Go Beyond

In the closing sequence of “The Wizard of Oz,” young Dorothy, who is longing to return to her home in Kansas, speaks one of the most memorable lines in the story — “There’s no place like home!” Dorothy’s words are true. There is no place like home. Just the mention of home can excite our hearts, especially when we have been away from our homes for any period of time.

The folks at Habitat for Humanity understand the importance of home. This Christian housing ministry envisions a world where everyone has a decent, safe, and affordable place to live. Their mission is simple — to put God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope. The word amazing falls short of what Habitat is able to do by mobilizing armies of volunteers to build homes.

Last September, our missions ministry partnered with Compassion Katy to help build a Habitat home for a single mother named Susan. Like others selected to buy a Habitat home, Susan met some tough requirements and must put in 200 hours of sweat-equity into local Habitat projects, including the construction of her own home. Susan considers two-hundred hours of sweat-equity a small price for pay for the privilege of finally owning her own home.

This past Saturday, my Band of Fathers core group volunteered to start the landscaping at Susan’s nearly completed new home in Cypress, Texas. Our fathers and sons enjoyed a memorable day of service together. Everyone had an opportunity to meet Susan and to learn about her journey toward owning her own home. We laid six pallets of sod in her yard, completed the construction of her fence, and prepared her beds for flowers and shrubs.

My Band of Fathers core group is built around three important values — shared study, shared mission, and shared adventure. We want to do more than consume Bible calories — we want to burn off those calories in a world that needs to see the transforming power of God’s love in action. That’s why we engage in local initiatives that bless others and allow fathers and sons to make memories of serving together.

On Sunday afternoon, a few of us in my core group got together to ride the trails at Terry Hershey Park. These are some of the best single track mountain bike trails in the greater Houston area. What made the afternoon even more enjoyable was sharing the adventure with some of the guys in our group. We definitely love studying the Scriptures together, but we also enjoy serving and playing together outside of our study time.

I am grateful for the guys in my core group. We are all committed to studying the Scriptures as we strive to become better dads. And we and our sons are also determined to serve others and to share adventures together. Our prayer is that we will not only become better dads, but that we will raise stronger sons.