Hope!

Hope is the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. It is a feeling of what is wanted can be had or that things will turn out for the best. Growing up I always set reasonable goals, with the hope of accomplishing those goals. Hope is what kept me going, even when I wasn't sure what the outcome would be. When you don't know what will happen, when things seem to be off course, its that hope that will sustain you and allow you to keep pushing forward. Many individuals that face hardships and get discouraged fall back on hope to get them through the most difficult of times. People that fight serious illness, depression, or constant failures continue to cling to hope. That hope can dictate how we act, how we view things, and how we treat others. In Christian theology, hope is one of the three main virtues, which are spiritual gifts from God. God instructs us to always have hope and safeguard our minds from negative thinking.
Hope is uplifting, strengthening, positive, and faith restoring. Without hope people can go downhill very quickly. For example if two people are in a boat lost at sea, and one of them is hopeful of a rescue and the other is not, which one is most likely to survive? That's right the person that remains hopeful will look at doing what he can to survive until they are rescued. While the other will be looking to end this ordeal as quickly as possible with or without a rescue. We need to be the person that is hopeful in all situations. Our behavior will reflect our hopeful and positive attitude.

Staying close to your son

"Daddy how do you know so much?" Has your boy ever taken you by surprise with such a question? At, the time you probably felt so proud to be a father. These times when they are young and look at you with so much admiration is really the most ideal time to build that lasting close relationship with your son. Over the years probably no fault of your own your son's regard for you can begin to shrink. How can we stay close to our sons as he develops into a man?
As fathers we have some unique challenges that inhibit our ability to stay close to our sons. The first thing is lack of time. Fathers are expected to earn most of the income for the family. Often, their job requires that they be away from the home for most of the day. In some places, fathers spend very little time with their children. A recent survey in France, for example, found that fathers spend on average less than 12 minutes a day caring for their children. How can you expect to build a bond with your son spending less than 12 minutes a day caring for him? Time is essential to staying close with your son. Take the time to ask him about his day. Ask him followup questions so that he elaborate on certain events of the day. It may be a good idea to write down how much time a day you are spending with your son, you may be amazed at the results.
Another limitation of fathers is the lack of a good example. Some men have very little to do with their own father. The lack of affection and love from our own fathers causes us to have difficulty showing that love and affection for our sons. It is essential that we do not follow the bad examples that have been set before us. Make sure we remember the feelings we had not having a father and make sure your son does not experience those feelings of loneliness and despair caused by our lack of fathers.
As men we need to realize all of the flaws we have in ourselves and be sure not to let that carry over to our sons.  Most boys want to be like their fathers when they grow up in every way, so they will tend to follow suit on a lot of the things we do.  We need to make sure that our sons gain all of our strengths, but none of our weaknesses.  So many men today feel like, as long as their sons have a strong mother they will be ok.  That is not the case in any way, you would be surprised how a boy can develop the tendencies of their fathers without even being around them very much.  Staying close to your son is not an easy thing to do especially as they grow, but its important to find something that you and your son can do together to help tighten your bond and encourage their development into young men.

Good Samaritan

It has happened to all of us at one point or another. Were sitting in the office, going to the store, or walking the dog and then it happens someone gets mugged, a purse snatched, or someone is physically assaulted. In a split second we are drawn into a trauma that is not expected and means very little to us personally. At that time adrenaline kicks in and our bodies are flooded with messages trying to decide if we should get involved. Do we stand by or even leave the scene, or do we get involved and save this person from more harm?
Too often in our society we look the other way rather than helping our fellow man, woman or child. The horrific events that have taken place at Penn State University should serve as warning to all of us of the dangers of turning our back on someone in need. For those not familiar with the story, the defensive coordinator for the Penn State football team was showering with a ten year old boy on the Penn state campus and when he was seen violating this little boy by another employee of the football team that employee allegedly decided to leave and go home for the evening without attempting to interfere on this innocent young boy's behalf. How can a person witness something so heinous and not attempt to help the child? No doubt this person had to have a moment where he thought he should do something instead he didn't listen to his conscience and walked away. This crime was witnessed in 2002 and it was not reported to the police, instead this guy felt that his only obligation was to report this to his superior, who happens to be the perpetrators good friend. I am sickened by the lack of compassion for this child. How could anyone just wash their hands of their responsibility as a human being to report this directly to the police and have this monster arrested? I am just beyond myself trying to figure out why anyone would allow this to go on. Since this incident in 2002 as many as six other kids have come forward with allegations against this same former football coach. How sad is it that all these other victims could have been spared if one person would have had the fortitude to stand up when he witnessed this horrific act taking place.
I hope all of us can use this as an example of how not to react when someone especially a child is in grave danger. Even if it doesn't involve us directly there are times when we as humans have to put our fear aside and do the right thing. Let your conscience be your guide and hopefully it won't steer you wrong.