Father's Day

Truly thankful to have had the privilege of having two fathers in my life. My first father went on to be with The Lord ten years ago. He loved me deeply and taught me more about living life than I ever realized when he was alive.

My second father also loves me and is teaching me the value of slowing down and listening to people and not always being in a rush.

I now have the privilege of being a father to 3 children and truly desire to love them and enjoy them. Teach them what is important in life and to live intentionally while hear on earth.

We live at times as if this is as good as it gets in life and that is dangerous to me. I believe there is a home that we will go to when we breathe our last breath and I believe their is a Father in this home we desire to be. Thank you Lord for being our Father even when we live a life of constant rebellion here on earth.

Happy Father's Day.

Celebrating Christmas

Christmas is one if my favorite holidays of the year. Being around family/friends, fun meals, celebrating traditions, and everyone loves opening presents.

I was talking with my children recently and asking them, "Why do we celebrate Christmas?" they started chirping up and saying because of Jesus's birthday.

I want to have fun doing all the above but I want to do it through the lens of Jesus, our Savior, and celebrating the hope we have now and eternally. Have a wonderful day and a wonderful Christmas!

How are we living the dash in our life?

Have you ever thought about the dash in your life? The dash in our life is the line between when we are born and the day we breathe our last breath?

We are all busy and going in so many directions and sometimes it is hard to just stop and reflect on how we are living. If someone came up to us and said you have 6 months left to live, what would we do? If we say we would make drastic changes, that might be a good sign that we need to reevaluate our priorities.

Let's live intentionally with no regrets.

Taking time to love the little ones

Life can get so busy and we can be doing some really good stuff and checking off the To Do's left and right. Then you come up for air and see those precious little faces saying, "I need you Dad". That's when you need to step back and realize how crucial it is to love and adore those entrusted to you.

My youngest son is 2 1/2 years old and is wide open. He loves life and loves being loved on. I will come home from work and before I get ten feet into the house, I hear him yelling and running through the house trying to get to me. There have been a few times when I haven't given him my 100% attention at first due to his mother and siblings getting hugged or kissed. And it want last long before he starts to say, "Look at me, Look at me, Look at me".

I scoop him up, start to kiss all over him, tickle him and he eats it up! Then I just think about the big picture. Isn't that like all of us? We all want to be loved and appreciated. Make sure you let those around you know you truly love and appreciate them before they have to say, "Look at me, Look at me". Have a great day!

A Father and a son and a grandson

Many of you know that my father died about nine years ago from heart disease. He was a great father and man. Truly grateful for him and what he did for me my entire life. He was also a great husband to my mother. They were married for 42 years. They modeled to us how to love and serve each other. What is also amazing is that I had no idea the Lord was going to allow me to have another father. My mother remarried a few years ago to Ted (Ted also lost his wife to an illness) and it is beautiful to see their love for each other. My entire family loves Ted and so glad we are all together.

Several people use to ask me what I thought about my Mom and Ted getting married and how I was dealing with it. My response has always been the same. If the Lord wanted my first father to be married to my mother, he would be here married to her. The Lord wanted him home with Him in heaven.

What is also incredible is the love Ted has for us and our children. This weekend my oldest son and I are hunting with Ted and having a blast. The meals together and conversations are priceless. Honestly, it doesn't matter if we see a deer because we will always have this chapter in our life to reflect on in the future.

Ted and Slade Mitchell (my son) were leaving to go hunting together and as I was walking away to go to my spot, Ted called me back and got the three of us together. He said he wanted to pray for us. He did and then we went our separate ways. I just keep thinking about what happened and keep smiling. These are memories that will stay with me for a lifetime. They are also foundational building blocks for my son. I know throughout his life, he will relive these memories and have great thoughts. It just reminds me how precious life is and how fast it moves. It doesn't matter if you are a hunter or not, we need to make time for these opportunities and be intentional.

Have a great day and make some fun memories.

Making memories for life....

We went off yesterday to get our Christmas tree and truly had a great time. Looking for the perfect tree, getting sap all over your hands and trying to set it up in the house without having half the needles fall off when bringing it through the door. Look forward to setting it up with all the family and telling the story about each homemade ornament. The children are growing up fast!

The Thrill of Football

My oldest son is growing up faster than I realize and I know he will be gone before I am ready for him to journey on.  He has been wanting to play organized football and this past weekend we went through the process of getting him equipped.  He went from the little guy that wobbled when he started to walk to a boy who is ready to learn a new sport.  Tonight he had his first practice and he called to tell me he loved it and is exhausted all in the same breath.  I can't wait to watch and see how he matures and grows with this sport.

Side note-When we were driving to get his helmet, he was listening to me talk on the cell phone to several different people.  When I hung up with the last person, he looked at me and said, "Dad, you should write a book on leadership".  I asked him why and he said you just should.  I was instantly reminded that my life with him and everyone is a chance to serve and lead people even when I don't realize people are watching.  Being intentional with people isn't by accident!