Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Your ways of convicting this heart of mine, Lord, are subtle yet so powerful. The more I learn about You, the more I learn about myself. No more worrying; worrying is a sin. I’m surrendering it all to You. 

So tonight I pray, Lord, let Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. 

[The] Ideal?  Mom at home, Dad working.  My wife graduated high school one year early, had her bachelors a year early and by 20.5 had her Masters.  She had one B (in Tennis…of all things) her sophomore year of college, the rest of her life was straight A’s.  She could have worked anywhere for anyone and had unlimited potential.  The day my daughter was born, she put all of that aside and believed raising our daughter was her highest calling despite her IQ or earning potential.  

Can you imagine that for a second?  Being that intelligent, racing through school, “throwing away” such potential to do the menial task of changing diapers and cleaning up puke?  Passing on the new Mercedes?  Putting a lucrative career at a huge company aside?

That was our life, based on our morals.  Is that for everyone?  Obviously not in 2012. 

You asked me my opinion…and my opinion is, I love children more than I love money…and my wife shared the same view.  I think children are a blessing from God.  Not a nuisance.  Not arm candy.  Not a checkmark.  And certainly not something I would farm out to someone paid a little more than minimum wage, I probably never even had dinner with, visited their home, or quizzed them about their personal beliefs to make sure they resemble my own.  I think it is grossly self-centered to knowingly bring a child into the world to only 12-14 weeks later dump them at a day care for 7-9 hours per day so after paying for a car, nice(r) clothing, and a bigger house, a person has really netted what in income?

What is wrong with taking a lesser car?  What is wrong with living in a house the size your grandparents lived in 60 years ago?  What is wrong with living on a budget instead of debt?  I believe our priorities are all wrong. 

The “perfect” guy doesn’t succumb to commercials that tell him what to wear, the size his house needs to be or if he needs a Polo symbol on his shirts.  The highest calling of a Man should be the way he treats his wife, his children and how he loves his maker…not the superficial crap that we (and I am guilty of this too) chase for temporal happiness.  

It breaks my heart to hear younger people and those my age try and pass off this, “I am trying to create a better life for my kids so that’s why I work so hard (and have a house double my grandparents size, have two NICE cars, spend 4k on vacations, spend $500 on my kids Christmas etc.).  

If people are really interested in creating a better life for their children, they would live on less, and spend less…and most importantly actively raise their own children.  If taking a position of humility sounds weak, it is only because you value what others think over what your family does. 

Validation from “others” is the surest path to unhappiness I have encountered in my thirty-nine years.

Let me say to you personally: work if you want.  Make as much as you can.  Enjoy yourself.  Discover your highest calling….but know you can’t have it all.  

I know people who live in giant houses with empty rooms, and quiet dining rooms that their families never gather in.  I see big yards but no one to play catch with.  I see kids decked in Abercrombie & Fitch or Polo or whoever society deems is cool pecking on iphones…who have no connection to their parents.  I “get” to read personal emails from MANY of you telling me how divorce has wrecked your life and how the empty promise of one night stands and commitment-less relationships has left you desolate.  

I am sorry…but the way this question is answered, I am convinced, is the root cause of many of our problems.  My advice?  Break the cycle

- Dad (http://dad-isms.tumblr.com)