So the truth is that 30 years ago now, I thought I was raising up a future TV Evangelist. Or maybe it was a used car salesman. Red pants, Mom, really? And that plaid jacket? It’s still tucked away in the foot locker with all the other baby clothes.  And why shouldn’t I have planned on him being a TV evangelist? He had the hair. The charm. He’s great with people and bad with money. He appeared to have all the natural inclinations for being a star of some sort.

And so he is a star to many. Pam and Ann are two of his most vocal fans. It’s always “Stephan this”  and “Stephan that.”  You’d think these two gals had birthed this 9 pound wonder. But instead they just bask in the limelight of all the work that I put into raising this boy who would be king — with the right role to play and the right wardrobe.

It isn’t easy, being the mother of a Revolutionary. The boy is always stirring the pot. Defending truth. Standing for what’s right. Always willing to speak truth to power, no matter the cost. I blame his daddy for that. All those fool notions he put into the boy’s head — talking nonsense about freedoms and rights and noble endeavors.

He leads an adventuresome life, this boy of ours. That’s for sure. Leading revolutions one minute and working for those government folks the next. Sometimes it feels like I gave birth to Jason Bourne . From day to day, it’s difficult to know exactly what his identity may be.

But no matter what the exterior may look like, this man now grown is still our boy, a blessing.  The son that makes us proud, not only on this his birthday, but throughout the year.

And now a challenge to you — the first non-family member to pick him out of this first-grade photo will earn an autographed copy of Will Jesus Buy Me a Double-Wide?