David Leventhal

Last weekend Daniel & I had a chance to pull out of Dallas for a two night campout with other 1^st – 3^rd grade dads & their boys from our church. We left Dallas around 3 p.m. on Friday and got back around lunchtime on Sunday. We had a blast together and I was reminded of how important it is to get one on one time with my kids.

We spent some time on Saturday morning talking through 1 Corinthians 16:13-14. In these two short verses the Apostle Paul packs in a lifetime of wisdom. He writes, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” This became the theme of the weekend for me & Daniel. We spent about an hour under a beautiful Saturday morning sun sitting in the bed of my pickup truck talking about what each of these five things means – for him as a boy and for me as a dad and husband. We talked a lot about what it means to “act like men” in a world where the role of a man continues to be devalued. We talked about how a real man is faithful. A real man is an advocate for those who can’t speak up for themselves. A real man protects, provides, serves & does it all in love. It was some of the best time we’ve had in a while.

Four other takeaways from our time:

1. I love hanging with my kids. I was reminded of just how much I enjoy spending time with my kids – and not just a little. Life is just so full of activities and movement that I am prone to forget the simple but deep joy found in fully engaging my kids in a conversation, in a common task, or a shared meal.
2. No one is better suited to be a dad to my kids than me. I am not perfect by any stretch of anyone’s imagination. My flaws are obvious and they are sizable. But, in spite of that, I believe that God has brought my four children into my life for me to shepherd through life. Irrespective of how many years I get with my kiddos – the fact is they look to me as their father for instruction on how to navigate this thing called “life.”
3. The speed of the leader is the speed of the team. I can’t lead my kid’s to the truth if I’m not learning & living in the truth. My son will learn what it means to be a man from me. My daughters will learn what a husband is from watching me with their mom. Their understanding of God will be shaped by my character. Their world view (at least initially) will be directly correlated to how I live my life. Looking at Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 16 was a great reminder to me that all these things need to be evident & increasing in my life.
4. Time waits for no one. My son will be 7 years old in December. My window of opportunity with him (& my girls) is short. There are several things I’d love to do more of – play golf, more guys’ weekends, more football, etc… But I’m more convinced than ever that those things can wait (& truthfully, they may not be good investments of my time anyway…but that’s another blog post). My two primary roles on earth right now are husband & father. Not only are these my primary roles – they are the ones with the most on the line. If I fail as a husband or as a father then I really think I’ve just flat out missed it.

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