The founding fathers wrote the document with quite a vision for the nation yet John Adams said, “Our constitution was written for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Sure enough, things got pretty ugly for the nation in the mid-1800’s but at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln provided perspective in reminding people that “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth.”
The devil likes to present a different perspective ...read on
Our Houston Astros have racked up a number of Most Valuable Player awards over the past year – Jose Altuve was MVP of the American League; Justin Verlander was MVP of the 2017 American League Championship Series; George Springer was MVP of the 2017 World Series; and Alex Bregman was named MVP of the 2018 All Star game! While accepting the individual awards, each player pointed to the MVP performance by the team as a whole including Manager A.J. Hinch, General Manager Jeff Luhnow, President Reid Ryan and Owner Jim Crane. Go Stros!
Houston also has a number of MVP fathers. MVP stands for ...read on
He loved golf. Playing several times a week, with customers of course, he had honed a single-digit handicap game. One Saturday, mid-day play was especially slow. The foursome was on pace for about a six-hour round. Waiting to hit his approach shot, he had a “What are you doing here Elijah?” moment (1Kings 19:13). He was missing his son’s ballgame and now would probably be late for family dinner time as well.
While hiking Mount Cameron this summer, one of the four 14-thousand-foot peaks that make up the Decalibron in Colorado, I met a gentleman in his 70’s descending the mountain. He said Cameron was his 45th 14-thousand-foot summit and that he had climbed most of them since he turned 65! I asked what his secret was. He responded, “You just gotta keep movin’ son!” Great wisdom from a High Country encounter.
Be disciplined! Most folks are familiar with ...read on
How can you be encouraged when 24/7 media shows so much bad stuff happening? For 10-years running, over sixty-percent of survey respondents have said there is more crime in the United States than there was a year ago. The fact is the crime rate has dropped about thirty-percent over that same 10-year period. But perception influences reality and this ‘phantom menace’ has made a kid’s walk to school or bike ride through the neighborhood a high-risk activity for some parents!
Be encouraged! In his article, “This is Your Brain on the Internet” ...read on
I hope you have enjoyed a relatively restful summer of fun and family. I say ‘relatively’ because sometimes it seems we need to get back to work, back into a routine to recover from time spent on vacation. That may be the reason dads and moms so look forward to school starting back up – a regular schedule helps all get back into a normal flow of things and maybe even get some rest.
Restful is not the way I would describe summer. ...read on
It is a beautiful thing to watch, music in motion as the runner comes around the bend with baton in hand, readies for the exchange with his teammate running the next leg of the race and successfully passes the baton firmly and confidently. When it goes well, it is beautiful. When it does not, it is ugly.
Life is a relay – when it is run well, it is beautiful; when it is not, the clank of batons is heard throughout society:
The men were in the mountains for a week of fun, fellowship and Bible study. The first day included an acclamation hike for those traveling from sea-level to the 10,000 foot plus elevation at Camp Como, Colorado. The balance of the week allotted time to fish; a day to hike the Decalibron – four 14,000+ peaks on one 8-mile journey; a day-trip into Breckenridge; and a day of white-water rafting. A High Country Adventure indeed.
In her article, “Masculine Dads Raise Confident Daughters” (WSJ-7/21/18), Ms. Shrier said, “My father never let me get away with self-pity, never allowed me to win an argument with tears and never hid that he had high expectations of me. He admired smarts less than grit, found surface beauty less enchanting than charm. The woman he admired most was our mother. … His example has been on my mind these days with all this talk about ‘toxic masculinity’ and the proper ways to raise boys so that they don’t become sexual predators.”
She went on to say, “Femininity and masculinity are ...read on
They had not said more than a couple of words to each other in quite a while. He knew his daughter would go through a stage when she would connect more with her mother than him but even that connection was strained of late. When challenged to ask his daughter out on a date as part of a study for dads he was participating in, he respectfully declined.
As dads move through the seasons of fathering: ‘Teacher’ – ages 0 – 10; ‘Coach’ – ages 10 – 20; and ‘Counselor’ – ages 20+, staying connected takes ...read on
The founding fathers wrote the document with quite a vision for the nation yet John Adams said, “Our constitution was written for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Sure enough, things got pretty ugly for the nation in the mid-1800’s but at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln provided perspective in reminding people that “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth.”
Our Houston Astros have racked up a number of Most Valuable Player awards over the past year – Jose Altuve was MVP of the American League; Justin Verlander was MVP of the 2017 American League Championship Series; George Springer was MVP of the 2017 World Series; and Alex Bregman was named MVP of the 2018 All Star game! While accepting the individual awards, each player pointed to the MVP performance by the team as a whole including Manager A.J. Hinch, General Manager Jeff Luhnow, President Reid Ryan and Owner Jim Crane. Go Stros!
He loved golf. Playing several times a week, with customers of course, he had honed a single-digit handicap game. One Saturday, mid-day play was especially slow. The foursome was on pace for about a six-hour round. Waiting to hit his approach shot, he had a “What are you doing here Elijah?” moment (1Kings 19:13). He was missing his son’s ballgame and now would probably be late for family dinner time as well.
While hiking Mount Cameron this summer, one of the four 14-thousand-foot peaks that make up the Decalibron in Colorado, I met a gentleman in his 70’s descending the mountain. He said Cameron was his 45th 14-thousand-foot summit and that he had climbed most of them since he turned 65! I asked what his secret was. He responded, “You just gotta keep movin’ son!” Great wisdom from a High Country encounter.
How can you be encouraged when 24/7 media shows so much bad stuff happening? For 10-years running, over sixty-percent of survey respondents have said there is more crime in the United States than there was a year ago. The fact is the crime rate has dropped about thirty-percent over that same 10-year period. But perception influences reality and this ‘phantom menace’ has made a kid’s walk to school or bike ride through the neighborhood a high-risk activity for some parents!
I hope you have enjoyed a relatively restful summer of fun and family. I say ‘relatively’ because sometimes it seems we need to get back to work, back into a routine to recover from time spent on vacation. That may be the reason dads and moms so look forward to school starting back up – a regular schedule helps all get back into a normal flow of things and maybe even get some rest.
It is a beautiful thing to watch, music in motion as the runner comes around the bend with baton in hand, readies for the exchange with his teammate running the next leg of the race and successfully passes the baton firmly and confidently. When it goes well, it is beautiful. When it does not, it is ugly.
The men were in the mountains for a week of fun, fellowship and Bible study. The first day included an acclamation hike for those traveling from sea-level to the 10,000 foot plus elevation at Camp Como, Colorado. The balance of the week allotted time to fish; a day to hike the Decalibron – four 14,000+ peaks on one 8-mile journey; a day-trip into Breckenridge; and a day of white-water rafting. A High Country Adventure indeed.
In her article, “Masculine Dads Raise Confident Daughters” (
They had not said more than a couple of words to each other in quite a while. He knew his daughter would go through a stage when she would connect more with her mother than him but even that connection was strained of late. When challenged to ask his daughter out on a date as part of a study for dads he was participating in, he respectfully declined.
