Newsletter June 13 - Father's Day Edition

Well I'm happy to say we are moving ahead with Senior High Conference this year.  It was a very near thing but we made the number.  We can still take a few last minute applications but I strongly recommend that you use the online registration form.  I will be away all next week and won't see any that are mailed in.  So let me know this week and get those registrations in today!  The online form is found HERE

Now something with Father's Day in mind.

SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART

"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)

It's Father's Day week and time for a quick thought about fathers.

There's this idealized vision that society has about fathers.  Smart, good looking, always there to help out or to offer wise advice.  I'm sure there are a few of them out there somewhere.  As a father myself I know just how hard it is to try and be that perfect father.  It's hard enough just trying to be a not TOO imperfect father.

And I know that some fathers just don't make the grade at all.  That's reality.

So where does that leave us?  It leaves us with imperfect fathers.  But then they had imperfect children too.  Expecting perfection in each other is a sure way to be disappointed.

The quotation above I think is a good one for everyone to think about this week.  Fathers shouldn't provoke their children by being unreasonable, cruel or insensitive.  Likewise children shouldn't provoke their fathers by being ill behaved, rude or insensitive.

I lost my father 11 years ago.  We did not always see eye to eye and there were times when I was a teen that I pretty thoroughly disliked him.  In the end I discovered that he had done the best he could and I came to appreciate him.  Flaws and all.

And I miss him.  A whole, whole lot.  

Think: Does your father provoke you to anger?  Do you provoke him?  How often could you really avoid provoking one another if you tried?

Pray:  Ask God to help you better understand your father.  Ask your father if he would pray with you.

Do: Take a minute to write down the things you like and admire about your dad.  Think about them at those moments when he's being annoying.  See if you can nurture his good points in your own life.

Peace

Jay