Responsible Father

So I can’t be the first to have thought of this, but I’m pretty sure I came up with it on my own, yesterday at our 66th picnic.

Dads, if you are throwing a football (or frisbee or baseball . . . )around in a circle with a number of kids who have different abilities in throwing and catching, do this:

Start in a circle so close that you are almost touching. Start throwing the football and every time a participant successfully gets the ball to the next player he gets to take a step back.  If the catch is not made (the ball is dropped), the two players involved take a step towards each other.

The result is a uneven circle with all players perfectly spaced.

The good news is that generally speaking at least 50 percent of the throw/catch attempts will be successful.

Dads, I think it would be wise for us to take this general truth from Jesus (Luke 11:23).

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

and apply it to fatherhood. If so, it’s a bit scary:

If you are not proactively pushing your children towards Jesus, you are pushing them away from Him

It’s never too late to let your child know that you saw and appreciated something good they did.  Do this especially when you know it was a challenge for them.

Lisa writes:

This is a completely unrelated question, but I know you guys are avid picnic-ers…we’ve been going on a lot of picnics, and are in need of meal ideas for them!  I feel like all we do is PB&J, and the kiddos are getting tired of it.  What do you guys bring?    Any advice would be helpful!

Can I just say that I could have PB&J sandwiches on a picnic a couple times a week and not get sick of it. I really enjoy them. But not everyone is like me. Also they can be messy.

Here are some things we’ve done:

Easy: Subway or Grocery Store Fried Chicken.

Fun: We’ve saved a couple pizza boxes after we had a delivered and now we use them to bring homemade pizza on picnics. Everyone likes pizza.

Different from Sandwiches: Wraps. Put in anything your kids want.

For Cooler Days: carry Beef Stew or Chilli in a crock pot. Bring paper bowls. Not advisable for long hike picnics.

Unique: One time Debbie brought chicken pot pie on a picnic. Quite enjoyable.

Is that enough to get you started? Other suggestions from anyone?

. . . being a very special Tuesday Tip, where you can choose your favorite of two contradictory suggestions -

1. When planning a vacation, make sure you tell your kids a week or so in advance, so they can experience more joy, get mentally prepared and be excited.

2. When planning a vacation, make sure you don’t tell your kids a week or so in advance, or they will dwell only on that and be largely dysfunctional until vacation happens.

Which one do you choose?

Dads, don’t call your wife ‘the wife’.

Dad, if you are a mouse, give your wife this crucial tip: A good place to build a nest for your babies is not a human’s grill*.

* No mice were injured in the development of this tip, but the whiskers of the Mom were a bit scorched.

Dads, do not dress your kids or yourself in a shirt that does not tuck in.

(But she says she got it from some other source)

Dads, you can’t expect what you aren’t going to inspect.