Something happened to me at choir practice tonight.

The creation story doesn't mention music, but God created it. Music is like the wind. It is invisible yet real. You can feel it but you can't touch it or hold it. It can be gentle and it can be powerful.

Tonight I find myself having been moved by music. A song, inspired. It Is Well is an old hymn. You have most likely heard it. I grew up singing it with my fellow Baptists. I didn't really like it. The song lacks the tempo and syncopation that I normally require - something that makes me tap my foot - something with a groove.

Then, when our baby Georgia died, our dear friends sang It Is Well at her memorial service. They did a beautiful job with the song, but the sorrowful occasion turned me even more against the song. From that day till this one I have not been able to listen to the song or sing it with any amount of joy or comfort.

Hear me when I say, the song brought me no comfort. None. In fact, it often made me either sad or angry. I really could not agree with the premise that it was indeed well. I understand the man who wrote the words had endured much greater loss than I. That didn't matter to me.

Until tonight.

FBC: It Is Well With My Soul - Concord Worship from First Baptist Concord on Vimeo.

As a new member of the choir at First Baptist Concord, I was not aware that this song was in their repertoire. Then we practiced the song. Thankfully, it was arranged by Tim Paul. Classically arranged under the influence of the Holy Spirit. While we were rehearsing the song, my dread began to turn. It was simply beautiful.

And the memories of our sweet Georgia Rose swept my mind. I saw her once again lying on the kitchen table, lifeless as I pushed air into her lungs with little puffs. Again, I regretted obeying the police officer who told me to stand back. I had touched her for the last time and didn't realize it. I wish I would have told him where to go, and picked her up to hold her one last time.

But the beauty of this song and the Holy Spirit who inspired it washed away those horrible things while I sang.

It is well. It is well with my soul.

I still feel the grief, but I have been touch by the Holy Spirit of God. He has given me a measure of healing, whether great or small I cannot tell. I am ready to sing this song. Thank you LORD for music. 

God bless you,
Dadofmykids

VLOG - She'd look like a Brasfield.

Completely un-edited, single take video blog, 2013 Sept 05.

Day 32 of #40Days - Altered State of Consciousness.

Less than a year after Georgia died, Levi got sick with a stomach bug.  Most every parent has seen this in their children, right?  Jill and I did all the usual things to treat him, including increased fluids and a trip to the doctor.

However, he got worse.  He awoke the next morning very lethargic.  He wouldn't drink anything and seemed distant.  Jill said, "something's wrong," and took him back to the doctor who sent them straight to Children's Hospital.

The hospital staff determined that he was dehydrated and eventually gave him some apple juice, which he drank.  Then he got worse suddenly.  Jill called me to come up there.  I left the kids with Mickey, my mother in law.

I remember calling my mom and our pastor.  I told them both how scary this was for me, especially because of Georgia.  The pain from her death was still so strong.  It hurts to even type this paragraph.

Jill and Levi were in the emergency department when I got there.  Nurses swarmed around him.  One of them was explaining that Levi was in an altered state of consciousness.  He was limp and unable to communicate or make eye contact.  They didn't know why.

They took blood samples and found that his blood sugar level was dangerously low.  They gave him what looked like a shot of Karo Syrup and he immediately raised up.  It took a couple days for him to come out of it, but he made a full recovery.  The doctor told us that Levi came close to dying.

The picture above is Levi shortly after this.  I took it as a sign that he was okay.  Thank God.

 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!

His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 136

God bless,
Dadofmykids

This is post # 32 of Forty Days.  Learn more here.

Day 30 of #40Days - Snatched

Today's post is a video blog, or vlog.

No animals were harmed in the making of this video.

A great big THANK YOU to Ted Stolpe for editing.

God Bless,
Dadofmykids

This is post # 30 of Forty Days.  Learn more here.

Day 22 of #40Days - Can we love them?

I remember; I was at work when it started. Someone said, "A plane flew into one of the WTC towers in NYC."

There was a small tv in the production area. We gathered around it just in time to see another plane hit the other tower. I didn't know if this was real or some kind of staged thing, and certainly didn't know it was an attack on our nation.

Then the towers fell.

Unreal. How could this happen?

I called home to see if Jill was watching it and make sure she and the kids were okay.

For the next couple of days or so, everything slowed down; almost stopped. The major tv networks didn't show commercials or regular scheduled programs. We received few orders. It was like people weren't sure what to do.

I called my oldest brother, Scott. He was in Texas. He told me he was ready to put on his old National Guard uniform and defend our country, if needed. I know he meant it.

People started coming together in spirit. Churches opened up for prayer. I remember some of us from work went to a large church up the street during lunch to pray. There were lots of people there doing the same. The whole nation, it seemed, was pulling together like I had never seen.

May this date bring us together, stronger than ever.

But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! (Matthew 5:44 NLT)

God bless the victims and the survivors; and God bless America.

Dadofmykids.

This is # 22 of 40 Days. Learn more here.

Day 15 of #40Days - Legacy

“Have pity on me, O Lord, because I am in distress.

My eyes, my soul, and my body waste away from grief.”  

Ps. 31:9 (God’s Word Translation) 

Papaw and his namesake Georgia Rose.

Last week, I was sitting at the funeral of my wife’s grandfather.  Everybody always called him Papaw.  I knew him for over 23 years.  There were a lot of facts that I knew about Papaw.  He was a retired utility foreman and preacher.  I heard him preach twice, I think.  He loved to study the Bible and listening to J Vernon McGee on the radio.  I have listened to Dr. McGee a few times, knowing that Papaw was such a loyal listener.  My wife, Jill, speaks fondly of days spent with him.

One of Papaw's life long preacher friends delivered the message at the funeral.  That’s when I realized I didn’t know Papaw nearly as well as I thought.  I won’t try to retell the story of which I am so vaguely aware.  However, I will tell you that Papaw was a faithful man of God.  He led many people to faith in our Lord Jesus.  He set an example of passion for Christ that is simply inspiring.  Now, I think I understand why so many who loved him are grieving.

He left us a legacy.  It is a legacy of faith, hope and love.

I heard this verse today (Ps. 31:9).  The word “grief” caught my attention.  It reminded me of all we have experienced in the last few years.  It made me want to dig a little deeper, too.

About half way through Psalm Chapter 31, the despair takes a sudden and dramatic turn:

I trust you, O Lord.
I said, “You are my God.”
My future is in your hands.
Rescue me from my enemies, from those who persecute me.
Smile on me.  Vs 14-16

Trust the Lord.  Give the future to Him.  May He smile on us.  The thought of God smiling on me brings me such peace.  I hope it does the same for you.

God bless,
Dadofmykids

 Post #15 of 40 Days.  Learn more here.

This post was originally on Canvas Rhapsody Blog.

Day 13 of #40Days - "This is bigger than us."

A podcast episode of Daily Audio Bible, included the story of Esther.  Esther was the beautiful Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus.  You can read the story for yourself in the Bible here.

It moved me on several levels.  So I wanted to share it with you.  First, Esther was adopted by her cousin, Mordecai, after her parents died.  This is a great example of how important adoption can be.  It was Mordecai who advised Esther that this may be the time for which she was created.  If he hadn't adopted her, it's likely they wouldn't have had the relationship where he could say that to her.  Adoption can lead to some pretty cool things.

Secondly, Esther found herself with a decision.  Should she risk her life with hopes of saving her people from genocide, or be silent?  Although we North American Christians don't usually face life or death decisions, we are like Esther in that we are created for a moment in time.

It's cool that we can't usually see times before they arrive.  It's all of a sudden when you're faced with a decision.  Kinda like the day when our social worker called and said, "I know you have your hands full already, but Tucker has a new baby brother.  We have to ask you if you want him."

Adoption Day.

Well, we actually paused to think about that decision.  I mean, we immediately wanted to keep Riley and Tucker together.  But since Jill was 8 1/2 months along with Tilley's pregnancy, and we already had Daniel and Tucker, could we handle it?  And would it have been a blessing to another family if they could have this baby boy, rather than us?

We were made for moments like that.

So be ready.  You probably won't see it coming.  But you will be like Esther, faced with a potentially life changing decision.  Prepare yourself with faith.  Go ahead and determine now that you will trust God.  He can handle it, whether you can or not.

I was nervous.  Picking up baby Riley at the hospital, when Jilly was about to pop with baby Tilley in her belly, was a step of faith.  We were saying to God, "This is bigger than us."

That was 1997.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, 

but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"

Romans 8:15

God bless,
Dadofmykids

This is # 13 of The Forty Day Project.  Learn more here.

Day 3 of #40Days: Footloose

I am not a Footloose virgin any more.

In 1984, many of you saw a movie that became a cultural icon of the 80's.  But I didn't see it.  In fact, the only movies I saw in those years, were likely on TV.  No way would I have been seen buying a movie ticket or sitting in a theater.

It was against my religion.  Kinda like in the movie Footloose, where dancing was outlawed.

Honestly, I thought the men's fashion of the day, pink shirts and jazz oxford shoes, was sin and corruption creeping into the Church.  Really.  That's what I thought.

What is this?  27 years later?  And now, I feel just fine watching that movie.  But it was the first time I'd seen it.  I just watched it with my Jilly.

The story was about religious oppression in a small town.  After a fatal teenage car wreck, the town counsel, including the hell-fire and brim-stone preacher, outlawed dancing, among other things like alcohol.  But, like me, the preacher was shown how wrong he was.

Compassion won.

In my teen years, I became rooted in doctrine that said that almost everything young people like to do is sin.  The Bible does in fact teach against drunkenness, fornication, hatred and other things.  My church took that to extremes like the preacher in Footloose.

As I look back on my high school days, when I carried a Bible to school every day and was more interested in putting down evil than I was in lifting up people, I wonder if I did more harm than good.  I've heard from some of my former classmates.  Most of them remember me as a positive influence, they say. 

I remember myself as a judgemental person.  Too heavenly minded to be any earthly good.  But I have changed.

Look up.  God is more interested in seeing us live life to the fullest than he is in forbidding us from things we enjoy.  That doesn't give us a free ticket to abandon prudence.  But it should leave us spiritually Footloose.

God bless,
Dadofmykids.

PS.  This is post #3 of 40.  Learn more here.

Day 2 of #40Days - Some people will get a miracle.

"You have five kids?"  He asked.

"Well, actually six.  There's one in the girls' restroom."

"I have a daughter about the same age as that one," pointing to Tilley.

I began to feel a little creepy.  Maybe he wanted money or something.  But I was wrong.  We ended up talking for several minutes with kids buzzing around us.  Good thing the posters were nearby to keep some of them occupied.

He told me about his daughter, Ellen, who had been involved in a car crash.  Ellen was admitted to Children's Hospital for her injuries.  She was hurt pretty badly, with loss of motor skills and possible brain injury.  We talked about God and what He might be saying to Ellen's dad through this tragedy.

We had never met her, but we couldn't get this little girl and her family off our minds.  We wanted to offer her some love and prayers.  Jill and I went to visit Ellen in the hospital.  She was at physical therapy, but her aunt insisted on taking us to see her.  She was not having a good day when we looked in on the PT session.  So we didn't interrupt.  We left the hospital without ever meeting Ellen.

She reminded me so much of my niece, Falon.  Falon had been hit by a car at the age of three.  The accident caused damage to her head and neck.  She wore a halo for a long time.  Life became a battle for Falon.  She ended it with a handful of pills.

Some time went by.  Maybe a year.  I don't know.

Then there was a service call at an elementary school in Kingston.  I got to the school and located the fax machine in the office, just in time for "Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance."  After the pledge, the announcer read off the day's birthdays with instructions for the students to report to the office for birthday gifts.  As the names were called and I returned my focus to the fax machine.  Then I heard Ellen's name.

How many girls could there be with that name?


Will she be in a wheel chair?  Or maybe on crutches?

As the birthday kids filed into the office, I kept a curious eye on them.  Then Ellen came walking through the office.  Smiling and almost skipping.  Perfectly normal and healthy.  I was so excited, I blurted out, "Do y'all know who that is?!  Do you know what happened to her?!"

I was able to pull aside one of the office staff who said she indeed was aware of Ellen's previous condition.  She told me how the teachers, staff and students of the school had prayed for Ellen.  And God answered by healing her.

I still don't know why God heals some people but not others.  He healed my Jilly in an instant, after years of praying.  Some people say you need faith.  Well, I have faith, but that doesn't guarantee everybody I pray for will get a miracle.

But some people will get a miracle.

God Bless,
Dadofmykids.

PS.  This is post # 2 of 40.  Learn more here.

"I would to God you'd just BE Apostolic."

It was Super Sunday, the one time each quarter that all the Sunday school classes came together for a youth service. I led worship at the piano. Bro. Gino preached.

This day would become a turning point for me. Jilly, my wife, was already praying for a change. I was unsure.

Bro. Gino called out a young man who had taken a "stand for the faith". The young man had refused to wear basketball shorts on his college team. He wore warm up pants as a statement of his commitment to the Apostolic faith.  Gino pointed to him as a good example. For those who compromised by wearing shorts or in any other way falling short of the standards of the faith, he exclaimed, "I would to God you'd just BE Apostolic."

I felt as if I was squirming in my seat because I'd been wearing swimming trunks the day before.  At that time, The Brasfield Nation had a boat and a camper on the lake. Naturally, we were outfitted in appropriate attire when swimming, boating and camping.  We did that most weekends, weather permitting.  I thought about my children who were listening to this sermon.

Pride played a part in my nervousness, too.  I had finally reached a level of respect and position at First Apostolic Church.  It seemed like it had taken many years to obtain the titles of Children's Pastor, Substitute Choir Director and other musical opportunities.  Was I ready to give up the prestige for the freedom to wear shorts at the lake?

But it was way more than shorts. There was the exclusive doctrine. Apostolics preach that only those who believe and live by the Apostolic doctrine are true Christian believers. That doctrine was wearing thin with me, too. Each time he said "BE Apostolic", I wanted say, "BE Christian!" Shouldn't the focus be on Christ?  Jilly says it very well: "Be passionate, free-thinking disciples of Christ."

That was the last Sunday for me in the Apostolic church.

Gino, if you're reading this post, I want to thank you for boldly and plainly preaching the Apostolic message that day. You showed me just how far it is from the Gospel preached by Christ and his disciples in the Bible. You gave Jill and me the final push we needed to leave the Apostolic church and further develop our relationships with Christ. We have been set free. I sincerely thank you.

God bless,
Dadofmykids

PS.  To my friends who still live the Apostolic way, I love you all.  I know the doctrine, even taught it to some of you and your children.  The doctrine is flawed.  However, this doesn't mean that we can't be friends.  This post is not an invitation to debate.

God is into emails, too.

I posted a question about an article I wrote over on the SE Laser Blog. Many of my friends replied, evenly split on the appropriateness of the article. Then, this verse, from a daily Bible verse site, comes to my email:

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:1-5 (New International Version)

This verse didn't answer my specific question, but it sure spoke to me about my search for an answer.

It's cool that God is into emails, too. He knew what would be going on today.

BTW. I am going to delete that questionable article.

God Bless,

Dadofmykids