In light of so many recent events, my own time here with fatherless grandchildren in the Adirondacks and regular meditations, I am preparing a new series.
I would like your help. It is not very technical, but it is a thought process I would like to learn from as I write on this. Continue reading A Short Survey For A Dad Series
Vacation. A time of rest and peace for me.
Yesterday I posted an article that generated a ton of prayer requests. I am glad. People need people. Just the idea of people needing people to grow and do life with is probably the sincerest form of revival. (And I am praying for those who sent things in.) Continue reading Let The Fun Begin
Four times they invited me over to sit in and play drums. Four times I politely declined. But there was something about the music that was drawing me. I got up to go get a drink. And there it was. That bass line that need fill. That guitar solo that cried out. I watched the guys as they played and when they played those segments of music, they looked over to me, as if to say “please”. As I walked back with the bottle of water, I felt myself drawn to the drums. Continue reading A Chosen Generation – Chosen By God
Today was my dad’s birthday. He would have been 88. 88… What a number! May 15th, 1926.
And on this day of celebration, my oldest daughter is in labor expecting her first child. How ironic. We shall see…
My dad will always be one of my heroes. He wasn’t the best, but he was always mine. I know some might not agree with him and his techniques. (I am still looking for my head…) He was a drunk. But he always loved me. He may never have known how to show it. I am not sure how I would be growing up without a father, finding out in your 40’s someone else was your mother, being in the military and receiving 2 Purple Hearts. Losing foxhole buddies at 17 years old. Just not sure…
So today is your birthday dad and I think you would be proud of me, of your children and your grandchildren. Today is bittersweet for me as I see Amy getting ready to deliver her first child. How much you cared about her and did everything to be her grandfather. (Between Amy and Mandy he was pretty much in love with the grandkids.) He put in a pool and such just so everyone would have a “place”.
I miss my dad. I certainly remember the day of his death. But mostly I remember his life. As you read though my stories, you can see how he taught me baseball, football, basketball and even soccer. He taught me horseshoes and Jarts. He taught me how to build and to fish. To repair motors and bikes. To see the world differently.
Dad-today is your day. Even now tears run down my face as I think about you. I miss you. I think you would be proud of your family.
You might even know that it is God in the box, but the enjoyment of touching Him is limited by the box.
I watched the following video and cried. Let’s let God the Father out of the box.
Veterans Day is to honor the living veterans amongst us. (As opposed to Memorial Day offering honor to those who have given their lives for their country.) Every time I see a flag, I think of the service my dad and others gave to for this great country of ours. And each time I see a man in uniform, I thank them for their service. But veterans do not wear their uniforms, except on special occasions for the most part.
The son of a military man, I learned the values of who they were and what they stood for. Regardless of whether you believe they ought to have been “over there” or not, it is a time to value the men and women of our country.
I know we have a lot going on in America, but I think it is important that we pray, as well as do what we can for these men and women. Many of them have made the sacrifice in their bodies, their families and their communities. These folks are our “family” and our community. We need to do what we can. Continue reading Veterans Day-A Day For The Living Warriors
Yesterday I was walking around my community and I thought look at all these adults and no kids walking. I thought I would love to be walking with one of my children or grandchildren. My children would probably keep up with me while the younger ones would stop for leaves and bugs and rocks.
The more I walked the more I thought.
Jesus said “I only do the things I see my Father do.” Let me tell you children are like that. As the influencing male in Jacob’s life, he has wanted to dress like me, read like me and kid around like me. Continue reading Your Child is Watching
I guess you could say I am on a mission. A mission to see dads restored and the family made whole. I would not have said that was a part of my mission but often people tell me my thoughts on it are “obvious.” I hurt my own children in my divorces. I see others hurt. It really matters little the age. Continue reading The Impact of Divorce on a Child
A Dad
Over the last few weeks I have had this “thing” on my mind about being a dad. What is the value of a dad? How can one help? What do we do with this currently “dadless” generation? So many young people are running around without dads or dads that left mom hanging to struggle in the realms of finance and support.
In full disclosure at one point I was that dad. After the loss of my first marriage, I moved on, having two more children. A second divorce came not long after. I now had child support to pay to two ex-wives and three children. But the Lord entered my life and I saw the need to become more responsible not just financially but to provide support emotionally, spiritually and with physical things like warm housing, food and peace. Paying child support, undergirding two step children and maintaining life was not easy but I made it. At the end of “child support” season I had letters from my ex-wives thanking me for being the man I was.
Last night some of this topic was coming up in our prayer time but the Lord has been speaking to me about it for a long time. Over the years of ministry I faced many challenges with a variety of folks in our church fellowships. They included:
I could and have gone off on wayward parents of children who have left them empty handed, broken and busted. Today is not that day. Today is a new day and I see new focus on men and in particular, dads. Grace tells me God believes in reconciliation and restoration of all things. He also tells me one of our “jobs” is to redeem the time. And so I am moving towards that.
What I see happening….
Years ago, in a small Baptist church I prophesied that when the men dance the church would change. Only days later the Toronto outpouring began and men danced. The last few weeks (September of 2013) I have felt the church’s unprecedented growth will be shaped by men understanding who God has called them to be.
I see that the following are readying to change.
We are about to see some amazing things amongst men in this land. Men stepping into place. Balanced in all things of God.
I suspect that young men are going to need help here. Young women and young men will have questions. Older men will question how they plug in.
Malachi 4:6 “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers
Luke 1:17 “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
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Like many I watched the trial of George Zimmerman. Unlike many, I had followed it from before the arrest. My issue is not which side you or I are on. Here are two young men, who have changed lives. One dead, the other most likely to be pursued for the rest of his life. There is no “innocence” here. A trial is a trial. The answer the answer. Do not presume you know which side I am “on.” You probably do not. I have had a number of people work to engage me. I am more concerned with where we go from here. Continue reading Young Men and A Fatherless Generation
