A great friend of mine forwarded an article to me. It's called Don't Hope, Friend...Decide! by Michael D. Hargrove. I remember reading it before although I don't remember when. It's worth your time to read. It reminds me that being a dad and having good relationships with your wife and children takes hard work. It doesn't come naturally to people to invest deeply in their children. It is natural to attempt to conserve our investment in others so that we have what we need for ourselves. We never really realize all that we could have if we extravagantly and wholeheartedly invested ourselves in our families.

I don't say this out of any condemnation. I just realize that every day I have opportunities with my wife and kids. Some I capitalize on. And on some I just absolutely blow it. The good news is that the guy Hargrove writes about probably screws things up too. He just makes sure his family knows where they stand with him and how important they really are to him. It's not just his words, but his actions too.

I'll screw things up. I'll say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. But I hope I will never pass up an opportunity to tell my family I love them, either in my words or my actions. That's my decision.

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