The other day I came across a little stocking stuffer book that I received over Christmas. You know, one of those little square books with a lot of little one sentence quotes in it. I almost lost it between the shuffle of the holidays and the clutter of my office. As soon as I started leafing through it (for the first time) I was quite glad I had found it. Author Harry H. Harrison, Jr. begins Father to Son: Life Lessons on Raising a Boy with this quote.

Turning a boy into a man is a man’s job. Since the beginning of time, it’s been up to a father to make his son responsible. Kind. Courageous. Honorable.

A young boy doesn’t come with instructions. He just comes with boundless love and an adventurous spirit. But the journey to manhood begins very early . . . the first time he looks at his dad and thinks, “I want to be like him.”

Many times have I noticed how much my son wants to be just like me. Unfortunately, it is not always his father’s “good” behavior that is replicated. If you want to find out how sinful you really are, then just have kids!

Harrison continues his intro by citing the five key foundations for raising a son.

1. Be around.
2. Be his father, not his friend. If you don’t understand the difference, imagine his confusion when you must discipline him.
3. Be a good husband. Show his mom respect at all times.
4. Be home for dinner.
5. Be his hero.

While those functions and behaviors are so necessary for fathers to fulfill, they are also counter to our sinful selves. I am more likely to pour myself into my job, hobbies and other activities than I am to sacrifice my time for my family. I can be hesitant at times to discipline (at all) out of fear of rejection or being too harsh. My wife is the one person that I criticize the most. Realizing this is all very overwhelming, but comfort comes in knowing that our heavenly Father, by his grace and working of his Spirit, is continuing to mold and shape me into the family man that I need to be, after the mind and model of Jesus Christ.

Note: Sorry for posting this so late. I ran into some technical issues with the blog.

The Hollywood trend of turning children’s books into movies has gone too far. It is better to leave some things to the imagination, especially when a Disney-fied fantasy world is not the main object of the story. We can only hope that the trailers are misrepresentative.

A friend passed this on to me and I just had to post it.

The Lord moves in mysterious ways; in our fervant prayers that we might be possessed anew by His Spirit, how have we imagined he might move? As we’ve been learning, sometimes the Lord’s mysterious ways turn out to be somewhat unusual …

Think of the video as a catalyst for continuing the “Church and Culture” discussion that began in the boozing post from the other day. The same question of “co-opting the culture” ought to arise when we start to talk about church growth—for a myriad of “worship gimmicks” will otherwise follow.

Lately I have found myself meditating about prayer—not simply the meaning and purpose, but also the methodology and practice. Take, for example, grace before meals. How many times have you been at a restaurant with friends when someone invariably asks, “Who is going to bless the food?” Whatever rushed prayer that follows typically includes a central phrase like: “bless this food to the nourishment and/or strengthening of our bodies.” I am guilty of this, too, but when you really reflect on it that first part is kind of an odd statement, is it not? Why does the food need to be blessed anyway?

I grew up in a home in which I was taught to pray the same short and sweet prayer over and over again at every meal (in fact, the first time I heard someone pray something different at dinner I was taken aback).

O

LORD, bless us and these gifts, which we are about to receive, from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord — Amen.

We said it so fast that it simply seemed like something to get out of the way as quickly as possible so that we could satisfy our hunger. This only served to fuel the focus on “me, me, me.” Between the brevity, the “bless us” and the “we…receive;” the source of the “bounty” was all but forgotten.

Contrast this with a children’s prayer that my oldest son and daughter learned at the mom’s day out pre-school they attend a couple days a week. They are always asking to pray at dinner. Sometimes they are so eager that after one person has prayed, the other says a different prayer.

G

REAT, great elephant,
Little tiny bee,
Small purple violet
And tall green tree.
God gave us everything,
He gave us eyes to see.
Thank you God for everything
That you have given me — Amen.

The first time I heard my son pray this I was immediately like, “W-w-hat? Elephant?” When he finally finished I thought, “Huh? Out of the mouths of babes!” So the next time you sit down to feast on God’s bountiful blessings, I encourage you to take a cue from the kids: be excited, slow down and offer a little less praise to the food and a little more to the God who gave it.

The Chattanooga ex-pats known as The Quiet Ones will be playing a studio performance at Seattle’s KEXP studio this Saturday night (1/27) at 11:00pm EST; 10:00pm CST; 9:00pm MST; 8:00pm PST. Listen to it streaming over the web at KEXP.org.