Do good dads go to church?

An interesting article in today's USA Today cites research indicating that the best dads are religious, especially evangelical Protestant. Why? They're more actively involved in their children's lives, and more affectionate, among other things.

Well, the main examples I have to go by are my husband and my own father...who would both fit into the evangelical Protestant category as defined in the article (although some Baptists would quibble about being an actual "Protestant.")

My husband is a warm, loving and attentive dad, and always has been. Even now, when he speaks to his grown sons on the phone long-distance, he always tells them he loves them. He has always been actively involved in his children's lives.

I've sung my dad's praises here before. Although he pastored churches or was a missionary most of my growing-up years, he never failed to demonstrate his love to his children.

Do-it-yourself thank-you notes???

Granted, writing thank-you notes is a tedious and time-consuming task. But I've always viewed it as something a well-mannered and gracious person just DOES.

Today's "Ask Annie" column (the one that replaces Ann Landers in daily papers) included a letter from a woman who attended a bridal shower recently, to which she was asked to bring stamps. Come to find out, the stamps were for the bride to send thank-you notes...and guests were also asked to address the envelope they would be getting.

I'm sorry, but I agree with "Annie" that (despite the fact that this is apparently a trend), it makes the bride look both cheap and lazy.

You get the gifts? You write the note, address the envelope and pay for the postage. Maybe there are some unusual circumstances where this trend would be warranted (the bride and groom are especially poverty-stricken---or are about to head off to the wilds of Africa to do mission work and simply won't have time to address envelopes???), but in most cases, I just think this is kind of a tacky trend.

What's next? Handing out a generic "thank you" to everyone at the shower?

Lingering thoughts of President Reagan...

Kevin Young once again impresses me with his beautiful writing, as he compares his feelings toward the late president to his own aging grandfather.

And did I tell you Kevin graduated from Cedarville? :D