Jude 2

I got 3 ties for Father's Day. First time I've received ties for the day. My daughter heard me say three months ago that I needed a new yellow tie, and she picked out one and two others, and two shirts (one a new Alabama golf shirt that I love).

Today, after church, we ate Chinese and I taught my daughter to ride a bike without training wheels. She even did an interview on our video camera about the new skill. Good thing I've lost 35 pounds! I haven't run so much in a long time. We're going to work on starting and stopping later in the week.

Today was a very good day for our family. It was a challenging sermon from the pastor to really be the priest of my home. That's a message I need to heed more and just do it more consistently, more seriously. The world is gone haywire, and today is one of those rarest treasures where I sensed God in everything that happened. Tomorrow requires faithfulness, and I pray that I will be an obedient son as I live to be an exemplary father.

Nine years ago, I was asked to fill in for our pastor (different church then, of course) on Father's Day. Funny, since I had no children then and my own father was gone when I was in first grade. I spoke about being a father to the fatherless, and related my own experience as a "Big" with Big Brothers/Big Sisters in Tuscaloosa while I was in law school. That day, what I said connected with a lot of single moms -- go figure. While I'm ever mindful of the difficulties of life without a dad, I'm ever motivated to be here for my daughter. Today is a polar opposite in the kind of joy from that day nine years ago.

Hope your day was as special as ours was to me.

Great Day.

Sermon: Romans 8:14,17

14. because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.[g] And by him we cry, "Abba,[h] Father." 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

After Church.. My Dad actually blessed me with buying MY meal. He wanted me to remember this and tell my grandkids about it. When he put it like that I couldn't block his blessing.

My son and daughter blessed me so and I returned it with a Toy Story 3D Movie that afternoon and then jumped into the pool with them.

( btw... down with the Ties LOL.... - stopped wearing them 15 years ago! )

dolfan, your post really blessed me. God is up to something big in your life, brother.

I took my amazing and inspiring son to dinner at his favorite steak restaurant, Longhorns. What a pleasure. The perfect table, the perfect dinner, with a son who makes me proud to be called, "Dad."