Happy Father’s Day to my dad, the greatest dad in the world.

By FAR the most intelligent person I know, he studied chemistry and physics in college. Having made my first failing college grade in Chemistry 101, I can’t fathom actually… majoring in it.

But that’s how smart he is.

He made being a chemist downright cool, and if you don’t believe me, just check him out here sometime circa late-1970s:

But he was my hero long before I realized what a crime-fighting super hero he was. As a kid, my favorite thing to do was follow him around as he mowed the yard or help him ‘fix’ things in the garage, where I had my own seat on the workbench. Whatever my dad was doing, I wanted to be right there… ‘helping.’

And to this day, he can still fix or build anything. Anything! Even without my help…

He’s always been the hardest working guy I know. He bought his first car at age 14 with money he earned on his paper route, and hasn’t stopped working since.

And super-frugal… oh. my. A 1973 Oldsmobile comes to mind that was the bane of my existence in middle school… but that was my dad: he preached paying CASH ONLY long before Dave Ramsey thought of it. And because the frugality was ingrained in my head, I’m far better off today, having been spared lots of financial turmoil that so many are trapped in because their dads didn’t teach them that riding in a paid-for car might embarrass you, but it will not kill you… thank you, dad.

Most admirable of all my dad’s qualities is his faithfulness to the Lord and to his family. He made sure we not only went to church, but knew Bible verses, knew how to pray, and knew how to tithe. He still sings in the church choir, and when I’ve been in the midst of the crises of the past two years, he always prays, always hands me Bible passages written on index cards, and always points me to the Truth.

I couldn’t make it without him.

Thank you, God, for my dad.