Category Archives: Fatherhood
The Love of a Father
There is just something about having kids that turns a tough and gruff man into a pile of mush!!! I can’t really figure out if it began when we found out we were pregnant, or after my first son came. All I know is that I am madly in love with my kids. It’s crazy. I’m like a little school boy with a crush. I find myself pulling out my wallet to look at their pictures, watching their bedroom monitor while they sleep (that sounds a little creepy), and just plain going crazy all day while I am at work waiting to get home to see them.
I know us guys are not supposed to be like this……..well…….that’s what our culture tells us anyway…….but I must confess that I am MADLY IN LOVE WITH MY CHILDREN!!!!
Just thought you would like to know!!
Much love,
Shawn
I WON!!!!!
Ok, I didn’t win the lottery but I did win an autographed copy of “The Modern Mom’s Guide to Dads” by Hogan Hilling and Jayne Rutherford. I must say that I can’t wait to check out this book. I love reading books on being a parent and am really looking forward to reading this one. I will post a review and picture when I get it in!!!
On another note I plan on in the near future to begin doing video blogs. I think it would add a little sweetness to my blogs!! I must confess that it is 11:07 pm and I am spent!!! Time for bed!! Until next time.
Much love,
Shawn
Things I have learned while being a Dad
First off it’s been WAY TO long since my last blog!!! I will try and not space out my post so far in the future!! However, the reason for the time difference has been a good one as I have begun a new business and have been crazy busy getting that up and running!! I will give you details later. For now, here are some things I have learned while being a Dad:
* Going out to eat with your kids is a lot like wrestling an alligator. It’s a cool idea at first but when you get to actually doing it, you wonder what you were thinking!!
* Kids will puke and poop on you at the worst possible times. Like when your getting interviewed by the newspaper.
* DVD players in cars are God’s gift to parents and I am very thankful for them!!!
* Sleep is something that you used to get in college but thought you never needed. Now you would kill for an extra 10 minutes!!!
* The faster you try and change a poopy diaper will directly determine how fast it is filled once you put your child on the ground again!!
* Kids will wake up from a coma during the following times, movies with your wife, sex, times where you REALLY have to go to the bathroom and you are the only parent, just as you fall asleep for a nap, when the dog 30 miles away farts in your general direction!!
* Work is just beginning at 5 pm when you get home!!
That’s all for now. Got to get back to work. Everyone have a great week.
God Bless,
Shawn
Throwdown Bed (Dad Gift of the Day)
Crafted from poplar hardwood poles, MDF frame with steel undercarriage bed supports.
With the use of actual fencing, 9 gauge 6 core centers, foam padded rails and synthetic leather covers, this will last forever, just like the real deal. MDF Stairs include replica diamond plating Throwdown Anvil detail.
Looking to get this bed for someone other than the little guy or gal? In addition to Twin, we have Full, Queen and King size as well!
The nickname appears printed on the back post of the bed. Please specify the nickname below.
Dimensions: (Twin Bed Measurements)
Headboard/Footboard 46” Width x 61” Height, Back 85” Width x 61” Height
Shipping in continental US only. Contact us for other shipping arrangements.
*For multiple beds, contact us for special shipping discounts
To get your MMA bed go here. I plan on getting one soon!!!
Cool gifts for Dads
Who needs spoons anymore?
How do you like your coffee? Cream with one sugar? Nice. Just cream? Cool. Black? Rock on. Everybody except the black coffee drinker listen up – what do you use to stir your coffee? A spoon? Swizzles? Popsicle sticks? Bah. All of those so-called stirring solutions are fraught with failure.
Spoons measure your sugar fine enough, but what a waste to have to wash (or toss) another utensil! Popsicle sticks end up making your coffee taste like wood, and those stupid swizzles can’t stir anything, are you kidding? What you need is a stirring solution for your hot and tasty beverage that doesn’t add to landfill, or impart odd flavors to your drink while actually moving stuff around.If we sound like that late great TV pitchman, we’re in great company. We’re genuinely enthusiastic about the Self-Stirring Mug! Stainless steel finish with a snap-lock lid keeps your drink hot. Don’t forget – inside this mug is a spinning plastic disk that frappes your drink into a whirling blended maelstrom of deliciousness. Too much?
Just pop two AAA batteries inside the base, fill the mug with your favorite hot beverage, add your sweetener or creamer – or, hey! Maybe you just like a nice hot cup of cocoa! Any way, press the button on the handle and whirr your drink into a perfect blend. No more sandy sugar in the last dregs of your drink, and no more spoons!
Features
- Mug with drink through lid included
- Dimensions: 4 3/8″ H x 3 3/8″ W
- To clean just pour in soap and press a button to stir.
The Shawn M. Wilson Project
July 13, 2010
I have decided to begin a journey. Not one that will require a map or a full tank of gas, but a journey to discover the real me. A journey to find what it is that really makes me tick. I have often asked myself the questions all of us at one point in our lives ask: “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” Where am I going?” These questions actually haunt my everyday life. I find myself repeatedly thinking throughout the day, “Why am I really here?” “Am I supposed to be working here, living here, and going to this church?” “Am I pleasing to God, my wife, our family?” “Where am I really going in life?” “Do I have a plan?” “Should I have a plan?” “How am I supposed to live?” “How do I live a life that is pleasing to God?”
For many these questions are easily answered. For others, like me, we struggle to find the definite conclusions that we are looking for. Life often feels like a maze, in the dark, with no flashlight. Occasionally we will have a good run but more times than we would really care to admit we wonder, “Is there really a purpose for my life?” While everyone around us seems to have life in perfect working order, we struggle to maintain a strong face in the midst of a storm that has more than once tossed us on the beach, making us wonder what our next move is, and sometime even if there is a next move.
My journey is my story. My story is my life. I believe that God created each of us for a purpose. While we may not know or even understand that purpose yet, it doesn’t take away from the fact that we were created with a purpose. While we can be sure that we are created with a purpose, the journey to find that purpose is often the very thing we are derailed by. Why is this? Well, I think it has to do with where we find that purpose.
I used to think that I would find my purpose by going to Church and being a good Christian. By reading my Bible and praying every day. When that didn’t happen I became frustrated and disillusioned. I had been told that in order to find God’s Will for my life all I had to do was pray, read my Bible, and magically I would know just what to do with my life. That didn’t happen!!! Then I thought that I would find my purpose in Bible College. I thought that getting more Biblical training would sharpen my skills and open my understanding to just what I was here to do and be on this planet. I actually became more frustrated and disillusioned and even considered leaving church and religion totally!!
Every big event in my life became the “one thing” I needed to fully understand my purpose in life. When none of them supplied me with what I was looking for I began to wonder if I would ever, really, understand who I was and why I was here.
As I sit here now writing this I am 8 days away from my 29th Birthday (Happy Birthday to me!!), I am 3 days removed from my 6th wedding anniversary, and am the father of 2 of the cutest little boys anyone could ask for!! I am getting ready to open a new business with my Father-in-Law that could totally transform everything in our life as a family concerning our finances. My wife and I are connect group leaders in one of the most amazing churches in America, and we live in a beautiful 3 bedroom house close to the Mississippi River. By all accounts I am a blessed man!! Yet deep down in the depths of my heart and soul I am aching. My heart and soul are longing for answers that I don’t know or have……….yet.
The reason I share all this with you is because I believe with all my heart I have been looking in all of the wrong places in my life for the answers to my questions. I have looked in religion or at least a form of it. I have looked to others. I have even looked to events in my life that I thought would really point me in the right direction, and I have ALWAYS come up empty. Why? I am glad you asked!!
Over the last couple of days (years to be exact) God has been dealing with me about finding who I am as a person. Yet I have continually been prompted to look back into my past. While many would think that this would be the most obvious place to start, for me it is the last place I want to go. Why, because I have NO frame of reference. I grew fatherless, don’t know most of my family that well, and don’t really even know where to begin in order to trace any form of lineage.
So, if you are me, where do you begin? Well, I believe that when God creates us, He puts the gifts, talents, abilities, and things we will need in order to do His will, inside of us. I believe that the things we are passionate about, love the most, and feel a strong pull to, are all indicators of God’s purpose for our lives. So, for however long it takes me to find some answers to the questions I have been asking myself, I am going to totally open my life to review. My thoughts, passions, hobbies, desires, etc. are all going to be questioned and prodded. I am going to ask family and friends a series of questions to see what they say and think concerning what my purpose in life could be. I am going to be open, real, and honest with myself, my past, my pain, and my future. No stone will be left unturned!! No question will be unanswered (hopefully). Everything is going to be tested with the desire that at the end of this journey I will have some definite answers to the questions, “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” What is my purpose?”
I hope you will join me as I seek the answers my heart and soul long for. I hope that my journey will spur you on to one of your own. I hope that at the end of the day we can all look back and see that sometimes the answers to our questions have been staring us in the face the whole time. May we all have the courage to go deep into the questions that plague us and come back stronger with the answers we seek. Until next time.
Much love,
Shawn Michael Wilson
The Dad Life
I must confess that I have totally missed my time on this blog lately!! I have been busy preparing for a new business venture and haven’t really had the time to share my thoughts like I would like to. It’s amazing how much busier life seems with two kids instead of one. However, I will work harder to post a little more often. Until then I thought I would share this video a friend of mine posted on his blog. Enjoy:
Days 3-5: Week 1
Just to clarify: I have NEVER done what is in the picture to the left!!! However, I am sure the thought will cross my mind sometime in the future. But I digress.
Week 1 of being laid off actually ended on a high note. In the beginning of the week I was unsure of my next move, now I am looking at a new business venture that could really turn everything around for me and my family!! As many of you know I used to work in the kiosk business selling sunglasses. Well, since it’s closing I have been working odd jobs to meet the needs of my growing family.
For the last 6 months I have been trying to grow a health insurance business along with working at different locations to meet the monthly bills that we have as a family. I must be honest when I say that even though things were beginning to even out, it was really a stressful time for me. I had a good job with a salary that helped me pay most of my bills. Along with selling some health insurance premiums things were starting to pick up.
However, being laid off for the second time threw a wrench into our turn around as a family. Which brings me to this past week. When I got the news of being laid off I was really disappointed because I really loved the job I had (faith and politics). But I knew that God would provide for us like He had in the past, so I wasn’t distraught. Now I am just a few days away from opening a new business in a location I have a history with. I have been blessed with GREAT family that see my potential (even when I don’t or am too prideful to listen) and are willing to invest not only in our family but in me as a person. I can’t give details right now but they are soon to come.
I pray that as I chronicle my journey that we can share in encouraging one another to never give up and never surrender!!! Live is for those that will take it. Even if you have make mistakes in the past, there is ALWAYS hope for the future. Until next time.
Much love,
Shawn
Day 2: Humble Pie
Ever have one of those days? One of those days where you learn more about yourself then you really wanted too? That was my day today. I pretty much learned that when I am in a hurry to get things done, I am a bit of a jerk!!! NOT GOOD!! I learned that sometimes you have to listen to those in your life who know more then you do, even if you don’t think they do!!! I learned that failure really is the best teacher, no matter how many times people have told me that and I didn’t believe them!!!
While the last 6 months have been financially frustrating, they have also been emotionally draining, and a time of deep spiritual searching. Of course it is during these kind of times that you REALLY learn about yourself, mainly because you are finally able to see the things everyone else could see but you were blinded too. Things like pride.
Oh yeah, I said it!! The big elephant in the room. Pride. Ever wrestled with this giant? He is relentless!!! He sneaks in and makes you think that you got everything under control and your the big man on the block when in reality, you are way to big for the britches your wearing. However, what Pride doesn’t tell you is that the bigger man is always meek and humble (Matthew 5:5 and Proverbs 11:2)!!! The more powerful man is one who is teachable (something I tend not to be). The greatest of all is a servant (Matthew 23:11)!!!
I find that God often allows us to learn the hardest lessons, not by watching a movie or reading a book about it. But by allowing us to experience every, single, agonizing moment!!! But I also find that those moments are the ones that shape our destiny. Right now I am eating a large portion of humble pie. Is it good? It’s kind of like medicine, it taste bad but is good for you. For now……..I am thankful. Thankful that God loves us and allows us to repent. Thankful for the Grace of God and those of my family and friends. Thankful that everyday is a new day and starting over can happen every morning!! Was it a good day today? Yeah, I learned more about myself and grew up just a little bit more. Until next time.
Much love,
Shawn
Day 1
As many of you know, I was laid off back in January from a job I had been working at for 6 1/2 years. My wife and I were pregnant with our 2nd little boy and we trying to really refocus our financial house to really become totally debt free. After working with a Mortgage Protection Insurance company with little success, I ended up getting a job with the Southern Republican Leadership Conference that was to be held in New Orleans in April. While I was thankful for the job, my salary was no where near what it was with my old company and so my wife and I began to realize that we were going to really have to cut all of the fat in our budget to survive this economic downturn as a family.
In the midst of this I got the opportunity to work with a ministry called the Louisiana Family Forum. The Forum is a Christian ministry who’s mission is to “defend the traditional family.” I must say that this was an opportunity of a lifetime and I was beyond excited about it. While my salary would still be below what I really needed, my wife and I were working on a new budget and found that we would be able to make it on my salary as long as I also worked to build my new health insurance business. While this seemed pretty easy it began to take a little longer then we were expecting but over the last couple of weeks was really beginning to take off!!!
However, after knowing for a couple weeks that the Forum was going to be having some budget cuts in the near future, I found out today that I was going to have to be laid off until we could raise more money to meet all the needs of the ministry. While I am certainly disappointed I know that once we get back to the financial levels needed in order to pay for my position, I will be able to resume my work in helping them in their Social Media outreach.
So, the reason I titled this post, Day 1 is because today is the first day of my official layoff while trying to meet the needs of my family. I plan on making this a journal for all to read, of my family and I’s struggle to pay our bills and put food on the table. The reason I am doing this is because I know that there are MANY families out there going through this kind of struggle and I want you ALL to know that there are others fighting to keep their homes, put food on the table, and pay the bills!!!
Day 1: I cried!!! Yeah, that’s pretty much what happened. I worked my last day for now at the Louisiana Family Forum and came home to break the news to my wife. Then we both cried. Why? Because I LOVED my job and the people I worked with. I also ran some quotes for potential business prospects. Right now, I am brainstorming on how to quickly build a health insurance agency in order to meet the coming months bills. It’s going to take a LOT of work but I am up for it!!
While I am a little discouraged, I know that I have the backing and support of the most beautiful woman in all the world to cheer me on!! There is much to do and I plan on keeping everyone updated on what happens in our lives as we walk out this struggle. From the good to the bad. To the funny and the heartbreaking!!! Stay tuned………it’s going to be a wild ride!!! There is one thing I know in the midst of all this and it is that God is faithful to take care of His children!!! I will trust in that!! Until next time.
Much love,
Shawn
