800 Fishing Trips
 
 
I'm very thankful that my dad invested so much time into me and still does to this day.  Growing up, we did many activities together including going on 800 fishing trips during the first 20 years of my life.  Some highlights included catching carp when I was 4 years old, catching walleye when I was 7, catching salmon when I was 9, catching steelhead when I was 12, catching massive sharks and other ocean fish when I was 14, and later going spearfishing as well.
 
 
So, was it just about getting sunburned, riding the waves, drowning some worms, and eating fresh fish regularly?  No, it was about my dad spending quality time with me, teaching me life principles, and talking to me about the things of the Lord.
 
 
Deuteronomy 11:19
You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
 
 
My dad knew that he had a responsibility before God to train me and instruct me in the way that I should go, and he took his responsibility seriously.  He used times of correction, times of rejoicing, times alone, times in a group, and other times to teach me the ways of God.
 
 
So why am I writing this?
 
 
I'm writing to encourage you, Dad, to invest time in your kids.  You have an amazing responsibility given by God to train your children.  Are you training them as you should?  Are you pointing them to Jesus for salvation?  Are you daily looking to God for strength and wisdom to lead them properly.  Work hard at it, but don't do it in your own strength.  Do it with God's help realizing that...
 
Psalm 127:1a
Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it