Dad Revisited

Having completed my Family Resolutions the other day, I should take a moment to continue my resolutions as a man of faith.

Resolution 4- Remember that “Name in Vain” thingy
For a man who teaches the youngest of children, you would think I had better control of my mouth. I don’t. I also work across the hall from a first grade teacher who can keep pace with a sailor on leave. It makes it really easy for me to fall into a pattern of terribly ugly language.

I also have tweenage and teenage children. I get frustrated and lose control of my mouth at times. I also managed to teach my wife somewhere along the way to do the same thing. I need to stop. Not only is it degrading to my children, but it also sets a terrible example for them. Finally, it also pushes me further from my faith. So I resolve to clean up my language.

Resolution 5- Say thank you to the One who helps most

Resolution 3 addresses my most important earthly relationship. I need to do a better job maintaining my most important spiritual relationship. I pray two or three times a year, except if there is a crisis. I don’t go to confession. I hardly pray when I am actually IN the church.

Grace x3 annually is not enough. I’m a realist, though. I know I won’t be getting on bended knee each night before bed, but a few minutes every week to give thanks for that which is good would certainly be an improvement. I resolve to give thanks in prayer each week.

Check out my resolutions for Marriage and Family and Technology.

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faith, prayer, religion

Thanksgiving trials and tribulations are so common that most years there is some sort of fight. It’s easy to do, really. All you have to do is let the stress get to you, suspend common sense, and let it fly.

The holidays are a very stressful time of year, mental health professionals say. I don’t have empirical data on this, nor a source you can check. I’ve heard it said, so I repeat it. This is the Internet so it must be true. I figure Thanksgiving fights come from the fact that tomorrow is Black Friday, and I just know I’ll be wrestling some old lady in the morning for the last $20 DVD Player at Target.

Some of the biggest and most memorable disasters we’ve had:
- The Great Gravy Incident, where my sister-in-law finished helping with the food for all the kids, and by the time she got to the table, the gravy was gone. I think that was the last time we saw her that night. She didn’t speak to anyone that year.
- The Bonanza Buy-a-Hand Brush-Up, where my brother-in-law bid $.25 for a hand in a penny card game. My sister-in-laws previous bid had been $.03. They didn’t speak for a while after that.
- The Drunken Douche Dust-Off, where my wife and I had a fight because her family was particularly aggravating and I let her know. She said I was ruining her day with my complaining. We didn’t speak for a day or two.
- The “Share Share That’s Fair” Scare, when I complained that I never see my family on the holidays anymore. The next year we solved that problem by actually seeing my family. I remembered why we don’t see them, so it’s better now.

The past three years are memorable because again we’ve been fighting over gravy. The first year someone was supposed to bring it and arrived asking “do you have a cookbook?” We ended up using jar gravy. Last year the gravy came out so bad that we had to reach into the cabinet and pull out packaged gravy (which we laid in just in case.) This year after an hour of preparation, the gravy was not thickening (which wasn’t mentioned at all on the Internet recipe she consulted) so we added the proverbial  emergency package of gravy mix to thicken it up.

And so we wrap up another Thanksgiving Day, joyfully sending our families on their way, reciting the mantra we hope to remember for next year…

“I couldn’t ask you to do the gravy. That’s too much. What vegetable would you like to bring?”

Hope you had a happy day!

Western Grace, originally uploaded by kretyen.

With Thanksgiving coming up this week, I’m considering what I will say at the table. Not for small talk, but in prayer before the meal. As the guy who works at a church, people assume I must be the most religious in the room at our Thanksgiving feast. I’m not. My wife is far more religious, but she would prefer that I do the public speaking. I used to be reluctant, but I’ve come to accept it, and now relish the idea of having a pulpit.

Anyway, that’s not the point. I know that “Thank you Lord for all that I am. Bless us all, now pass the yams” won’t do. I don’t know what I’ll say, but perhaps it will sound like this:

The world has been a difficult and dangerous place lately. Thousands of American men and women will be spending this holiday in harms way, while their families pray that the empty chair at their table will soon be filled again. Others worry about losing their homes, keeping their jobs, feeding their families, or affording a doctors visit for their children.

But with thanks to you, Lord, we know that a new day is dawning. We pray that conscience and faith will guide President-Elect Obama and his team in doing that which is necessary to protect and support our nation and it’s people. And although this is a welcome change, we know that we have always had reason to give thanks, because we have always had that which is most important.

We stand here today with our family, connected not only by blood but by unconditional love. Although at times we may be separated by arrogance, ego, or foolishness, we know that family is inviolate. We promise to love and care for one another, and we pray that you may bless others in the same ways we are blessed… with clothing, food, homes, jobs, and loved ones.

We ask this in His name. Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.