Author: david

A husband, a lawyer, and a soon to be father.

Beginning the Search

When I learned that I was going to be a father, I was ecstatic. This was something I had looked forward to my entire life. More recently, I have read some books that shed light on what it means to be an impactful father that molds and guides their children into good and meaningful people. Greg Hague’s book “How Fathers Change Lives” was one of the books I read, and I highly recommend it.

However, in addition to these more secular reads, I wanted to find a basis in scripture for what it means to be good father. So, to find this quickly, I googled “bible verses on fathers” or something like that. I clicked the first link, and I was shocked to see only three verses. 3. The Christian Bible tells the story of a Father consumed by love for His children, and google’s first hit on my very logical search revealed only three verses.

Now they were good verses, don’t get me wrong, and after more searching I found a lot of good stuff, but the thought came to me that “this search shouldn’t be this hard.” In the age of technology and information everywhere, there should be ample guidance on how the Bible instructs fathers to raise their children to reflect the image of Christ.

That resonated with me. Because the Bible is more than an instruction with verses giving the dos and don’t of how to live a Christ-centered life. It is also filled with hundreds of examples of real people who walked this earth, who tried and failed, and tried and succeeded in honoring God with their lives. Their responses to God in their own human story give fantastic examples of what it means to be a man or woman of God, and in so doing, how to act as a father to guide your children in The Way.

Therefore, I am going to do a few little exposes on some major biblical players and how they modeled what to do and what not to do as people and as father’s following God.

The first five I am going to look at are Adam, Moses, Boaz, Jesse, and Hosea. Should be exciting.

Stay tuned…

In Honor of Masters Sunday

Jordan Spieth is one of my favorite folders, not just because of his skill or unbelievable focus, but also because of the kind of person he is. Check this story out from qpolitical. 

  Jordan Spieth is one of the youngest and most successful pro golfers of our time. But there are few things about Jordan Spieth many don’t know.

Jordan Spieth believes in God. And if you meet him in person, you’ll quickly realize that despite his great success — he remains very humble.

But Spieth doesn’t claim to be a perfect Christian. In a recent interview, the second-youngest man to ever win the Masters shared that he desperately needs Christ, and thanks his family for keeping him grounded.

Read the Full Story

Solomon’s Prayer

At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.”

And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.

And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child.

I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.

Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

1 Kings 3:5-9

Out of the Blue

A few weeks ago I was heading home from a business trip. I had been in Washington D.C. for four days, and it was bitterly cold. I was glad to be heading back home to Georgia and the balmy 50 degree weather.

atlanta-runway-delta-landingThe day I arrived home happened to coincide with the monthly Scott’s Antique Market mega-sale in south Atlanta, and I had agreed with my wife that we would go after she picked me up from the airport. I had no idea what we were looking for – throw pillows or furniture or some sort of nicknacks to be sure. I was certain not to carry any cash.

It was a bright day. It was the kind of winter day that is so common in the south. The sun was out. Only high cirrus clouds streaked the sky. The afternoon shadows were long, and the air was crisp. I remember the day as cold, bright blue.My wife picked me up from the airport, and off we went to the antique mall. I was glad to see her, but she seemed unsettled to see me. She had not been feeling well before I left, and so I chalked up her distance as being a side effect.

For the entire afternoon we scoured the aisles of Scott’s looking for whatever it was that we were supposed to be looking for. We didn’t find it, so we left. On the ride home I jabbered constantly.

The news that Justice Antonin Scalia had passed away was just breaking. As a lawyer, I was busy guessing at what moves Republicans in the Senate would make to either block a nomination or delay one inevitably. What affect would that have on the Court? Who would Obama nominate? Would the great jurist be honored nationally in his passing?Also on the docket for our conversation were the normal questions of what was for dinner…err, where were we going to dinner?  Why are you so quiet? What have you been up to the last few days? How is your class? Why are you so quiet?

As we entered our home, the awkwardness of my wife’s silence crescendoed. As I sat on the couch to Yelp our restaurant for the evening, she burst into tears.

“David, there is something important I need to talk to you about,” she eked out through the sobs. My stomach moved into my throat, and I braced myself for what I knew was about to be an unpleasant conversation, bad news, or an argument over me not washing all the dishes before I left town.

“I’m pregnant.”

Wasn’t expecting that one.

My wife and I had only decided about four weeks before that she would come off birth control. Four weeks! (Turns out sometimes you hit a home run your first at bat.) I was stunned. Numb. Excited. My emotions roared.

“That’s fantastic!” I exhaled. My heart leaped as I let the words ring in my ears once again. “That is great news!” And I began to cry too. We were both so excited at the prospect of becoming parents, the news was almost too great for either of us to bear. We both recognized the huge blessing this was from God and the magnitude of the moment was thick like molasses in the room.

It was one of those few moments in life when you realize, at that instant, that your life will never be the same again. In this case it was for the better. There was now a brightness not too far in our family’s future. We were so excited, but to be sure, I bought two more tests for her to take. They read 3 weeks pregnant. “Here we go,” I thought, time has already ticked off for the countdown to B-Day.

For years, I wondered when I would become a father. As I child I guessed at what I would be like and who I would have become by the time my first child arrived. As a teenager and in college, I appreciated the lessons I learned from my Dad and Grandfather but knew my time was way off. When I started working and first got married, I knew my time was drawing closer, but I focussed on my career and it passed the time.

Now the time had arrived, and out of the blue, a big ol’ stork was heading my way. Am I ready? What am I going to be like as a dad? What do I need to do? What are my instructions from scripture? What have Mark Batterson, Ravi Zaccharias, David Platt, Stephen Covey, and Timothy Keller had to say on the subject? (There is a lot to read). How do I ensure that my son or daughter is developed in home in such a way as to not make the same mistakes I did? How can I develop a home where they will develop the strongest possible personal roots?

As I sought God on the matter, one thing was made clear to me – I need
words of wisdom from the Father. I need to know my Father to be a father for His child. That is my calling. Therefore, I am rewiring my personal life. I am preparing for the arrival. I am seeking a mindset of humility in wisdom before the Father. I am seeking Solomon.