The official offer arrived on a Thursday afternoon. The company wanted an answer by Monday. On one hand, it would be foolish not to accept the offer. The dad had been out of work a couple of months and it was a great move into a company he had done work with. On the other hand, there was extensive travel involved with the position and that would put him back into a very similar situation to what he had left. On the other hand, there were no other offers on the horizon so he decided to ...read on

I am in the process of loading up another jar with 936 marbles for a new dad. I pray that at some point in our ministry that we can do this for every first-time dad – give him a jar of marbles as he and his bride leave the hospital to start a new chapter in marriage as dad and mom. (For a refresher on what this is about, click on: Losing Your Marbles).

On the front end, the 936 weekends dad has before the child turns eighteen seems like a long time. On the back end when the jar is empty, every dad ...read on

He had attended church regularly as a boy but life experienced in a violent alcoholic home was not consistent with his experience in church. He drifted from the faith as a young man but was determined to overcome the shortfalls of his father. Over the next 20 years he focused on being successful in the world and providing well for his family. He was sure that providing well was ...read on

Two friends were walking along the river bank when they suddenly heard a scream for help from a guy in the river. One of the young men dove into the river, grabbed hold of the kid and drug him to the bank. Then there was another scream from the river. The young man dove back in, grabbed hold of a young girl struggling to stay afloat and pulled her back to the bank. Sure enough, no longer had he gotten the second person to safety there was another scream from the river. As he was getting ready to dive back in a third time he noticed his friend was walking up the river bank. He hollered, “Aren’t you going to help me?” His friend responded, ...read on

They were discussing her desire to be in honors band. Band was not the dad’s forte but he was willing to hang with her as she worked through the various audition pieces. She was driven by a very competitive nature. As dad tried to encourage her to take a deep breath and just let it flow through the clarinet, frustration percolated up. She shouted, “Dad! You just don’t get it!” as she stomped upstairs and slammed her door.

Dad found himself sitting alone in the living room wondering what just happened. He had two choices before him: ...read on