Today my son Joshua turned ten, so I took him to I.H.O.P. where I presented him with a special crocodile knife I had purchased for him from a reptile farm in the swamps of Florida a year ago in anticipation of his entry into the double digits. During our time together, we talked about what God had done in his life, my own dedication to his training, his obligations as a first born, and the legacy of his father and grandfather which we hope he will supercede by God’s grace. My mission is not that he would succeed (as the world defines success), but that he would succeed his parents and keep covenant with the God of his fathers. This is my prayer for all seven of my children. The anniversary of his birth is exciting to him, but it is sobering to me. He is losing his boyish ways and quickly becoming a man. How bittersweet. How wonderful. How overwhelming. This anniversary also means that the number of years I have to “train him up” and pass on to him what my father passed on to me is diminishing. May God help us to redeem the time, and enjoy it every step of the way.

“Oh Father of Lights, have mercy on this beloved son, who has been the strength of my arm for the last ten years, and give me grace and wisdom to faithfully shepherd him into the future.”

From Doug’s Bookshelf: America’s Jubilee by distinguished historian Andrew Burstein was one of my most enjoyed historical reads of 2002. Published by Knopf in 2001, this book is the delightfully written account of how, in 1826, a generation remembered fifty years of independence and how Americans sought to embrace the legacy of their predecessors. The highpoint of the work was the lengthy account of the triumphant twenty-four state American tour of the Marquis de Lafayette for the jubilee. As the only surviving general of the War for Independence, and the “adopted son” of Washington, Lafayette was welcomed with adulation and enthusiasm.