3 Thumbs Up! June 16th, 2012

This week’s 3 Thumbs Up! post has a dad flair.  Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

Thumbs Up Number 1: Some Wise Guy (tidbits from the trenches of fatherhood).  This is an excellent blog by K.C. Procter.  I’ve been following K.C. and his blog for a while now.  Over the past few months, he really narrowed the focus of his blog to fatherhood.  It’s been fun to see his passion and commitment to his family shine through the pages of his blog.  This week he’s featuring several guest bloggers who you may recognize.  Check out Some Wise Guy.  Stop by and leave a comment.  Tell K.C. that I sent you!

Thumbs Up Number 2:  Dad Life.  Just watch the video.  You’ll see why this deserves a thumbs up.

Thumbs Up Number 3:  Christlink.  This is a blog by my dad.  He doesn’t write on it every day, but he continues to add things through the add-on pages that you can reach via his navigation menu.  His additional pages include sermon notes, a writing workshop, thoughts on being an interim pastor, and a page he calls pilgrim path.  My dad has been a huge influence on my writing career from high school to now.  Drop by his blog and see what I’m talking about.

What else deserves a thumbs up this week?

Book Review: Raising A Modern-Day Knight by Robert Lewis

Two months ago, I picked up a copy of Raising a Modern-Day Knight: A Father’s Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood by Robert Lewis at the Weekend to Remember FamilyLife marriage conference that Leanne and I attended in Hershey, PA.  During my vacation to Texas, I had a chance to finish reading the book, so I thought I would share my thoughts.

If you are a dad, you need to read this book!

How’s that for a statement?  The book is written as a guide and encouragement for fathers to help guide their son’s and son-in-law’s into authentic manhood.  In today’s world of gender equality, the title and subject matter of this book may seem old-fashioned and out of touch with the culture.  But when you open up the pages of this book and begin to uncover the teachings and truths developed by Lewis, you’ll discover a father who takes his role as a father seriously.

In Raising A Modern-Day Knight, Lewis shares his own journey of defining manhood with two other fathers.  He describes the method they used to ceremonially transform their boys to men.  Lewis gives practical tips and shows how dads like you and me can do the same thing for our boys.  He also gives hope and encouragement to fathers who may feel like it’s too late for them.

I finished reading this book encouraged, inspired, and motivated to take my role as a father more seriously.  I’m excited to return home this week where I can begin to develop my own strategy for being more intentional in working with other fathers to transform our boys into modern-day knights.

I highly recommend this book!  (This book gets 5 Stretch Marks out of 5.)

How are you being intentional in your parenting these days?  How were your parents intentional in raising you?  Give us some examples in the comments.