FATHER FIGURE

Welcome to Titus 2 In Action - Father Figure

I am excited to be part of this new blog called Titus 2 In Action. Each writer in this group will be contributing to a specific issue that is important to the family.

All of us are from families! God in his great wisdom chose the family as the means to bring new life into the world and to nurture that new life to adulthood.

When followed faithfully, God's plan for family works wonderfully. But, being the fallen creatures that we are, we don't always follow God's plan for our own lives or that of our families. When that happens disruption can occur, with varying degrees of severity. Families can be stressed, behavior can be sinful, and the blessings that God intended to shower upon the family can be lost. Instead of the refreshment of blessing, families struggle through drought.

But, we need never despair! God's word spoken in even the driest, harshest climate can rejuvenate life and usher in those showers of blessings we thought we missed. It is God's purpose to restore every man, woman and child to himself, and with that, the family.

In Titus 2 In Action we want to share what we know about God's will and purpose for the family. My column in particular will be about fatherhood. I will share my insights into fatherhood based on my experiences with fathers, particularly my own dad and my own role as a father.

My kids are almost all grown now: one is 24, one 21 and the youngest is 17. But, I continue to read and study about parenthood because I am still a parent. How I exercise that role has changed, but I am still a dad and always will be. That is why I continue to study and try to learn. I hope some of that will be beneficial to the readers of this blog!

I hope you will become a regular follower of Titus 2 In Action. If you have any questions you would like to see me or any of us address, please feel free to communicate with us!

God bless,

Warren Baldwin

Lead by Example

The other day I took my four year old daughter, T. to the grocery store. As I helped her out of the car I noticed that she had her purse in one hand and her pretend cell phone held up to her ear with the other hand.

How cute, she looks just like me, I thought.  As I began to try talking with her, she responded, "Mom, I'm on the phone." Wait! That wasn't so cute, but that is how I acted while on the phone. Then it occurred to me that perhaps I had not put good boundaries around my time with my little T. I've since made a conscious effort not to talk on the phone while we are in the store's together. This has allowed for some great quality time together, which is a rarity when you have multiple children.

As parents, we lead by example whether we want to or not. Our children will imitate and mimic us whether we are acting good or acting bad, so it is critical that when we are looking for parenting advice we begin by first examining our own hearts and lives. Jesus always lead by example, here's what He says to us in John 13:15 (ESV) I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

Sometimes, as shown in my example above, we will discover glitches in our behavior that may need to be modified so we can be pleasing to God as we raise our children.

Every other Monday I will be sharing with you some of the lessons and tips that I've learned over the past 13 years on parenting. I will use real life examples and scriptures to support my advice. But be warned, if you read along, you will be encouraged to look at your own hearts first, then to your children's behavior.