Courageous

 I watched this incredible movie Saturday night and suggest that you find it this week and WATCH IT. Red boxes have it.  It will make you laugh, cry, but mostly leave you wanting to be better.

If you can't tell from the trailer, it's about four policemen who resolve to be better fathers. Never has a movie been more needed in a society than today.  In Africa I definitely saw that if fathers were more involved in providing for their families, it would solve so many of the country's ills. Many men would be gone drinking all day (banana beer for everyone!) and the women would have to take care of the children, cook, and try to earn money (that would be spent on more beer).

But developed countries like the good US of A is certainly not immune. In fact, 1 in 3 children in the US live in homes without fathers.  Almost 40% of children born in the US are born out of wedlock, which nearly always been none or little involvement with the father.

In reading a series of articles titled War on Boys about how boys have been falling behind girls in education, emotional health, and jobs; it shows that research has shown that:

• Infants whose dads live at home were as much as 6 months ahead in social and personal development.
• Time with dad, more than anything else, predicts empathy in adulthood. 
• Dad's involvement reduces the likelihood that a child will need ADHD medication or emotional or behavioral therapy.
• Dad's presence increases school performance, his likelihood increases likelihood of dropping out.
• Most gang members come from homes without dads.
• No dad around increases likelihood of criminal activity and dad is the single-biggest factor in preventing drug abuse. 

Reading all of this made me thankful, once again, that I have the best dad ever. The hikes, the bike rides after dinner, the chats after scripture study, the movies, the campouts, the canoe trips, the cabin trips, the taking a "short-cut" with his GPS and being pretty sure it was a long-cut. He would sleep on the trampoline with us even though he hardly slept a wink out there. He would talk in a British accent for hours after watching Pride and Prejudice with us. He built me a milk parlor to milk my goats in, for pete's sake. Who knows where I would be without him.