Go Beyond

I love adventure. Over the years I have been privileged to experience some of the most amazing adventures all around the globe. My shortlist includes completing the Texas Water Safari with my son, crossing the Gobi by rail, biking through the jungles of Angkor, hiking in the foothills of the Himalayas, floating above Cambodia in a hot air balloon, backpacking the Lone Star Hiking Trail, venturing for days down a trans-Himalayan river, and more.

While these adventures are all really cool, I believe that fatherhood is the greatest adventure of all. There is no question about the fact that I have lost my bearings more than once as a father — times when my life was way out of balance. And, I have made more than my share of parenting mistakes. Even so, I have tried to learn from every failure and to take intentional steps toward becoming a better Dad.

That’s why I enjoy meeting with my Band of Fathers core group. Our group is dedicated to building strong bonds between fathers and sons by means of shared study, shared mission, and shared adventure. We all believe that fatherhood is the greatest adventure of all and we are committed to making greater strides toward becoming champions to our sons and our families.

Over the past year, our group has spent time in study and in prayer for one another and for our boys. We have benefited from guest speakers — others dads who have shared their personal stories with us. We have also participated in a couple of local shared mission initiatives to help others in need. Most recently we ventured to the Guadalupe Mountains for a cold-weather adventure with our boys.

As we come to the end of this year, our group has compiled a book dedicated to our sons. Our goal was to each contribute two or three bits of practical and spiritual wisdom that each of us have respectively shared with our sons over the years. Each of us also included a couple of our favorite father and son pics. We will present these books to our sons at Christmas. We pray that these lessons for the wild adventure called life will be a blessing to our boys.

We live in a day when it’s easy to adventure vicariously through reality television shows about folks who live off the grid. I confess that I enjoy watching these programs that feature rugged individuals trying to survive in some of the planet’s most hostile environments. But, our greatest adventure will never be watching reality television or even biking through the jungles of Angkor. Our greatest adventure should be raising our kids to love and serve God and to enjoy life in a way that pleases Him.

I am thankful for my Band of Fathers — brothers united in the cause of becoming better dads. We look forward to sharing our practical lessons for the wild adventure called life with our sons. And we look forward to how God will continue to grow and guide us to become better dads in the coming year.