Father's Day

Father's Day has come and gone. I fared pretty well on every front. In regards to the actual "Father" part, I have three great kids. They each made me cards and drew pictures, but this year I did the same. I wrote each of them a note telling them how great they are and how being a father means so much to me because of them. In writing those letters I was reminding myself of the importance of my role and recommitting myself to taking it on prayerfully and carefully. It would be easy to get overwhelmed with the task or to get bogged down in my innumerable failures, but instead I just want God's help in doing the best I can with each new day.

We spent Father's Day weekend at the ranch. The kids got to play with goats and go-karts and drive a bulldozer and other "ranchy" things. They even got to see their old man get run over by a runaway four-wheeler he got stuck in a deep canyon. Luckily, I think I escaped with only a few bruises and a cracked toe. On Sunday the family gave me a good old-fashioned breakfast and a video iPod. I have a lot to learn about how to use it. While Apple is extremely user friendly, they do make some grand assumptions about the users when they say something is ready to go right out of the box. In fact, the box itself is still giving me trouble. Not only that, I am a little confused about the mixed vegetation references. Apples do not come in a pod. Peas do. I mean, to suggest otherwise is just corny. It's not like I just fell off the turnip truck. It may just sound like sour grapes, but I do know beans about something unless I'm in a bit of a pickle or going bananas.

The Mavericks notwithstanding, it was a good Father's Day. Now on to the next big holiday in our house: Addie's Birthday. I suspect she is going to ask for a dog since some friends of ours are selling puppies. Then again, this is the girl that asked for sparkly pants and two motorcycles for Christmas a few years ago. Who knows what she'll come up with? Whatever it is, she is on her own when it comes to the box.

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Community

It's that time of year again. It's the time where our street again becomes an anomaly. It's the time when people are outside visiting with one another. Last night there were at least a dozen or so folks just talking or playing with each others' kids or kids zooming by on go-karts or people walking their dogs or just enjoying each others' company. I know this happens in pockets of community here and there, but it really is getting more and more rare. Statistics suggest that more than 60% of Americans do not know any of their neighbors. I'm not sure why this is so, but I can think of some major culprits.

Air Conditioning
Television
Garage door openers
Mosquitos
Fences

Whatever the causes may be, I always think its cool when I see people overcome those obstacles and enjoy community. What's weird is that in churches we struggle to find true community and none of the obstacles listed above exist (okay maybe the A/C). To remove those hinderances and add our common bond, one would think the community we share would thrive. Instead it is a constant struggle and often feels forced. I wonder why that is?