I guess that since I was a preacher's daughter you would think that we would have had more of a "church atmosphere" at home, but our life at home was pretty much like everyone else's as far as I could tell. My dad also worked as a body man in an auto body shop and was a workaholic and still had vices, such as smoking. But he was a very outstanding preacher and I've seen many a time when the church would be filled to capacity and there would be people outside standing by the door trying to hear what was going on inside when there wasn't any more room for sitting down.
DAddy still watched shows on tv like wrestling and we used to toe wrestle, which was pinching each other with our toes until one of us gave up. It was usually me,   cause he had some really long toes and pinched hard. LOL

He was just a fun loving guy, not pious or overly religious and he liked to surprise me with presents and kept me laughing. I did have a drug problem though, I was drug to church every time the door opened. But at home he was just Daddy.

Becky

Hi Becky, it's interesting to note that often times it's the down to earth family guys like your dad who are actually better preachers than the one's who were educated to be preachers, but who don't have the spirit inside them!

He was very well educated. He was valdictorian of his high school and graduated from college at Mid Continent Baptist Bible College, but he had the ability to carry on a conversation on any level. His IQ was over 140 and he could speak on any subject fluently, in just about any language, and we met people all over the US who knew him from somewhere before. Or you might have found him talking to a homeless person with plain talk and they would have never known that he was a college graduate. He just had that gift of drawing people to Christ through being able to get down or up to their level.

It was just so sad that we didn't get to keep him longer. He died when he was only 40 years old from a massive heart attack.

I only wish that there had been home based business back then so he wouldn't have had to work so hard to make a living for us.

Becky

Becky, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your father. 40 is definitely too young to die. The good thing about his loss is that you can remember the good things and the good times that you shared with him when he was alive, like the toe wrestling!! Another good thing is that he'll be waiting for you in the Kingdom made new, hopefully not too far in the distant future.

I remember my grandfather on my mother's side was a singing evangelist. He composed his own songs and wrote a book of music which my mother has in her possession. I used to love to hear him sing, especially when he would play his eucalelie (sp) and his banjo. He was what you call (I think) a ventrilaquist, in that he could sing bass and he could sing soprano and he would often times do it in one song. People would flock to listen to him. He also had a way with words, I would say he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, because he won many souls to Christ.

Jim,

I have a sadness that whilst my parents held Christian beliefs they did not commit to a regular worship, my mother having been brought up in isolated rural situation and my father in a regimented army institution.

Whilst having a greater sense of duty to worship my actual commitment falls very short of what I feel is acceptable.

Roger