To despise money

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.  1 Timothy 6:10

Maybe I misunderstood this verse for some time. I thought pursuing more business was a sign that I was greedy. Perhaps I should be satisfied with the success already attained. The fact is complacency with current success leads to laziness. Laziness is very destructive.

Motive?
Am I driven by the love of money? No. I don't think so. My opinion on money has changed drastically over time. Nowadays I'm more motivated by the thoughts that I have so many people depending on me. My family. My employees. My business partner. My referral partners. My vendors. My community. Think of servers in restaurants. I want to be generous with my tips to them. It's not the love of money that drives me to seek more business. Rather, it's the love for all these people in my life that drives me.

What if we take this verse and spin it around to say the same thing with a positive finish?


Let's try this: "To despise money is good, or holy. Some people, who despise money, have increased their faith and found peace."

Or: "Everybody needs money to live. It's okay to desire to provide for your family and to work to become more charitable. This will open you up to more opportunities to grow in faith and love."

Is that too much of a stretch? Is that twisting scripture?

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become wise!
Though they have no prince
or governor or ruler to make them work,
they labor hard all summer,
gathering food for the winter.
But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?
When will you wake up?
A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber. - Proverbs 6:6-11 NLT

BEEF PATTY, DRILL SERGEANT!

It was lunch time on the rifle range when we were told to line up for chow in the summer of 1986 at Fort McClellan Alabama.

Yesterday my son, Sean, left for boot camp in the winter of 2014. He's headed to South Carolina. I doubt they'll get much snow there, but it surely won't be like an Alabama heat wave.

Sean joined the Army National Guard, like his late uncle Scott. I was about twelve years old when Scott came home from boot camp all lean and fit. He had stories that he told me about it. I was impressed with the six mile cross country run that he told me about.  At that age, I didn't really understand what cross country running was. I imagined it was something like Motocross racing on foot. In my mind, it was all back country trails with ditches to jump and trees to hurdle.

I was in the Army Reserves. On the rifle range our drill sergeant was handing out MREs.  That's Meals Ready to Eat, not my Jill's home cooking for sure. They are non perishable high calorie meals for soldiers on the go.  Some MREs were okay. Some were barely edible, like the beef patty. The beef patty was a freeze dried piece of mystery meat that was supposed to be softened by water from your personal canteen. It was actually more like a beef puck. Getting an MRE was like getting a lottery scratch off. You never really knew what you would get, unless you took a moment to read the camouflage on camouflage print which revealed the contents.

That day on the rifle range the drill sergeant was acting like a comedian.  I reckon she didn't get enough laughs watching the trainees learn to shoot M16 rifles at human-shaped silhouette targets. (Yes, "she"!  Female drill instructors can be just as mean and even uglier than males.) Many of the mostly seventeen year old split option high school recruits had never touched a firearm before. As each one passed by for their lunch, she would ask, "what's your favorite MRE, Private?", as if she was going to dig through the box to find that particular one. Most said "beef stew",  "spaghetti with meatballs" or one of the other edible selections. Then she would verify that the MRE in her hand was NOT the favorite before handing it to him with a smile.

My turn.  "What's your favorite, Brasfield?"

"BEEF PATTY, DRILL SERGEANT!"

She looked at the beef patty meal in her hand, placed it back it the box and gave me some thing else. No way was she going to give me my "favorite".

Sean, I love you and am proud of you.  I pray you have a safe journey.  You will do well in the National Guard.

Oorah!
Dad

PS.  Write and call your Momma.

The Day the Brasfield Nation was Born.

"Wake up, Jill.  We're getting married today."

She didn't have a house phone, and it was the days before cell phones, so I headed to her house.

We were planning to get married by the Justice of the Peace on December 23, 1987.  I was scheduled off work at both of my jobs.  But, the 22nd was to be a busy pre-wedding day, with a job interview followed by three jobs.  I had applied for a management position with Eckerd Drugs, which would be more appropriate for a family man.  After the interview, I would go to my job as Santa in the mall, then to my next job as a shoe salesman, and finally don the suit again at 10:00pm for a paid gig at a company Christmas party.

One phone call on the morning of December 22 changed our plans.  The big job interview was postponed to the 23rd, at the same time we were planning to go before the JP.  The only option, if we were to keep our decision to be wed over the Christmas school break, was to rush to the courthouse right then.

Since she didn't have a phone, I drove to little house which she shared with her cousin.  It was the same house we affectionately called "The Love Shack",  so you know what I think of every time I hear that song by the B52's.

We quickly rounded up some of our closest friends, including Jennifer Morton (Perkins) and the Bounds family, and caravanned to the Knox County Courthouse where the Justice of the Peace performed a most excellent little ceremony for us, Mr. and Mrs. Brasfield.  The Brasfield Nation was born. 

I was late for work that day.  My boss thought I was telling one when I said I had just gotten married.  The ring on my hand helped convince her.

I can't believe that was 25 years ago today.  I hope the next 25 years are as great as these.

Jill, I love you.  You were made just for me. 

Andy

Warning: Grandparent posts never-before-seen photos of Grandkids.

Meet Colten, the newest Brasfield.  

Father (Daniel) and son.

Mumzie and Colten.

Grandpa, Uncle Levi, Aunt Kk and Colten.

Aunt Tilley and Colten.

Grandpa and Colten, age 3 weeks.

As you can see, Colten is a precious gift from The Lord.  We are thankful that he is healthy and his mom and dad are well, too.

Here are a few photos of big brother, Drake.

Giving Drake a ride at the circus.

Daniel and Drake at the fall festival at church.

Drake uses The Chair as at the dinner table.


Here are some bonus photos for you.

Mumzie and Colten are content.

I took this from outside the window.



Colten, welcome to The Brasfield Nation.  
We love you very much.

Grandpa
(aka Dadofmykids)

Happy Memories of Baby Georgia

Today I want to share a few precious photos of Georgia Rose.  Today marks six years since she passed.

This first photo was taken the day we brought her home.  Jill wrapped her like a burrito in this home-made crochet blanket.  Who made the blanket?  I don't remember.  Doesn't she look sweet?

Homecoming was so exciting.  Here, Jilly shows off Georgia.  It was a great day for The Brasfield Nation.  We couldn't explain why Georgia brought us so much joy.  Maybe it was because we had come out of a dark period.  You can see the happiness on Jill's face.  There's not a mother on Earth that can take care of a baby better than my Jilly.

Look how little Levi was.  That's his Aunt Sandra holding his hand.  She rightfully wanted to keep him from touching too hard.

Here we are playing cards - probably Go Fish.  Or maybe it was Crazy Eights.  I like it better than Go Fish.  I think Jilly took this photo.  After Georgia died, I was thankful that we had held her so often.

This was also taken the first day.  A few days later, I shaved my beard because I thought my whiskers might be too rough on Georgia's face.  However, I quickly grew it back.

Today, I am able to see the happiness in memories of Georgia.  Other days, memories of her death over-ride.  Please say a prayer for Jilly and me, plus our whole family, today.

God Bless,
Dadofmykids

Day 38 of #40Days - Letter From Jill

In the final days of this series, Jilly asked me to let her post this:

Dear Andy,

I want you to know how proud and thankful I am to be your wife. You and I have been through a lot together, but it has only made us stronger as individuals, and as a couple. I have so many memories during our dark days that remind me just how much you love me:

• Sleeping on a cold, tile hospital floor while I was having a miscarriage.
• Standing by Dad's bedside with me as he was dying.
• Allowing me to spend so much time with Greg in his final few weeks of life.
• Lying awake countless nights with me while I cried over our precious Georgia Rose.
• Conspiring with Steven to make Christmas '09 one that I would never forget. And I could go on and on.....

When I was a little girl, all I really wanted to do when I grew up was to marry a really hot, awesome man and have lots of kids. That dream has come true! You are everything I hoped for in a husband and so much more. The world would be a better place if every man was as committed to their wife and kids as you are.

My daddy used to say, "I could have looked the world over and would have never found any man I liked any better to marry my baby." You are the only boyfriend I ever had who met Dad because you were the only one I felt was worthy. I knew he would love you and you and your accomplishments made him SO proud.

So, thank you for loving me despite my many, many screw-ups. Thank you for always being a rock I can lean on and for being my very best friend. Thank you for your commitment to your family. Words can't express my love for you. I am so thankful God chose you to be MINE!

I love you,
Jill

This is # 38 of Forty Days.  Learn more here.

Day 27 of #40Days - "I want bawoooony and keppup."

When we arrived at the neighborhood entrance, we saw a little boy playing outside one of the houses in the distance and wondered if it was Sean.  We were on our way to meet him for the very first time at his foster home where he lived most of his first four years.  Sure enough, that was him.

His foster mother told him we were coming to meet him.  When he realized we were there, he hid in the hayfield adjacent the back yard.  I don't blame him one bit.  Can you imagine at the age of four years hearing that you're going to meet your mom and dad for the first time?  

We quickly learned that Sean would have lived on a diet of bologna and ketchup sandwiches and milk, if we let him.  When we asked Sean what kind of sandwich he wanted, he almost always said, "bawoooony and keppup."  This picture of Sean was taken at kindergarten.  No doubt there was a bologna and ketchup sandwich in his lunch that day.

And what a handsome little boy he was; he is a handsome young man.  He was shy at first.  He quickly took to his new large family.  Later, Sean and Levi became really attached; Levi looks up to Sean because he is such an awesome big brother.

We are very proud of Sean.  He graduated high school this year and is living out on his own.  He is a hard worker and very responsible.
 

God Bless,

Dadofmykids.

This is post # 27 of Forty Days.  Learn more here.

Day 16 of #40Days - "Silent Night, Deadly Night"

"Are you warm yet?"

"I'm okay", she answered.

I thought it was getting hot in my little Dodge Colt.  But I didn't want Jill to be cold.  It was, after all, only our first date.  November 2, 1986.

Our friend Nick Roberts was having some people over to his house after the Sunday evening service.  I asked Jill if she would "do me the honor of accompanying me".

Since the weather was cold, the car took a few minutes to heat up.  So, I asked again, "Are you warm yet?"

"I'm okay", again.

She must be cold-natured.

Nick asked us to help pick out a movie at the rental store.  Having no idea what to pick, we somehow decided on "Silent Night, Deadly Night".  Jill said she liked horror films.  It was rated R.  We assumed the rating was due to violence.  No big deal.

Beginning to sweat in the car, again I asked, "Are you warm yet?"

Jill, secretly sweating, "I'm okay."

Dang, this girl has some serious issues with being cold.


When it got to the point that I had a hard time breathing because it was SOOOO HOTTTT in the car, I finally turned the fan down to low.  Later, like after we'd been dating a while, I learned she was just trying to be polite, too.  We almost "polited" ourselves into heat stroke.

At the party, Nick put in the movie.  Picture a room full of holiness kids, watching a horror flick, with the lights dimmed.  FLASH! Boobs on the TV.

"Uh! Oh!"

"She picked out this movie!"

"We didn't know this would happen!"

As you can see, it was a first date that would never be forgotten.

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.

Proverbs 18:22

God bless,

Dadofmykids

This is post # 16 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 10 of #40Days - It's only the beginning.

I went to Jill's house to wake her. "Jill. Wake up. We need to get married today."

It was Dec 22, 1987.

We had planned to get married the next day, Dec 23.  But I was offered an interview on the 23rd and couldn't get it any other day.  It wasn't that I didn't have a job. But I had the opportunity at a much better job.

We called a few friends together and hustled to the courthouse where the justice of the peace was on duty. Jill wore a beautiful dress from her closet. I wore my best suit. I wrote a ten dollar check to the justice of the peace. We just didn't have much to spare.

Then Jill dropped me off at work.  I was late to my first job of the day, as Santa in the mall. My boss didn't take me serious on my excuse, until I showed her my wedding ring.  My second job of the day was selling shoes at Kinney's. After the mall closed, my third job of the day was to make an appearance as Santa at a company party, also in the mall.

Our wedding day wasn't like most.  But our marriage is now in its twenty third year. We started out as two young people in love and trying to do the right thing.  We've built a loving relationship filled with life and joy.

We've endured some hard times and some dark days. But rather than being driven apart, we have held more tightly to one another.

Our success has not been of our own ability. We've leaned on the Lord. Without God's help, we would have fallen apart. I am thankful for His blessings.  And I am thankful for my Jilly.

 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 

Genesis 2:24

I love you, Jilly.

Dadofmykids

PS.  This is post #10 of 40.  Learn more here.

Day 4 of #40Days: A Letter to my grandchildren.

Dear Grandchild,

I've been thinking about you lately. There are some things I want to tell you so you can be happy and content.

I love you dearly, even though we haven't met. You'll learn that love is timeless.

I long to see you, but only when the time is right. Your time will come and it should be when your mom and dad are mature enough to take care of you. Even if they rush your arrival, I, along with your Mumzie, will be here for you.

You are a Brasfield. There is a one in four chance that your last name is not Brasfield. But you are still from a family that holds our Creator in highest regard, and understands that what we do each day impacts our family's future. You have lots of aunts, uncles and probably cousins you can watch to see examples of good people. Stay close to your family, especially when times are tough.

You will have good times and bad times. Just as sure as the bad times will come, they will also leave, to be replaced with periods of happy contentment. Never let the bad times take you so low that you forget good times will return. Don't ever let the good times take you so high that you forget about God and family. You will need both again.

Follow Christ will all your heart. He didn't give you a rule book so He could penalize you when you mess up. Instead, He wrote you a love letter, to show you how to continue pursuing life even in the face of death. Read it and listen to what He says to you. You'll be happy you did.

Be faithful to your family, to your friends and to the Lord. Be ready for the world to try and interfere with your relationships. Be determined. You can do it.

Be very careful whom you choose as friends. The right friends can help you follow the path to good things, but the wrong friends can lead you to misery. Ask your parents about Bubba D. and about the bad influence he was to me.

Learn from the successes and failures of others.

Be a good worker, doing everything as if the Lord himself is your boss or your customer. Be content with a modest lifestyle and don't chase after easy money.

I pray your life will be full of love, happiness and contentment.

Let's go fishing.

I love you,

Grandpa

Proverbs 17:6  Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
   and the glory of children is their fathers.

PS. The picture above is of your Mumzie and me in 2008.

PPS.  I originally wrote this letter in 2009, but wasn't ready to publish it then.  It is now 2011 and our first little grandson, Drake, has arrived.  Drake, this letter is for you and for what I pray will be many more grandchildren.

This is post # 4 of 40.  Learn more here.

Memorial Day Cookout.

We went to Scott and Sandra's house Saturday. They live in Morristown, about an hour or so from here. We had a wonderful time. Check out some of the pictures.

Jill and Sandra

Sean and Levi

Asher and Sean

Levi

Tucker

Tilley

Riley doing the jack-knife

Asher and Kk.