I love being a dad. One of the greatest parts of

being a dad is teaching (some might say corrupting) my boys. To be

sure, I teach them important things like how to count, tell the

truth, work hard, and respect their mother. But, I also get to

teach them the fun stuff like yelling, "Go! Go! Go!" at the

television during a NASCAR race or the difference between Star Wars

and Star Trek (Star Wars is much, much cooler - in case you were

wondering). It is true that I absolutely love being a dad. Yet, of

all the things that I teach my boys, the most important thing isn't

which race car or football team for which they should root. No. The

most important thing I can teach my boys is the Gospel and to love

Jesus with all their hearts, minds, souls, and strength. Now, I

know what you are thinking. "Great. Now I have one more thing I

have to do." And, I get that. Parenting is a lot of work and there

are many days that you just don't feel like there are enough hours

in the day. The last thing I want to do is to pile one more thing

to add to your already overwhelmed list that will never get done.

No, I don't want to add anything to your to do list. Instead, I

want to offer you a different way of looking at that to do list.

Rather than creating new work, I want to offer you a way to put all

things in perspective and keep the main thing, the main thing. As a

dad, I understand that my influence on my boys is finite. Yet, as a

follower of Christ, I know their lives are infinite and eternal.

For the short amount of time I have to influence them, I can't help

but think that the only way not to waste that time is to focus them

on Christ. I'd like to invite you to join me as we learn how not to

waste your parenting. In Christ, Thomas