My mom was my hero.
She truly was “Jesus with skin on” to literarily hundreds of people through her life.
I wrote a poem to honor her that I had planned to read at her memorial service.
I could hardly get through the first few lines before breaking into tears.
Thankfully, my son Ryan stepped in and saved the day by agreeing to read it to our family and friends.
My mother, or as the grandchildren knew her “Granny Hulsey”, spent hours on end rocking in her recliner.
It was actually a “glider” that was designed to rock babies in. She loved it and spent countless hours a day rocking/gliding away in it.

Are There Gliders In Glory?

Born in the foothills of Rome
A slice of pure heaven
Clara Louise Gresham
One child of eleven

Life was simple back in the day
Get up, do your chores with your kin
Walk to school, and if you’re lucky
Do it all over again.

No tweeting or Facebook
No TV or texting
Milking cows and picking beans
In their spare time they were probably resting!

Mama was a great athlete
She was awesome on the court
But it’s still hard for me to believe
That “tumbling” was a sport?!

I had big dreams as a kid
To make it to “the show”
But not many people knew
That mom, not dad taught me everything I know

She grew up and got married
Had four kids who turned out to be jocks
I can see how that could happen
Because she was a stone-cold fox!

Things got kinda ugly
Married to an abusive husband and father
Mama wouldn’t stand for that!
She took her kids and said ” holla”

She kicked the jerk out
And set out on her own
Her focus was on her babies
But, how could she have known?

A knock on the door
After just a few weeks
The bank foreclosed on our home
We had to hit the streets

We moved to government housing
Government food and cheese
Mom worked at the I Hop
More syrup, please

Then something wonderful happened
You see, God had a plan
She met a “real” husband
His name was Dan

A hard worker and loving
Wow, what a man
Four crazy step kids
For a year, we owned that man!

Slowly he came to his senses and thought
What have I done?
It wasn’t long to we were saying
“He’s got a belt, run!”

We were a true family
Since mom found a real man
But surprises kept coming
Can you say, little Dan?

He married a woman with four kids?!
Surely, he must be soft.
No, not really. Clara put something on him
That Ajax wouldn’t get off!

He showed us what real dad was
A better father you will never see
I hope I can be half the dad
He didn’t have to be.

Then we all started growing up
You know that’s the way life goes
Mom and dad would have time
For vacations, movies, and shows

But life had other plans
Sometimes things don’t go so great
Through out every situation
Papa and Granny stepped up to the plate

I won’t go through all of the details
We really don’t have the time right now
But believe me, if you knew them
All you could say is…wow!

All the children grew up
And went our own separate ways
But we all get together
On Christmas and birthdays

Granny has mellowed out now
It’s not hard to see it
Instead of whippings and spankings
She now says “so be it”

The woman who used to threaten to whip me
“Within an inch of my life”
Now tells her grand kids to “love, love, love”
There is no need for strife

Now she sits in her glider
Watches Oprah and reads her mags
She was once a trained assassin
Now she’s a dishrag!

A candy drawer for the grand kids
Neighborhood kids swim in mass
What happened to that single mom
Who would tear up that a__?

Clara is gone! She’s put in her time
With all of life’s worries
She deserves to relax
And not get in a hurry

Now we call her Granny
Clara is no more
Hey, where is Papa?
He’s gone to the store

Now she rocks the days away
Spreading love and wisdom
If you are willing listen
You are sure to get some

Her 72nd birthday
Was just the other day
Daniel and Kelly came over Saturday
My family visited Sunday

I noticed she wasn’t feeling to well
But she would never say so
It was just a little over a week later
We were forced to let her go.

I walked in her house yesterday
And knew she wouldn’t be there
That didn’t keep me from looking
For her in that big brown chair

The ole trusty glider
You would always find her in it
Laughing, smiling, and singing
Why you could even spin it!

The glider now sits there empty
The TV screen is black
It’s slowly starting to set in
That she’s not coming back

I picked up the phone to call her
Aunt Inez is in the hospital for care
My heart sunk when it hit me
My mama isn’t there

I still can’t believe it
It’s happened all so fast
One day she’s rocking and smiling
And the next day she has passed

I’m trying to deal with this
In my own unique way
That’s why I sat down and wrote
This poem today

I just want to tell the world
That even though she’s gone
She’s the closest thing I’ve ever seen
To Jesus with skin on.

She’s a wife, a friend, a teacher
The best mother you could be
I am everything I am
Because she loved me.

So Granny, Clara, mama
You are on your way
I believe you are in heaven
And I’ll see you again some day

But until that day comes
And you are able to tell the whole story
Just answer me this one question,
Are there gliders in Glory?

What affect does this have on our President?

Simply put, he could be living under a curse. Remember, what’s the opposite of a blessing?

Imagine the leader of the free world living under a curse.

I think that’s kinda important to know, don’t you? I mean, this could answer a lot of questions about the man and his philosophy.

Is our country suffering because of it?

How would he be different if he had the blessing of his father?

How would he be different if he had the love of his father?

In his younger years, don’t you think he could have used a dad to talk to? What about now!

Please continue to pray for our President. I now know he needs our prayers more than ever.

Billy

PS

Learn more at http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/10/14/shrink-obama-suffers-father-hunger

How our father feels about us, what he thinks about us, and most importantly what he says to us, has a powerful impact. As I continue to research and ask why the father’s blessing makes such a difference in our lives, I’ve asked a ton of questions. I mean a lot of questions. Why? I want to know why. Teach me why! I’m writing a book here! I’ve got to get to the bottom of this. Why is it so important? Is there a clear answer or do we just accept it in faith? After years of research I discovered the answer is…both. There is a supernatural aspect to the father’s blessing that only God can fully comprehend and explain. The supernatural power of God is the only explanation to the miracles I have seen as a result of the Father’s Blessing. Ok, I get that. I choose to believe by faith. But what about the part of the blessing that we can understand with our limited minds? What is it about the father’s blessing that we can figure out based on the facts?

After years of professional pondering, one day this hit me. When you strip everything away from our lives and focus in on our most basic, foundational need, what’s most important? When you strip everything away and drill down to the center of our soul, what to do we crave the most? My answer…to be loved. I thought about what is the most important, most valuable, most critical “thing” that I need. After some thought, it came down to… love. I want to love others and I want to be loved. Love. That’s it. Love. (I feel a song coming on)

Now, if I had a choice, who would I prefer to be loved by? I can show love to anyone. But who are the most important people for me to love? Answer. I want to love my family, and I want to be loved by them as well. It all goes back to our families. No surprise right? Stay with me here…

So for my father, one of the most important people in my life, to speak words that communicates that he loves me (my most basic need), is the most powerful thing a person can do for someone.

Could it be the reason why the father’s blessing is so powerful is because it’s the most important person in my life, fulfilling the most critical need in my life, by employing the most powerful force in universe, the spoken word?

Why did we stop practicing this? Where in history did the trail go stale?

Who knows? It’s hard to say for sure.

What I do know is that with all of the crazing teachings we are exposed to, maybe confusion set in and distracted us. Satan is the author of confusion and would love nothing more than to convince us that the father’s blessing is nothing more than a useless myth. Another fad. A hoax!

I think back to Biblical times and the lives these people led, and I am amazed. They didn’t have the distractions that we do today. Abraham, while having his plate full, I’m sure didn’t worry about his children being abducted at the mall or whether they were being exposed to porn on the Internet. No, he had a completely different set of priorities and problems to focus on. My point? Life as we know it is much different than the Old Testament. Duh?!

That may be why we don’t practice the Father’s Blessing either. Back in biblical times, instead of watching TV for 5 hours a day, children would spend more time interacting with their families, and their fathers. Today we are bombarded with all kinds of distractions. TV, radio, Internet, video games, cell phones, texting, facebook, twitter, and more. We are constantly being drawn from one thing to the next. It’s a wonder we all don’t have A.D.D. Very few families that I know take the time to slow things down and connect with their families and children without a fight. We have become addicted to action. We have to fight to slow down and connect.

Can you imagine Abraham telling Isaac to turn the TV down? Or Isaac asking Jacob to stop texting so much and rejoin civilization? No these dads had a more simple life with presumably less issues to deal with. But one thing they had much more of, was an audience with their children. I can imagine sitting around a fire at night trying to stay warm with your parents, brothers and sisters. There was no TV, no radio, no cell phone, no ipad, no video games, and no addictions. What was there? There was each other. Can you imagine the bond that you developed with your family after spending this much time with them? I know that some of you are thinking you would have probably try to kill each other, right? It’s hard to get your children to set still for ten minutes with scratching each other eyes out, right? I don’t think so. Because, when your families entire existence depended on everyone doing their part, there share, pulling your own weight, I believe a bond is developed that most of us are not able to attain in today’s world.

Could this be why a father’s blessing meant so much more to children back in this time? It’s all they knew? All families talked to each other. There was no chance of the children hearing or seeing any trash on TV or radio to distract or poison their minds and hearts. Moms and dads where much more active in the children’s lives. They had no choice! If you were a kid in this day you couldn’t get mad and stomp off in a huff to your room and slam the door and turn the TV on. You might have lived in a house with only one room if you lived in a house at all! They were forced to bond. Their survival depended on it.

Nowadays, with two parents working, school, extra curricular activities like sports, lessons, TV, facebook, the Internet, video games, and all the other modern day toys/responsibilities/conveniences/distracts/addictions, the time we spend with our children is much different if not non existent.

We live in a different time, a different world, with different challenges. It’s important not to use this excuse. It’s critical now more than ever, that we MAKE the time with our children to give them what they desperately need. In biblical times, a strong father-child relationship was a given. Today a strong, healthy father-child relationship seems to be more of the exception. God help us.

THE FATHER’S BLESSING

Introduction

“What is a Father’s Blessing?” You may be asking yourself. Where did it come from? Is it Biblical? Or is it just something that a well-meaning Christian leader made up or interpreted in the last few years? The truth is, the history of the Father’s Blessing extends back to our Heavenly Father, who set the precedence for it. For me personally, the Father’s Blessing I received from my own dad a few years ago radically changed my life. It set off a series of chain reactions, opening up an awareness of the Father’s Blessings that I had never known was possible. I see the affects of receiving it, or not receiving it all the time now as I meet and get to know people in my day to day life. When I sense or see various problems or issues in a persons life, I wonder what is the root cause for it? Time after time, the answer usually points directly to the relationship that they have with their father.

I have been surprised to learn that the Father’s Blessing does not only apply to Christians. I believe that people from all walks of life can receive this blessing because God put inside each of us a fundamental need to be loved, to be accepted, to be forgiven, to be wanted, to belong, and to connect with our Father. It’s in our DNA. We can’t help it. It’s not just a Christian need, it’s a human need. When these basic needs—these fundamental, foundational needs—are not met, then life itself becomes a journey of finding the fulfillment of these needs. Unfortunately, that journey can, and often does, go in many destructive directions. For some women, the journey can lead to promiscuity, to pornography, to bouncing from man to man, among other things, looking for the love that she didn’t get from her Father. For a man void of his father’s blessing, he pours himself into his work to be recognized, acknowledged, and given worth which often can appear natural. He will search his whole life to fill the void only a father love can fill. For kids, gangs can be appealing. In every nation, every city, every neighborhood, there are children who will do just about anything to have someone, anyone, tell them, “We love you. You’re special to us. You belong to us.”

When a persons basic, fundamental needs are met through the blessing, a whole new level of pure and healthy relational life opens up. No longer are we relying on our mate to fulfill our basic need of a fathers love. I believe many marriages are doomed to fail because we expect the gaping hole in our soul to be filled by our spouse. When the reality sets in that it’s impossible for any husband or wife to fulfill this need, the couple either splits up, lives together in an unhealthy relationship, or goes on a quest to find out what the real issue is. On the contrary, people who have their fathers blessing don’t look to their spouse to fulfill this need and I believe have a much better chance of a long marriage because of it. It’s like the are saying;

“I have my fundamental needs met. I’m OK. I don’t need to get my worth from you. I’m happy. I’m whole. I’m loved. I know that. I’ve got that from my family, my father, and from God, my Heavenly Father. I wake up happy and whole every day and I don’t need you to try to make me either of those. From this starting point, let’s build a healthy relationship together. I am not depending on you to make my life,  I am partnering with you to make both of our lives better.”

I believe that when people have this perspective, their lives vastly improve or, at the very least, have an enormous chance of doing so. But people that don’t receive their Father’s Blessing spend their entire lives chasing that need—that acceptance, that confirmation, that love— instead of saying “I’m happy” and “I’m whole.” Such people are not able to excel in life like they could have. They’re stuck “looking for love in all the wrong places.” However, people that receive the Father’s Blessing already have what they need to be successful in life. They are secure. They are not needy.

The Father’s Blessing also has a supernatural element to it. The supernatural part of the blessing is something that can’t be explained, at least not by me. Throughout the Bible, there are examples of a father giving a blessing and the recipient then being supernaturally transformed and/ or having a curse removed from his life. Sadly, the Father’s Blessing has not been given much attention in the Christian community in recent years. The Father’s Blessing and all it entails must be revealed again. I believe that time has come.

So please don’t think the Father’s Blessing is another fad or a “flash in the pan” antidote or a scam designed to make some hypocrite a quick buck. As you will see through the pages of this book, the Father’s Blessing started with our Heavenly Father, was practiced by the Patriarchs of the Old Testament, and is still spoken to this day by many who are aware of its significance. So why have so many of us believers forgotten about it? Why don’t we practice it anymore? The truth is…I don’t know. What I do know is the supernatural power and importance of a fathers blessing will change your life, whether you have a growing relationship with your Heavenly Father or you feel like little more than a spiritual orphan. No more will you have to strive to find love. Love will find you! No more will invisible force fields keep you from getting to the next level in your life. No more self sabotaging success. No more generational curses. Instead, get ready to live and leave a legacy of blessings that will flow through you, your children, and your children’s children! Please read this book with an open mind and an open heart—don’t prejudge it. See for yourself; applying the Biblical principles expounded on in this book will radically transform your life forever. It did for me.

I call you blessed,

Billy O’Neal

I am excited to announce we are in the final stages of completing our latest book about the power and importance of the Father’s Blessing.

Please subscribe and stay tuned for a release date!

Good morning,

I received a father’s blessing in 1992 at a FGBMFI regional convention in Oklahoma City. John Schmook stood in for my father who had passed away in 1976. My father was a very private person and didn’t talk about his past. He was not a Christian, but a man of integrity. When my family visited my parents for the Christmas holidays in 1975 my dad weighed 210 pounds. In August 1976 I received a call from my mother to come home right away. Dad had a very aggressive cancer and was down to 125 pounds. The week before my father died he told me everything about himself. His father had abandoned his children after his wife died. The three children were individually farmed out to foster homes. As my dad shared his biography, I could see why he didn’t know how to be a father because he didn’t have a father. For the first time in my life I had compassion for my father and the only thing I could think of to say was that I love you dad.

I continued to make all the same mistakes until I was forced to be a father.

Here a portion of my testimony.

Do My Will – Douglas Raine

With my education and my military active duty commitment completed, I launched my business career and started my family in 1966. My life was committed to my business and hobbies. By world’s standards I was a success.

For 39 years I worked for Blue Chip chemical companies developing sales and marketing strategies to solve industrial corrosion problems with composites.

This market was huge as over one billion dollars were spent per year in the USA on corrosion. Our products saved industries millions of dollars with low maintenance fiberglass process equipment. My technical expertise, experience and excellent track record for solving corrosion problems in the chemical process, pulp and paper, semiconductor, power, oil and gas industries gained industry recognition and respect.

However, there was a price to pay. My 84 hour work schedule destroyed my relationship with my family. On July 2, 1984, my wife of 18 years said, “I’m leaving. You can have the kids and the farm.” And she left. I didn’t know how to be a father, but I was going to try. The stress in my life caused my first stroke in 1986. I began to seek God for help. My life was in shambles.

While attending a meeting in October 1987, I was experiencing my second stroke. The pressure in my head was so great I thought it would explode all over the back of the room. In my desperation before I thought I was dying, I called out to Jesus and said, “You can have all of me!” Immediately Jesus spoke to me and said, “Do my will.” He was calling me to obedience. The pressure in my head left as I was standing in the presence of a Holy God.

As I though what is you will, Jesus replied “As I have forgiven you, so must you forgive others.” Then I saw a film strip with a picture in each frame of a person I had not forgiven. My dad was on the first frame. I said “Father I forgive them all.” Immediately I felt the love of the Father. It was incredible. I felt clean as He washed away all my corrosion and gave me new life and spiritual gifts. I did not know the purpose or how to use these new gifts. Two weeks later in November 1987 I asked the Lord for three things:

1. Is there someone for me?,

2. Help me raise my children,

3. Please send me a mentor.

As I made Jesus savior and Lord, he restored my health, family, and business. Jesus changed my direction in life. He taught me to love him with all my heart, mind and soul, and to love my neighbor as myself. In April 1988 while attending a Wednesday evening dinner, I saw a glow surrounding a lady. Was she the one Lord? And instantly He put love in my heart for her and we were married in September 1988. My wife’s prayer was “Lord, send to me a suitable husband even if you have to raise him from the dead.”

The Lord started to remove the rebellion from my children and the Lord was teaching me how to be a father.

My third prayer request was answered in January 1989 – the need for a mentor. While entering a men’s prayer breakfast the Holy Spirit instructed me to pray with a man. This man was the local FGB president and he mentored me for the next 10 years. We prayed together every Saturday and Sunday morning between 6:00-7:00 AM and during the week by phone.

While being mentored local university students started coming to me asking to be discipled. They wanted to know how to experience God in their lives.

This small beginning became my passion to take the message of hope to our community, state, nation and world.

I wanted to make spiritual investments in our future generations. My message on forgiveness ends with me standing in as their father to pray a blessing over them.

God Bless,

Douglas Raine

FGBMFA Outreach Director

And founder of www.fgbt.org

I want to thank Pastor Barry Dehler for sending this in. Great idea on getting the dad involved!

Please continue to send in your pictures, videos , and tesitmonials.

We love to hear from you!

Billy O’Neal

I want to take a moment to honor some of the unsung heroes in the world today, “Step” Fathers. Somehow they seem to get cast in some unfavorable light when we hear about them on TV or in movies. But in reality, many of them are heroes. I know mine is.

I want to declare today to all of the men who have stepped up and stepped in to raise a family and to care for a wife when another man stepped out, THANK YOU. WE HONOR YOU. YOU ARE APPRECIATED!

My dad is one of these men. I stopped calling him my step dad a long time ago when I realized he cared for me as much or more as my biological dad. There is nothing “step” about him!

When others saw a single lady with four children (the oldest was 8 years old) who worked as waitress and fed her kids with government assistance, my dad saw a smoking hot woman who had four children who needed a dad. Can you say “hero”?

They soon married and began a journey that has now lasted over 40 years!

My dad made less than $100 a week when they married and was raising 4 children! Unbelievable. I have two kids today and $100 won’t hardly fill up the gas tank of my truck. I admire how they stretched a dollar. We were basically broke, but I never knew it. As far as I can remember, we had EVERYTHING we needed and most of what we wanted.

I am thankful and impressed by the perseverance of my mother and father. I now realize it could not have been easy raising our bunch!

I am inspired by the way my “step” dad treated my biological dad. Even though he was hated, mocked, cussed out, and generally minimized from bio dad, he never let it get to him. I NEVER heard one negative word said about my bio father even though he was constantly attacked by him. Recently, when I reconciled with my bio dad, my dad welcomed him with open arms to family functions and get togethers. Pure class.

I could write a book about the man. (and just might one day) He was and is a blessing from God.

“Looking back all I can say about all the things he did for me, is I hope I can be half the dad he didn’t have to be”

I love you dad.

Thanks for taking care of me, my brothers and sister, my mom, countless nieces and nephews, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

You’re my hero.

Billy

PS

They call them “step” fathers because they have the COURAGE to STEP UP when others step away.

You are all heroes to me.

Please share with friends and family!

Billy O’Neal