The Secret Wireless

Fathers, It does not matter if you are married or divorced, if you live with your children or only see them periodically.  If you have children, then you are a father.  And if you are a father you have a calling from God. Ephesians 6:4 is a clear, if brief, exhortation for us all when it comes to being a dad: " Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord ." Perhaps some of our difficulty with fatherhood has come from a confusion over what it means to "discipline" your children.  We tend to use that term as a synonym for "punishment".  We believe that it is a father's duty to punish when wrongs are done.  Don't spare the rod. Yet this seems to fly right in the face of what Paul is saying to the Ephesian fathers.  "Don't provoke your children to anger."  A father who is all punishment and rules is certainly going to provoke anger in his offspring. Rather,...

Gentlemen, It is long overdue that the Church takes a closer look at what it means to be a husband and father.  We have decried the devaluation of men.  We have lamented the dearth of leadership on this subject.  We have moaned and complained, but no one seems to be doing much about it. One major issue is that we too often take our visions for manhood, husband-hood, and fatherhood from the culture, particularly the popular culture, and not from the Scriptures.  Martin Luther started us off on the right track when he filled his Table of Duties in the Small Catechism with Scriptural references that concern our various vocations.  It would be fitting for us to expand on that work, to consider what the Scriptures say concerning the roles, duties, and vocations, of husband, father, and man. The importance of all this was highlighted to me this past year when preparing to teach a lesson on I Timothy 3.  In 7th and 8th grade reli...

Let’s get one thing out of the way right now: you are pretty.   Half of the people on this planet are female and all of them possess an inherent beauty in their features.   Even when scarred by disease or dangerous accident a woman is a beautiful creation of God.     Some women are prettier than others.   In your life, my dear daughter, there will be women who are prettier than you.   You will be prettier than others.   This is nothing to be ashamed of, nor is it really anything to brag about.   It is a blessing from God.   Just be thankful and gracious to others no matter where they fall on the spectrum. You are your mother’s daughter and therefore will probably be on the end of the spectrum that leans toward the prettier.   (You don’t know who many times random strangers have stopped your mother and told her that she is the “most naturally beautiful woman” they have seen.)    But, also because ...