Don't be a Fool

Son,
Mr. T always pitied the fool, simply because the fool did not know what was coming. There are many ways we can be fools in our lives and the easiest way is by choosing to remain foolish.
Proverbs 12:15 "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice." By listening to advice we can use the foolish failures of others to teach us and provide a wiser way through life. The best advice comes in the moments we want to hear it least. While it is hard to accept correction when we are foolish, the best way to avoid remaining a fool is to listen to the wise advice of those around us.
Proverbs 10:8 "The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin." Aim to be wise and you will avoid ruin. Listening more than you talk is the easiest way to gain more wisdom. By listening intently to what the people in our life are advising us on we avoid more foolishness.
Proverbs 10:23 "Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding." While repeating the foolish things we do is the a clear sign of a lack of wisdom, understanding why we make certain decisions and improving on where we make mistakes is the greatest way to advance in wisdom.
Proverbs 17:10 "A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool." The ability to accept correction is the sign of a wise man. Admitting when you've made a mistake and humbly accepting your faults when you are called on the carpet is the start of gaining wisdom. Don't be the fool who is corrected multiple times just to ignore them.
Proverbs 18:2 "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion." This goes back to listening more than you speak. In order to truly understand those around us we have to listen to the things they say and what the mean by them. A great deal of knowledge comes from listening to others speak and understanding what they mean and asking when we don't.
Proverbs 23:9 "Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words." Be the man that listens to the good sense of those around him, no one enjoys the fool who can't accept good advice.
Proverbs 26:12 "Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him." All wisdom comes from God and your wisdom and abilities come from him. Never feel like you have learned all you need to learn, throughout your whole life you will learn more and more. 1 Corinthians 3:18
"Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise."Proverbs 28:26 "Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered." There is no better way to be wise then to realize your are not as wise as you could be. The easiest way to avoid feeling like you know it all is by having people around you who know more than you and have wisdom that stretches beyond yours.
Ecclesiastes 10:12 "The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him." Choose your words and your friends with wisdom. The more you speak with humble wisdom the greater influence you will have and others will have a higher respect for you. Over all just don't be a fool. Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Remember that the Lord is holy and he does not ask you to respect him but fear him to start on the path to wisdom. Start there and you will have all the wisdom you could ever ask for.

Love ya,
Dad

The Trouble with Fear

Son, the epiphany moments of life are often many. I can't tell you how often huge revelations hit me at the perfect moments. God has a way of giving us what we need when we need it, even when we don't ask. Most often these great epiphany moments come when I'm talking to your Uncle John, he's great at getting your dad to see things in a different aspect. Recently we've been talking about fear and what impact it has. Oddly enough I don't react to the same fears that others do, mainly the fear of failure. I ignore that fear like a sales call.

I am the king of starting things. I'll start a group, project, business, plan, or many other adventures without one thought of it having a potential for failure. My fear comes from the idea of success. The success of my plan or idea is what scares me most. There is no fear at where I start, I could start anything without a second thought, the fear becomes mountainous as I approach the finish line. This creates, what most would call, half baked schemes that have me dropping them like a bad habit. Once I see the potential for something to succeed I realize the potential more success. I am afraid of being uncomfortable, that one day I will have had so many success I won't even remember what average looks like.

Honestly, it's a better fear than not starting at all but I use that like a cop out. I'll say, "At least I am starting things. At least I'm not afraid of failure. At least I kinda do something" but it's all non sense. That's where fear gets tricky. While everyone is all too familiar with the fear of failure I have to face the fear of success. It can manifest itself in a much different voice. No one gives the guy who tried as much of a hard time as the guy who never did. There is this weird expectation that if you start something you'll finish it, it's not true. Sure you'll be more likely to finish something you started rather than something you never did. Oh am I the Poster Child for starting things and quitting them just as quickly. Except my dinner, I'm gonna finish that, that'll get me rolling with success, successful weight gain.

What I am trying to get at here is that fear knows you well and it's a devil of voice. Fear hasn't bothered me when starting something for as long as I can remember. Yet when what I have started begins to grow into success, I quit so fast because of the voices of fear trick me. They say, "You don't know how to do that. You'll have to give up everything to make this successful, quit now before your time is wasted. It's not possible, give up now and no one will blame you." Man does fear know what I'll listen to. I mean of all the things, how crazy is it to think that quitting before reaching an ultimate failing point is ok. Maybe I really am afraid of failure. It would seem that I want to control when I fail. I don't want to find out where that ceiling is for my success because I am afraid it's too high. I fear getting there and never being able to return. I am afraid of the sacrifice and gazelle like intensity that I will have to have to push beyond my quitting point. I'm scared but I'm also tired forcing failure upon myself because I am scared to succeed. Maybe it's because I experienced early failure so much that I got comfortable with it. I never went into any idea with a mindset that I was going to fail but I don't really recall many successful finishes in my life. I was a successful starter but the finish line wasn't quite for me.

I hit the finish line in high school but it was because I got drug there. I had what would seem to be senioritis, as it's called, but that wasn't quite it. I had no desire to get to the finish line after nearly 4 years of high school. It wasn't that high school was such a great place but more that I didn't want to push into success. I wanted a championship in basketball and tried very hard, that goal failed due to things beyond my control, but I didn't know success. I had a girl friend and instead of pouring into the relationship, I wanted it to fail. I always acted like I wanted more responsibility but the moment that responsibility became something for me to own by myself, I'd dump it like trash pick up on Mondays. Holy cow I was a failure junkie! Addicted to starting things just so I could watch them fail. I loved it and I created this illusion that I was doing something with my life because I was doing so many different things. Truth is I was forcing failure into so many things. I had so many jobs by the time I was 21, just ask my friends how many times I'd call them selling them something new (and I wonder why they never answer my calls). From knives to life insurance, I tried selling it. I was the king of selling hot dogs though. Yet every single avenue I took was met with failure, some of it forced by me, some was out of my hands.

I'm a professional starter and habitual quitter, that's too afraid to be successful. So the question isn't where do I start, it's where do I finish. That question is even more difficult to answer than any question about starting. That's because we don't get to control the finish line, which is why I force failure into my starts. I don't get to control where my success will take me and that terrifies me. So it's easier to sit back in a comfy chair on a Saturday afternoon and watch the grass grow, some days that can take a lot out of me... I have to fix it and I think I have come up with an idea.

Getting to the finish line
1. While I can have a good idea of what the end will look like, I have no idea where the finish line will be or where God is going to place it. I have to let go of the end and make moves in the now.
2. The unforeseen that comes up along the way is not a detour, it's part of the path to the finish line. To be successful I have to use the moments of haywire to compliment my steps.
3. Failure should only come if I have called every friend I have for help and the only good idea is to end what I started.
4. I need to find out how others got to their success, what they did when all they wanted was to quit.
5. The time out is not just for punishment, rest is needed to create an environment of success. I need to take more PTO.
6. The moments I feel like quitting should be matched with moments of sharing my fear. Fear hates community and seemingly it gets quite when you've got your girl with you.
7. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. Going anything alone is selfish and useless. Partnerships are fun and communication is key.
8. If I have any success left when I get to the end of the road, you've not only robbed myself but the world. They World needs me to be successful, it needs me to make a difference.
9. Success is a better teacher than failure and locking up some little ones will help prepare me for bigger ones.
10. Overall success is measured by my own tape measure and not anyone else.

Son, I love you a ton and hope to see you go through many successes and few failures. Just don't be afraid of either one.

Love,
Dad

You Will Do Great Things

There is a time to reap and a time to sow
What the future holds we can not know
For God shapes our lives in well planned ways
and the best we see is day to day
His plans for you are bigger still
Than anything that I could will
It's not too hard but takes a choice
To listen to his soft still voice
The great things that you will do
Have more impact than just on you
You will go through life with mistakes
But don't miss out on the lessons they will make
Your life is headed for real great things
You will see the greatness that God brings
Go and see the love He has for you
You won't believe what He'll have you do

Being Awesome Takes Time

Son, I read this post and liked it enough to share with you. It's from a great author named Jon Acuff. Some of this you might not understand depending on what age you are but regardless of the stage in life you are at this little bit of advice is helpful.

"I have a love/hate relationship with the show International House Hunters. I love the houses. I hate the people who are looking at them.

Maybe hate is too strong of a word, but I’m a little jealous of the people who are looking at them. The show is pretty simple: a real estate agent shows three houses to a couple to look at in some exotic market. Then, at the end, they buy one of them. And each episode is the same, with the buyers saying this:

“Well, we need a third house, and we’ve already got one in Turks and Caicos, so we thought we’d try Florence, Italy. My job allows me to travel internationally and do my work from coffee shops on cobble streets. We’ve got a budget of 4 million dollars and would like to be able to see the Duomo from our rooftop deck.”

And then they look at three houses and inevitably pick the most expensive one that was way outside of their budget. Once you’ve watched the International version, it’s impossible to be interested in the domestic version of the show. Once you’ve seen a couple scour the streets of Prague for an apartment that looks like a castle, it’s impossible to watch a couple look for a 2 bedroom fixer upper in Akron, Ohio.

I don’t watch much television, because I’m better than you, and one day might turn into one of those people who, without being provoked at dinner parties, just constantly blurts out “I don’t even own a television.” But I used to watch The Biggest Loser a lot. It’s the show about weight loss, and I liked it because it was slow.

It didn’t wrap up in a single episode with someone coming to the ranch 300 pounds overweight, changing three things in their life, and then going home 30 minutes later.

Contestants sweat and bled and threw up during grueling workouts. They learned how to eat healthy. They were taught new shopping habits and worked through emotional issues. Over months and months, they rebuilt their lives.

It took them a while to get to the weight they were at. No one is born 300 pounds overweight. There is a process and steps and decisions piled upon decision that get you there. And no one on The Biggest Loser would ever say, “It took me 10 years to put on this weight. I’d like it all gone in the next 10 days.” That would be crazy, but sometimes that is exactly what we say to our dreams.

We start surveying our lives, we start to figure out where we want to go, and we start working to take steps forward. And then a week in, a month in, six months in, we assess where we are and get frustrated.

It’s taking too long. Our dreams are stalled, the progress is not fast enough, and so we quit.

We’ve got to give ourselves time.

It took you a year or 10 years or maybe 20 years to get to the moment you’re in. If you’re going to change your life, if you’re going to march off in a different direction, if you’re going to end each day with “How did I get here?” it might take some time. Give yourself generous amounts of time.

We often spend decades getting lost, then expect to find our ways out of the jungle in a long weekend. We go to a conference that gets us fired up. It’s an amazing 48 hours, and we go home and face Monday. And things are still the same. The conference didn’t “take,” and we’re mad at ourselves. Or we launch a new project, a new book, or a new business, and the amount of time we give ourselves to succeed is “right now.” We want instant exit from the issues or challenges it took us years to enter.

It’s going to take some time. And that’s OK. Recovery always takes time. The challenge is that we want to “discover” our dreams.

As I detailed in Quitter, we often want eureka moments. We want to be walking across the street at 42 years of age, get hit by a lightning bolt, and suddenly say, “Eureka! I’m meant to be a beekeeper. All these years I’ve been an accountant, no wonder life has been so difficult! I’ve discovered my passion.”

But more often than not, figuring out our calling is an act of recovery, of rescuing something from your past that you loved and you lost. Something that life got too busy for and you stopped doing, or something that someone who mattered to you told you didn’t matter.

“You think you can do that for the rest of your life?”

“How could you ever make money doing that?”

“It’s time to grow up. That idea is silly.”

The older we get, the more our dreams get chipped away by life, until eventually a passion we’ve always had gets covered up by years and years.

Finding your true passion is a reunion, not a first date. It’s an act of recovery, and recovery is not easy.

I was reminded of that when my wife hurt her finger in a power drill accident. (How fast did my mancard just get revoked? If you listen closely, you can hear it being shredded as I tell this story.)

One day while I was at work, writing adjectives with my soft, uncallused writer’s hands, my wife called me in a panic. She was screaming about her hand and a drill, and yelled out the name of a hospital I was supposed to meet her at.

I raced there to find her with a blood soaked towel and a bag of ice around her left hand. Turns out, our rake was broken. In order to fix it, my wife decided to drill the medal prongs back on to the wooden handle. The corded drill jumped when it hit the wood and caught the glove tip of my wife’s pointer finger. The force of the drill spun her finger in the glove, splitting it open and dislocating it. After pushing her tendons back into the open wound, my wife then called me for help.

In the months to follow, she would spend hours at the hand therapist. (Did you know there were hand therapists? Did you know they cost $215 per 15 minutes? I do now.) She had to do excruciating exercises at home and wear a large claw that kind of looked like she was giving everyone the middle finger. She had to do routines with a pressure device and squeeze gels. This lasted for months. And a year later, she is still working on that finger. Why? Because she wants to recover mobility. She wants to recover her finger.

And it’s just a finger.

We’ve spent almost a year working to recover that finger.

And it’s just a finger.

If you’ve spent a few years saying, “How did I get here?” If you’ve lost your dream, it’s going to take time for you to recover it.

Give yourself some time"

http://www.jonacuff.com/blog/give-yourself-this-at-least-once-a-day/

Hope this provides some understanding on how things just take time to go through. Give yourself some time and don't rush through things. It will always take time to get better or to change.

Love ya,

Dad

50 pieces of life

1. In Monopoly, buy the orange properties. They are the most frequently landed on properties.

2. You are what you do, not what you say. Let your actions match your words and you can always be taken at your word.

3. Don’t be afraid of pickup games. It’s the best way to learn. Competing with someone better only makes you better.

4. Never be afraid to ask out the best-looking girl in the room. You’ll be surprised how often it works and all girls deserve to be wined and dined.

5. Watch lightning storms, they are glorious displays of God's power.

6. Men and Women are equal but different. Have the same level of respect for all people.

7. Always have your friend's back. Support them no matter what.

8. Express your feelings through different outlets. Don't worry what others think.

9. Other's opinions of you hold as much weight as a cow's opinion of you. They don't matter, God's opinion is the only on that does.

10. Spend time with your family.

11. Health is important, staying fit and eating right will make life more pleasant.

12. Be a good listener. Don’t just wait your turn to talk. Seek first to understand then to be understood.

13. Know your neighborhood like the back of your hand. Sometimes the best adventures are in your own backyard.

14. When in doubt, wear a suit.

15. If you don’t know what a word means, ask. Knowledge is an important piece of life.

16. Start a band, non-profit, club, team, or anything that will give you a sense of ownership.

17. When it comes to shoveling snow, the earlier you start, the easier the job.

18. Keep your room clean. It builds healthy habits.

19. You'll naturally be rebellious and you'll learn some hard lessons because of it. A man seeks obedience, especially that of God.

20. Read a book, perform in a play, or film. Art is full of surprises.

21. Believe it or not, a museum is a great place to beat a hangover. It’s cool, quiet, and full of water fountains.

22. Dance with your partner. But don’t forget to lead.

23. Be cool to the younger kids. Reputations are built over a lifetime.

24. Order the local specialty. Taste the variety created for you.

25. Drive across the country. Don’t rush.

26. There’s nothing wrong with musical theater.

27. Don’t boo. Even the ref is somebody’s child.

28. When singing karaoke, choose a song within your range.

29. Read before bed every night. A book every two weeks is a good goal.

30. Never post a picture online you wouldn't feel comfortable showing your mother, your boss, and the dean of admissions.

31. Don’t throw sand or, when you’re older, mud.

32. Take the stairs.

33. There is never an excuse for stealing someone’s cab.

34. Choose a window seat and enjoy the view.

35. Find a good barber and pay for a good haircut.

36. Take responsibility, an excuse doesn't eliminate your duty.

37. There is always something that could use a fresh coat of paint.

38. If you make a mistake, forgive yourself and move on.

39. Have a favorite song. It doesn't have to be hip. (The best ones never are.)

40. Until you are a doctor, never answer your phone at the table. That goes for emails, texts, and tweets.

41. If you get yourself arrested, call me. It's not as bad you you think it will be.

42. Help a buddy move.

43. Don’t panic.

44. If you ignore history, it will ignore you.

45. There is rarely a need to raise your voice. At the ballgame is one exception.

46. Never hog a microphone. Less is sometimes more.

47. Keep your word. Especially the one you make to yourself.

48. Money is not evil, the love of it is. True wealth doesn't have to have 0's behind it.

49. Respect fire.

50. Find some goals and write them down. Goals force practical steps in your life to make your dreams come true.

The Money Talk

Son, I love you too much to not sit you down and have a serious talk about finances. We will have many of these moments as you grow up since financial situations change often. I want to raise you based off the principle of Romans 13:8, "Owe no man anything except to love him." Debt is dumb and, short of a mortgage, should never be an option. If you can't pay cash for it then you can't afford it. I won't ever lend you money but if you ever need some cash, ask me if I want to make an investment. I will invest money in you any day of the week. I will never put you in a situation where you are salve to the lender. Proverbs 22:7 "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender." Don't ever think otherwise, debt is never a good option, in fact, it's no option at all. Half of the problem with the American system is that a couple of slow thinking politicians thought that having debt is an acceptable way and the only way to live life. But hey, it wasn't their money so they don't have to experience the slavery that encompasses that debt.

We all make mistakes in life and there is always enough grace to cover for our lapses. That's no reason to run around acting dumb. What Jesus gives us is a better way to live life and yes, it involves giving up the simple pleasures of the immediate flesh and experiencing rewards through perseverance. Good golly it's not going to be easy and the greatest rewards take much discipline and hard work. Luckily God does not exasperate us by setting us up for failure. He gives us a better way to live life because he knows we can succeed at it and ignorance is no excuse. Your dad has to find grace often and the beauty of it is that it allows us to not make the same mistake again. Lessons in failure are often the best teachers for success. Guess what, God promises to give us enough grace, strength, and mercy to deal with those lessons. 2 Cor 12:9  ""My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

So to focus this on money and finances we need to make one thing clear, money is not evil and having lots of money does not make you evil. 1 Tim 6:10 "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." The love of money is what will cause evil to grow inside you. Being generous is impossible if you don't have any money. We are also expected to be wise with what is given to us, including money, talent, and time. Holy cow is there some much in the bible about this particular topic. Bottom line is that when you are trusted with things you have to rise up and produce greatness from that. I sure does take diligence but nothing worth doing has ever come easy. Brush up on your steward'ness here http://www.openbible.info/topics/being_a_good_steward

So here is my advice to you to help you start off right in your youth. First off debt is not a part of your language, you don't understand why it exist and don't want any part of it. Then, every dollar you earn or are given has a goal, I literally mean EVERY dollar. These goals will be targeted at investing and saving in your youth. Time is the greatest multiplier of your money, it's the magic of compound interest (the second greatest force in the universe). Save the wish list of toys you want for your birthday and Christmas. In your youth you will not need to buy your toys or even really consider spending on those. Trust me, the toys you can buy by the time you are 20 will be way cooler than any money you spend in your youth. That is where the discipline part comes in. It's going to be hard to not let your impulses control you in your youth but discipline in your youth leads to easy habits to follow when you get older. You won't need more than $1000 in cash savings in your youth. Once you have that, invest every last dollar you ever get until you move out of the house. You'll likely want to buy a car when you can drive, start planning around 14 to save up to pay cash for something cheap by the time you can drive. You shouldn't have a car that is worth more than $5000 in high school. The more expensive your car, the more money you will pay in insurance. I'll provide an example for you. Lets just say you put $500 a month ($6,000 a year) into investments a month, I am averaging this amount out from what you are likely to earn from 1-20, If you take that you will have over $1,000,000 by age 25. If you keep contributing that small amount, which you will be making more as you get older, you'll have 6 million dollars by the time you are 40, and you will have only paid $240,000 that's more than 90% in interest. And to add the last figure for you, by the time you retire at 65, if you never contributed more than 500 a month, you would have over $100,000,000 to retire on. The simple facts are that time is on your side, use it well, don't do debt, and be generous.

Love,
Dad

Prodigal Son

Today I was given a great perspective on this parable. There are many things that can be taken from this parable and it follows in line with the Parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin. All of these parables contain one prevailing theme, it's the theme of redemption. You have a women that cleans her whole house looking for 1 coin, although she has 9 others, A Shepard that faces eminent danger to bring back a single lost sheep, and a father who welcomes home a wasteful son. All of these cases drive home the point that no matter where we are at or what we have done, there is redemption in Christ.

Luke 15:11-32 11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.


13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”


In the particular case of the prodigal son there are three main characters. The father, the lost son, and the older brother. The son follows through on satisfying his flesh while his brother follows the rules and supports the household.

When the son realizes that his life is not how he imagined it and he had run into the ground he seeks to be anywhere close to his father, even if he is not restored to his original position. Often times we can find ourselves in the same place. We've gone off on our own, satisfying ourselves, and when it returns us empty, we go back to the feet of Jesus begging for forgiveness.

When the father sees his son is coming back to him, he runs to embrace him. There is no anger or frustration, just redeeming grace. The father forgives all wrongs and rejoices at his son's return. He immediately throws a feast to celebrate the return of a lost son. Grace has made all the wrongs turn into nothing, he will never remember his son leaving or what he did but only his return. The same celebration is thrown every time we turn back to God. So when it's been a while since you've come to God for any reason, just remember he welcomes and celebrates your return.

The last piece is the brother. The brother isn't so happy to see the son return and a celebration be thrown for him. He wants some form of punishment, he feels wronged. His brother went out and had all this fun, that he likely wished he could have, and he comes home to a celebration. He's angry that he follows all the rules and never gets a party. He doesn't understand the grace that his father shows and sees it as foolishness. He missed the point that his missing brother was back. He also doesn't understand that even if there is no punishment from his father, the son still has to deal with the consequences of his choices. Grace is all he can give and punishment is not up to him.

Grace from the Father does not mean that your choices hold no consequence. The son likely had to deal with debt collectors coming to collect. He may have suffered some illness while laying with pigs. He could have emotional damage from unfulfilling relationships. The son has to face the fall out of the choices he made. He no longer has an inheritance, his family will likely have trouble trusting him, and as he can see from his brother, he wont get the same grace from everyone.

The ultimate point Jesus was trying to make when telling this parable was redemption. He wants us to be like the father in this story. The one who runs to those whom have wronged him and embraces them with grace. The one who celebrates the return of lost friends and forgives the wrongs of the past. Grace is the best way to approach every situation. It's not always that easy but if we remember the warm embrace we receive from God after every fall, we can understand that there isn't any shortness of grace we receive and to freely give it is what we should do.

Always expect to face the consequences of your choices but remember that God always welcomes you back with open, rejoicing arms. I will always give grace to you son, as I know that without it, I would not be standing.

Love ya,
Dad

Money

If ever you hear the term "money is the root of all evil" just know that it is false. What is actually true is that the LOVE of money is evil. Setting money as your priority in causes you to worship and love it. That is where evil truly stems. When you worship other idols and not God, you will find yourself in trouble. Putting anything above God or even next to Him is making it an idol. Your motives are how you can examine this placement. For where your money is there your heart will be also. If you want to know what your heart is like, just look at where your money is going. Now here are some money tips from your dad. Some may not apply until later in your life but I will help you along the way.

Budget
Get a budget and stick to it. It doesn't matter if you make $10 or $10,000 a month, you need to make sure you control your money and not the other way around. Don't make up an excuse to not revise a budget. You should take a look at it every month to ensure you are following it and to make adjustments where they are needed. A budget is real simple to work with and there are some basics that your budget should include. Figure out your net take home income (this means the amount actually deposited into your bank account) and then work on distributions from there.

1. Giving - This is for charitable contributions, including the church, you should be giving what is appropriate for your budget but you can't leave this out. You do not have to give to your church but you should find somewhere your heart is at and give there.

2. Saving - You need to have at least 3 months of living expenses but 6 months is even better. That means that if you add up all your bills that you are obligated to pay for every month, including groceries, you should have that covered in the event of an emergency. If your bills total to $1,000 a month, then you need to have $3,000 to $6,000 in your emergency savings. Your next consideration would be replacement savings. This account is for a large purchase that you plan to make in the future. Maybe a car or vacation. You have to pay cash for these so if you store it away you can save up enough to make these large purchases happen. The third part of savings is long term but I'll cover that in my investment section. How these sections work is that after you have filled out the other sections of your budget you will review how much you have left and then distribute it among your giving and savings.

3. Debt - This category should not exist if you follow your budget. I will have your school cost covered so you don't have to worry about school debt. The only thing I can say about this section is don't let it happen, no matter what. If you can't pay cash for it then you can't afford it. Add it to your replacement savings and come back later to buy it.

4. Housing - This cost is going to be a large part of your budget and the only place you are allowed to take on some debt is a mortgage. This includes: rent/mortgage, utilities; electric, gas, water, trash, telephone/internet, cable, cell phone, and any other housing cost. My recommendation is to avoid having rent. You are paying money for something that you will get no return or value from. Buying a house is a big deal though and I haven't gotten to this stage yet so my advice is limited in this aspect. Try to have 20% down when you buy a house, it will save you a lot of money in the long run. All this depends on your current situation but if you can keep these cost low until you buy a house, you'll get there a lot faster. Take the cheaper TV package with less channels or the cell phone plan with less options. The wealthy are smart spenders. They have money because they worked hard for it but they have more because they use it wisely.

5. Auto/Transport - You should not have a car payment because you will pay cash for all your purchases. You need to consider the cost of gas and parking if you work downtown. This is one that may change with the change in gas prices but should be one you make sure is slightly over estimated. Also consider maintenance cost like oil changes or tires. You can save some money by doing your own oil change. I'll teach you how.

6. Insurance - This is cost that are actually incurred by you. If you have health insurance through work and it is taken out pre-tax you do not need to count it here. You will have to have insurance for your car and this will be a consideration for when you purchase a car. You may want to get the nicer car since you have the cash for it but your insurance cost will be higher if you have full coverage. The more expensive your car, the more expensive your insurance will be. So consider a cheaper car that you can replace easily in the event of a crash. Homeowners insurance is in this category as well. If you have at least 20% down when buying a house you won't have to pay a mortgage insurance, which is different that homeowners insurance. Another consideration is that the more expensive the house, the more expensive the insurance. Buy only as much house as you need. You can always make improvements to your house as it needs it if you save money by buying only what you need. Life insurance is also considered here but I have a plan that covers you for life and you can increase it by $20,000 every year after you turn 18 without taking a health exam.

7. Household/Personal - This is where your groceries and other simple necessities come in on your budget. Clothing. gifts, barber, pet food, house supplies, and other basic items. This section does not include eating out. Another good money saving tip is to cook all your own food for every meal. The cost savings are huge. When you buy a burger at a restaurant it can cost almost 10 times as much as appose to you just making it at home.

8. Entertainment - This category should be closely monitored as it is one of the easiest categories to go over in. Eating out, movies, Starbucks, gym fees, hobbies, and fast food all go here. It is easy to go over budget on these and typically the cash envelope system is heavily used here. You take the money you are allowed to use for that month and you put it in an envelope. Once the cash is gone, you are done. Easy to not spend what you don't have. Be disciplined in this area. It can cause you budget some serious issues. Also keep this reasonable low. It should not be more that how much you give or save a month, it should almost be your lowest category budget wise.

9. Other Items - Not every dollar you spend is going to fall into one of these categories, so be sure you know what isn't covered and plug it into your budget.

10. Investments - This includes your retirement and long term. You should never incur debt so this should always be an option for you. If you ever have debt, you stop contributing to your investments and pay off your debt as quickly as possible. Once you have your emergency savings to an appropriate amount this option is now available. Take advantage of any employer matches to your 401(K). Depending on your current tax bracket it may or may not matter if you invest in a retirement account that is taxed on the other end. Typically it is best to just stick with a 401(K) because of the tax benefits but if you can find better returns that out weigh the tax benefits then by all means head that direction. At a younger age look at more high risk/high return options. One nice money gainer would be a peer to peer lending investment. Do your research before investing your money anywhere. Talk to people who know what's up and have sound advice. It's your money and this section lets you allow it to do a little work for you.

Keep control of your money and you'll find your days and nights to be a lot more peaceful. Wealth and wisdom go hand in hand. If you can be trusted with a little, you can be trusted with more.

Love ya,
Dad

A Few Good Men

Son, you will often find out that your greatest assets are not in bank accounts. The people and friends that are a part of your life are worth more than any material item. Surround yourself with wise people whom can educate you and provide wisdom that they have acquired through years of growth. Have the types of friends that want to help make you better and encourage you in the good and bad times. Find the people that are the best at what they do and learn from what makes them excel in that area. You will have your talents and skills that are better than others but you will never be done learning and improving. The people that we have around us are the ones that help shape us. Those that you learn from are like chisels, try to learn from people who will shape you into a better you. You can decide your future, it has not been decided for you. How you want tomorrow to be, depends on how you allow today to shape you.

There are a few key influences and people in my life I want to tell you about. These are just a few, I have many but these I want to share with you.

Coach - My high school basketball coach had one of the largest impacts on my life. As I grow and learn more, the things he taught that have shaped me have not left me. He always expected the best out of me and taught me to expect the same from myself. If I am not trying my hardest there is no reason to try. He taught me hard work will be recognized and rewarded. There are no short cuts. You have to work your butt off to excel at what you do. "Good, better, best. Never ever rest. Until the good is better, and the better's best." Being a leader is about more than just being good at what you do, you have to focus on the whole picture and getting everyone there, not just yourself. If you think you're leading and you look behind you to find no one following then you just went for a walk. Be someone that others can look up to, even when they can't see you. Stay hungry for success. Those whom have much expected of them will be treated different and held to higher standards, things get harder as you move up, there will always be more work to do. Failure isn't something we accept but something we learn from. Character matters more than talent. Integrity isn't just telling the truth, it's being convicted by it without sacrifice. Responsibility is an expectation of excellence, if you can't perform there will be someone else waiting to take your spot, don't get comfortable and don't be surprised if it happens.You have to always give 100%. There will always be a second chance but you will have to work twice as hard for that one than you did for the first one. You can always be better and helping others out is never below you. Some times you will be the 6th man but that doesn't make you any less important. There are many things that Coach taught me that have made me the man I am today. I wish he would be coaching by the time you were in high school but he will likely be enjoying a well deserved retirement. He is a rarity among men and I can only hope that you will find one like him to teach and shape you.

My dad (Your Grandpa) - There is man whom I could not live without. He has always been my biggest supporter, no matter what. He's also been a great example to me. I've learned from him that you aren't always the same man you used to be and you don't have to accept what other people say you are. There is always knowledge to be absorbed. If you don't allow yourself to persevere through the hard things, you'll never make it through anything. He also taught me that your decisions you make on a day to day basis don't only affect you but also those around you. You will always have to face the consequences of your choices, whether it is today or down the road, your choices will affect you. Every choice you make puts you one step closer in a different direction, be sure your steps are headed the way God wants. It's never too late to change who you are, you'll have a harder time convincing everyone else the further you go. My dad was at every game and always had advice to help me improve. Sometimes all the support anyone needs is for you to just show up.

John (Your Godfather and Uncle) - John is a friend that will always have an impact on my life. I hope you can find a friend like him. I will always remember the things he's taught me and things he's gone through with me. We are like peanut butter and jelly, PB & J. His knowledge and wisdom come from the Bible and things that God has taught him. He knows how to save a dollar and how to bail a friend in need out. You won't find many like him but if you do, invest in it. John and I are quite the unlikely pair of friends but I wouldn't trade a day with him for anything. It's important to have people in your life who won't accept the BS you tell yourself, the ones who will call you out on your nonsense, and the ones that will love you after your nonsense. Find a friend that will push you to be better and that get's excited for your success. These are the friends that you want. You can always tell a mans character by the company he keeps.

Stefan and Anthony - They have shown me that God still has his plans for you, no matter which way life goes. They have also shown me that no matter how much life has sucked or how often things don't go your way, there is joy in the morning. They are two men whom have been through some tough stuff, and I'm sugar coating it, but they have never given up. You will never meet men with bigger hearts, except maybe Jesus. The love that flows from them is just shocking. They're not perfect but they've got a heart of compassion that most men never find. Friends like them are important, they know you and even when you think you aren't on there mind, you're all that has been.

There are many many more men that have impacted my life and one can never have too many great influences. There will be friends that come and go but unless you invest in the relationship you may never know the influence they could have had. There are some that leave bad influences but those are mere moments of learning. Find a few good men and get to know them.

Love ya,
Dad

Read this your Freshman year of High School

Some truth for you son. from your Dad.

Girls will always love and be found of you, you don't need to rush into a relationship, waiting for one that is different in every way is always a good plan. With that being said, there is no need to have a girlfriend in High School. That's time to focus on school, sports, and friendships. Those are the relationships that will last and the moments that will develop you. You don't need a girl to define your status, you define who you are and no one else. High School is tough enough and girls are way more unstable at that point. Keeping girls as friends is the best bet in high school, you don't need to complicate it with "benefits" they aren't your employer. Understand that you will feel the urge to put your penis in every girl with a short skirt but that urge is controlled by prayer and focus. Sticking your penis in things might seem like fun but it will only end up getting you in trouble. First of all her father is likely to kill you and I won't stop him. Secondly, everything is so awkward at that stage you are more likely to embarrass yourself. Lastly, any girl that says "lets do it" or any form of that, is trouble Straight up and you need to run. Just turn and run, any direction, just get gone and fast. Don't worry about explaining yourself, you don't even need pants. The door is a good place to start. Avoiding that situation is going to save you a lot of just complicated nonsense. Their trouble at that age and they don't get any less dangerous, they just get better at hiding it. Stay focused on school and just ride out the crazy emotions that you are experiencing, they don't go away, you just get better at controlling them. High school is a fun time and you should enjoy it but you have to remember that you will always pay the consequences for your choice, whether it be now or later. Develop a reputation for integrity.

Don't worry, by the time you get to college you will find there are even more girls that are going to fall in love with you. I'd suggest focusing on school, girls take a lot of time and money from you, there is no avoiding it. If you do decide to date, don't be nervous, any girl would be lucky to talk to you. Women enjoy attention just as much as you do, so be careful the attention you are giving them and the signal your are sending with that attention. You don't need to worry about having any previous dating experience, if you can make friends you can easily determine the plausibility of a true relationship flourishing into a piece of art designed by God. Trust me, no experience is required when it comes to dating women. Coffee is always a nice neutral setting where you can learn more about a woman than if you both thought it was a date. The easiest way to avoid emotional confusion and think reasonably about a relationship is to avoid the physical aspect for as long as possible. You will find it easy to love people but the only way to fully love a woman is without lust. Control your thoughts and you will control your emotions. Consider each girl you date carefully, you will leave a lasting impression on them and they will do the same to you. Make sure it's always a good impression that leaves her better than when she first met you. You aren't Prince Charming and in no way a Super Hero, so don't try to be. If you meet a girl that is looking for that, you'll have to inform her that you are Kyler and you will always try your best but it's impossible to live up to the unrealistic expectation that you will rescue them from their problems. You can most certainly help along the way and be supportive but you don't even want to try the job of super hero, that's best left to Jesus, try not to get in the way.

All in all son, you'll find the one that's been designed to better you everyday and you will better her. No need to rush any of it. You have time, trust me. You'll have to trust that God's plan is always better than yours. So when yours doesn't work, get excited, because it means God has better things planned. Remember, high school is only 4 years and when it comes down to it only one 20th of your life, that's like nothing. You'll survive that time, just make sure you have good friends not girlfriends. Trust God and hold on to the fact that when you can't see where he is taking you, you know it's better than the way you wanted to go. Keep your penis to yourself. After 4 years old it's not cute and no one wants to see it and it's better if you keep it in your pants.

Love Ya,
Dad

100 Quotes and inspiration

1

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Plato

2

"Don't wait for people to be friendly, show them how." Author Unknown

3

"For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind." Ralph Waldo Emerson

4

"For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the universe." Author Unknown

5

“You must do the things you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt

6

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value." Albert Einstein

7

"Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength." Dalai Lama

8

"When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself." Wayne Dyer

9

"Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure." Oprah Winfrey

10

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." Anthony J. D'Angelo

11

"Faith can move mountains, but don't be surprised if God hands you a shovel." Author Unknown

12

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Martin Luther King Jr.

13

"In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you." Deepak Chopra

14

"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier." Mother Teresa

15

"To be what you want to be, you must give up being what you are." Cat Stevens

16

"Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care." Theodore Roosevelt

17

"To bring anything into your life, imagine that it's already there!" Richard Bach

18

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." Steve Prefontaine

19

"Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, and remove yourself from the unacceptable." Denis Waitley

20

"Don't frown because you never know who might be falling in love with your smile." Author Unknown

21

"Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." Harriet Beecher Stowe

22

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi

23

"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt

24

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." Mother Teresa

25

"Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold." Maurice Setter

26

"Rule number one is, don't sweat the small stuff. Rule number two is, it's all small stuff." Robert Eliot

27

"Faith is building on what you know is here, so you can reach what you know is there." Cullen Hightower

28

"Regardless of your lot in life, you can build something beautiful on it." Zig Ziglar

29

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." Walt Disney

30

"Anywhere is paradise; it's up to you." Author Unknown

31

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out." Art Linkletter

32

"Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned." Peter Marshall

33

"Don't find fault. Find a remedy." Henry Ford

34

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." James Baldwin

35

"Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." Garth Brooks

36

"You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." Walt Disney

37

"When it is dark enough, you can see the stars." Ralph Waldo Emerson

38

"The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears." John Vance Cheney

39

"The darkest hour has only sixty minutes." Morris Mandel

40

"When you're feeling your worst, that's when you get to know yourself the best." Leslie Grossman

41

"An apology is the superglue of life. It can repair just about anything." Lynn Johnston

42

"In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't." Blaise Pascal

43

"Don't cry because its over, smile because it happened." Dr. Seuss

44

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." Lewis Smedes

45

"Do all things with love." Og Mandino

46

"Remember, if you're headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns!" Allison Gappa Bottke

47

"Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth." Benjamin Disraeli

48

"Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things." Joe Paterno

49

"Be kind whenever possible....It is always possible." Dalai Lama

50

"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow." Anthony J. D'Angelo

51

"If you cannot lift the load off another's back, do not walk away. Try to lighten it." Frank Tyger

52

"You don't have to be great to start - but you have to start to be great." John C. Maxwell

53

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." Walt Disney

54

"Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don't keep it a secret." Mary Kay Ash

55

"To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." Ralph Waldo Emerson

56

"To see things in the seed, that is genius." Lao Tzu

57

"If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought." Peace Pilgrim

58

"Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found a truth.'" Kahlil Gibran

59

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." Winston Churchill

60

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." Robert Brault

61

"Whenever you fall, pick something up." Oswald Avery

62

"The impossible can always be broken down into possibilities." Author Unknown

63

"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles." Alex Karras

64

"Some days there won't be a song in your heart. Sing anyway." Emory Austin

65

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." Joseph Campbell

66

"Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude. " Ralph Marston

67

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional." M. Kathleen Casey

68

"Turn your wounds into wisdom." Oprah Winfrey

69

"Sometimes in tragedy we find our life's purpose - the eye sheds a tear to find its focus." Robert Brault

70

"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how." Friedrich Nietzsche

71

"Don't cry when the sun is gone, because the tears won't let you see the stars." Violeta Parra

72

"The gem cannot be polished without friction nor man without trials." Confucius

73

"Faith is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark." Rabindranath Tagore

74

"Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it." Dee Hock

75

"Imagine no limitations; decide what's right and desirable before you decide what's possible." Brian Tracy

76

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." Maya Angelou

77

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." Ralph Waldo Emerson

78

"Be careless in your dress if you will, but keep a tidy soul." Mark Twain

79

"Whatever good things we build end up building us." Jim Rohn

80

"If you cannot be a poet, be the poem." David Carradine

81

"Never look down on someone unless you're helping them up." Jesse Jackson

82

"Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it." Rabindranath Tagore

83

"An old belief is like an old shoe. We so value its comfort that we fail to notice the hole in it." Robert Brault

84

"Remember when you see a man at the top of a mountain, he didn't fall there." Author Unknown

85

"Peace begins with a smile." Mother Teresa

86

"We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails." Author Unknown

87

"A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world; everyone you meet is your mirror." Ken Keyes, Jr.

88

"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you." Maori Proverb

89

"A promise is a cloud; fulfillment is rain." Arabian Proverb

90

"Be content to act, and leave the talking to others." Baltasar Gracian

91

"If your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt." Henry J. Kaiser

92

"The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs." Vance Havner

93

"The best way out of a problem is through it." Author Unknown

94

"People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do." Lewis Cass

95

"A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn." Author Unknown

96

"The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work." Harry Golden

97

"Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds." Norman Vincent Peale

98

"The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter." Author Unknown

99

"How can something bother you if you won't let it?" Terri Guillemets

100

"Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother." Kahlil Gibran

Hard Work

Son, You will find that as part of the fallout of sin our work is supposed to be hard. Genesis 3:19 "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken and to dust you will return.” Often you will find that that many things will demand a lot of you and it will require hard work to get through it. One of the most satisfying things for a man is to see the fruit of his hard work. You'll never want something that you can get with ease. You need to work hard for the things that matter most to you. That includes friends and family, your girlfriend or wife, and the relationship you will have with God. They all take tons of work to produce the kind of fruit that you want. It takes constant tending to and nurturing to develop any of these relationships into something beautiful.

God provide the easiest and some times the hardest relationship to build. All he ask is that you give up yourself completely. Some times this is easy to do when there isn't much to give up and some times it's harder to do. You just have to trust him fully. He does know what's best and has the best planned for you. To be honest, it's easier to just give him your whole life and not worry about where you are going to end up because you can't get any better than knowing God has your life in his hands.

There are many other places were hard work is going to do you well. Work, Sports, School, and even your health. If you always determine that you will work your hardest on whatever you do, you will always be happy with the outcome. Sometimes you don't get what you want but if you gave all you had there is nothing else you can do and the results of that are always acceptable. There is no better reward than giving all you had and seeing the fruits of that. Always keep your head up and put your nose to the grindstone. Work hard, work smart, and have fun.Proverbs 14:23 "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."

Love Ya,
Dad

Keep your head up

Son, always remember to keep you head up. I'll explain what I mean by that. There are so many things in this world that are going to demand everything of you and many will demand more than you can handle. Luckily you've got someone awesome on your side and He has overcome the world. Jesus is who you will always have walking with and carrying you. It might seem like this world is baring down on you and things most certainly will be tough, but there is no reason to fear or worry because Jesus has conquered this whole world, death couldn't even hold Him.
Job 42:2 "I know that you can do anything,
and no one can stop you."
Psalms 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in
trouble.
God has your back. He promises things will be hard, He even says it will seem unbearable. But He also promises to provide you with enough strength, grace, and mercy to get through it all. If you ever feel like you might be forgetting this, just ask God to remind you and He will.
Love ya,
Dad

Joy

Son, sometimes you have to take joy in life, especially in the tough times. Joy is a wonderful thing. Joy is a sense of delight. Joy is different than Happiness. Happiness is defined by circumstance and what happens to you. Joy is a mind set, it's an emotion you decide to feel. James 1:2-4 says that we should consider it great Joy when we face many trials. Joy is a feeling you can have when you know there is more to look forward to. That is the promise God gives us. The promise that we will experience trials in this life but nothing can compare to the Joy that's coming. That ultimate Joy is when we finally make it to heaven to live eternally with Him. That is the Joy you can always look forward to and know that the joy you experience on earth can't even match up to what God's presence brings. Having a joyful outlook on life will always make the good times shine brighter and the bad ones fade away. You can always have joy knowing that God loves you, your mom loves you, and I love you. There is no better feeling than the love of God. Always remember to take joy and understand that the trials are the things that build us up and make us stronger.

Love ya,
Dad

20 things

1. You will set the tone for the sexual relationship, so don't take something away from her that you can't give back.
2. Play a sport. It will teach you how to win honorably, lose gracefully, respect authority, work with others, manage your time, and stay out of trouble. And maybe even throw or catch.
3. Use careful aim when you pee. If you miss, wipe it up.
4. Save money when you're young because you'll need it some day.
5. Figure out how to use the dishwasher, oven, washing machine, iron, vacuum, mop and broom. Using them is never below you and it will help you when you are on your own.
6. Pray and be a spiritual leader. Dad is your example and we can both always get better at it.
7. Don't ever be a bully and don't ever start a fight, but know when you should step in and fight for someone who can't.
8. Your knowledge and education is something that nobody can take away from you. The fear of God is the start of wisdom.
9. Treat everyone kindly, especially women. Forever is a long time to live alone and it's even longer to live with somebody who hates your guts.
10. Present yourself with integrity and let the good character you have inside show on the outside.
11. Be strong and tender at the same time.
12. It takes two to build a relationship. Both parties are equal. Mutual respect is the key to a good relationship.
13. Tone and attitude express your stance. Be respectful and communicate politely. You'll go further.
14. The reason that they're called "private parts" is because they're "private". There's no need to share them. Keep them to yourself. It will keep you out of trouble and away from heartache.
15. Peer pressure is a scary thing, what matters is what God thinks of you. Stand for who you are and don't be defined by others. Be a good leader and others will follow.
16. Bringing her flowers for no reason is always a good idea. Avoid doing it just when you're in trouble.
17. Be patriotic. Respect those who serve your country and state.
18. Potty humor is fine around the boys. Watch your mouth around women.
19. Please choose your spouse wisely. It's a commitment that last forever. My daughter-in-law will be the gatekeeper for me spending time with you and my grandchildren.
20. Remember to call your mom and dad because we will both always love hearing from you.

Love ya,
Dad

Endurance and Perseverance

Endurance, it's what is required to make it through much of this life. God says it this way, "Do not get tired of doing good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up." Galatians 6:9. It takes lots of endurance and perseverance to push through hardship in life. There will be many times when life will throw everything at you all at once and you won't be sure if you can handle it. Truth is, you can't handle it alone, and that's the way God wants it. Even the strongest men fall before God. God does promise he will not tempt you beyond what you can bear 1 Cor 10:13 but he also promises that you will suffer but with the promise to renew you and give you strength. He is the one who carries us through our toughest times in life. There are going to be times when you feel like there is no way he is carrying you and you'll almost feel abandoned. If you feel that way just remember God said this in Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you nor forsake you." He's pretty much promising that there is nothing you can do to get him to leave you alone. Just ask Jonah.

Something I realized while working out was how easy it is to push through and give your all to the very end when you know where the end is. When you can see that clock tick down and when you see where the finish line is it's much easier to push your body beyond what your mind thinks it can do. When you don't know where the finish line is it's tough to give everything you have not knowing how much further you have to go. That's when your only option is to give everything you have until you're certain you can no longer walk. That is when you will see that harvest of your work. Not giving up and going until you've given everything. You'll know you haven't made it if you can still stand on your own. Many troubles in this life will take all the life out of you and it will be tough but know that there is always great reward in the harvest. James 1:2-4 Says that you should consider it GREAT Joy when you face trials of many kinds. When your faith is tested it has the chance to grow and persevere and when you let perseverance finish its work you'll become mature and lack nothing. This applies to many aspects in life and pretty much everything you do. If you persevere through much your sufferings won't be less but they won't be able shake you or bring you down. One day I'll teach you about a man named Job and how he learned this lesson.

Love ya,
Dad

You're Mine

                            

I listen to this song and can't wait for the million times I will be able to claim you as mine. You're mine and I will always claim you, no matter what you do. There are going to be many times when you get into trouble and when you mess up but I won't ever leave you. I won't ever be ashamed to claim you as mine. I will always be proud to call you mine, in everything you do. God loves to call you his as well. He has great purpose for you and will never walk away from you.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD…”                                                                                   Jeremiah 29:11-14

Photo Opp and Verses that have encouraged me

You love to stick your tongue out.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

You've got your Dad's dimples.

1 Peter 3:8-9

I like to think that your were Tebowing here.

Titus 2:7-8

You have giant feet, Just like your dad.

James 4:6-7

I'd like to think you got my nose but I think it's more your moms.

Proverbs 3:5-8

You are the sweetest little boy.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

There you go sticking that tongue out again.

James 1:16-18

I love this picture. You are so precious and peaceful when you sleep.

Romans 5:3

You're little now but you'll grow to be big.

Isaiah 43:2

You're Such A Blessing

Hey son! Just to let you know you came a little early, about 10 days. That's alright though because you are just the most amazing thing to happen in my life. I love you so much. You were born at 4:44pm on 2/3/12. You were just a little guy with your dads long monkey arms and legs. You were 5lbs 15ounces and just about 20in long. It was so great seeing you for the first time. I was so excited meeting you. You were just squirming around under this heat lamp so they could keep you warm.  I saw them give you a bath, they had to scrub a bunch of gunk off you and you didn't appreciate it that much. Then I got to hold you and man was that just awesome. You were so peaceful and just absolutely amazing. Grandma got to hold you and she was just in love. She thinks the world of you and there's no doubt she'll spoil you. Your aunt Shondra held you and your grabbed her heart from that very moment. Your Uncle Preston and Aunt Shantel couldn't make it but they saw pictures and fell in love so fast. Then my buddies and your uncles came in and they fell in love. They are my greatest friends and have helped me through so much. They will be so helpful to you and are great to talk to. I just love you so much. It's impossible to explain but I thought I knew what love was until you came and exploded my chest with love. It's such a great experience and there is nothing like it in the world. I understand so much more now how God can love us unconditionally. It's amazing son and one feeling I hope you will have the pleasure of experiencing. I love you buddy!

I love this verse. A true explanation of God's overwhelming love. I love you like crazy and yet God still loves you more. Romans 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?


Love ya,
Dad

Sports

Hey bud I thought I would just share with you real fast that I can't wait until you get here. I love you so much I am so EXCITED!!! I can barely focus on anything else. I can't wait for our first ball game together. I'll take you to see the Rockies, Nuggets, Broncos, and any other team you want to see. When you're older, you and I will make a trip to North Carolina and you'll help your dad check a box on his bucket list. We will go to Cameron stadium to watch Duke take on North Carolina. I doubt Coach K will still be there but I will bleed that Blue Devil blue until I die. Coach K is a phenomenal basketball coach, I hope you get a chance to watch him. I'll let you take your pick on who you want to root for, even if you take the Tar Heels. That might make March even more mad but we would have fun! You can play whatever sport you want, I'll let you try any sport you want. I will be most helpful with basketball though. You can even do theater if you want. I did that as well. I'll always make time to throw a ball or shoot some hoops with you. Sports will play a big role in developing who you are and your character because you won't know those things until they are tested and sports are the best test of that.

I hope to be the best father in the world and hope that you will always lean on God. I just can't wait to share this life with you. I will aim to set the best example for you and always point to Jesus. I will grow in wisdom as the days go on, as will you. For those times that we fall grace is always sufficient 2 Cor 12:9. Your dad will make mistakes but I won't ever give up. You are so important to me, you won't even understand until you have a kid of your own some day. I never thought I could love someone so much until you came along and you aren't even technically here yet. Dude I can't wait!!!

Take heart and always stand firm in what you believe. Your dad is always there to support you even if I think you're wrong but believe me, I'll let you know that.

Love ya,
Dad