Homeschool Football League

We were a little late in joining this organization, but now that we have, my oldest son is loving it.

Homeschoolers are finally starting to get "equal opportunities" in sports. What I especially like about this group is their desire to have dads very involved:

The Homeschool Football League is committed to helping foster stronger father and son relationships. Each season, we schedule events like our Father and Son Game and our Kick, Punt, Pass Competition. These special occasions have been a tremendous success and highlight the difference between the HFL and other secular leagues...As we continue to build the league, we will base our development, conduct, and decisions on the principles of the Christian faith lived out in the life of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Homeschool Football League

Men At The Cross

Early on in my Christian walk I had the chance to attend a Promise Keepers event. Even though the organization has taken some lumps over the years and has slowly declined in popularity, I still consider attending the event an important moment in my life as a Christian man.

Now there is another organization that is drawing several speakers from Promise Keepers into a new format and new attitude: "Men at the Cross".

Some of the "heavy hitters" behind this organization include Joe White, Steve Farrar, Stu Weber, and Robert Lewis...all men that have written books that have strongly influenced me.
I'm definitely planning on attending the event in Charlotte, NC.

Check out the website for more info:

Men At The Cross

The Call...Your Unique Design

Part of our job as dad is to help our kids find a "career direction" in life. In the early years this can be as simple as occasionally asking "what do you want to be when you grow up?" followed by a "I think you would be great at _____."

But as they get older, except for the rare self-directed kid, you'll have to take a more active role.

One possibility I'm personally considering is to have my child take a "test". There are quite a few career/strength assessment programs out there, but here are two that are distinctively Christian in nature and approach the question from a spiritual gifts perspective. I am not sure to what degree they leverage secular personality systems like Myers-Briggs, but they definitely look interesting.

The Call

Your Unique Design

Overscheduled Kids and Teens

Is your family anything like ours this time of year?

The good news: all the extra-circular activities, special events, and homeschool co-op groups are finally winding down for the year.
The bad news: it's time to start planning out all the logistics for camps, vacations, and mission trips for the summer.

But seriously, all these things are good things ...it's just that if we are not careful we can commit to too many good things, which can be a bad thing. I have to confess we sometimes slip into a mentality summed up as:

giving [your] child necessary “opportunities” by having them participate in as many activities as possible.... keeping kids extremely active in these activities, is necessary for future success.

Here's a common-sense article that reminds us that there are risks for having too many activities and that good old-fashioned "family time" is a viable alternative:

Make family time a priority. Spending time together should take precedence over each family member pursuing their individual activities. Healthy activities like walking, biking, or gardening together can also help keep stress levels at bay.

Overscheduled Kids and Teens: The Risks of Too Many Activities

Dads and Daughters

Here's a great website that is a source of all kinds of info/articles/resources/etc. for dads and daughters:

Dads & Daughters improves the lives of fathers, daughters, and their families with outstanding educational resources supporting fathers’ involvement in girls’ lives and advocacy for girls’ well-being.

DADs’ tools and resources help develop supportive and healthy father-daughter relationships. Strong, positive relationships between daughters and their fathers and stepfathers helps girls increase their self esteem, gives them greater opportunities for self-fulfillment, delays the onset of puberty, and provides many other benefits—including improving the father’s health.

Dads and Daughters

Love Their Mother

Mother's day came this year in the midst of a lot of other activities going on in our lives so my wife didn't get the usual royal treatment.

But, it strikes me that I don't need to have a special day to demonstrate appreciation for her. Here's a quick little article to remind us that our wives deserve special treatment from us every day of the year.

Of particular interest for this blog is the "Model for Chivalry" item.

FATHERS.COM - What Children Gain When You Love Their Mother

Blog Directory

Warrior's Hand was added to the Fatherhood category within the Best of the Web Blog Directory.

Whisker Rubs

Well it is obvious to me that I am never going to find the time to read all the books I would like to read...so the next best thing is to find good book reviews done by others.

Here is a short, general review from the Books for Boys blog of a book that has beeen on my "to read" list for awhile.

“Whisker Rubs” is an important book because it doesn’t simply lay out what’s gone wrong for boys and men in our society. Nor does it lay the blame solely on women or the feminist movement. Don also offers answers and solutions.

Books for Boys: WHISKER RUBS