Happy Birthday, Finneas!
By this time next year, you will likely be taller than me. So, enjoy this chance to look up to me while you still can. You have grown a lot in the past year. You have gained inches in height and pounds of weight. You have gained muscle by lifting weights in the basement and you have grown in knowledge by reading and studying at school. You have changed a lot, but you are still very Finneas.
You still possess your eleven and know how to dominate, but you are beginning to see what is worth dominating and what is not worth your time. You listened through your first Men's Beer n Books study, Joe Rigney's Emotional Sabotage, and even attended your first Friday Beer n Books last month. You have begun sitting with the men on Sunday afternoons outside around the fire instead of staying inside to watch something with the other kids. You have taken an interest in being a man and you have your sights set on it. Like anything else you set your mind to, I fully expect you to dominate this new adventure as well.
You know what you believe and why you believe it and you aren't afraid of what other people think. This sometimes leads you to do or say things you shouldn't, but it's better to be brave and teachable than it is to be coward who thinks he knows it all. So, you are learning how to look to the interests of others, not merely to your own, but you don't have to learn as much in the way of being brave in the face of opposition as most others do.
You are a good son. You help your mom and look for ways to serve her. You are a good brother. You play games with your siblings and you enjoy contributing your gifts to the group. You are a good friend. You have fun with your band of bros at church. You are learning more and more what it means to be a churchman and often help set up tables for fellowship meal and tear them back down and clean up the mess when it's over. You are paying attention to the sermons and learning the songs. You are growing in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and men, just like Jesus did when He was your age.
I'm proud of you. I love you, and I like you. I like being your dad and I am glad that God made you to be my son.
So, here's the Finneas!
Happy Birthday, son.
Love,
Dad
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