There is not a more dreaded sound during a relay race than the clank of a baton hitting the ground after an unsuccessful exchange. Just ask Tyson Gay or Lauryn Williams, both runners on the receiving end of failed exchanges in the 4X100 men’s and women’s relay races respectively during the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing.
The runner with the baton has the eyes and the receiving runner presents the target for the baton. The exchange is simple … until it is not. It was not that August night in Beijing ten years ago. Today, dads have the eyes ...read on
He was spending a few weeks with his uncle, a father-figure in his life. During the visit an opportunity was presented to join his uncle’s Scout troop for a 10-day backpacking trip on Isle Royale National Park. It was the first time the young city-boy had spent any time in the wilderness. It was also a first to have so much one-on-one time with his uncle. They talked about everything from the moose and wolves of Isle Royale to what it meant to be a man, husband and father. The impact he had ...read on
The command is to: Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. – Exodus 20:12. This is the commandment with a promise. It bridges the first commandments to the last; it bridges the spiritual relationship with God to the physical relationships with others; and it bridges faith from one generation to the next.
I encourage you to accept a 3-point challenge to Honor Your Father:
My favorite month of the year is here - Father's Day month! So, in the spirit of Father's Day month, I have asked my bride, Linda to share five more ways wives can encourage husbands on the journey of becoming faithful fathers.
Schedules were referenced earlier – making sure dad and mom are operating off the same calendar. Another way to encourage your husband is to help him identify and schedule one-on-one time with each child routinely. It might be a dad-daughter date, a weekend retreat or extended summer hiking trip. This takes ...read on
Moms play a key role on the journey of men becoming faithful fathers, so I have asked Linda, my bride of 37 years to share ways wives can encourage husbands on the journey. Number one is affirmation:
Affirm Dad in front of the kids. It may be for making an activity, stepping up to coach a team or consistently getting home on time. Men do appreciate ‘ATTADAD’s. If there are work schedule issues or anything you feel may be wrong priorities that have impacted family time, talk about those away from the kids;
Make time for a daily debrief about the kids’ activities and issues. Over the years, this time has helped us stay in tune with each other around the kids’ development, dreams and set-backs. Our dog still takes us for a walk just about every evening;
A great way to encourage your husband is ...read on
“The price of greatness is responsibility. If the people of the United States had continued in a mediocre station, struggling with the wilderness, absorbed in their own affairs, and a factor of no consequence in the movement of the world, they might have remained forgotten and undisturbed beyond their protecting oceans: but one cannot rise to be in many ways the leading community in the civilized world without being involved in its problems, without being convulsed by its agonies and inspired by its causes.” – Winston Churchill speaking at Harvard in 1943.
Where does a young man learn to be the man, husband and father he is called to be, that the next generation needs? Is it through the school of hard knocks called life lessons? Is it through the example set by those men around him during the formative years? Is it via the media’s projection of what marriage and family looks like? All will have an influence on a young man but it is up to him to discern what to conform to.
If you have seen the movie, Amazing Grace, you may know William Wilberforce as the man that abolished slave trade in Great Britain in 1807. In his book, “Seven Men and the Secret of their Greatness”, Eric Metaxas quotes Wilberforce writing that “God Almighty has set before me two Great Objects: the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners.” Metaxas goes on to write that the terrible evil of the slave trade was only one – albeit the worst – of the social evils running rampant at the time in England. “Reformation of Manners” had to do with the other social evils - ...read on
When pond fishing, it is common to have a minimum size and weight of fish that you can keep. In some cases, the type of fish may even be stipulated – the landowner may be trying to thin out the perch population or decrease the number of big bass. When taking the kids fishing, it is important to explain up front that if they catch the wrong thing, it will need to be thrown back. It is not that easy in life.
He made sure the family went to church most every Sunday and that the kids were ...read on
What a great one-liner Southwest Airlines has used to encourage folks to escape from present circumstances and travel to one of their many destinations for a reasonable fare. The commercials are effective because everyone can relate to the awkwardness of showing up at the wrong place at the wrong time and wanting to get small. Southwest pipes in, “Wanna get away?”
That can happen to us dads as the kids mature. It seems we turn around and another school year is in the books - Fifty-two marbles gone if you are counting. That boy is becoming a young man and the little girl is becoming a young lady. The busy-ness of work and activities have made any one-on-one time almost impossible. “Wanna get away? ...read on
There is not a more dreaded sound during a relay race than the clank of a baton hitting the ground after an unsuccessful exchange. Just ask Tyson Gay or Lauryn Williams, both runners on the receiving end of failed exchanges in the 4X100 men’s and women’s relay races respectively during the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing.
He was spending a few weeks with his uncle, a father-figure in his life. During the visit an opportunity was presented to join his uncle’s Scout troop for a 10-day backpacking trip on Isle Royale National Park. It was the first time the young city-boy had spent any time in the wilderness. It was also a first to have so much one-on-one time with his uncle. They talked about everything from the moose and wolves of Isle Royale to what it meant to be a man, husband and father. The impact he had 
The command is to: 
My favorite month of the year is here - Father's Day month! So, in the spirit of Father's Day month, I have asked my bride, Linda to share five more ways wives can encourage husbands on the journey of becoming faithful fathers.
Moms play a key role on the journey of men becoming faithful fathers, so I have asked Linda, my bride of 37 years to share ways wives can encourage husbands on the journey. Number one is affirmation:
“The price of greatness is responsibility. If the people of the United States had continued in a mediocre station, struggling with the wilderness, absorbed in their own affairs, and a factor of no consequence in the movement of the world, they might have remained forgotten and undisturbed beyond their protecting oceans: but one cannot rise to be in many ways the leading community in the civilized world without being involved in its problems, without being convulsed by its agonies and inspired by its causes.” – Winston Churchill speaking at Harvard in 1943.
Where does a young man learn to be the man, husband and father he is called to be, that the next generation needs? Is it through the school of hard knocks called life lessons? Is it through the example set by those men around him during the formative years? Is it via the media’s projection of what marriage and family looks like? All will have an influence on a young man but it is up to him to discern what to conform to.
If you have seen the movie, Amazing Grace, you may know William Wilberforce as the man that abolished slave trade in Great Britain in 1807. In his book, “Seven Men and the Secret of their Greatness”, Eric Metaxas quotes Wilberforce writing that “God Almighty has set before me two Great Objects: the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners.” Metaxas goes on to write that the terrible evil of the slave trade was only one – albeit the worst – of the social evils running rampant at the time in England. “Reformation of Manners” had to do with the other social evils - 
When pond fishing, it is common to have a minimum size and weight of fish that you can keep. In some cases, the type of fish may even be stipulated – the landowner may be trying to thin out the perch population or decrease the number of big bass. When taking the kids fishing, it is important to explain up front that if they catch the wrong thing, it will need to be thrown back. It is not that easy in life.
What a great one-liner Southwest Airlines has used to encourage folks to escape from present circumstances and travel to one of their many destinations for a reasonable fare. The commercials are effective because everyone can relate to the awkwardness of showing up at the wrong place at the wrong time and wanting to get small. Southwest pipes in, “Wanna get away?”
