Usually, my inspiration to write a Conquest article for you, may be just a line in a book or something on the comics page in the paper, or a situation I find myself in. The other day the calendar reminded me that Father's Day was coming up, which got me to thinking...what's the best thing I remember, that Dad did for me.

The usual things started coming to mind; loaning me the car, coming up with five dollars when he needed it for more important things...but those are so expected of a Dad, that they just didn't seem to measure up. And then it came to me...Dad preached the sermon that brought me to the Lord when I was 11 years old!

I've thought about that since...about the hard times he went through, being called to preach to the same kind of people that Jesus did, so many of them with no hope, living from hand to mouth...so poor, the couldn't give enough to Dad to pay for the gas his old car used, coming to preach to them. Then the consolation came to me, that if I were the only one he ever brought to Christ, that would have been enough for him.

Things got better for him in his later years, and it pleased me that he finally could afford a car that didn't have a tire go flat every few miles. And he built a nice home, nail by nail, every time he could afford to go to the lumber yard. And I even was able to oblige when he would look back in the congregation and say, "Son, do you have a song?" And I was able to tell him, through letters and sons I wrote, how much I loved home.

A suggestion for you, if your Dad still lives: Think of a thing he has done for you, and go tell him you appreciate it. Never mind the home, the three meals a day, the bed to sleep in, the expense that comes at school, from the first grade on. Think of a thing that my surprise him that you remember. You can't imagine how good it will make him feel. I know, because my wife and my daughters tell me things they still think of, and we all feel good, remembering.

I recall a true story of a big league baseball player who was having a discouraging slump that was about to take him out of the sport. Then as he came to bat, the umpire leaned over and said, "You remind me of your Dad when he was in the big leagues. You stand at the plate just like he did." Well, it changed that player's life, and re-lit his career. We never know what an encouraging word will do.

Last of all...and BEST of all...be able to tell your Dad that you're a Christian, on your way to Heaven, and you hope to meet him there. If he (and you) haven't already made that decision, your suggestion may be the best thing YOU could do for HIM!