A Typical Day

For those of you following my blog, you may have been wondering, “Where in the world has Mark been”?  Or maybe you, as one of my few followers, have said, “Has he been gone”?  Ha ha.   Hmm, that reminds me…Tonya used to say that to me from time to time when we would be apart for a while and I had asked her if she missed me. I’m not laughing now.

I’ve not been able to blog nearly as much as I’ve wanted to in 2012.  Life for the Elkins Family has been very busy, and a typical day is much different than it was a year ago.  I have had the privilege, though, of writing a few devotional articles that have been published on the “Christian News Blog” at http://www.christian-news-today.com.  Please take some time to check them out on this site.  Just search for my name and you’ll see them.  I thank the Lord for giving me these words, and I hope they will be a blessing to those who read them.

What a year it has been for my family! Since Tonya’s massive stroke in December of last year, our lives have totally changed, as I wrote about back in the Spring.  But God has shown us that He is in full control, and nothing has surprised Him!

A typical day now in our lives is also filled with praise and thankfulness for what God has done for Tonya…and the rest of our family.  I truly understand alot better these past 9 months or so the words of Solomon in Proverbs 27:1, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth”.  We may often think that we have today, tomorrow, or the future all planned out, but only our Creator knows exactly what’s going to take place in our lives each day.  I’ve found it very wise to trust Him one day at a time, and rejoice that every morning we are able to open our eyes is a precious gift from Him!

I pray that, as our family has learned through Tonya’s recovery process, you also will consider it a typical day in your life to be able to rejoice that you are a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!!

A Very Thankful Husband

Yes, it has been a long time since I have blogged. It’s not been intentional, by any means. I love to write, and I’ve really missed the pen and the page. But with Tonya’s stroke catching our family by surprise, my priorities have had to change quite a bit. But that’s OK, because I’ve learned that I needed to make a few changes in several areas of my life. One of which is… Mark needs to be a much more thankful husband!

After my wife almost passed on before me due to her massive stroke, I began to realize that some things we tend to think are most important pale in comparison to the life-changing realities brought on by a tragic event. Sure, we like to have nice cars, the latest clothes, and extra money in the bank, or, to spend! But I’ve been reminded these past few months the most important things in life are our relationship to God through salvation, and our relationships with our family. God has truly blessed me with two great sons, as I have mentioned before. For this, I’m a very thankful Dad. But the most important person on this earth to me is my precious wife. Being with her through what has been the greatest storm in our lives has made me a more thankful Husband.

For a period of time, I had begun to take my wife for granted in certain areas of our marriage. I had become a little less grateful for the lovely lady God had blessed me with. Now I have come to experience the reality that life is very short, and we should spend each day honoring and loving those dearest to us, for we never know “what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1). Yes, I am a forever-changed man since this storm God allowed into our lives has blown through and left noticeable physical damage. He has taught me to praise Him in the midst of the storm, even when we don’t understand why. He has brought indescribable peace and a song of praise that I never imagined possible through Tonya’s trial. And He has amazingly put a renewed thankfulness in my heart for my spouse, that has caused me to cherish every moment of every day with her.

As my wife continues to heal, and our relationship continues to grow stronger, I thank God for his love and forgiveness. And I hope from now on to be known as a Very Thankful Husband!

I Shall Return!

Well, friends and family, I have not forgotten how to blog, nor have I lost the desire to.  But, as many of you know, plans changed quite a bit on Dec 4, 2011 for this Very Thankful Dad.  My precious wife suffered a massive stroke that day, and we nearly lost her.

But praise God, He spared her life, and she is now recovering steadily from the damage done that day.  We don’t understand why this happened, but we have many, many lessons learned from those first few weeks, and I’m planning to share some of God’s many blessings He has abundantly showered upon Tonya and our family these past few months.

I shall return to writing soon, by the grace of God!  And will have many words to say that I hope will be an encouragement to you all.  I have learned thru Tonya’s trial that I’m not only a very thankful Dad….but I truly am a Very Thankful Husband!

Words To My Sons

I’ve said alot of things to my sons through the years.

Some of them, regretably, were spoken hastily, ill-advised, and usually out of frustration.  If you are a parent, you’ve been there, and you know that feeling of wishing you could reach out and take them back.  And the same is true for any of us who have engaged our tongue before our brain.

I cannot recall my spoken words; I can only trust that the hearers, especially my loved ones, will forgive and have short memories of those I’ve uttered remorsefully.  Then by grace I can press forward, having learned lessons from my misguided remarks.

On many occasions during my parenting journey, I am blessed to be able to share with my boys precious nuggets of gold from God’s Word, and possibly a lesson or two I’ve discovered from just being a dad.  It’s after these treasured moments of opportunity I realize I must leave the results in God’s big hands.

Tomorrow my youngest son will turn 16, and very soon my eldest will move his bride into their very first house.  There are many more thoughts I’d like to share with these young men as they enter this new phase of their lives.  But the next few can best be expressed in the lyrics of this song…

Words I Would Say

by Sidewalk Prophets

Three in the morning,
And I’m still awake,
So I picked up a pen and a page,
And I started writing,
Just what I’d say,
If we were face to face,
I’d tell you just what you mean to me,
I’d tell you these simple truths,

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You’re going to do great things,
I already know,
God’s got His hand on you so,
Don’t live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don’t forget why you’re here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say.

I love you guys!

A Truly Grateful Son

In addition to being a thankful dad, I am a truly grateful son.

Now there were no blogs back in the days of my youth (no kidding!).  As a matter of fact, there were not many electronic communication devices of any kind.   I also never remember stumbling onto a notepad with my Dad’s handwriting of how thankful he was to be a dad…not even before my little brother was born.  Ha ha!  Hmm, this childhood reminiscence is going downhill for me really fast!

However, I have later in life gained assurance that he is (and probably was back in those days) quite thankful for his boys, just as I am for mine.  My brother and I got the privilege of turning his hair from red to white, and even causing some of it to turn loose!  I guess we weren’t too awfully hard on him though.  By the grace of God, he has survived into the 21st Century with nearly all his nerves!

I know I wasn’t always the obedient son I should’ve been by any means, and tried his patience a couple of times, but my Dad was a firm believer in “spare the rod and spoil the child”, and showed me without reservation the consequences of disobedience!  And for that, I am truly grateful.

He showed me many things about life:  how to deal with the ups and downs; how to work hard at all you set your mind to do; why we should be thankful for what we have; and much more that I’ll never forget.  But most importantly as his son, he taught me who God is, and how we can have a relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ, His Son.  Now for that I am most grateful!

To think that an extremely ordinary son could become a child of Almighty God is an extraordinary thought!  I not only am privileged to spiritually dwell in the presence of the Creator of the universe, but I possess the right as His redeemed child to cry out to Him in prayer, “Abba, Father”!  What a blessing to know!

I’m forever appreciative to Dad (and Mom) for showing me the way to live, and I’m eternally thankful to my Heavenly Father for saving me from my sins!  Yes, I truly am a grateful son!

A Very Thankful Dad

I guess I should explain why my blog has a caption which says, “Thoughts from a Very Thankful Dad”.  Short answer:  To stay on my kids’ good side!!  I mean, have you seen my youngest son?  He’s a giant!  And my oldest son is making lots of money!!  Ha ha. 

But now…the longer version:  My wife and I are so, so blessed to have been privileged to raise two strong, healthy boys.  Our oldest is 24, married, and gone from the nest.  Our youngest we’re actually still working on raising…by the grace of God!  He’s 15, going on 20.  Does anybody know what I mean?

My two sons have had their “moments”, believe me, when they’ve tried ole Dad’s patience.  Ohhh, that’s material for a whole other blog post!  And they’ve brought upon me the typical scares, pains, worries and tears that a normal rambunctious male child brings his parents.

There have been ups, and there have been downs.  There have been times of inexplicable frustration, yet there have been seasons of incomprehensible joy.  This child-raising adventure has caused me to lose more hair…and gain more faith than I ever imagined possible!  It’s challenged every bit of perseverance within me.  Yet through it all, it’s been a most rewarding experience; a heavenly blessing!

To see your son graduate from high school; to see your son make the game-winning basket; to see your son play his guitar and sing before a huge crowd of teenagers and youth pastors; to see your son say his wedding vows and bring a beautiful daughter into your life… no wonder I’m thankful to be a dad!   God has blessed me with this indescribable opportunity to share His love and my faith with two of the most awesome boys in the universe, who have grown to trust Christ as Savior, and have become tremendous young men.

Yes, it’s been a bumpy ride, this parenting thing, and I’m sure there will be many more valleys to be faced.  But I would not trade this great feeling I have of being a dad for anything in this world!  I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way, trust me, and hopefully learned a lot of lessons, but God has faithfully honored His Word in Psalm 127:3, “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”

This is why I’m a very thankful dad!

TGIF!

We usually shout it out every Friday at our workplace (or maybe under our breath if the boss is nearby!)… “TGIF”!.  Or perhaps we sound it completely out:  “Thank goodness it’s Friday”!!  Or, as Christians, we realize Who has really gotten us through this present week in one piece, so we say, “Thank God it’s Friday!!”.  Even if we happen to love our jobs, as I do (I’m weird, I know), there’s something extraordinarily exciting about knowing you have a couple of days off from the daily grind of  having to set that alarm clock (complete with snooze!) and drag your body out of the cozy bed.

Whether our workweek ends on Friday or Monday (TGIM!), it’s the thought of being free from a rigid routine and responsibility for just a little while that makes us happy campers as that final workday dawns.  While we’re thankful for having a job, and strive to do our best at it, our greater passion is for family, friends, fun… and freedom.  TGIF day can’t seem to arrive soon enough!

Let me share with you some thoughts about another TGIF day… one that can be experienced every day of your life!!  When I was only 6 years old, God reached down from Heaven and showed me I needed a Savior.  Though obviously very young, I knew I was bound by a debt of sin before a holy God.  I had been told that Jesus could save me from my sin.  That day, I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior.  That day, I was freed from the bondage of sin!  That day, I could boldly and loudly shout, “Thank God I’m Free”!!  Now each day of my life is TGIF day!

Jesus told us in His Word, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36).”  So Christians, be encouraged!  It may be Monday morning and raining, the boss may be yelling at you to get some work done, or life’s problems may be bearing down on you so heavily that you don’t even know what day of the week it is… but take heart!  Having Christ in your life and your sins forgiven makes every day a TGIF day!!