I thought this Blog was so rich and meaningful.  It just so happens that I'd had a conversation like it with Abby, my 13 year old, before I'd read it.  I feel strongly that parents' roles in their kids' thoughts about themselves and the world is vital, especially given the way that our culture tries to shape them.  I love that Dr. Flanagan had the wisdom and courage to put all of these thoughts into a Blog for the world to see.

Enjoy, and if you are blessed to be a dad, please consider reading this to your daughter.

http://www.viralnova.com/father-letter-to-daughter/

A Very Present Help

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1

12 years ago today, my life was drastically changed forever.  The lives of those closest to me and my family in St. Louis and in TX were dramatically changed as well.  In some ways it seems like the car accident happened a dozen years ago, and in others it seems like yesterday. The good LORD has taught me a lot over the years (and I'm still learning)...

• Life is precious.
• We should always encourage and help others (I'm forever grateful to those who helped me get back on my feet!)
• We should never give up.  My rehab and therapy lasted ten months, not to mention running and working out with my dad and relearning stuff with my mom. (God repeatedly told Joshua to "Be strong and courageous," assuring him that He would be by his side.)
• We should always be humble. Philip Yancey said, "Grace, like water, flows to the lowest part." (Similar promises are all over Scripture too.)
• I've learned to laugh at myself. I was a 30 year old man wearing a diaper!
• We should pray and really trust God to help us though anything (Eph. 3:20, 2 Cor. 12:9).
• I'll say it again: Our lives are precious. My application of that plays out in the way I live and the choices I make in my relationships with others (especially with my family).

Many of you know, since the car wreck, I've earned a degree from seminary, written a book (www.bit.ly/amazonMM825 - Mile Marker 825), and do a bit of speaking, all focused on offering hope to the hopeless and faith to the faithless... on helping others who are going through trials or some form of suffering.  I remind people that while God might not keep us from such difficulties, He faithfully walks us through them.

Personally, I've been blessed with a very sweet and pretty wife (Christe) who is a wonderful mom to our two boys JoJo (Josiah) and Toby (Tobias) and to Abby.  I only have a few remaining physical effects from the wretched car accident.  So some of my favorite songs are, "Amazing Grace" and "Jesus Loves Me."

David called God his strength, his shield, and his song... I now resonate with these terms.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.
Psalm 28:7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIg5izhMCdI