More Fathers and Families Learning

I appreciate the gentlemen who have
taken time to share their hearts with my previous post.  I see
something I would like to incorporate in my family, and hope these
post conversations help more than just me.  I plan to answer
each of the replies and posts, but have just returned from a youth
camp, so I will start with the comment from Scott Somerville.

Scott
Wrote:
"I don't have any overarching
answers, RC, but here's a question. Do you have times with God that
change the way you think? If you do, does that change the way you
talk?

I've noticed that when I
get something fresh from God, it bubbles up all day long. It's on my
mind, and it's what I talk about. ("Out of the heart the mouth
speaks," as Jesus observed.)

A
lot of us dads are so busy we short-change our times with God. For
years I would get up and out the door and then pray as I drove to
work. That was a good effort, but it meant I was always telling God
what was on my mind, without giving Him much of an opportunity to
CHANGE what was on my mind. When I finally made time to dig into the
Word BEFORE I got in the car, my whole devotional experience was
different."

Do I have times with God that change
the way I think?  Yes and No.  I am a "traveling"
salesman, so I send a lot of time on the road.  I try to put in
some quality prayer time on the road.  I am also always looking
for Him in a lot of other areas, but, unfortunately, only some of
which are study.

I am starting to sound like your exerience. 
I used to have a good devotional time, and got busy.  I really
got busy int he last two years.  I moved into the corporate
life, and I moved into the youth pastor position at my church. 
I spend time in the word, but it is usually for "giing out"
with the youth of South Warren and Detroit.  I am focused on
building something in them. 

I am also distracted in
this area from corporate life.  These guys live, eat and breathe
Linde Gas.  In order to be successful here, I must do the same
to some extent.  Longer hours, blah, blah, blah.

So, in
reading your post,  stand convicted that I need to take the time
to refresh myself in the word, not just for prep and trying to
effectively minister to my youth in the church.

I also see, in
writing this, that I need to tune in more to my family.  I can
tell you a lot about where I minister.  I am part of a rare
church bridging the gap ethnically, and socio-economically.  In
years to come, I will be one of the people writing the books about
effectively ministering to the "other".  This is true
about understanding my family, but not the next step. 
Connecting. 

Connecting is where the original post came
from.  There is a lot of history that can be written about the
generations over the last 100 years and the cause of the weakness of
connection with the family, and, as you can see, I am at no loss for
words in writing about my own experiences.  I am effective in
connecting to my 8Mile youth.  I ave a heart and a sensitivity
for them.  I have a heart for my own youth in my house, but
connecting with them, other than being dad the jungle-jim is my
weakness.

Here I stand convicted by your post again.  I
take the time to study and reach my 8Mile youth, and I need to study
my own youth a little more.

Thank you Scott.  Can you
have a seminar here in MI?

I will get to the other comments in the next two days.  I have to sleep for church, and have to shoot pictures for a church in the inner city tomorrow.