About My Dad

I've been blessed.

I want to say something about the most influential person in my life. He is the person who has molded me, encouraged me, and loved me despite all my flaws.

This person is my Dad.

I could tell you his name: Richard P. Effinger, but to me he is simply, my Dad.

He's my friend and my mentor. In a sense, he is the reason I have a good image of God the Father in my faith.

Not everyone has a good dad. Not having a good dad can make it difficult to understand the character of God. I have a better understanding because of my dad. That's not to say that I understand God completely. Nobody does except the Son. But I know my dad. The one God gave me. And I know that he loves God and honors him. He tries to emulate Him.

My dad's not perfect. And he'd never claim to be. What makes him such a great dad is that he has never placed himself above the rest of his family. Rather, he has encouraged us all to live our lives in the way we believe God would direct us. He sees himself on the same journey to know God as his family. Each one individual, yet together. My dad has always pointed to the Father.


Julie and I just spend a couple weeks with my folks. There is nothing as special as spending time with my dad. Isn't that what God desires of us? That we would spend time with Him? Dad always makes us feel like every moment is special, valuable.

Dad just turned 74 years old last month. He is 74 going on 47. We had a little gathering to celebrate. He's still in great shape and is very active. He and my step mom have been together for over 35 years. Longer than I've been an adult. He understands commitment through the good and the not so good. Kinda like God.

Since I live about 3000 miles away from dad, every time we are together is more and more special. At his age we never know how many more opportunities we will get together. As he says, he has outlived his warranty. I'm just thankful he's still in great health. Dad has an urn sitting on the mantle. He picked it out and reminds us that it is his future bodily home. We hope that it stays empty for a many many years to come.

Dad has always been a hard working man. He made his living with his hands. Yet there are two things he does best with his hands. One is giving hugs. If he taught me anything, it is the value of a hug. My daughters can tell you if I was a good student of my dad in this area. Hugs are awesome.

The other thing he does well with his hands is play the piano. He is self taught and plays from his heart to an audience of One. From my childhood I remember dad coming home from work, we'd all sit down for dinner and after dinner, as we were all doing our chores, dad would sit down and play piano. Today, dad will stop at any moment in the day and sit in front of the ivory keys to make music. We the children of my dad have been blessed with many a concerto. Please double click on the videos to see him playing in full screen.



One doesn't have to wait until their loved ones pass on to share how special they are. There is no obituary that can be nearly as good as sharing our love and gratitude with the living. Thanks Dad, for being such a great man, and a great dad. Speaking for all my brothers and sister, we love you.