Values. The Rest Will Follow

This year most of us are watching intently as politicians seek election to office.  Adults have the privilege of choosing who will represent us in places like Washington, DC and Raleigh, so now is a unique time to teach our children. In our democracy that privilege of voting and making other decisions assumes that people…

Just One Thing

Recently there has been a rise in “hatefulness” in our country.  Much of it starts when folks just look at others and see differences.  These circumstances reminded me of an article we shared two years ago. Lots to Do It was a typical Saturday morning. Knowing I had lots of chores to do, I neither…

Illumination, Wisdom and Accompaniment

In his new book, How to Know A Person, David Brooks explores how we truly get to know a person and establish a relationship. As I read it, I realized that his conclusions are consistent with the Be There Dad approach to engaging and building relationships with our children.  Joined with Be There Dad notions,…

What Does Your Daddy Do?

As we dads continue to reflect on the ways we can engage with our children, in order to truly connect with them, it is best to understand how they view us,   We should consider how we can best fulfill their expectations.  What is important to them?  We can ask, “What does their daddy do?”  The…

My Little Boy’s Dad

Time to Reflect At the end of the year, as we look forward to the next, I am reminded of the recommendation of Joe Ehrmann, former NFL player, author, pastor and coach. He tells us that men should take more time to reflect on their lives. He encourages us to regularly take inventory of who…

Everything We Need

My “Backpack” For years I carried a bag to every soccer and basketball practice and game. A blue duffle, it held everything I might need to be the best coach I could be. My water bottle and an extra for the player who forgot theirs. A bag of Tootsie Pops. Practice plan, game line ups…

Why Not?

I was already in an optimistic mood eating my Honey Nut Cheerios to hopefully lower my cholesterol when the broadcast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade started. One of the celebrity participants was interviewed and asked, “What do you like about the parade?” He responded, “It is about families coming out together, people gathering from…

We Just Don’t Do That

This past summer, someone in New Jersey used technology [probably AI] to create pornographic images combining the bodies of nude women with the faces of underaged female students in a local high school. Unfortunately,  then the images were distributed using social media. It is suspected that teenage boys who are classmates of the girls created…

True Colors

Recently a local school district banned a book apparently based on the fear that it violates the state Parents Bill of Rights. The book is entitled Red: A Crayon’s Story. This picture book is about a crayon with a red label who can only color blue; so it struggles with its identity. As the story…

Beautification Day – A Tradition

My First Lesson Almost a decade ago on a sunny Saturday morning, I stood at an old wooden privacy fence liberally applying yellow paint to boards that hadn’t felt a paint brush in many, many years. Next to me were two middle school aged girl volunteers doing the same.  As we worked, the music of…