I am blessed!  I had such a wonderful Father.  He was always there for me; always cheered for me; was ready to listen to me and advise me.  I knew he loved me and though he has been gone, for 20 years now, I still miss him.  As we celebrate Father's Day I now feel honored to be the father for two adult children:  Beth and John.  Both turned out to be wonderful adults who are responsible, creative, talented, fun to be with, and (most important) truly love the Lord.  I wish I could say that this was all a result of my wonderful efforts, but the truth is, as a busy pastor and family therapist I was distracted too much of the time.  Fortunately, I have a wife who carried much of the parenting burden and I now benefit, in wonderful ways, from her dedication and effort.  But the blessing of being a father, and the opportunity to be a support, encourager, and role model is not over.  As long as I am alive there is always the possibility for me to influence the next generation in a positive way...

Sunday, February 14, is Valentine's day and this is traditionally a day for couples (married, engaged, committed, or engaged) to express their love for one another.  In some ways it is sad that we need a specific day to remind us to share our love with those who are special to us.  Still it is helpful to have a specific day when we can stop and focus our affection on the people we value most.  This year, perhaps more than any other, is a year when we need to share our love...

Last night I watched the first Presidential Debate.  Though I definitely have a preference in the race I will have to say that the debate was anything but "presidential."  Both candidates interrupted, attempted to "talk over" their opponent, and stooped to allegations and name calling.  In short, I thought the true looser was the American people.  But, it is not really politics that I want to focus on; rather it is the tension between substance and style in communication...

Recently we celebrated a Day of Thanksgiving.  For Kristi, Beth and me this is always a wonderful family time.  On Thanksgiving day we were joined by our son John, his wife, Alisha and our two grandsons (also the grand-dogs!).  We were also blessed by having Alisa's parents and sister join us this year.  It was a feast of both food and fellowship.  Usually we connect with Kristi's sister and family on Friday after Thanksgiving for pizza at Hideaways (pictured above) but this year that side of the family was doing a mini-vacation in Alabama.  Still we had a great time with all who were able to join us.  Indeed, we had much to be thankful for...