He's home now

This past week we had to do one of those things you never want to prepare yourself or your kids for; we had to change our prayer requests from those of healing and recovery to those of peace and comfort when we had to say goodbye to my wife's grandpa John. Regardless of how young or old someone is it's never easy to let them go and say goodbye as you want another year, another holiday, the next fishing trip, one more month, a day or just another hour to spend by their side.  I knew this was going to be really hard because of the special bond my oldest son Cole has with great grandpa; just like his uncle Travis did when he was growing up.

A little over 20 years ago I just so happened to become an extended part of the Brink family when I started dating Michelle who is now my wife. I never had the chance to know my grandpas as they both died when my parents were teenagers but John treated me like one of his own and showed me what a grandpa could be as I watched my wife & her cousins grow up. John's influence on Michelle, Travis, Kristen, Nick, Kellie, Jeremiah & Maria is all evident. Even in the great grand-kids you can see a bit of him in them and it's not just their love of ice cream, chocolate and lemonade that he snuck each and everyone of them way before they were ready for it either.

You see John was a larger than life John Wayne type character that loved to fish and always had a story. The last thing he told me was to not catch em all and to let the kids catch some too. I thanked him for being such a good grandpa and I want to thank Michelle, Travis, Kristen, Nick, Kellie, Jeremiah & Maria for sharing him with me and I can only think & hope my grandpas would have been a lot like him.

There was a reason that Jesus began his ministries along the banks of the Galilee and started with the salt of the Earth....fisherman. As the Bible states in Mathew 4:18-20  ¹⁸ As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ “Come, follow me,”Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ At once they left their nets and followed him. John has just put his pole down and followed Jesus.

The legend of John Brink will continue to grow with each family gathering as we reminisce and tell our favorite stories; just as his fish tales would grow from the time he'd leave the Boyer until the time he got home. Whether these tales are shared at our annual family camp out sitting around the fire, playing a game of 31 (I still think he cheated; I could just never catch him) or fishing we'll all have our moments when we tear up but I'm sure there will be plenty of smiles and laughs to go with those too. There will plenty of proud moments too as new great grand kids are brought into the family and we tell them all about John but I'm sure none will be as great as Steve's will be when he gets to create that special bond his dad had with all the grand kids as a whole new set of Brink adventures begin and I can't wait to be a part of them.

Wednesdays Word....Courageous

First off let me apologize for the absence of my blog postings as I've been pretty much beyond busy lately with multiple kids in soccer along with my coaching them but amongst all of our hustle and bustle my wife and I found time to catch a movie together which just so happens to be called Courageous. We've been waiting a long time for this movie to come out as we have thoroughly enjoyed the previous Sherwood Film endeavours. Now some of you may not be familiar with this movie and if that is the case then hopefully this blog post will peak your interest just enough for you to take the time to check it out for yourself.

Nowadays most movies that are made are pretty much mindless entertainment that fall into about 4 categories; action, comedy, horror & chick flicks. Going into the movie you pretty much know what you're going to get. You know if you are going to see tear jerker or a bunch of stuff get blown up but you are pretty much sure you won't be challenged. But recently Sony Pictures created a division called Affirm Films with the soul purpose of distributing faith base and inspirational movies of which many have had great success.

Sherwood Pictures has upped the ante in each of their films. Starting with Fly Wheel then finding greater success with Facing the Giants and setting a new bar with Fireproof but Courageous my very well be their game changer. Coming out of a movie I've never felt so strongly that everyone need to see this movie. I took to Twitter (@davidsigler for you tweeps) and this is what I said....Dads, husbands, brothers, uncles grandpas go and see Courageous. You owe it to your families. I knew going in I should expect to get choked up but I wasn't expecting to be laughing out loud the next scene and then evaluating my life and my role of a father the very next and then being back to that choked up stage.

This movie has it all; action, an actual plot and story line, emotion, humor and most importantly a message that needs to be heard regardless if you are a Christian or not. There was a question posed during the movie that got me thinking...When did you consider yourself a man? My wife may tell you I'm still not one because I refuse to grow up and am just a big kid but I never really seriously thought about it. But I would have to say when I became a father. Most people would probably tell you I'm a good father and husband because of all the volunteering I do; from coaching to church activities and because I'm involved and at most of their events. Though during various scenes in Courageous I questioned myself because yes I was good enough but just good enough shouldn't cut it when it comes to the most important job any man can have. I thought back on all those times I was too busy, too worn out or in too much pain to do some simple simple things with my kids. When will it be too late to make up for lost time? Make some simple changes now to affect your family's future.


So step up and be a man of courage; daddies dance with your daughters, play catch with your sons and talk to your wife and don't let go of the wheel. Leave a legacy within your family that will affect your children's children and generations to come.