Growing up I heard that I had  “mighty big shoes to fill” quite often. Many people grow up thinking they want to be like someone else. Whether we are trying to follow the footsteps of our father, or in my case grandfather or some other person we want to be like. The shoes we long to fill seem unobtainable and never the right size or fit. Shoes are usually pretty personal, I don’t know too many guys that share their sneakers with their friends. Yet we spend much of our lives trying to fill the shoes of others before us. We spend our childhood looking up to others. It could be a family member, friend, or even a church or community leader. Hoping to be like them, we change who we were born to be. Sometimes we spend such an effort to be like someone else we begin to forget who we really are. We might talk differently, hang out with an unusual crowd. Maybe we work at places that challenge our morals, all just to be like someone else who we think has it all. I’ve got big shoes to fill. This is my chance to do something. I have to seize the moment. ~ Andrew Jackson All the meanwhile we ignore God’s design for our own lives. Getting consumed by the expectations of others we fail to see our creators fingerprints and true beauty. Forgoing our own destiny we chase after dreams, fancy clothes and fast cars trying to fill a void we […]

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This article was originally published and distributed on Medium.  Recently I started a 40 Day devotional with a group of online friends. Little did I know that by the end of the first week this would need writing. On day 3 entitled a Tale of Two Fathers the author paints a picture of fatherhood. Fatherhood is a loose term as many of us envision a father different from what we had. There are some where the father was absent or distant. Some where their loving hearts reflects the heart of Christ. Whichever father you did or did not have, neither can match the love of your heavenly Father. Men tend to get consumed with work, hobbies or the hopes of never growing up that their children never know them. Careers come before family, success matters more than anything. Meanwhile small hearts break wanting just to be noticed by their fathers. I spent most of my own childhood going unnoticed. Click To Tweet It seems in today’s world the only way these children get the attention they seek is through pain. Attempts to obtain a father’s approval seem to be in vain, the only time they are noticed is when they are in trouble. Many boys that want to become men turn to their friends as their fathers are absent. These friends are not friends really as they soon will find out when they abandon them too. Instead of focusing on the dreams of tomorrows, their dreams get squashed. Where their fathers should stand encouraging them […]

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Once again as I prepare for my upcoming graduation I am handing the reigns over to a guest blogger. Today’s post is by Tom Swan, who usually blogs at ask Tom Swan. Take a moment and welcome Tom to the conversation and read his contribution. Capes and matching red tights not required Ask any child under the age of three what they want to be when they grow up.  Most likely they will tell you they want to be a super hero.  You might even be lucky enough to hear about all of the super powers they will have. Somewhere between the age of three and adulthood, we stop dreaming.  We lose the belief that we can be a super hero!  We trade in our capes and super powers for student loans, a mortgage payment, credit card debt and a 401(k).  We may or may not get married and start a family. Before we know it, the life we dreamed of as kids is nothing like the one we are living now.  We say things like, “There are just not enough hours in a week.  How am I supposed to get this all done?” We trade our time for a paycheck.  Maybe we are lucky enough to be doing something we love, but for the most part, we do the work that pays the bills.  When we’re not at work, our days and evenings are filled with PTA meetings, soccer games and dance classes. We get home just in time to fall into bed, so […]

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