Hey Dad,

Hope you're enjoying the Christmas season with your family. Last night, we had our second family Advent night. Today, I need to call The Salvation Army to reserve a bell-ringing spot at a nearby Wal-Mart. Tonight, we'll watch the holiday classic, The Muppets' Christmas Carol—and this weekend, we'll sleep around the Christmas tree. Whew doggie! Being a dad doesn't get any better than this.

Although … I do need to confess that the other night I wavered a little on the "life importance scale." If it weren't for the fact that God set me straight, I could have started down the slippery path of stupidity.

Just a little background—I'm a storyteller. I love a well-told story wrapped around the truth. My imagination is big, and I like creative communication. So with that in mind, let me set the stage. It was a perfect Christmassy night. The tree lights were glowing, the fire was burning—and everyone was in bed but me. Man, it was quiet. I popped in a Christmas video and watched as a very green Jim Carrey's heart grew three sizes that day.

With a cast of hundreds, a budget of millions, and computer graphics galore, and added to that, incredible music and a heart-warming conclusion, I found myself in imagination heaven. To top it off, millions of people have viewed it. That's when I got disorientated and began to slip down the success-driven path of stupidity. In fact, I even lifted up a spontaneous, passionate prayer, "God, can I do something BIG like that—to impact the world?"

God must have anticipated my question, because before the words were completely out of my mouth, he whispered, "You already are—they're sleeping in their beds right now."

I knew he was right. He always is, and later as I lay in bed, I thanked him for reminding me, because I need reminding. All of us dads need reminding. The success-pull is so great. We really think that if we were just given the opportunity to do something big, we could change the world—forgetting that fathering is the BIG, world-changing thing.

So, Dad, if you've found yourself daydreaming about doing something BIG, let me point you back home and whisper, "You already are."

You 'da Dad!

PS: Dad, it's still not too late to order a bunch of the 2008 You 'da Dad Daily Calendars for all the dads in your small group, business, or family. In fact, if you order 12 calendars, you get FREE shipping. If you order 20 calendars, we'll knock off $2 per calendar and still give you FREE shipping. Can't beat that with a stick. Order at http://www.familymanweb.com/store/2008-you-da-dad-daily-calendar-page-a-day.

© 2007 Todd Wilson. Used by permission.

[12/07/07]

				Try an Issue of Men of Integrity Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Men of Integrity as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter    RSS Feed   RSS Help