{"id":9077,"date":"2018-10-03T06:57:10","date_gmt":"2018-10-03T10:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=9077"},"modified":"2018-10-03T19:21:25","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T23:21:25","slug":"a-letter-to-my-sons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=9077","title":{"rendered":"a letter to my sons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Sons,<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, how I love and respect you. What an incredible privilege it is to be your parent. You are older now \u2014 on your own in many ways. I wanted to take a few moments to briefly revisit some important things your father and I have long attempted to instill in you. Granted, you are fairly independent now\u2026 it\u2019s up to you\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Seek God first.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There is so much available to you on this planet\u2026 so much to strive for, seek and find. Embrace, enjoy, but don\u2019t let the fleeting distract you, as this planet is not perfect, paradise, nor anything even close. It is not heaven and should never be confused as such. That means you will encounter sin and struggles in both others and yourself. Give others and yourself generous grace; pick yourself up when you fall and continue to grow. Welcome godly conviction but not human condemnation. And don\u2019t point fingers \u2014 again, not at others nor at self. Finger pointing too often evinces hypocrisy.<\/em><\/p>\n

Love your neighbor well.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Seeking God first means you attempt to follow what he asks of us. He asks us to love both what and who he created. It\u2019s why we take care of both his people and his planet. Unfortunately, you will be tempted to love well only those who think, look, act and even vote like you. Don\u2019t fall prey to that limited thinking; it takes even the intelligent down. Love the neighbor and the stranger. Respect them. Interact with them. Ask them questions and listen to their response. Ask them more. Know, too, they are always welcome at our table.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Prioritize what is good and right and true.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Grace. Faithfulness. Forgiveness. Family. Friendship. Gentleness. Laughter. Humility. Service. Selflessness. And self-control. Never allow anything lesser to pierce what is good.<\/em><\/p>\n

Pursue the truth.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Discerning what is true is a centuries-old challenge; it\u2019s not always clear. Understand that what you feel doesn\u2019t always line up with what is true. Your feelings are valid, but they are not necessarily indicative of the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Also, your experience does not equate to everyone else\u2019s reality. Know that. Be humble. And never let these learnings halt your pursuit.<\/em><\/p>\n

Eat your vegetables.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, ok… that’s not really the best way to say this, and I haven’t always modeled this well. I have much to learn. The bottom line is for each of us to be healthy \u2014 to intentionally care for our body \u2014 emotionally, physically, and spiritually. If you are off in any of the three, you are most likely off in all. But again, give yourself great grace. It\u2019s ok to not be ok.<\/em><\/p>\n

Treat a girl like a queen.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be honest; this is a tough one these days, but I will not stray from what your father and I have always taught you. Girls long to be cherished; boys long to be respected. Never withhold your love and respect. From either. But be careful. Not everyone holds the same values as you, especially in regard to all of the above; some have not yet found that guiding moral compass. That doesn\u2019t make another bad, but it does mean you must be careful about any potentially compromising situation. Don\u2019t go too far with someone you don\u2019t love, especially in regard to time, topic, and touch. Build friendship first. Be kind always.<\/em><\/p>\n

And lastly, when panned or praised, criticized or commended, accused or absolved, always remember the first three above\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Seek God first\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Love your neighbor well\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Prioritize what is good and right and true.<\/em><\/p>\n

All will not always go well for you. But if you follow the above, you should sleep very well at night.\u00a0<\/em>You will have peace.<\/em><\/p>\n

Love you, sons\u2026 always and all the time…<\/em><\/p>\n

AR<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Sons, Oh, how I love and respect you. What an incredible privilege it is to be your parent. You are older now \u2014 on your own in many ways. I wanted to take a few moments to briefly revisit some important things your father and I have long attempted to instill in you. Granted, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “a letter to my sons”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-issue"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9077"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9089,"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9077\/revisions\/9089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}