This Sunday is Father’s Day. My own biological father will not here this year as he passed away last August. However, my other father (my stepdad) is still here and we got to go visit him and my mother a few weeks ago. His name is Gene and he has been one of the greatest influences in my life and he and my mom have showed us what love and family looks like.

My real father was a troubled man with a dark past and carried many secrets to his grave. In life we all have good examples to follow as well as bad examples. It may sound strange, but many times, it’s the bad examples that can help us see clearly what we don’t want to be like. Even though I loved him, this was the case with my father.

You have heard me say before that the greatest title I have ever held is one word, daddy. That is the name I am called by my daughters and the name I am the most humbled by. My daughters have never known a time where my unconditional love for them was ever in question. Many of the sweetest memories I have in life are moments I have spent with them. This Father’s Day will be great because I get to see and be with all my children, my wife, son in-laws and grandchildren.

Hopefully your Father’s Day will also be great, and you will be surrounded by those who truly love you. In life you have heard people say that there is a gray area, meaning something is subject to interpretation. With fatherhood, there is no gray area when it comes to your children being assured of your unconditional love for them.  Don’t let this Father’s Day pass without your family being assured of your love.  KT

When you pull your finger out of water, say, in a pool, pond, glass of water etc. the water quickly closes the void, as though your finger was never there. It also seems like that in life sometimes. Lately, I have had several friends in our business pass away. One was an editor at a hotel news magazine who over the years had become a friend. Earlier this year I called him and left a voice message. When I didn’t hear from him I emailed and left another voice message. Finally, the third time, I called the news desk and was told that Jay had passed away suddenly.

I was saddened by how quickly the news organization just closed the void Jay left behind and carried on as though nothing had happened.

This along with several other similar stories made me stop and think about life and what is important. The reality is that where you work, where you play golf, where you go to church, your group of friends will unfortunately move on very quickly should you be called home to the sweet by-and-by. It is your family that will have a hard time filling the void you left behind. Friends and acquaintances will move on in a couple of days, but your family will be the ones that carry the grief as they attempt to figure out life without you.

Therefore, my point is; choose family first. The question you must ask yourself is if whether another round of golf or another deal closing or another promotion or another trip to the gym, going to have an impact on your eternity? I am not saying you should quit your job and stay home with your family. What I am saying is to tune in your heart and your spirit to those closest around you and be aware of the subtle things that may not be said out loud, but you hear anyway. Listen when your children are talking to you and put the phone way. Focus on your spouse when he or she is telling you something. Listen with your heart and not just your ears and you will understand things that go beyond just what is being said.

There is nothing wrong with a trip to the gym or the golf course but be willing to put those things second place to your family if you sense you are needed at home more than where you planned to be.

There is nothing any of us can do to slow time down but when your finger is pulled from the pond of life, leave behind deep, wholesome, honest, uplifting memories of your time here. Those will be the things that hold your family together. KT

I want to get a little spiritual with this blog.

Many, if not most all the biblical characters we read about did not become who they were meant to be without first going through a rescue period in their life. They needed to be rescued. None that I know of just became heroes without going through something that was difficult or challenging in their life. Even today, most anyone who has accomplished great things in their life, did so after going through challenging circumstances. Below is a few (certainly not all) biblical heroes that didn’t become who they were meant to be without going through a tough time first.

Moses did not become Moses without spending 40 years in exile first

David did not become David without killing the giant first

Job did not become Job without losing everything first

Noah did not become Noah without being first laughed at for decades

Abigail did not become King David’s wife without first risking her own life to save her first husband

Jonah did not become Jonah before first spending three days in the belly of a whale

Abraham did not become Abraham without having to first start his life over somewhere else

Joseph did not become Joseph before first being sold into slavery and then imprisoned

Peter did not become Peter before denying three times that he even knew who Jesus was

Saul did not become Paul before being blinded for three days while God got his attention

And finally, we probably wouldn’t even know about Jesus if he hadn’t gone through death, burial and resurrection first.

The point is, don’t always look at failure, loss or bad news as life ending. If you are going through a difficult time, just maybe God has a rescue plan for you to become who you are meant to be. KT