Dear 'Ol Dad

My dad with my grandmother and grandfather.

Father's Day is a special day for me.

The reason is because I have three sons ("My Three Sons!") who are great young men.

In the looks department they take more after their mother - which is good.

But my wife and I work together to raise them to be men of integrity and honor - something I like to call "True Men."

Recently I was watching a movie with my family. In one scene a father and son are saying goodbye as the son goes off to war. He tells his father "I am the man I am today because of you."

It is certainly true for me and my dad. But it is more true than I might think at times for me and my sons. It scares me but also gives me great hope.

It scares me when I take a good look at the man in the mirror and worry that I'm not a good father. I'm a sinful person, I do sinful things. Surely, I think to myself, I'm messing up as a father.

But it gives me hope as I realize that the greatest gift my dad gave me was to introduce me to God the Father Almighty, His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and the great Comforter - the Holy Spirit.

My dad taught - and still teaches - me that a father doesn't have to be perfect. What he has to do is be a father who loves his children and introduces them to the only perfect Father there is.

That lesson I learned from my father is the one lesson that I do every day with my sons. Lead them to God, show them the love of Christ, and pray, with my wife, that the Holy Spirit gives them understanding and strengthens their faith in Jesus.

For me there is no greater lesson that I learned from my dad.

My dad and the 1st reason I'm a dad.

My dad and the 2nd reason I'm a dad.

My dad and the 3rd reason I'm a dad.