When I was growing up I sought the favor of my mom and dad.  I was seeking their approval (not knowing that I was doing such a thing at the time) which readily came from my mom but was harder to come by from my dad.  My dad was a great dad and I truly respect him, but he came from a generation that taught the perspective of  “Keeping children humble.”  Giving children too much affirmation would lead to children becoming prideful and self-centered on their importance.  Therefore, I seldom got affirmed by him.

Dad was also a perfectionist.  Whatever job or task that needed to be done, he did it to the best of his ability.  He strived for being perfect and wanted me to be and do the same.  Unfortunately my effort and end results for the tasks I did invariably didn’t meet up to his expectation.  There were occasions when I did find connection with my father.

I remember one morning when I was in grade school that he got me up at 4:30 before school to go fishing in Crystal Creek lake.  I vividly remember stopping the car, crawling over the barbed wire fence and walking through the pasture to get to the pond.  Within an hour or so we had caught our limit of three fish each and headed back to the house.  I got home in time for school, but that day is etched in my mind of having the favor of my dad.

I also remember as a 3-4 year old wanting to play baseball.  My dad coached the little league in town and would take me to shag balls at practice.  I was too young to be on the team, but I do remember my dad at one practice telling me to get a bat and hit.  As I stood at the place, my dad started throwing pitches and I hit my first ball (a grounder to him) and took off for first base.  I remember experiencing the favor of my dad that day.

There are other experiences that I can recall experiencing the favor of my dad, but don’t we all want to be recognized by our parents here on this earth if they are still alive.  What about the favor of our heavenly Father?

I have started reading the bible through from Genesis to Revelation as has been my custom for many years and a passage hit me that I want for my life.  “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬  Noah lived in a society that didn’t seek the Lord.  The people in the society were moving farther and farther away from God and did not seek His guidance or direction.  They did whatever was right in their own eyes and had no thoughts of seeking the Creator’s approval or favor.  In the midst of this environment, Noah found favor with the Lord.  He was a fish swimming upstream when all others were swimming with the flow of the world.

I wanted to gain my fathers approval and remember those times of connection with him.  Today I want to find favor with the God of the universe who is always waiting for us to take that step of faith to connect with Him.  In 2016, it’s my desire to have this passage, “But Noah (Jim) found favor in the eyes of the Lord” to be true in my life.

What about your journey.  It’s never too late to experience that for yourself and have 2016 be a transforming year with the favor of God.  Today is the first day of the rest of your and my life.  Let’s make it count.