Dad's Tool Box

Pat posing with a camel we stumbled on when camping in Pennsylvania.

     A short list of things you will never hear a father say.

• Can you turn that music up?
• Let’s go shoe shopping!
• Ahh, Sweetie, I LOVE your tattoo.  Let’s get one’s that match.
• Here honey, you take the remote.
• Go ahead, take my truck see what she can do. 
• Here’s my credit card.  Live it up.

     Today is a day to celebrate the men in our lives.

 Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.  ~Psalm 127:1

     Every man, especially fathers, are put on this earth to build something.  All men know, that if you want to build something, you must have the correct tools.
1.  The Instruction Manual
     While many men put aside and refuse to read the "Assembly Required" instructions that come with all kinds of things.  One that should not be put aside is the real instruction manual.
     The Bible is the story of a Father’s love.  From the very first page through the very last, it speaks to us of God’s relentless passion for us.

      I have loved you with an everlasting love…and I have drawn you in loving-kindness.   ~Jeremiah 31:3

 2.  Hammer
     I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not it.  The hammer represents consistency.
     Pat and I are working on many projects around the house.  We are about to make the move from weekend warrior to "get ‘er done."  But Fatherhood is not just for weekend warriors.  It is an everyday, every night, lifetime of being there kind of commitment.  It really is “get ‘er done.”
Loving discipline and words of wisdom will reveal love to our children.

3.  Watch:
     The watch is to remind men to relax.  Children spell love, T-I-M-E.  Children need to spend time with their fathers.
    David wrote in Psalms that God’s thoughts toward us are too numerous to count.  God our Father delights in us.  He knows the number of hairs on our heads.  He knows when we are sad, lost, alone, sick, or scared.  He knows us intimately and He loves us.  We have stolen His heart.  Time is important.

Pat really did hang the moon for our kids.

 4.  Screwdriver
     Are you wound way too tight?  Grumpy?  Tired? Serious all of the time.  It’s time to loosen up.  Have some fun.  Get out there and ride a bike or throw a ball.  Enjoy some ice cream.  Sit in a dark movie theatre with silly 3D glasses on your face.  Make sure that you laugh with your children.

5.  Tape measure
     Let God’s Word be your measuring stick.  None of us will ever measure up if we listen to the world’s view on parenting and children’s needs.  The truth is that the kids don’t really need the latest gadgets and the expensive clothes.  They need you.
     This is also a reminder to say, “No” when you have to.  Live with nothing to hide. Integrity – means doing what is right when no one is watching and everyone else is compromising.

6.  Wrench
    Men need to tighten up the level of love and commitment to their wives and their children.  After all, it’s a whole lot easier to become a parent, than it is to be one.
     My Dad and I always tell one another, “I love you” before we hang up the phone.

At the Erie Canal

7.  Bracket
     Support.  Support and love your wife.  Children need to know that their parents are in it together.  Consult one another and honor one another in love.

     Jesus followed the example of both His earthly father and His heavenly Father.

    As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ... I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ... I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. ...This is my command: Love each other.   ~John 15:9-17