Sprinklers swished back and forth over my freshly mown St. Augustine lawn, and I sat on the patio, sipping sweet iced tea with fresh lemon and mint squeezed in. It was one of those moments when all of life breathes deeply and sighs with satisfaction.

Recognizing this “holy” moment, my youngest daughter, Glenna (four years old at the time), stood silently, leaning against one of my knees, rubbing the calf of my leg as if, somehow, she knew it ached.

A few peaceful, Mayberry-esque moments wafted by, and Glenna could hold her admiration no longer. “Daddy,” she said, “You sure have nice fur.”

Several years later, she and I still laugh out loud about that statement. Fur! Ha! But in that moment, neither of us laughed. Deep inside I wanted to, because it was such a cute and hilarious way for her to describe the hair on my leg—as if I were akin to one of her stuffed animals. But I didn’t dare laugh out loud then. She was serious, and it would have hurt her feelings. She was head over heels in adoration of her Daddy, and it was the most significant and sincere word of praise she could come up with at the moment. So, she said it.

When she first began to speak the words, I anticipated she was going to say something about my handiwork, the lawn. Instead, she spoke straight to something about me that amazed her (in this case, my fur).

I encourage you to do the same with your Heavenly Daddy today. It’s fine to point out what a great job He’s done on a particular project or to express amazement over a part of His handiwork (all of creation), but just for today, focus on some element or quality of His character, His person which you admire. Let it be the one characteristic of His that you focus on all day. And be sure to do more than just think or focus on it. Tell Him about it—out loud.

By the way, it’s not important that you master a particular vernacular. Even if you call His hair “fur,” He won’t mind. He hears your words but not as much as He does your heart. So, go ahead. Tell Him something you like about Him. Offer Him some praise. ReFresh! ReKindle!

Prayer Needs

Look, Ma, no hands!—Seriously, we’re grateful for your sustaining prayers that keep us from worrying about the end of that lil’ verse (no teeth!) even though the ride is a bit white-knuckled at times.

If you’d like to see where we’ve been on our journey of faith the last eighteen months (or if you would like to recommend our ministry to someone), check out our suggested events page (or have them do so) on our website here, suggested events.

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