Let the Journey Begin

Welcome to the Treasured Map Blog. Let me introduce you to myself and what this blog will be all about. I am a Dad of two amazing twin boys that have completely enriched my life in ways that were previously unimaginable. As of the writing of this initial post my sons are 8 months old. It's a crazy time in our house right now with two little guys who are learning to become mobile.

I've always had this desire that when I finally became a Dad, I wanted to give it my all, and jump in to fatherhood wholeheartedly and headfirst. I want to be the best Dad ever to my boys. I want to be their Superman, their hero, their friend, their playmate, their confidante, and so much more. But what I really want to do more than anything is teach my boys how to become real men. Men who love their God, their wives, their children, their families. Men who are honest, loyal, trustworthy, compassionate, hard-working, responsible, and driven. I'll stop here with the descriptions because I think you get the point and I could go on and on with verbiage to describe what I want for them. Let's just say a real Man's Man.

I understand that the best way for my sons to learn all these traits is for me, their father, to be a good model and example. It does nothing for them if I tell them something but do not live it myself. So I am doing my part trying to talk the talk and walk the walk. Hopefully my boys will one day find themselves thinking "I remember how my Dad used to do this or that" and will remember the model I set for them.

But, what happens if, God forbid, I am not around to be that example for them? What then? I know its a horrible thought, and one that I do not even like putting down into words. But nevertheless that thought does go through my head. It would pain me for all eternity if something happened to me and I were unable enrich these boys lives and were not there to help mold them into the great men that I know they can become.

I planned on just putting some thoughts that I have in my daddy brain on to paper and leaving it for the boys to read one day. I thought that was a fine idea. Then I ran across 1001 Rules For My Unborn Son, a blog with a similar concept and I was inspired to write this blog. I contacted the author of that blog to ask a few questions and asked his permission if I could borrow some of his concepts, he graciously agreed. Thank you.

So where does this leave us? Well, I guess I am a blogger now, which is something I never thought I'd be. But I think it will be a lot of fun now that I have something worth writing for - my two amazing sons. I promise not all of the entries to this blog will be long like this one. In fact what you will find here will mostly be thoughts I have that I want my boys to know. Some will be my own words, some will be quotes from other people, some will be instructions for them, others will be things not to do; they may be biblical, inspirational, serious, or funny. I won't know until I am actually writing it and you'll just have to stick around to find out. I've decided I am not going to limit myself to 101, 1001, 2001, or any number of entries. I will just keep going until I feel like I am done telling my boys what I want them to know.

I hope you will come back daily, weekly, or monthly to check out what has been written. Keep up with the blog, who knows you may be inspired like I was. Please leave comments, let me know what you think, or even send me your own ideas for what you would say.

And now...let the journey begin.