Starting this blog has been a goal of mine for several years. I would tell myself that I was waiting for the right time or waiting for things to slow down before moving forward. With four kids, a full time job and the craziness that is our day-to-day life, I realized that the right time, at least how I defined it, was never going to happen. So after much thought and prayer, I have decided to finally begin this new journey.
Raising children is getting harder with each generation especially when faith is a central part of your family and guides how you approach all aspects of your life. For our family it is our Catholic faith. We live in an increasingly secular society and while we have to learn to live and function in our current culture, keeping faith and family values at the forefront of everyday life can be a challenge.
How we choose to handle these challenges can define our future and the future of our children. We are the first teachers for our children; we establish right from wrong, answer their questions and help guide them on their life journey. Kids notice more than we realize and setting the right example is important, in both what we say and what we do. We are going to fail at times, sometimes miserably, but the important thing is that we learn from our mistakes and that we strive to keep God and family as our top priorities.
As Catholic parents we face these challenges every day. In this space I hope to provide a Catholic Dad’s Perspective. Some posts will be serious, some will be funny and I hope they are all, in a way, thought provoking or at least entertaining.
A little about myself…..My wife and I have been married for nineteen years and we have four beautiful children ranging in age from one to ten. I carry many titles in my life but the most important are husband and father. Everything I do and every decision I make is for my family and I am guided in these decisions by my faith. I am a firm believer that God has a plan for each of us. It is not always obvious and sometimes it can be hard for us to understand that the pain that we are going through is leading us to something greater and is, in fact, part of a much larger plan. I have struggled with this in the past and it can be difficult to remain focused on what is important. Praying, lifting my worries up to God, thanking Him for my blessings and reminding myself of how lucky I am are the practices that guide me through each day. Faith and prayer are very powerful. They have had a major impact on my life and I look forward to sharing some of those experiences with you in the future.
I pray that this first post finds you well, I wish you God’s blessings and I hope you will join me on this new journey.