The Warrior

We started a new series at church named "The Princess and the Warrior." This past weekend, Pastor Troy spoke to the men. He spoke about having a Father in heaven that is proud of us. Many men were greatly impacted and were able to be free of their struggles.  During the teaching I was reminded of how fortunate I was to have my heavenly father but also to have had such an amazing earthly father. This upcoming Labor Day weekend will mark 2 years since his death and there is not one day that goes by where I cannot see my dad's influence in my everyday life.

I wanted to share with you a song that I wrote when my father passed away. He taught me about life; how life is about climbing and growing. It's about growing old and growing up. It's about how you learn everything from people you look up to, learning how to live and learning how die. It has been in the rough times where I have grown the most. There's a very lonely feeling that comes over you when you realize that a person you looked up to for guidance in the your times of questioning is a human being that will not be here forever. My dad was a superhero, but one day, his human body failed. 

This song is about legacy, about the things my father taught me from the hospital bed that saw his last breath. This song is a timeline of a boy who grew up by realizing the true meaning of manhood.  This is my most personal song to date, It was written during the days I prepared to bury my dad. When my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, I began to see his health deteriorate and our roles change. It was in those rough years that I grew into a man and realized what my father wanted me to learn from my very first day; Leave a Legacy. The things that my father and those before him accomplished are the shoulders I stand on today. The Best thing that I can do is continue climbing from where my forefathers left off and hopefully my children will learn and continue to climb from wherever I stop. We never know where our life will lead, what we will have or lack. The one thing we will always have is our memory and our legacy. When someone is on his deathbed and has his family around, that person will always try to communicate the most important thing that he has learned in his lifetime. With my dad's last breath, his advice was not to finish school or take care of my mom, his advice was to follow God. That has, and will always stay with me.

Shadows of Daylight 
by pedro navas


Daylight opened my eyes
I can see for the first time
Out into the world
First comes the sense of excitement
Then you fall for a moment
It all evens out

The years go by
In the dark, the boy becomes a man

Behind the boy stand shadows of
Men of time who once stood tall
They carved this floor that we stand on
So one day, shadows, we too will become

Who can know where the wind will take me
Who can know where the waves will break me
I don't know, I'm just here letting go
Who can know where this ship will sail to
Who can know how life repays you
All I know, I'm not on my own

You built this house for me
& I watched through the window 
as the walls came down