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Dear Dad,

Heroes are men who first of all are heroes for God and then heroes to their families. To be a hero for God, you need to yield your life 100% to Him.

What's in this name "hero"? Josh McDowell shares,

"A few years ago, a radio jockey polled almost two hundred teenagers in a shopping mall. Topping their list of heroes was Prince, followed by Madonna and Michael Jackson. Not a single teenager named his or her mom or dad.

"Does that mean that moms and dads are out of the running? Hardly. It simply means that almost two hundred kids equated the word "hero" with their favorite entertainers. But real heroes aren't glittering images on a TV or movie screen; they don't come in for a one-night stand at a rock concert or sports event. True heroes are there for the long haul, and you can see their weaknesses along with their strengths."

He adds:

"How do you define that word 'hero'? If you go to the dictionary, one edition will tell you a hero is 'noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose; a hero risks or sacrifices his life.' Another definition says a hero is 'a person prominent in some event, field or cause because he or she has made a special achievement or contribution.' That second definition ties in with the whole celebrity craze today and explains why so many parents fear they can never be a hero to their children--they don’t have enough charisma. Dictionary definitions are good for starters, I suppose, but for me they don’t quite nail down the real point of what a hero really is. For someone to be me my hero, he or she has to be a person that I want to be like. A hero can't be much of a hero if you don't desire to emulate that person, act the way that persons acts, and live the way that person lives."

Genuine heroes are rare today. We have many fake heroes today which have been created by the media. They are man-made heroes, not God-made heroes. The sad fact is there are not many genuine heroes out there today. The ones that I see labeled "heroes" lack compassion, ethics, family values, and many of the other Godly traits that actually creates heroes. Those I see called "heroes" may be able to sing or dance or play ball, but they cannot and will not serve others. They choose to make the big play for the big money, but their personal lives are not worth imitating. Their lives are focused on fame and fortunes. But they really could care less about you or I personally. Most of those culture-labeled heroes today don't even know you exist. Heroes--personal heroes--are the ones who touch your life in positive way.

ELLEN PETRAKIS Hi guys…this isn’t easy for me to get up here and speak in front of you. I am a kindergarten teacher and do much better speaking to 5 year olds then teenagers. But God impressed on my heart to tell you my story so here it is… I was about 14 years old, just starting high school, when I made the decision to save myself for marriage. Having grown up in church I knew that it was the right thing to do. I felt very strongly about waiting for my husband and even though all of my friends felt differently they always respected my decision. Even my guy friends respected how I felt, however they always tried to get me to change my mind As the years went by, I watched as my friends dated guys, slept with them and then broke up. I remember listening to my friend Pam as she cried her eyes out when she found out she was diagnosed with HPV, an incurable STD she got from a guy she hardly knew. I begged my best friend not to go through with her abortion when she got pregnant but she refused my help. I remember looking into my friend Rebecca’s eyes as she lay on a hospital bed at South Oaks recovering from her suicide attempt. She tried to kill herself b/c her boyfriend she gave her virginity to had broken up with her for another girl. It confirmed to me that I had made the right decision. These guys didn’t really care for these girls, mostly they just used them. It became “known” that I was a virgin and wasn’t one of those girls. I kinda liked that. It made me different from everyone else. And when people would ask me why, I would be able to tell them about my relationship with God and how he wants us to wait until marriage and how I wanted to do that for him. I would tell myself…until a guy is willing to get up in front of my family, his family and God and promise to love me forever, he didn’t deserve me. It was that simple. My mom always told me that I would be the one the guys would remember, not the 10 other girls he slept with. He would remember me b/c I wouldn’t sleep with him And I can tell you today that my mother was right. Years later when I ran into old boyfriends or even just my guy friends they would always say there was something different about you – you weren’t like the other girls. They may not have known it at the time but in a way they respected me and realized later on why. Well, high school came and went. I had boyfriends, some waited and respected my decision and some didn’t. College came and went, more boyfriends some waited, some didn’t. When I turned 25, I realized I had dated all these guys and not one was worthy, not one was the one that God had for me. I was so thankful that even though I may have wasted some time and went through a lot of heartache, I was faithful to God and did not give away my virginity. I was still waiting to give that gift to my husband. I promised God I would stop dating and just wait. Wait for the one he had for me. Well, about a year and half went by and I was still waiting. Now I was starting to get worried Here I am a 26 year old virgin Did I really wait all these years and now I’m still waiting? My patience was running out…I had read so many books on how to be single – I just couldn’t read one more book I would joke around with God and say when is he going to walk through those church doors? I can’t wait anymore Well, it was Sunday July 11, 2004 when this gorgeous guy comes walking through the church doors. As soon as I saw him I fell in love. The moment we met I just knew that he was the one. God had promised me that he would confirm it to me and he did. The very first time we hung out it was amazing. All the questions, all the doubts they just went away. I looked at this man in the eyes and I could say I waited for you You’re the one And to know that God was in it, that he had planned for this day to happen was incredible. I can tell you it is so amazing to give this gift to your husband. You loved him so much before you even knew him to save yourself just for him. I have some pictures to show you from our wedding that took place this summer. We were married on July 7th almost exactly 2 years after we met, in the Bahamas. Pastor Todd married us and this is the day that I waited for I have a prayer I would like to share with you. It is a prayer that helped me through my waiting period. When I met my husband, I showed him this prayer. He was so honored to see how much I loved him and how I prayed for him before we even met one another. I hope you guys make this your prayer tonight. “Lord God, your Word declares that if I delight myself in you—if I enjoy and seek your pleasure above mine—you’ll give me the desires of my heart (Psalm 37:4). Desiring a husband is neither evil nor selfish because marriage is honorable (Hebrews 13:4). At the beginning of creation, you proclaimed, "It is not good that man should be alone" and then you created Eve to be a suitable partner for Adam (Genesis 2:18). In the name of Jesus, I ask that you would protect the husband—a suitable partner—you have chosen for me. Because the covenant of marriage is sacred ...

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SHOWING RESPECT FOR MOM

Adrian Rogers, Pastor of the Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN, tells a story about a man, his boys, and respect for their mother:
"It seems that one of the boys lipped off to his mother one day. Now I don’t know about your home, but in the Rogers home showing disrespect to Mama was not tolerated. It wasn’t tolerated in this home either, because this boy’s father said to him, 'Son, I want to tell you something. When you lipped off to your mother, you sinned against God. God says you are to honor her, and you’re going to have to answer to Him for that.'
'Not only that, but you sinned against your mother. She went down into the valley of the shadow of death to bring you life. How ungrateful you’ve been to speak to your mother that way, and you’re going to have to answer to your mother for that.'
And then this godly dad said, 'I want to tell you something else. ...

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