It's all in Him

"For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth." -Psalms 71:5 (NKJV)

I had an amazing thing happen to me the other day as a father. Olivia and I were just hanging out at the house, and I decided it was a great time for some ice cream. (Like there's ever a bad time!) What happened next was wonderful. She simply asked, "Do you want to go outside and talk?" So that's exactly what we did, we sat out on my front deck, ate ice cream, and just talked. Now, that may not seem like much, but trust me- times like this are HUGE in our children's lives! Every time we take a minute to just slow down, and enjoy the everyday little moments that pass by all too quickly, we are laying another brick in our legacy as a parent. I am so grateful to God that He has opened my eyes to see these opportunities, and I pray the same for you.

In a couple of my recent posts, I have been telling you about the Fresh Air Fund, an organization that takes children from the urban city in New York, and places them in "host" families in rural areas to discover what a true summer vacation is all about. I recently received an update from the FAF, here's part of what they had to say: "You've helped support the efforts of our local volunteer leaders to recruit more dedicated host families...we were able to spread the word to other potential supporters...THOUSANDS of Fresh Air Children embarked on free summer vacations this summer." Wow- what a great report to hear!

Here's where I'm going with all of this. Our faith and trust must rest solely in the hands of Jesus Christ. Our next obligation as parents is to extend that same love to our children. But it doesn't stop there. If we are truly the hands and feet of Christ, then we must reach out to those who are in need. God gives hope to the hopeless, and He's a Father to the fatherless. Our job is to remain in Him and reach out to a lost and dying world. To all of you who helped in one form or another to the Fresh Air Fund, thank you so much! Dads, I'm gonna talk to you specifically to close out here. YOU are the head of your kids, stay connected to God as your Father, and He will lead you in the direction you are to go. I often think back to what kind of dad I would have been to Olivia had I not accepted Jesus into my life- I'm here to tell you today that not only has He made me a better father than I ever thought possible, He has given me the tools to pass on to my children necessary to keep a godly legacy intact; and the same is available to you. I simply love this quote from Maria Edgeworth: "If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves."