Wow! Are you telling me it’s been two years since I have started writing this blog? That was a magical baseball season for the St. Louis Cardinals. This past week has reminded Cardinals fans how this team seems to find a way to win. These next six weeks plus of baseball are going to be exciting. I know we are all ready to ‘Go Crazy’ again.

Last year at this time I had a guest blogger Aimee Whetstine help me for my one year anniversary (see here) (1). This year I have decided to ask my editor, who just happens to also be my wife, Lyn, to help me with this post. You see my blog anniversary just also happens to fall the day after my son’s birthday. I was inspired by a recent episode of ‘The Familyman Show with Todd Wilson’. Todd does a podcast and weekly email that helps dads remember that being a father and husband are the most important things a man can do with his life. Todd’s website is located here (2). Well Todd was interviewing someone who is not a father and they both reminded me that one of the best things you can do for your children is to praise them. So with Lyn’s help in writing these, here go 15 things I am proud of about my son, Josh.

My Son Josh

1. Godliness We got back into the church I grew up in late in 2001 when Josh was 3. He has been deeply involved with the Sunday school program, did Bible Study Fellowship for years, is involved with Christian camps, and now in the youth program. His faith is not ours and we know as he grows he will be challenged. You can easily tell my son is filled with God’s spirit.
2. Heart That spirit fills my son’s heart. I frequently get comments on Josh’s helpfulness and caring for others. Recently, he helped a girl on crutches get thru the food line at camp then went and got his food. He did this without being asked.
3. Compassion Josh’s big heart shows his compassion for others. From helping people at church to helping kids at school, he di splays this frequently.
4. Gentleman At 15, my son is growing up to be a fine young man. That heart of his has made him a friend of many. He frequently opens doors for his mother and he also just does the right things when it comes to etiquette and manners.
5. Openness Josh is confident enough with us to share his thoughts and opinions while giving you reasons for them. No one in our family is normally described as shy but Josh displays a more subtle confidence about him which lends authority to his words.
6. Socialness We love the fact that Josh will play games with his parents and our friends. It’s great to have a teenager who is willing to hang out with you. Josh and I play games on PlayStation together and he will play golf (the card game), Phase 10, and many others with us. He even asks us frequently to do this more. It means a lot to him to be social.
7. Attention It is always reassuring that when you are talking to Josh, you know you have his full attention. Lyn knows that when he smiles, he is engaging you to let him know he is listening.
8. Intelligence There is now doubt that Josh got his ‘book smarts’ from his mother. He is way smarter than I was at his age and is taking classes I only laughed at. His ability to think and process things is a gift.
9. Fun Josh is just a fun person to be around. He will tease with you and make you laugh. He notices when people are down and goes out of his way to help cheer them up.
10. Brave Josh has done many things that have been brave to me. From going to a baseball tryout to going to Wisconsin by himself and taking care of someone else’s kids for a week.
11. Resiliency Josh has broken two different bones that have ended sports seasons yet he still attended the rest of the teams game and cheered on his teams. I wish mono on no child but currently Josh is dealing with it. He has only missed a half day of school so far. He has missed participating in the sports but will still attend the Freshman Football games and baseball league games he will be unable to participate in.
12. Leadership Josh is a leader. This is a quality in him I saw at a very young age. I have heard it from many teachers and have seen it first hand on the sports field. He loves playing catcher. I believe he thinks he can help his team best there at times. Even when he doesn’t play there he leads. When Josh first started playing football last year, he was a middle linebacker and calling plays by the team’s first scrimmage.
13. Dedication He does his homework without asking. He works on things he needs improvement on. He takes criticism well and works all the time to improve himself. You may not meet a more dedicated person when he puts his mind to it.
14. Athlete Many of you know that Josh is an athlete. I need to remember to praise him more for this because sometimes it comes easy for him. He works hard at practices and many coaches have told me that they would love to have a whole team like him.
15. Friendship Nothing am I more proud of Josh is the fact I can also call my son my friend. Yes things may get rough at times. Know if you are his friend, you will always have his caring for you in his heart. This someday will make my son a great husband to some lucky woman and a great father.

Thank you all again for reading this blog. There have been over 6,000 views of my blog since it has started with my single biggest day being 198 people reading it. Your support to me and my family mean a lot. I hope you all continue to share the love of Christ, the passion for the St. Louis Cardinals, and the joys and struggles of life with us in the future.