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Boaz Ministries

To the fathers

 


We celebrate our men as fathers and father figures this Father's Day, 2013! We appreciate you!

B&B Edwards

Boaz Ministries 

Dad's Day

Boaz Ministries

Brothers, what will determine how good or how bad your Dad’s Day will be?

I say “Dad’s Day” because there are millions of father’s in the world who are clueless about what that really means. Being a father requires only our sperm to fertilize the egg of a human female for us to father a child. Being a dad and to be celebrated for it requires much, much more and these are the things that are of former, current and future importance in the lives of our children.

Yes we will get gifts, everything from a shirt and tie combo we hate to any number of obligatory gifts from the least to the most expensive. These things are nice and it is a tradition we should look forward to. However, if a once a year gift given on “Father’s Day” is the only recognition we will receive from our children, then we have failed in our “dadly” duties or we need to re-evaluate just what we have done and are doing in our relationships with our children.

The one sure-fire way to determine if we should be honored and celebrated Sunday is to wake up, look in the mirror and ask a few questions about our relationships with our children. If we can honestly say that we have unselfishly cared for and provided for their well-being without complaint or compromise; if we can say without question or pause that we have, and will always have time for them no matter how old they become or what their station in life; if we have consistently and lovingly taught them what is good and how to go about being a righteous person; if we have encouraged them to love and trust God; if they know that we are always proud of their accomplishments and always aware that they are not perfect; if they respect and trust us even though we as men are not perfect; if they are pleased with how we treat their mother; if they consistently look to us for guidance and we give it without judgment, then we will have a great Dad’s Day.

I pray that on Sunday morning each of us can walk away from the mirror with a smile on our faces knowing the Lord is pleased with how we have handled the great responsibility of being a dad after we have become fathers.

Have a great Dad’s Day my brothers,

Bruce

Memories

I am a picture taking crazy person. My close family and loved ones know this. And they tolerate my "obsession" with  taking snapshots of them.  They don't understand.

Pictures are just one way to relive a memory. Our minds are another, very vivid kind of camera. Because our time on earth is so brief, I cherish moments with a holding-on-for-dear-life type grip. I suppose that's also why I write... to record, and remember. I can go back and read how I felt, what I saw - who I was, through written words.

Memory-making is a blessing. It's a gift to live in the present tense, and make each moment count. Even the not so good experiences serve as lessons we can reflect on as we move forward. We will remember, and hopefully, avoid the pitfalls of yesterday. We can smile because we are victorious.

My thoughts today are of a beautiful memory - a wonder filled span of my life, a chapter that is now closed. And I realize that the sum of those times not only shaped and prepared me for my "now" - but I'm still gleaning valuable tidbits from the past. And I am stronger and wiser because God graced me with experiences that He knew would keep me buoyed and carry me through whatever life brings my way.

Thanking God for memories!

Subliminal Messages - The Subtle Attack on Relationships, part 2

From Boaz Ministries

There was a time when the subliminal messages in advertising were more difficult to discern than now. Big companies hired top consumer behavior experts, well versed in the psychology of marketing, to increase their profit margins by any means necessary. And it was discovered that children were the best way to get adults to spend money on products.  That method still works well. However, adults are just as vulnerable and will “buy” whatever the next big thing is. We buy into more than just products. We also absorb media-produced social images.  The battle between the sexes, where Mom is smart and Dad is weak and to be ignored, promoting disrespect of fathers and distortion of the male role to the point where some women think they don’t require a man – just a sperm donor; the exploiting of young children in the various “stage mom” type reality shows; the mass sexualizing (and therefore desensitization) in print ads on billboard signs, etc.  Sexual innuendos that are way over the top, and completely inappropriate in simple plumbing commercials! And don’t get me started on what’s happening in so-called “music” today.

No, the attack on the family and our relationships is in our faces now.   Parents wanting to raise their children in a safe and wholesome environment, free from media molestation (and what’s seeping into the schools via lesson plans), have stiff competition out there.  Couples who strive to live in accordance to God’s will and not the societal norms, will have to redouble their efforts.  Anybody living in this world - who doesn’t have a strong grasp on their Faith - may run the risk of assimilation into this ever devolving “New World Order”.  This thought process where right is wrong and wrong is right, and if you’re not true to your “self”, you are not being “authentic”…. This world where sin lines are blurring into oblivion; do what you feel and do it till you’re satisfied.  The trick is – the flesh is never satisfied. The truth is, God can and will hold us together and make us whole, if we allow Him.

The Subtle Attack on Relationships - part 1

from Boaz Ministries

Maybe it started with…

the skinny ties, skinny jeans, skinny lapel suits and jackets, short-waist jackets, wearing shirts that look like blouses, thong type sandals, girly-looking canvas slip on casual shoes or the use of the word “unisex” I’m not sure. All I know is the feminization of men in how they are dressing these days gives me pause for concern. It’s gotten so bad you can’t tell a female mannequin from one that’s supposed to be a male mannequin.

There once was a time when the standard size for male modeling was 40R (regular). Now the standard size and what you see in men’s fashion magazines is 36 or 38. Of course there are men who are smaller in frame, but the current look seems to be marketed for a man who is “petite.” I mean whoever thought the word “petite” would be associated with a man? And what in the world is a “Metrosexual”?

In my humble and old school opinion, men should look distinctively different from women in how and what they wear. Many young men coming up today don’t even realize that this fashion trend is not masculine. It may be “fashionable” but it is not masculine.

A wise woman recently told me she wants her man to look like a man, not like one of her girlfriends. Amen!

Bruce

Love behaves like this:

from Boaz Ministries

Ephesians 4:29-32 NIV

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."