Day 1: Choosing Your Trail

Scripture: Joshua 24:15 - "Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Cowboy Wisdom: Every morning, a cowboy saddles up knowing he's got choices to make. Which trail to ride, which herd to follow, which direction to head. Out on the range, there ain't no GPS telling you where to go - you've got to make decisions based on what you know is right. Same goes for being a father. Every day you're choosing which trail to lead your family down.

Joshua knew that life is full of forks in the road. He could follow the path his ancestors took, serving foreign gods. He could follow the crowd around him, worshipping the gods of the Amorites. Or he could choose the narrow trail that leads to life - serving the one true God. A good cowboy knows that the well-worn trail ain't always the right trail.

Questions for Reflection:

1. What "trails" are you currently leading your family down through your daily choices?
2. Are you following the path of previaous generations, the crowd around you, or charting a course based on God's Word?
3. What specific choice do you need to make today to better lead your family toward God?

Prayer Focus: Lord, give me the wisdom to choose the right trail for my family each day. Help me not to blindly follow the crowd or repeat the mistakes of the past, but to have the courage to lead my family in Your ways. Give me discernment to see the difference between the wide path and the narrow path, and the strength to choose Your way even when it's harder. Amen.