35 Years

I think I'll let others speak for me today.

Everything I Own - David Gates
You sheltered me from harm; Kept me warm, kept me warm
You gave my life to me; Set me free, Set me free
The finest years I ever knew were all the years I had with you

I would give anything I own
Give up me life, my heart, my home
I would give everything I own
just to have you back again.

You taught me how to love; What it's of, what it's of
You never said too much; but still you showed the way,
and I knew from watching you

Nobody else could ever know the part of me that can't let go.

I would give anything I own, give up me life, my heart, my home.
I would give everything I own just to have you back again

Is there someone you know; you're loving them so, but taking them all for granted?
You may lose them one day, someone takes them away,
and they don't hear the words you long to say

I would give anything I own, give up my life, my heart, my home.
I would give everything I own just to have you back again
Just to touch you once again.

Things I Wish I'd Said - Rodney Crowell
You lay there fighting for each breath while angels hovered round your bed
With open arms like God’s own smile they led you to the light

What a battle you have won and now your journey has begun
To the land where spirits fly and your soul will never die

So travel lightly in my heart. You and I will never part
Far beyond this world we see there’s a place for you and me
And I thank my lucky stars we had a chance to heal our scars
Now I don’t have to hang my head over things I wish I’d said

So here am I your only son; I’m thinking back on work we’ve done
You were strong and I was young; man we had our fights
And every thing I felt for you has been turned to something new
And this is love I feel today, it will never go away

And I thank the moon and stars we had a chance to heal our scars
Now I don’t have to hang my head over things I wish I’d said

I don’t have to hide my tears; I don’t have to drown my fears
And I don’t have to hang my head over things I wish I’d said
No I don’t have to live in dread over things I wish I’d said

(back to Mike: I actually wish this song were true...I do have to hang my head over things I wish I'd said. I hope he knew though; perhaps he did. Does.)

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.
~Clarence Budington Kelland

Some of you guys think you're a man because you've done something my dog can do...Siring a child does not make you a man...
~Tony Evans

Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad.
~Author Unknown

Sherman made the terrible discovery that men make about their fathers sooner or later... that the man before him was not an aging father but a boy, a boy much like himself, a boy who grew up and had a child of his own and, as best he could, out of a sense of duty and, perhaps love, adopted a role called Being a Father so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important: a Protector, who would keep a lid on all the chaotic and catastrophic possibilities of life. ~Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities

The Gift - © Lea Gomez
I will never say goodbye to you my Father
'cause I know this is not the end for us to see each other.
You will only be going to a place where there’s no pain nor suffering.
I am happy for you, for you will be with God.
For now we need to go in separate ways.
I remember how your arms hold me and give me strength.
You were always there to listen, love, and defend me in everything.
You were my very best friend.
In my triumphs you were always proud.
I’m very grateful and proud to call you my dad.
Here deep inside my heart you’ll always be.
I would give up everything I have just to hug you one more time.
I remember the last time I held your hand and how you looked at me in the eyes.
If only I could turn back the time I would have never let you go.
I felt the world stop and my heart stop beating when they told me you were gone
How I wish I was only dreaming.
Just like the rain; tears fell down from my eyes;
I couldn’t speak for a while.
Thank you Dad….
For always understanding, listening , caring, and loving me for the rest of your life.
It’s difficult to let you go but I must…I must return the gift God gave me…
Till then;See you in Heaven…

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
Psalm 116:15

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
1 Corinthians 15:19

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:22

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 15:26

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
1 Corinthians 15:42-44

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:51-58