A Father's Day Testimony & Baptism

Danny was baptized on Father's Day. ( I realize we just had the 4th of July weekend. Told you I was behind on my blogging. Plus I was waiting to get the video from church.)

Anyway, Michael, Cory and one of their friends came. Danny's parents came. Two of our neighbors were there. Three of Danny's co-workers and their families were there. One of my docent friends and her hubby was there. And of course our friends and family from church. It was pretty awesome.

Never forget what God has done in your life. Never forget the miracle of Christ making Himself known to you. Never forget the power of your testimony is to bring glory to God and to show the world how Christ changes -- CHANGES lives. For if our lives are not changed and we do not live differently because of it, what's the point?

Here is the testimony and baptism of Danny Dulin on June 19, 2011.

Wish you could have been with us.

Topsail: A Week at the Beach: Story #3 (part 3 - the finale!)

Danny did not get very far in his retelling of the conversation before Lauren returned. She seemed to be in a perfectly good place attitude-wise. This made me suspicious.

Danny retold his conversation by letting Lauren know that he told Male "friend" (Mf) nothing he said to him was going to be kept from Lauren. "I will be letting Lauren know exactly what we discussed and I suggest you let her know you are perfectly clear on what we discussed too."

Lauren and I listened intently as Danny revealed the details of his conversation. It went basically like this. Danny asked him what his intentions were and Mf admitted he was interested in dating Lauren. Danny said that this was not an acceptable option. He told him it was not personal but that since Mf was not a Christian he was not qualified to pursue Lauren. Furthermore, even if he was a Christian, he still needed to meet other criteria. Then in typical Danny style he explained that the man who could pursue Lauren must not only be a Christian, but that he must be a priest, prophet, provider and protector.

You can imagine poor Mf's face. "Huh?"

Danny would have explained:
1. Priest - the man is capable of going to Go on behalf of his wife
2. Prophet - the man is capable of going to his wife with God's Word
3. Provider - the man is capable of providing for his wife's physical needs (job)
4. Protector - the man is capable of protecting his wife from all harm - physical, spiritual, emotional, etc.

Well, knowing Danny that could not be the end of the conversation. Danny went on to explain the kind of man he use to be before he understood those principles. He went on to explain who he was before he was a Christian and proceeded to share his testimony. He explained being a Christian was not about being perfect and that was not what made any man worthy of Lauren.

Mf actually revealed that his older brother use to be "messed up" and became a Christian and that his older brother has talked to him about it too. Danny encouraged Mf to recognize that maybe God was not interested in him pursuing Lauren, but that God was pursuing Mf.

In the end, Mf asked if it would be okay to be friends with Lauren. Danny said it was fine but for Mf not to be confused about the fact that under NO circumstances would there be potential for anything else and that Mf was not to pursue Lauren in that manner.

When Danny finished talking it was obvious that my strong, protective husband was vulnerable. He had put himself in a place that could put a serious bump in his relationship with Lauren. I couldn't believe what just transpired and I looked at Lauren waiting for her response of....?

She looked Danny straight in the eye and said with relief, "Thank you, Danny."

We were stunned. Well, that certainly wasn't the response I was expecting. Tears welled up in Danny's eyes and he was so grateful.

"I tried to tell him," Lauren said. She had gotten in over her head. She had wanted the attention but did not really want the attention. She needed to be rescued. I would have never known had I tried to be mother and father.

Before it was all done, there was a group hug and we held hands as Danny prayed over us. As Danny prayed over this not-how-God-designed-blended-family.

And Mf? He texted a bit for a day or two. But before the week had passed, Lauren did not hear a peep from him.......

Yeah, Lauren's step Daddy did his job. And my heavenly Daddy did his too.

Topsail: A Week at the Beach: Story #3 (part 2)

Surprisingly, Male "friend" agreed to the conditions and arrived as expected on Wednesday. You know you're middle-aged when even someone who is 27 still looks young enough to pass for 16.

Lauren was in good spirits. Danny was calm. Jacqueline was suffering from internal bleeding because she had to continuously bite her tongue. And poor, poor Male "friend" as nice as he was, he was a bundle of nerves. At least I got to play hostess and "get to know you" questions. We learned about his family and what he did with his life as he and Lauren ate some sandwiches. Pleasantries were done and he changed into his suit and Danny firmly reminded Lauren of the parameters of where they needed to stay. And off they went to have fun on the beach.

By this time, I had the peace of God which transcends all understanding. There was such freedom and relief knowing Danny was dealing with all this. In fact, I began to enjoy the humor of Danny's "protector" instincts grow and grow with more aggression as the afternoon continued. Imagine if you will, the "folks" under the tent reading within full view of the youngsters frolicking in the water. Not to miss any action or be unclear about how he felt about the Male "friend", Danny watched them in plain view with his binoculars. Male "friend" had no illusions about privacy.

At one point as they were wading/floating in the waves, they began to slowly drift farther left from our site. I'm not sure it was intentional, but the distance was not within Danny's comfort and he got up and walked closer to the water and waved them in. Can you see it? His arm was clearing communicating, "Get back over HERE! NOW." There was immediate obedience on their part. Ah, yes, I was now simply enjoying the pure entertainment aspect of this situation. You just can't make this stuff up.

As the afternoon progressed, Danny I moved to the deck to read. He continued to occasionally observe with the binoculars (by the way he actually brought 2 sets of them with us to the beach). The youngsters finished with their water play settled themselves at our tent for the next hour and talked. As I observed time slip away, I wondered when Danny was going to have his time with Male "friend."

As I watched my daughter from a distance, my heart ached. It ached because I knew full well her struggle. I knew full well the power of that struggle. I knew full well that if this struggle was not brought under the management of God with clear understanding at a young age, it would lead to poor/sinful decisions that potentially change the coarse of your life in ways you cannot undo. My heart ached for my daughter because I had seen my own mistakes and knew women --- grown women in their 30's and 40's not deal with this struggle and destroy their marriages and go from man to man to man.

My heart ached for my daughter because this was a strong pull in her and it is something she must learn through God and not simply from me. I cannot punish or restrict or prohibit or do anything else to change her heart issues. Only God can do that. My heart ached because all her life I have prayed, "Dear God, please PLEASE don't let me screw up her life!" And now I was begging again, "Dear God, please PLEASE don't let her screw up her life!"

As the afternoon drew to a close, Danny finally went down to the couple. By this time I was inside watching from a window in our bedroom. I had fully removed myself from the situation, and when Lauren came in alone, she knew understood this situation was not in my hands. As she headed to the shower, I saw Danny sitting next to Male "friend" in a beach chair. Oh, to be a little crab in a hole in the sand close by! I could see hand gestures on my husband's part. I could see occasional nodding on Male "friend" 's part. I could also see he was not doing much of the talking. Poor boy, what had he gotten himself into? Was Lauren worth the "friendship"? I wondered if he thought this.

After a good 45 minutes or so, the men returned to the house with pleasant smiles. By this time, Lauren was changed and we exchanged our "Nice to meet you's." Lauren looked at Danny for permission to walk Male "friend" to his car to say good-bye. Danny gave permission and as they left, I turned to Danny, "Well? WELL? What did you say? What happened?!"