Where Do You Come Up With This Stuff?

Hey there.

I want to introduce you to some pretty special people.

I guess you first notice them for who they are when you are a kid because that is when you first become aware of everything in your life.

She held me closer than anyone else ever could hope to and it was her hands that first taught me what it was like to touch.

She was the first one that looked into my eyes and it was her voice that was the first to reach my ears and tell me I was loved.

She was the one who laid in a bed for weeks on end with little to no movement and endured pain beyond belief so that I could experience life.

She helped me with my first steps and taught me how to get back up after you experience a fall. She taught me that the value in a fall was that it taught you how to get back up again.

She also taught me that cheerios did not belong on the floor and spaghetti did not belong in my hair. (Both have been invaluable life lessons!)

She taught me how to spell and how to write and never seemed to get tired of doing either.

She is my Mom.

He made me a promise that he kept. He promised to do his best teaching me to become a man and to provide for my needs.

He taught me how to work hard and he taught me how to play even harder. He taught me that stuffed animals could talk and that G.I. Joes had a mission in life to steal Barbie cars and joy ride them down a stair case.

He taught me how to draw, and that has completely given me life. He taught me how to notice everything that I saw around me and pay attention to detail.
He taught me how to change a tire and how to make friends with anyone.

He taught me how to laugh and how to find the words to say what you feel inside.

He is my Dad.

They are my parents.

Are they perfect?

Is anyone really perfect?

I guess I first noticed them when I was a kid because they were all I had to notice. I do remember that when I left home at seventeen how much they seemed to change to me.

I really believe that it was because for the first time in my life I met a lot of other people.

I lost sight of who they were in the crowd of distracting voices and faces around me and for a bit of time I actually believed the lie that I was who I was because of me.

While it's true that my choices were my choices and my consequences were results in choices that I made, I was so far from being a self made man that it was pathetic.

I was given a blessing that many people don't get. I was given a Mom and a Dad who, while they made mistakes, truly loved me.

You will not find them in a celebrity listing anywhere nor will you find them on a stage in front of thousands, but it is what they invested in me that has reached thousands through this blog.

I guess as you get older you really do begin to "Re-notice" your parents for how incredible they really are. You notice them not because they are the only voices and faces in your life but because they are the some of the most valuable ones you may ever have the privilege to have in your life.

It was my dad who gave me my ability to be creative and my mom who gave me the ability to process thoughts that my creativity brought to life.

Dad gave me the ability to express the thoughts that invade my heart and my mind through my words and artwork and it was my mom gave me the ability to live them with my life.

I get my arms and my hands from my Dad, and I get my eyes and my heart from my mom.

My mom is probably the only person I know who chooses to risk easily giving away love knowing that it will more than often result in receiving hurt equally as easily.

My temper is my dads but my temperament is my moms through and through and this has been something that I have thanked God for so many times.

Dad taught me to be able to make friends with anybody and mom taught me that not everyone needed to be a friend.

I do not think that I will ever be able to repay either one of them for what they have done for me or the investments that they have placed into my spirit but I will certainly try by living what they have taught me and forgiving them for the regrets that they look back on in the journey of parenthood.

Today marks the 11th month anniversary of "The Man and The Wall" blog and today I just wanted to do something a little bit different. I wanted to thank Mike and Liz, my parents.

In eleven months the messages of this blog have been read in over 74 countries around the world and have been read by over fifteen thousand people. If you have ever read anything within these posts that has encouraged you on your climb with the Lord, it is these two people that deserve the credit. It is because of what they taught and lived for me that have allowed me to become the person that I have.

I guess I just wanted to celebrate the 11th month anniversary with a recognition of two tremendous people in my life and two of the biggest contributors to the ability to express my heart each week on this blog.

I love you mom and dad!

Climbing with you,
~Dan