Letter to my son

 

   "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and and perserverance, character; and character hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:3-5, NKJV)

    The following is a copy of a letter to my oldest son in 2008, when he was a recent MBA graduate and a new husband living and working in Switzerland when the U.S Army had sent him a letter recalling him to active duty. (He had served as an Infantry officer for five years (to include a 1 and 1/2 years in Iraq in 2003-2004) and had left the army in June 2006.

Dear Son,

        Forgive me if I ramble on a little bit like the old man that I am but I just want to talk with you like we are never able to talk when we get on the phone and talk about soccer or your job or how the weather is in Evans GA. First, I just want to remind you that I love you very much and am so grateful every day that I get to be your father. Being a father is one of the greatest blessings my Lord has given me, and you are the type of son that all fathers dream about having but usually don’t get.  And the Lord gave me not just one great son but two, a precious daughter, and a wonderful daughter-in-law and son-in-law! “My cup runneth over!”

     Since the first day that you came screaming into this world and I had to run off and take a Finance Final Exam for my MBA, (maybe that is why you like banking) I have loved you with a love that I can not really explain. It is a gift from God that makes a man prouder than he ought to be and makes all the trials he goes through worthwhile because there is a son to carry on his name and a life that needs molding and nurturing, and you don’t want to mess it up. There is an additional burden of knowing that someone is looking up to you like you are really great, but you know that you are not. At the same time, you know that you have been blessed by our Lord with a daughter and sons, that you enjoy being with as much as you can, and each triumph and failure is twice as exhilarating or painful for you as it is for them. 

      Of course, most of my memories are of the countless triumphs large and small that I have been able to watch you achieve: learning to walk, riding a bike, accepting Christ as your Savior, playing on a championship hockey team,  being such a great brother to your siblings, winning swim races in Woodbridge, ASL, and EHS, Captaining the Swim team for two years and being the MVP your senior year, Captaining the raider team for two years winning at Flint River, Chattanooga and State, Commanding the JROTC Battalion, being accepted to West Point, competing on the triathlon team, participating in Officer Christian Felllowship, graduating  from West Point and pinning on crossed rifles, pinning on the ranger tab, learning to depend on your Lord in Iraq while commanding infantry and scout platoons, returning from Iraq with the bronze star with V device, graduating from Lyon with your MBA, and marrying that precious and most beautiful young woman.

        I have been able to rejoice with you and at the same time feel that I can share in your triumphs because you are my child, the pride of my youth, and part of  the legacy of my marriage to Miriam. But I also have to share the trials and disappointments with you and that is not always easy. I remember staying up with you at night in the rocking chair as you cried with colic (and watch the Braves lose another game at 2 in the morning), worrying when the doctor said you might have Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever but was assured by the Lord that you did not, taking you to the hospital for tubes in your ears at such an young age, feeling your disappointment when there was no hockey in Evans, GA, dropping you off at West Point and knowing what your were in for, the struggle to get through  pre-SCUBA and SCUBA school, the pain of having to recycle at Ranger school and being treated so unjustly, of waiting for you to deploy to Iraq and not knowing the magnitude of the danger, the disappointment of not returning for a year, then the long agonizing days of patrol after patrol and the uncertainty of the danger around every corner and in every swamp, the responsibility on your shoulders for your men and for yourself, the decision to leave the army and which International Business school to attend, and now the agonizing wait for the news or whether or not you will have to go back in the Army. All these are trials that you had to endure but your mother and I endured them with you, and we prayed for you daily to be strong and that our Lord would be your "strong shield and deliverer." He was and He still is! “I will lift up my eyes to the hills; From whence comes my strength? My strength comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1)

      Daniel, once again the Lord has deemed it necessary to put you through a waiting period and perhaps another trial that you do not want. Like you said on the phone the other day it seems to be a pattern in your life. The only good thing I can tell you is it sure seems as if you and Joseph have a lot in common! Unjust treatment. Unfulfilled dreams. Undeserved trials. But, with Joseph we know the “Rest of the Story” God was preparing him to save Egypt and his family, the future nation of Israel, from famine and destruction. We don’t know what our Lord is preparing you for, but he has plans for you! “Your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed. And in your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” (Psalm 139:16)

       Know that as much as your mother and I rejoice in you and love you, your heavenly Father loves you more and rejoices in your character and life hundreds of times more. “For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11). I know that you know how to wait upon Him because He has already given you much training. I also know that you know that He knows best. Unlike your earthly father, your heavenly Father knows exactly what He is doing, and His motives are in your best interest. He loves you with a love that cannot be completely understood but can be trusted. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverb 3:5) And don’t forget that during the waiting there is joy and fellowship with the Lord who is right beside you each step of the way. The victory is not in the final battle but in the journey to the battlefield! The victory is already won! You only have to rest in your Commander and trust Him to guide you through the minefields and to victory! 

 

    Son, we love you. We are on your side and are with you every step of the way. So is the "Creator of the Universe," the "Bright Morning Star," the "Great I AM," "Jesus our Savior," the "Alpha and Omega," the "Commander of the Lord’s Army," the "King of Kings," and the "Lord of Lords." He will see you and your bride through this trial, and you will come out gold, refined gold, even better fit to serve the Master!  

 

Your loving father and friend, Dad

 

(Eventually he was released from the request to return to active duty in the U.S. Army and remained in his home and job in Switzerland.)

Pray:

1. Lord help me today to trust in you totally. I know I can depend on you to carry me through the trials that come my way because You always have and You always will. 

2. Lord, I cast all my cares upon You. You are the Faithful One, You are the Redeemer who has redeemed me from sin and death and are preparing a place for me in Your Kingdom.

3. Help me today and every day to spend time alone with You in Your Scriptures and listening for You to speak to my heart the words of love and guidance that I need for today and everyday,

 

George Washington

“Daniel answered and said: ‘Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.’” (Daniel 2:20-21, NKJV)

George Washington was born in 1722 and died at age 67 in 1799. During that period of time his life helped dramatically change the history of the Western Hemisphere and led directly to the founding of the United States of America. Born in Pope Creek, Virginia, a British colony, he was a planter, surveyor, soldier, and the first President of the United States of America. He married a widow, Martha Dandridge in 1759 and they lived together for the rest of their lives in Mount Vernon, Virginia. 

His early career as a surveyor in the land west of the colonies led him to be very familiar with the area that would someday become Pennsylvania. When the French and Indian War began he was given a commission  as a Major in the Virginia Militia and led an expedition to thwart the French and Indian incursions into that area. His mission ended in disaster and surrender to a superior French force and he returned to Virginia in disgrace. 

But later a British expedition under General Braddock returned to the same area and Major Washington went as his second in command due to his knowledge of the area. The Expedition was ambushed and badly defeated by a force of French and Indians in an action called the Battle of Monongahela in 1755. (Near modern day Pittsburgh)  General Braddock was killed and Washington organized the retreat and was able to save a big part of the army. During the battle Washington continually exposed himself to enemy fire and had two horses shot out from under him and four bullet holes were in his jacket but he was not hit once! 

Washington wrote these words about the action in a letter to his brother:”Death was leveling my companions on every side of me, but by the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected.” (The use of the word Providence was a very common way of saying the “providence of God” during the 18th century.) The Light and the Glory, by Peter Marshall and David Manuel, p. 286.

 Washington was a devout Christian, not a Deist that some books have called him. He wrote many awesome prayers in a book called Daily Sacrifice to express his love of the Lord and Jesus Christ. 

Examples of these prayers are:

1) “Oh most glorious God….I acknowledge and confess my faults, in the weak and imperfect performance of my duties. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins, but so coldly and carelessly that my prayers are become my sin and stand in need of pardon. I have heard Thy holy word, but with such a deadness of spirit that I have been an unprofitable and forgetful hearer….”

2) “Direct my thoughts, words and work, wash away my sins in the immaculate Blood of the Lamb, and purge my heart by Thy Holy Spirit….daily frame me more and more into the likeness  of Thy Son, Jesus Christ.” Ibid, p.284-285.

Fifteen years after the Battle of the Monongahela, Washington  along with his friend Dr. Clark were exploring the wilderness in Pennsylvania again and an Indian Chief with his braves asked to meet with him and this is the story that the chief told around the campfire:

“I am a chief and ruler over my tribes. My influence extends to the waters of the great lakes, and to the far blue mountains. I have traveled a long and weary path, that I might see the young warrior of the great battle. It was on that day when the white man’s blood mixed with the streams of our forest, that I beheld this chief. I called to my young men and said, ‘Mark yon tall and daring warrior? He is not of the red-coat tribe—he hath an Indian’s wisdom, and his warriors fight as we do—himself alone is exposed. Quick let your aim be certain, and he dies.’ Our rifles were leveled, rifles which but for him, knew not how to miss…Twas all in vain; a power mightier far than we shielded him from harm. He cannot die in battle. I am old, and soon will be gathered to the great council fire of my fathers in the land of the shades, but ere I go, there is something that bids me speak in the voice of prophecy: Listen! The Great Spirit protects that man and guides his destinies –he will become a chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire.” 

I submit to you that this was God’s man chosen to lead a nation in America’s greatest crisis up until this time in American history and in fact there might not be any significant American history to read if not for him.

He was not the greatest commander but he was the greatest leader and exactly the leader that the fledgling nation needed. He lost more battles than he won but he held the army together after every defeat and during the harsh winters such as at Valley Forge,1777-1778. Additionally, he miraculously  escaped death or capture on at least three different occasions. Those occasions were:

1. The defeat at the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776 where his army was trounced by British General Howe but who did not continue the attack to finish off the Continentals. Washington evacuated the army after two days of waiting by small boats under cover of the night, a miraculous storm, and fog, allowing the entire army to retreat to Manhattan Island.

2. The attack of the British rear guard at Princeton after the battle of Trenton, where Washington rode out in front of his troops who were falling back and rallied them to press home the attack and clear the British from the field. He was within 30 yards of the British battle lines and not a single bullet hit him or his horse.

3. Ordered to halt by a British sniper who had Washington in his sights and ordered to surrender, Washington calmly turned his horse around and slowly walked the horse out of the clearing and into the woods. The British sniper could have put several rounds in him but did not feel he should shoot a man in the back who was showing such bravery!

He then, with the help of the French, was able to defeat the British army’s best general, General Cornwalis at Yorktown, and eventually the British granted the colonies their independence.

We have much to be grateful for that our God chose George Washington to lead the army and later the nation as the first president of this new republic.

Pray

1. Lord thank You that You are the one who raises up kings and presidents and You are the one that decides what people have the privilege of being Your disciples and servants.

2. Lord, be with our leaders at the national, state, and the local level and give us godly men and women to lead us to be a righteous and godly people.

3. Fill our pastors and other shepherds with Your Spirit and lead us where You desire us to go and to reflect Your Holiness in our lives every day.

Child-like Prayer

 

  “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in heaven.  Whoever receives one little child in My name receives me.” (Matthew 128:3-5, NKJV)

 

The following is an article written by my daughter, Vanessa Rivette Rough, and published online in 2010. I found it as I was going through my files the other day and thought that it would be as big a blessing to you as it was to me. Enjoy!

    “My first child was born to us almost four years ago and as new parents, we have been trying our best to impress her with God’s love and His Word. We’ve never parented a child before, so a lot of what we do is trial and error.

      Prayer is one of the things that we, as adults who were both raised in Christian homes, take for granted. I mean, we can’t remember a time when we didn’t know how to pray! But faced with this little creature, we realized it was something we needed to model for her and to teach her-it was something we couldn’t afford to just hope she picked up along the way. We needed to be intentional about it.

    But how do you teach a baby to pray? We had no idea. The best we could come up with was just praying aloud with her every night before we tucked her into bed. Mostly, she just cooed and gurgled and swatted the ceiling fan pull cord.

   When she started talking, we tried to get her to repeat what we were saying. But if you ever tried to get a toddler to do something on command, you know that this is a losing endeavor. The chatty, talkative child who rambled on and on all day would suddenly become a mute once prayer time rolled around.

   No big deal. We just continued to pray with her and hoped that she would be soaking it in.

  Most of our prayers focused on THANKFULNESS and OTHERS. We thanked God for our daughter and all the blessings in our life and we prayed for family members who were sick or friends in need. We prayed for our Compassion children and missionaries we support.

  We NEVER prayed for ourselves. Not that we didn’t ask God for help daily with parenting and jobs and life, but what I mean is we never did it in front of our daughter. Our prayers in front of her were always outward focused. She never heard us humbly ask God to give us grace and strength and help.

  Never, that is, until one day in January.

  The background story is that Ben and I had been struggling with infertility for the past six years. Even though we had a healthy, happy child, she had taken quite a long time to come to us. Miscarriage and many years of (seemingly) unanswered prayers finally resulted in our beautiful baby girl.

   We always hoped God would send us another child and had been trying to conceive for two years at this point. But with my history, we (and by we, I mean mostly ME—Ben had far more faith than I did!) didn’t have much hope that I’d give birth to another child. So, after many months of praying, we had applied for a domestic infant adoption program and were waiting to be accepted.

   I should also mention that while we were both still praying for God to bring us another child (whether by giving birth or adoption), we had stopped praying together. It was just too painful. We didn’t have the strength to do it anymore. 

  That changed one evening when I had the thought, ‘Juliet is three. We might as well get her involved in this prayer. It’s going to be her sibling after all.’ So as we were praying together before bed, I said, ‘Please send Juliet a sibling. A little brother or sister for her to love and grow up with.’ Ben joined in with ‘Please send us a baby, Lord. A baby brother or sister for Juliet….’

   And then a little voice piped in (you know, the one who had been inexplicably silent the past two years?) ‘Yeah! Yeah! I want a baby! I want a baby in my belly!’

    Her tiny prayer brought tears to my eyes, of course, and from then on, she never failed to pray enthusiastically for ‘her baby’. Every night, she would ask God with total faith to send her a baby. I prayed too, but in my heart, I thought we were praying for our adopted child. I think she might have been the only one in the room who truly believed God could send a baby to us the old-fashioned way. 

  Four weeks later, we found out that I was pregnant. To say that we were shocked is an understatement. We were overjoyed, but just dumbfounded because we had lost all hope of this ever happening.  

  Even as we told our family, I could see the disbelief in their eyes and hear it in their voices, ‘Really?!’ they would say ‘REALLY?’ It was just something all of us never thought we would see. (Again, I should clarify that I was the one who thought I’d never see it. Most of my family and friends were faithfully praying for this and undoubtedly did not give up hope, however, they WERE surprised.)

  But there was one little person who didn’t respond to the news with an incredulous ‘Really?’ When we told Juliet the big news, she was excited, but not with that air of disbelief that the rest of us had. The answer to prayer was something she had expected. She had asked her Father for something, and He had answered-what is so incredulous about that?

   Her faith humbled me and reminded me that while I am teaching my child, I have a lot to learn from her as well. It also reminded me that even when we don’t feel like God hears our prayers, He is fully aware of everything-our deepest pains and our most desperate needs.

   So in my quest to impress my child, she ended up impressing me! (Isn’t that a continuing lesson we learn as parents? I’ll never forget those few weeks that she prayed for a sibling and how joyful and grateful we were when God answered her and our prayers in, what was to us, a most miraculous way. 

  I have almost no recollection of our nightly prayers over the past 3.5 years in regard to what was said and what was prayed for, however, those few weeks of Juliet asking God to send her a baby brother or sister are burned into my heart and memory forever. I can hear her little voice, see her eyes scrunched closed and her tiny hands clasped together, and feel that closeness we all shared together as we knelt by her bed.

  I have to admit that, even though I know I shouldn’t be surprised, I still look at my pregnant belly with disbelief from time to time. I look at the mirror and think, ‘Really? Is that really me?’ It’s so easy to fall back to my former mindset of ‘that sort of things happens to OTHER people—not to me.’

   But I’m working to have a more child-like faith. To trust my Father and expect that He will answer me. Not that I’ll always get what I want, but that I can trust Him to give me what I truly need. And I’m thankful for these two special daughters that He’s entrusted to me and am looking forward to learning more from them and with them in the years to come. (Vanessa gave birth to Lucia in October 2010 and to William in November 2014)

  

PRAY

1.        Thank you, Lord, that You are a prayer-answering God! Thank you for listening and caring about me and all your other children too. 

2.        Thank you, for the times you have  had to say no, or wait, because I trust You to know better than I do what I really need and how all I am doing fits together with Your wonderful plan for my life.

3.        Help me Lord, to spend quiet time alone with You so I can know You better and be a better listener when You speak to me through Your Word, or from Your still small voice.

  

 

 

 

     

     

 

Life Principles of Dr. Charles Stanley

  “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2, NKJV) 

    Dr. Charles Stanley was an awesome pastor and preacher at First Baptist Atlanta for over fifty years. He was truly a man of God that gave his all for His Savior in his church and his worldwide ministry, In Touch Ministries. Below is a list of Dr. Stanley’s life principles that he lived by:

1. Our intimacy with God - His highest priority for our lives - determines the impact of our lives.

2. Obey God and leave the consequences to Him.

3. God’s Word is an immovable anchor in times of storm.

4. Awareness of God’s presence energizes us for our work.

5. God does not require us to understand His will, just obey it, even if it seems unreasonable.

6. You reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow.

7. The dark moments of life will last only so long as it is necessary for God to accomplish His purpose in us.

8. Fight all your battles on your knees and you win every time.

9. Trusting God means looking beyond what we can see to what God sees.

10. If necessary, God will move heaven and earth to show us His will.

11. God assumes  full responsibility for our needs when we obey Him.

12. Peace with God is the fruit of oneness with God.

13. Listening to God is essential to walking  with God.

14. God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.

15. Brokenness is God’s requirement for maximum usefulness.

16. Whatever you acquire outside God’s will eventually turns to ashes.

17. We stand tallest and strongest on our knees.

18. As children of a sovereign God, we are never victims of our circumstances.

19. Anything You hold too tightly, you will lose.

20. Disappointments are inevitable, discouragement is a choice.

21. Obedience always  brings blessing.

22. To walk in the Spirit is to obey the initial promptings of the Spirit.

23. You can never outgive God.

24. To live the Christian life is to allow Jesus to live His life in and through us.

25. God blesses us so that we can bless others.

26. Adversity is a bridge to a deeper relationship with God.

27. Prayer is life’s greatest time saver.

28. No Christian has ever been called to “go it alone’ in his or her walk of faith.

29. We learn more in our valley experiences than on our mountaintops. 

30. An eager anticipation of the Lord’s return keeps us living productively.

Pray

1. Lord help me to spend more time with you so that I can have the intimate relationship with you that Dr. Stanley talks about and which he demonstrated with his life and service to you.

2. Help me to sow the Word with my family, my fellow christians, and with those that don’t know You the way we do so that I can sow your Word and watch the harvest that comes later.

3. Help me to stay humble and dependant upon Your Sprit to guide me every day that You give me to live for You and Your kingdom.

The Love of God

 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39, NKJV)

Pastor Roger Bennet of Evans, Georgia provided this list from Dr. Dick Dickerson who wrote a paraphrase of  1 Corinthians 13:4-8. He did not tell us from what reference he got the paraphrase:

1. Because God loves me,  He is slow to lose patience with me.

2. Because God loves me,  He takes the circumstances of my life and uses them as a               

                                         constructive way for my growth.

3. Because God loves me,   He does not treat me as an object to be possessed or     

                                          manipulated.

4. Because God loves me,    He has no need to impress me with how great and powerful

                                          He is because He is God, nor does He belittle me as His child

                                          in order to show me how important He is.

5. Because God love me,      He is for me, He wants to see me mature and develop in His 

                                           love.

6. Because God loves me,     He does not send down His wrath on every little mistake I 

                                           make, of which there are many.

7. Because God loves me,     He does not keep score of all my sins and then beat me over 

                                           the head with them whenever He gets the chance.

8. Because God loves me,     He is deeply grieved when I do not walk in the way that 

                                           pleases Him because He sees this as evidence that I don’t 

                                           trust Him and love Him as I should.

9. Because God loves me,     He rejoices when I  experience His power and strength and 

                                                       stand up under the pressure of life for His name’s sake.

10. Because God loves me,     He keeps on working patiently with me even when I feel like

                                           giving up and can’t see why He doesn’t give up on me too.

11. Because God loves me,     He keeps on trusting at times when I don’t even trust myself.

12. Because God loves me,     He never says there is no hope for me; rather, He patiently 

                                           works with me, loves me, and disciplines me in such a way

                                           that it is hard for me to understand the depth of His concern

                                           for me.

13.  Because God loves me,    He never forsakes me even though many of my friends   

                                           might. 

14.  Because God loves me,    He stands with me when I have reached the rock bottom of 

                                           despair, when I see the real me and compare that with His

                                           righteousness, holiness, beauty and love. It is at a moment

                                           like this that I can really believe that God loves me.  

                Yes, the greatest of all gifts is God’s perfect love.     God loves you!            

Pray

1. Lord, help me to walk in the way that pleases you and not to turn aside to the things of this world that are always competing for my attention.

2. Thank you Lord for being patient with me and continually teaching me the lessons I should have learned a long time ago and not giving up on me.

3. I praise you Lord because I know that no matter how I have strayed or failed You, You will never leave me or forsake me