Stone of help In I Samuel 7.12, it is recorded that after God provided a great victory over the Philistines, Samuel took a stone and set it upright and he named it Ebenezer, “the Lord has helped us to this point.” Ebenezer primarily means ‘stone of help’. Why would Samuel have been led to do […]
Taking action My friend, Bill, and I were visiting recently about a meeting he had with about 15 younger fathers and fathers-to-be. Each of them was attending the meeting to learn how they could be or become the father they wanted to be and knew they were supposed to be. The common request in the […]
The final conversation This past May, my wife, Laura, and I graduated our second son, Ben, from high school. In the months leading up to graduation, as the date grew closer, I began to have this overwhelming desire to have one final conversation with Ben before he left for college to make sure we had […]
“Men don’t cry” For many men, weeping or crying is sissy. How many boys grew up hearing from their dads; “men don’t cry”. The damage from these words is overwhelmingly negative. Do you remember QB Colt McCoy in his postgame interview after he had been injured and could not play the majority of the National Championship? Texas lost to Alabama. Fighting through […]
Hope I was having dinner with my youngest daughter, Madeline at a favorite Thai restaurant. We’d been to visit her Uncle who was terminally ill, and we’d spent the weekend with extended family in small town West Texas. Though it was a sad time, there was also joy. Her uncle Gregg even shared his own […]
School shootings What’s The Cause? What’s The Solution?…seems like the appropriate questions to ask in light of the seventeenth school shooting in America this year, and it’s only early March. Seventeen or more families each have their own opinions down in Florida. That is, after they get through grieving and dealing with why, and why […]
Be aware SIX DEADLY D’S…hang around in most every life, haunting and challenging each of us in many ways. But they are especially daunting to young people trying to maneuver into adulthood. Dads need to be especially conscious of these in their children’s lives. So, what might these be? Discouragement…not receiving affirmation, fearing failure Disillusionment…all […]
Disappointment Think back to a time when you’ve been disappointed in your son or daughter. For some of you, it’s a recent event. What is your response as a father? My standard response as a father of young men is the cold shoulder. My mood is cool. My talk is staccato. My look is downcast. […]
Technology Do you know when the first fully digital communication system was invented? Think back to the late 19th century, yes, the 1800’s. The telegraph, which is long distance transmission of text or symbols. As technology evolved, computers started communicating, first with local networks (LAN), then wide-area networks (WAN) in the 1950’s and 1960’s. New […]
Communication SIGNALS…are indicators such as a gesture, sign or token that serves as a means of communication. They’re also something that incites action. ‘I signaled the driver to proceed.’ Or, ‘they have signaled their willingness to negotiate.’ Prior to the electronic age, ships would use Morse code or flags to send messages to other ships. […]