Thoughts from Dad...

Who'se Your Jethro?

2011-10-29T20:38:00.001-04:00

"When Jethro saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, "What are you really trying to accomplish here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?" Jethro the Midianite Feedback is a gift. Moses was in a fix, after 40 years in the desert simply looking after sheep and his own family he found himself leading hundreds of

Grandpa Dug A Well...And Found A Legacy

2011-08-07T00:23:00.002-04:00

In 1905 a young, barely 19 year old Norwegian boy stepped off of a ship with hundreds of other immigrants to Ellis Island in New York's busy harbor, eyes wide and bright. Born in 1886 to humble surroundings in Arendal Norway, Ole had heard of the freedom and riches of America since he was a young boy, how someone with no family wealth or station had the opportunity to work hard and enjoy the

Passage - Calling Young Men to Manhood

2011-06-24T22:34:00.017-04:00

Christian & Ben The last month two of my son's have had significant milestones that we've enjoyed memorializing in special ways. First, my second son Ben graduated from High School in late May. We began planning a home party and barbecue but he grew uncomfortable with that idea and instead asked for a small dinner with some men and young guys that have been a part of his life. I organized

Advice To A Young Man

2011-04-27T19:03:00.001-04:00

Here's a recent note I wrote to my young nephew Josh who just joined the Army this week. My wonderful sister and her husband had a going away party for him. Since we were unable to be with them and knowing him from the time he was a young boy, I penned the following letter to him; Dear Joshua, The big day is nearing. Here a just a few thoughts for you to take with you. 1. You will be

Speaking Well Of Your Spouse

2011-04-22T08:59:00.000-04:00

I have really come to admire Michael Hyatt, Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishing and his website/blog at www.michaelhyatt.com. Here is a recent post of his that hit the mark and challenged me, so and I wanted to share it with others. Why Speaking Well Of Your Spouse Is So Important. Enjoy,

The Best Gift Dad Can Give His Child

2011-04-17T18:28:00.001-04:00

There are many things we seek to give our children, food, clothing, an education, a home, love and protection from danger to name a few. For dads however, we tend to get more intently focused on providing the money for all of the above needs figuring out how to get ahead in life and working-out the details of funding the family and all their pursuits. But, THE most important thing we can

The Top 5 Things My Dad Did Right

2011-04-09T17:11:00.001-04:00

In our hyper-self-centered world the focus on our childhood's can often be on what we would have done differently or what we lacked growing-up. No doubt, there's been some pretty bad stories I've heard about fathers, but I'd like to focus this post on the top things my dad did well in raising his 5 children. dad & me 5. He married-up! Mom was and is beautiful and talented. A wonderful

No, Is A Holy Word

2011-04-05T22:43:00.005-04:00

Over the years I've taught my family a phrase that now get's repeated to me often, "No...is a holy word." Enjoying a "Dad versus Wild" Outing With a large family there are MANY opportunities to do alot of things, often alot of "good" things. In fact, I often think I've earned a masters degree in logistics or decision analysis with this bunch. But anyone with a family or a business

How Mom Can Make Her Husband A Better Dad

2011-04-03T09:40:00.000-04:00

I was thinking today of a few ways that my wife has helped me be a better dad. While not an exhaustive list of all the things she's done to help me, here are a few thoughts; We pray for the children each day during our prayer time. This has evolved over 20+ years of marriage, but my wife doesn't guilt me if we don't pray on a particular day, she simply makes herself available and encourages me.

Discovering A Passion

2011-03-20T14:36:00.001-04:00

My son had another fighting tournament. He's extremely disciplined and competed in the over 18 year old division which meant he'd be fighting older (usually 20 something) guys. The short version is he had a great day. He fought 3 fights; the first was won by decision, the second my TKO (technical knock out) and the third, well, let's just say he didn't know what hit him near the end of the

Egypt & The Declaration of Independence

2011-01-30T04:09:00.003-05:00

Image via WikipediaAs my young son's and I were scanning the CNN headlines regarding the latest unrest in Egypt, they asked me "why" the people were rioting. I don't pretend to know why in particular the Egyptians are so upset, but I'm sure it has something to do with not having democracy and having one president for the last 30 years; nonetheless I cheered people on as my son's listened. Their

Why God Chose Abraham ~ And Why Child Training is so Important For You

2011-01-16T08:30:00.004-05:00

Image via WikipediaI've been reading about Abraham since the new year began and have come to understand him differently than before, but more importantly "why" God chose Abraham to be the "father of faith" as he is commonly referred. If you know of Abraham you probably have heard alot about the following (Genesis12:2-3) God told him he would make him a "great nation" He would make his name "

Interior Enhancements

2010-12-30T19:58:00.001-05:00

"...Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it." Isaiah 30:15 The way I often come across a new thought is making a connection between two or more seemingly unrelated items usually within days or weeks of each other. This is also the way God seems to speak to me (correction; the way in which I hear him

Never Go Alone

2010-09-09T20:27:00.002-04:00

One of my sweetie's at Home Depot People often ask me "how do you have time to spend quality time with each child?" While I don't have a complete answer for this post, one motto I use is, "never go alone". I work out of the home and travel at times, therefore home-time is very important to me. No doubt there are constant needs, work to be done, things to fix. But I've found that the moments

A Dad's Song

2010-08-31T20:23:00.002-04:00

I've heard this song several times, but it wasn't until today that the words resonated with me with deeper clarity than before. Dad's face different issues than mom's and this tune speaks to them honestly and authentically, challenging us to focus our lives on what matters most. With all that husband's and dad's need to get done, the pressure, distraction and "tyranny of the urgent" can easily

Your Cornerman

2010-07-24T21:18:00.002-04:00

At a recent kickboxing tournament my son was fighting in I grew more interested watching the cornermen coaching the fighters than watching the actual fights. These were my first live, organized fights to attend, I had never been so close to action. Sometimes things get rough in the corner... Fighting is analgous to life in so many ways. There is nothing more raw than entering a ring and

Fight The Good Fight...

2010-06-16T23:44:00.008-04:00

Update June 19th 2010 - He won his division! Congratulations Ben, so proud of how you focused on this goal, trained diligently and fought with honor. Here are some of my favorite images of the event. June 17, 2010 - My son Ben covered by our local television station for his upcoming match. Go Ben!!

21 Years Done...39 Left To Go...

2010-06-03T06:00:00.004-04:00

Twenty-four or so years ago I noticed this extremely cute girl walking at the campus fitness center - cupid had struck. It took me some time, but within a few weeks I discovered her name and through a conveniently-timed "get your roommate a date" event, I conned my roommate into calling this girl for our double-date. After a brief introduction at the ice cream machine a few days before, we

Dad Champions

2010-04-15T21:01:00.000-04:00

This is one of my all-time favorites. I first learned about Dick Hoyt father of Rick who was born with Cerebral Palsey years ago at a PromisKeepers event. When he was young, Rick told his dad that he wanted to run a 5K race and that was all his dad needed to hear, they did....and never stopped. Rick told his dad that, "when he ran races, he didn't feel disabled". Again, that was all dad

Mary Kate's announcement...

2010-04-09T19:06:00.002-04:00

On the swing MK announces to the 5 year old boy swinging next to her at the top of her lungs..."When I grow up, I'm going to be a Mama and cook potatoes!!"

Caroline's 1st loose tooth - stressing her out...

2010-04-09T17:53:00.002-04:00

So sad, but kinda funny too...

Soccer - The American Family's Saturday Morning Past time

2010-03-27T11:08:00.003-04:00

Crisp spring mornings, kids frantically running, overly competitive dads taking out their week-long, cubicle-induced frustrations (guilty as charged) - soccer season has begun and I love it! Despite the fact that some parents take it as a life-time referendum on themselves if their kids don't perform to order, it is the American way to need to win. Sport has clearly become an American Idol, but

Daddy Snack

2010-03-26T21:38:00.001-04:00

Snack time can be tough. My wife normally spoils the kids with freshly baked cookies or brownies. I don't have such skills, but I do have secret snack weapons. "Daddy Snack!" is composed of any of the following; peanut butter on a spoon with dark chocolate chips, all of the above but on ritz crackers and banana! 30 seconds and wallah!

A Son In Heaven

2010-03-20T23:22:00.002-04:00

Today we celebrated the birthday of my 10 year old son Taylor Oran, who has resided in Heaven since a few days before his scheduled birth. We do this by visiting his beautiful grave, a wonderful location on the tip of a rolling hill lying under a grand oak tree. We brought dinner and freshly cut daffodils from our yard. The kids played, as usual running through the green expanse of grass,

My Haiti Trip

2010-03-10T09:26:00.001-05:00

From the onset, I confess that one week in Haiti, does not a Haiti expert make, but I'd like to share my thoughts since these beautiful people have been in the news so much since the terrible earthquake. So here goes in no particular order of priority. For a first-timer, there are few words to describe the devastation in Haiti (it is much worse that I ever imagined it could be), but much of this