Happy Birthday Dad!

as you might have gathered from my title, today is my dad's birthday! Thankful he is here to celebrate another year given by the Great Physician.
Here are some things about my dad that you may not know but I will never forget
 When I was little:
- He smells like wood (I know I'm weird but for me a lot of people have a smell!)
-He never got mad
-He never yelled
-He always would hug us and tell us he loved us after spankings....I hated that! ;)
-He would forget his wallet when we would be out for Family dinner.....mom hated that!
-He would take mom's car keys to work with him
-He would forget to pick me up from work
-He ALWAYS had a nickname for the people in his life, sometimes two or 3.
 -hehe.....His nickname for my mom was HOT CAKES...hahahah!
-He was always making up songs and driving us crazy
-The one time I remember his reaction being loud was when mom was trying to teach me how to drive and he was trying to nap in the middle seat, on the way to Connersville, that 90 degree turn right before you cross the state line into Indiana he woke up....I hadn't slowed down yet for the turn.....I am surprised he didn't have that aneurism then he was scared to death! Sad, I was 18 & engaged at the time.....no small wonder I didn't learn to drive until I was  24!
-He was always slow and laid back
-He had great feeling and emotion but, didn't express them in a loud or attention grabbing way
-He was shy and quiet in front of others
-He never said a bad or unkind word about others not family, not church members, not co-workers, no-body  in front of us kids.
-He would be the one to quietly absorb hurt or unfair treatment and gossip about himself or his family, and to forgive, all though many times his forgiveness would never be asked for.
-While he quietly absorbed it, I watched, and I learned a lot not only about my dad being a great man, but about people.....who aren't so great! lol! 

Now that I am older:
I will never forget my shock when he came out of surgery for the first time
Because of him, I know what death smells like, I don't like to be in hospitals because of the way they smell, it brings back to many memories of almost losing him.
He has changed in many ways since that surgery, way people can't see, or don't realize. But he is still my dad, he still sings silly songs, he still loves me, my sister and my brother and now our kids and spouses as well. Oh, and now that us kids are gone, mom says he sings silly songs to "BoBo" (his dog) and she even caught him telling the dog a Bible story one day.....I think he misses us alot....at least that is what I tell myself cause it's sad to be replaced by a DOG!! lol!
My dad always has a smile and a kind word for me, no matter how fat I am or how ugly I look, he always tells me I am beautiful....now that is proof  Love is Blind!
My kids love him, and they know without a doubt he loves them.
Some traits of his I have, others I have because of who he was or how our life was with a dad in the ministry. Some traits of my dad are SOOOO much my son, Tre`.
So many things I could tell you about my dad, the things I have watched him go through since his surgery.
Yes God gave him LIFE but it is a very different life than what he was used to. He never says it never complains of the pain, never lets people know......but as his family, we know. He went from being a preacher who dedicated his life to helping others, and being used by God, to being a simple man who no longer can minister in the way he was called, my dad never cared about having a big name as some men do, he just wanted to do what God asked of him. I have seen my dad in so much pain he thought he was going to die, and the Dr. were never to sure if he was going to live or die either, dad never once blamed God only asked for God's mercy, he has taken the blows life has dealt him, and when  not one of us, his family understood what or why, he still loved us. There is so many more side effects and recovery  in going thru a major surgery and multiple major surgeries than just the physical, to personal to tell, but my dad has been faithful to God and God has always been faithful to him.
My dad, loves his family (his sisters, and his mom, his nieces, his nephews) probably more than they even realize. At the age of 17 he made a promise to his own father after  he had died, that he would  take care of his family not just take care of them physically but, he feels that it is his responsibility to see that they all make it to Heaven together to be with Papaw Glen again, he feels a great responsibility and burden for them. So if your one of the Phillips family, and your not saved, know that my dad prays for you.

Well I have prob told you all this before so I will let you go now....if you don't want to re-read it's okay, it's just to remind my dad, no matter how life changes, he's still my dad and I love him....as forgetful as he is I hope he never forgets that!
Love!
Jamie