Four Days For Fathers – Day 4

What an incredible gift it is to be a father!  In the past 3 years, I have learned so much about myself, about life, about love, about commitment, about perseverance, about patience, about truth… all from my little girls.  There’s no doubt in my mind, being a father is the best thing in the world.

Thank you, to my wife, Catherine.  Without you, I wouldn’t be the man I am today and I wouldn’t have the incredible children that I have.  I love you.  You are my bestfriend and my inspiration.

Thank you, to my children…

Lily Bear – You are so sweet and loving.  You are a wonderful ‘oldest’ sister.  You brighten everyday for me.

Emmie Bear – You are so full of joy and your smiles warm my heart.  You make me laugh and are so excited about Baby, which encourages me too!

Baby DiNuzzo – You are so loved, and we’ve never even met you.  You make Father’s Day special in your own unique way.

Love, Daddy Bear

*** Best part of Father’s Day 2010… time with my family on a beautiful Colorado day, and my children behaved in Mass!

Tuesdays with Daddy – Morning Offering and Daily Readings

I had an idea to implement some special prayer time and Scripture reading into each day with my girls.  Even though they are young, I’m finding it very fruitful.  My two year old and one year old don’t listen intently, nor would they have total comprehension if they did.  That’s not the point.  The point is that each and every day, in the morning, my children know that God is number one.  Here’s what I’ve been doing.

Every morning, I get my children from their rooms, we do the necessary change of diapers/underwear, comb the hair and do morning hugs and kisses, and then we head into the kitchen for breakfast.  Before any food is consumed, and before any milk in sippy cups is drunk, I have the girls join me in the sign of the cross, and I hold their hands as I offer our day for Christ.  I want them to get in the habit of praying, of giving God our “firsts”, if you will.  I also want them to know that we should make a sacrificial gift of ourselves to  God.

After making our morning offering, I then put their bowls and drinks in front of them, and they begin to eat.  This is prime time for their attention, so I began reading them the Scripture readings from each day; Sunday or weekday.  I found an “app” on my phone that has all the readings from each day, which works out nicely because I always have my phone handy.

This entire process takes just under five minutes.  My girls “stay with me” that long, so it doesn’t become tiresome, like some other prayer options we’ve tried.  One of the best things about spending this time with them is that I’m actively participating in their spiritual growth.  Their spiritual growth is my responsibility as their father.  I cannot take that lightly.  They see that prayer and time with the Word is important to me and they become used to it.

I’m going to continue this process until I see the need to change things up.

Man up!