“The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.” — Proverbs 20:7

First and foremost, we dads want you, our beloved family, to know that we love you. For you, we will do everything possible to provide and protect.

You know that we Christian dads are a unique breed. We seek to love God with all of our hearts, minds, and souls, and to love you just as fiercely, even if that leads to some questionable DIY projects… like the time we almost blew ourselves up when lighting the gas grill for the first time. Our goal was to show the kids how dangerous gas is. And we succeeded! We didn’t plan for the singed eyebrows, that’s for sure, but it was weirdly effective. The fact that the kids became vegetarians that day? A strange coincidence.

And you already know that we are not the simple creatures many make us out to be. Even as we laugh at the memes about our “uncomplicated” thoughts, deep down, we feel it. We laugh, but we also hope you know our minds are often on how to better cherish and honor you, not just in our thoughts, but in our actions.

What man wouldn’t hurry home after a sexy message from his wife? Or after a kid texts that they didn’t make the cheerleading squad? We may laugh at how easy we are to read, but we also hope you know our minds are often on how to better love you. Many of us just put the deeper thoughts in a separate compartment, pulling out insights and feelings when the time is right, like after we process the things you texted us.

As dads, we only want to fix it when our families are hurting. Like when our daughter’s first love broke up with her, our son didn’t make the basketball team, or our wife received that scary diagnosis. We will do all in our power to make it right, and sometimes we hold our breath, hoping you make wise choices, wishing we could protect you from every heartache.

Mostly, we want to lead you into the loving hands of Christ as the ultimate Father. We have no greater joy than knowing you walk with the Lord and love Him in spite of it all, knowing He cares for us and never forgets us. When we earthly fathers protect, listen, or forgive, we want to give our families a tangible glimpse of God’s protective and forgiving nature.

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.” — Psalm 103:13

We are, however, simple in this way: We love it when you laugh! Just seeing everyone together and pleasantly interacting makes us happy. Yeah, the lawn needs mowing, the kitchen is falling apart, the bright kid is struggling in math, and the mischievous one is riding his bike on the roof again. But look how happy we all are! Surely this is the good life.

Anyway, not everyone will grow up to be a scholar or a professional athlete. We still have a refrigerator and running water, and there’s a lot to be said about daredevils like Travis Pastrana and Evel Knievel (look him up).

We may not always speak much about our feelings, but we love coming home to you. It is our safe place, and it brings us joy and comfort. When we say everything is good, we really mean it. Yes, you really do look beautiful in that dress, and I love your new haircut.

We can’t afford a babysitter? Hmm… let’s do a backyard picnic, and next week we’ll call my parents to watch the kids. Hey, I know, let’s drop the kids off at Wednesday night church and go to our favorite parking spot for a short date night, even if that means sitting in the car for five minutes of silence. Ah, our sweet spot!

However, we are not simple when it comes to providing, protecting, and leading. We get up every day, work hard, and try to do our jobs without complaining too much. It is our way of saying, I love you. We know that our lifelong pursuit of Christ has made it easier for our kids and families to know, trust, and love Jesus.

We think a lot about how to do even more, how we can improve, and how we can become better fathers and husbands. We are action oriented, and sometimes we do get too focused on work. Sometimes the world cooperates, and sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, we have learned it is best to keep at it, keep calm, and carry on.

Know that in our “inner world,” we are thinking of you. We pray that our pursuit of Christ has made it easier for you to trust and love Jesus. Rest assured in our love. We love you more than we say.

Now, seriously, be careful what you text us during work hours. And maybe… let’s make that backyard picnic happen this weekend.

With love,

Dads Everywhere