June 12

Our Focus This Week is on the Wallow Fire here in Eastern Arizona

What you see are not clouds, but smoke that fills the, otherwise clear Arizona sky.

As we were up in the area of Pinetop and Springerville, with the many families being displaced by this devastating fire, prayer is NEEDED! Pray that many will see the hopelessness of  trusting in  “Material THINGS”. Pray, they would look to the Lord Jesus Christ for their safety, security, and Salvation.

 

AZ Hwy 260 between Pine-top and Springerville is closed off as the last evacuee leaves Springerville for the Lakeside-Pinetop Blue Ridge High School, being used as an evacuation rescue center.

Note the evergreen forest, an ample supply of fuel for the fire. Pray for the many Fire Fighters, as well as others, including the Red Cross, working night and day attempting to contain this blaze.

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This Fathers day,the question is asked!

Are dads expendable? Some believe they are, read on!

By Dr. William Perry
Chaplain, Ho Ho Kam Village

Published: Wednesday, June 8, 2011 4:13 AM MST

The words “duty” and “sacrifice” always come to mind when I think of my Dad.  Dads have fought wars for us: The Big War, WWII; A war to save the world from the iron will of Hitler; the Korean War, sometimes called the forgotten war, but you know, from 1950 to 1953, almost 34,000 American men died in that war. And then there was Vietnam, where many served bravely, only to return home to derision; then it was the Persian Gulf; Somalia, Kosovo, and now Afghanistan and Iraq. Many a father has come home from war to embrace their children, only to be greeted as strangers, others kissed tearful children goodbye and returned with large chunks of their lives missing. And some of those relationships were never healed.

In all of these places, American men filled a father’s role for the children of the world. At this point all I can say is, thank you, Dads, for your sacrifices, your blood, and your very lives, given to keep unborn generations of children from harm. And again, Thank you Dads, for getting up every day and slogging away at sometimes boring and even dangerous jobs, and why?  To put food on the table. You built our schools and our hospitals, you cut our roads out of solid rock, transformed our wilderness, because there were little mouths at home to feed. You know, there is something comforting and secure for children who know that Daddy’s around, Dad provides a solid foundation for their lives.

Things are not at all well, because dad is not home in more than 40% of our American homes. Today there are far too many homes where children live without their biological daddy, and millions of kids will become fatherless this year. But does it really matter; I mean really matter!

Well, yes, it does. Pediatricians are seeing huge increases in the number of emotional problems, such as ADHD, learning disabilities, depression and suicide among America’s kids. New research has directly linked these problems with the increase in single parenting (meaning “no father”), and also resulting in additional family poverty. The absentee father problem is fraying our social fabric.  If you are reading this, and you are an absentee father; pick up the phone, don’t wait, give your son or daughter a call! If you can’t call, write them a note and tell them you love them.

I wonder what impact it would have on our world today if; when our children looked into our eyes as fathers, they would see captured in those eyes the very images of God? You see, that’s the difference between a father of worth and a father of value. A father of worth is more concerned about creating an image in the eyes of his children that they can never live up to, while a father of value sets a standard. It’s with his eyes that he leads the way for his children to go and achieve beyond his legacy.

In Genesis 27:34 we find a scene that has been replayed in many homes throughout the centuries. Esau looks into the dimly-lit eyes of his father Isaac, and with bitter tears he cries, “…bless me-me too, my father.” More than our possessions and our pull in life, our children desperately are crying out for our acceptance, for affirmation, and our affection.

I often wonder how captivated Adam’s heart must have been, when he first set his eyes on his first son; he must have been truly captivated by this miniature version of himself? Or who could even imagine the sparkle in Abraham’s eyes to finally see his promised son?

As a father, you may have many secrets held in your heart, but your eyes are truly a window into the very soul of your private world of emotions. The truth is, a father’s eyes are only as good as what they are filled with.

Father, are your eyes filled with judgment and self-righteousness, or are they filled with love? Oh, that our children might find in our eyes, eyes that are worthy to be looked into, and when they look into our eyes, they might see the reflection of the Lord Jesus’ love looking back at them.
Copyright © 2011 - Tri Valley Central
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Continue to pray for us as we seek to serve the Lord here in the desert.
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