Happy Father's Day

Today I want to give honor to two men in my life on Father's day. First I want to honor my dad, Alfred Jefferson Harris, who has gone on to be with the Lord.

I was born in Fresno Ca. I attended Bro Lane's church until I was 5 years old. We then moved to Missoula Montana and attended Bro Kelley's church. That is where I was baptized in Jesus Name at the age of 8 in the dead middle of winter and was it ever cold.

I remember my dad cooking some of the best breakfasts before we were sent off to school. Things like pancakes, sausage, eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy, cream of wheat, oatmeal, toast, sliced fruit, and hot chocolate. Never did he just set a bowl of cereal in front of us. It was a spread, a wonderful feast. Momma made fantastic lunches and dinners but Breakfast was daddy's delight. Then he would help mom bundle us up in our snow gear and off we would trek through the snow to school.

Then a year later, when I was nine, we moved back to California and my mother left the church and my parents divorced. Being just a young child I never understood what happened. My dad then started attending Bro I. H. Terry's church in Bakersfield CA. That is where I went when I got to visit with my father on weekends.

When I was eleven my mom re-married. That is where my second dedication of honor comes in. I give honor to my step dad, Jackson Scott Rogers, who also has passed on from this life.

My stepfather was a good man. He had no children of his own and he married my mom and raised my youngest brother, my baby sister, and myself as if we were is own. He provided for us and made sure we had what we needed. When we were sick, he was the one who made sure we got to a doctor. He fed us, clothed us, took us on vacations, gave us allowances and etc. He was also one who loved to cook and a hard working man.

Although my step father was not a church going man he did have some principals. I remember one time my brother was going from one church to another with different friends and my step father told him he was not going to be a church hopper. That he needed to find a church and get grounded in it. He told us that if we were going to go to church then we needed to seek out what we felt was the truth and stick to it.

My dad and step dad got along well. On Saturdays while my mom was working, (she was the manager of Cornet store in Lamont) my dad would come out to Lamont and he and my step dad would load up all the stuff for a barbecue and we 3 kids would hop in the back of dad's truck while dad and step dad climbed in the front of the cab and we would all go to Hart Park and spend the day. I will always admire both men who could set everything aside and get along for the sake of the children. We sure did have some good times. I will always treasure these memories.

I want to thank my dad for standing firm in his faith and living an example of what is truth. For taking me to church when I visited with him. I appreciate the truth that was instilled in my heart and a love for God. I thank him for teaching me to never let bitterness get a hold of your heart and to learn to forgive.

I want to thank my step dad for all that he did for me. For stepping up to the plate and raising me as if I was his own child. He held nothing back and gave it his all to being a father. I am also thankful that after much fasting and prayer, my mother, who being away from the Lord for 22 years, on a Mother's Day, she came back to God. Oh what a day of rejoicing that was. I am also thankful that one day, my stepfather saw the truth and he too, was baptized in Jesus Name and filled with the Holy Ghost.

They are all resting in peace now and one day they shall rise to meet Him in the air and I shall see them all once again. Oh what day that will be!