Please check out my post today at FollowIllustrated.com. It's a fun, kind of quirky story about my dad and so typical of how he interacted with his world.
#HeadGear: This story just impressed upon me how important it is to show my children how I am making a mark on the world. Sound vain? Look at it this way... in the Depression Era Southwest there there sprung up a peculiar kind of baseball with larger than life figures like Dizzy Dean. Dizzy was famous for saying, "It ain't braggin' if ya done it." My dad loved quoting Dizzy on that. Dad's if you are making a positive contribution to your world, you have earned the right - and have the responsibility - to share that with your children. In time, your legacy will become the most important thing in the world to them, I promise!
The jury is still out on the complete view of the legacy I am passing on to my children. Over-sized TVs, a love for electronic gadgets, and a zeal to make great barbeque will be numbered among the things they will remember about me. I hope they also remember all the mornings, sometimes thrice weekly, I was up and out of the house before they opened their peepers. I've spent the better part of the last 20 years discipling the finest young men on earth. Many are now leaders in their churches. Most are leaders in their homes - faith-filled and courageous dads doing the heavy lifting of leading a family. I can smoke up a slab of ribs that will have you apologizing to your taste-buds for not eating them porksickles sooner, but I really hope my children will tell their kids about how Pops made his mark on other men's lives. But also the ribs. Don't fail to mention the ribs.
Silver spoon or not, the Cat's In The Cradle and your children ARE going to imitate you. Sit down today and make a short list of three things that you have done to leave your mark in this world. Share that list with your kids soon. Most importantly, explain to them what drove you to do those things. You'll pass on a legacy that will bless your generations.
Ready to #ManUp? Here's a great "action plan" from Fathers.com. And yet another good idea.
#SoundOff: Men, what mark did your dad leave on your life. Let's focus on the positive today. Sound off at the IGTBTD Facebook page. And click SHARE to bring others into the conversation.
Clark H Smith
Clark H Smith
