World's Best Dad

As Father's day approaches I typically find myself reviewing my performance as a Dad over the last 12 months to see if I truly deserve the cards, special treatment, and affection.

My oldest is heading to college now, so this is my 18th Father's Day and as this one comes to pass, I've come to a not so politically correct assessment.  We are spoiling our kids.

Most of the men reading these posts are careful about not having material possessions dominate their lives or their family's lives.  I'm not talking about buying them a pony or an Xbox One.  I'm talking about spending too much quality time with our children.

No Sin is Personal

by Fred Vilbig

World events are disturbing. Russia is encroaching on its European neighbors. It is also encroaching on Japanese territory. China is encroaching on Vietnamese territorial waters, and the Vietnamese are responding with water cannons – for now. Syria is descending into hell, and neither side really looks to be morally justified. In Africa, many nations are experiencing either Civil War or national war with their neighbors. And it just seems to me that a single spark could ignite a worldwide fire.

Are You Equipped?

by Margaret Bommarito

God equips those He calls. As a parent, this is crucial information! If we’re honest with ourselves, we don’t know what we are doing much of the time. God is also very polite, and waits to be invited. It takes great humility, and an awareness of our shortcomings, to ask for, and expect, our daily bread.

During the winter of her junior year of High School, my daughter mentioned interest in a school service trip to Mexico for Spring Break. Pride. We attended the informational meeting. Fear. The location, deep within the center of the country, is 9 hours from phone service or a hospital. Even something as simple as appendicitis could be fatal. Four years prior a senior had died from an accident on a similar service trip. Terror. Yes, this week-long immersion trip held life changing possibilities but we couldn’t get past our fears. We hoped that the rustic details – dirt floors, no indoor plumbing would discourage our spider-fearing daughter. It didn’t. We gathered more details from a priest who has made the trip several times, and from the parent of a previous participant. Our fears only increased by what we learned.

We would have to say no.