this weekend with me for the rest of your life. I so wish my dad would have done this with me when I was your age, because this weekend will be one of the most important things I will ever do with you son.
Preston, I am so proud of you & the way you are growing up & helping around the house more & leading your brothers & sisters to honor & respect your mom & I & God. I love how you led your brothers & sisters to clean the living room & write mom letters after she was in the Emergency Room with a kidney stone. I’m so proud of you when you teach your brothers & sisters & our neighbors about God & when you show them God’s love by the way you treat them & talk to them. I’m proud of you when you share your favorite Bible stories in detail & what they mean to us today & what we can learn from them. I’m proud of all the great illustrations you find in God’s world that you share with the rest of us to show us how to understand God better & that He is real. I’m proud of all the great sermon message ideas you’ve come up with & given me. I’m proud of all the amazing things you’ve created & built like your zip-line & lego stuff.
I appreciate you so much Preston & your hugs & kisses on both my cheeks every day when I leave for work. I appreciate your help with dishes & trash & working around the house & on the vehicles & leading your brothers & sisters to have a positive attitude & help out as well. I appreciate your determination to not quit easy & to try new things. I appreciate your desire to stand up & speak up for what you believe is right & true. I appreciate so much your heart that wants to follow Jesus passionately.
Many of these things that I am proud of & appreciate in you Preston are gifts, talents, & strengths that God has given you & is developing in your life for you to use to serve Him better & also to serve those around you in God’s name & on God’s behalf. You Preston are the arms & feet & hands & legs of Jesus to the broken & hurting people in this world. Some of the gifts I believe God has given you to serve Him with are: Creativity, Craftsmanship, Leadership, Teaching, Preaching, Knowledge, Compassion, & Encouragement. I see God using you by giving you ideas & showing you how to build them & make them happen. I see God using you by helping you understand the Bible & showing you how to explain it & use it to help yourself & other people too. I see God using you to care about & reach out to people that are broken & hurting & to show them God’s love & help them.
See Preston, God has created you for a very special purpose & has given you a mission in life. A key part to that mission is to follow what Jesus said the 2 greatest commandments are in Matthew 22:37-40. 1. To Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, & mind. 2. To Love your neighbor (other people) as you love yourself. Now there are specific things God is going to do through you in life where He will give you the opportunity to Love Him & to Love others the way God Himself has loved you. The strengths, gifts, & talents God has given you are His gift to you, what you do with them is your gift back to Him. So use your God-given strengths & gifts, & just love & serve God with all your heart, & you will fulfill the mission & purpose that God put you on earth to accomplish. May you be like King David in Acts 13:36, & serve God’s purpose with your life in your generation before you die.
Always keep your eyes on being a true Man Of God &:
1. Reject Passivity – Don’t just sit around, but get up & do God’s work & help others in His name. 2. Accept Responsibility – When you mess up, fess up, ask God’s forgiveness & others, & get back up again & back to doing God’s work.
3. Lead Courageously – Lead others down Jesus good path of life instead of following them down the devil’s path of destruction.
4. Seek God’s Greater Reward – Live to put a smile on God’s face & for God’s reward of Heaven & His blessings, not people’s reward & approval.
God is going to give you 3 W’s, don’t settle for anything less than these:
1. His Will To Obey – Do what God asks you to in His word the Bible & don’t do what He tells you not to do.
2. His Work To Do – Work for God in His Church, the world, & whatever job He gives you to do for pay.
3. His Woman To Love – Wait until God gives you His chosen woman who loves & serves Him more than you, & then commit your life to loving her in marriage for the rest of your life.
Preston, I am so excited about this special weekend getaway with you! I can’t wait to have lots of fun with you & also talk with you about some of the most important things of your entire life. Preston, with God’s help & His Holy Spirit living in you, these next few years of your life will be a great time of preparation for adulthood as you go from being a boy, to being a True Man Of God! Your mother & I are committed to train & support you to become the Man God wants you to become through this time.
Preston, I love you more than you will ever know! There is nothing that you could ever do that would make me stop loving you.
- Your Dad forever, & your partner in sharing Jesus love with the world!
