It was just a couple of years ago I was hearing from dads that they were thankful for how God had essentially granted them a big “time-out” from their busy-ness. When the kids’ activities were shut down, there was sanity introduced to the family schedule. There were wonderful stories of family dinner time getting reintroduced as a regular routine. It seemed some right priorities were being reestablished in many homes.
One man that had grown up below the poverty line, focused on one dimension of his responsibilities as a dad, to be a good financial provider for his family. After all, there was a mortgage to meet, healthcare to provide and future school expenses to consider. Responsibility to provide financially for family can justifiably dominate a dad’s mindset.
In the powerful men’s study, “Quest for Authentic Manhood”, Robert Lewis addresses what he refers to as the “Fathering Wound”. Many, if not most, men have been emotionally wounded in some way by their father. It may be a one-off rift that never got resolved, a rough home situation, or the complete absence of a father.
A dad will typically father as he was fathered, or go the opposite direction with determination to achieve a better result. Neither may be healthy for the family he has been blessed with. Whatever your circumstances growing up, know that you have the heritage you need to be the dad you are called to be.
As dads, we love to get in touch with our emotions. NOT! But when it comes to relating with daughters, dads that up their game in this area will mature well in the father-daughter relationship as daughters mature from being their “little girl” to becoming a young lady.
I was blessed this past weekend to watch dads navigate through emotions that would help strengthen the relationship with their daughters on a father-daughter retreat. As dads invested time with their daughters, and the daughters with their dads, the ...read on
Did you know that when couples pray together daily, they stay together in marriage over 99 percent of the time? This is in contrast to the fact that about half of all first marriages end in divorce, and 78 percent of all second marriages end in divorce.
A 1997 Gallup Poll done by the National Association of Marriage Enhancement showed ...read on
How are you tempted today? Do suggestive pop-ups on the computer screen tempt you to click through as you do a routine Internet search? Are there titillating images showing up as you scroll through various social media on your phone luring you to check out a video or pornographic site? Statistics show that 79% of men succumb to the temptation and view pornography monthly, 63% view it weekly or more (Barna 2014).
Our hyper-sexualized culture has stirred up arguments and created confusion around foundational norms, from basic morality to gender identity. All under the pretension that we can be our own god. Christians are charged to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,”- 2Corinthians 10:5a.
Argument is defined as: “An exchange of diverging or opposite views, typically a heated or angry one; A reason or set of reasons given with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong.” The argument gets heated against ...read on
Are you able to hold the line on needs versus wants with your personal finances? How about between right and wrong in your business dealings? Is the line clearer or fuzzier when it comes to Scripture versus culture in your choice of church, or choice of school for your children? Do you hold the line when discussing sensitive topics of conversation with friends?
There have always been lines one must consider holding or ...read on
I recommend an excellent video titled, She Will Always Be Enough / Spoken Word Poetry. Ellowyn Stanton created this message as an encouragement for young ladies to not buy what the culture and peers often try to sell – pressure to look, dress or act a certain way. Everyone is an individual, enough as they are. Each person is beautiful in their own unique way. I encourage viewing this video with the women in your life.