Resolve to take action this new year to grow as a faithful father. In our Seasons of Fathering handbook, initiating action is encouraged early and often on the fathering journey. The investment of time and love early on will not only help mom navigate through the stress of the demands of a newborn, it will increase dad’s sensitivity to opportunities to step in where he can, to help burp the baby or put him down to sleep.
Action is grounded in loving your wife, learning to love her as ...read on
Resolve this new year to grow as a faithful father. Encouraging and equipping dads to father with purpose is what drives us at Faithful Fathering. Certainly, dads have to be purposeful at work to provide for the family. And they have to be purposeful at maintaining good health and well-being. Dads also need to be purposeful at staying engaged in the kids’ studies and relationships.
At Faithful Fathering, the priority is to be purpose-filled. All purposefulness flows out of ...read on
How has your year been? I think it healthy to spend time reflecting on the high points of the past year, what I call “glimpses of God’s glory.” A late-summer getaway with my bride was certainly a high point for us. Time with our grown kids as they helped me on Faithful Fathering’s summer adventures, and time with granddaughters were also wonderful high points.
At Faithful Fathering, the high points are always tied to the ...read on
How is one to live in peace in such a messed-up world? “Peace” has been defined as “freedom from disturbance; tranquility,” at least per Webster’s dictionary. I guess we can have our ear buds in, or noise-cancelling headphones on, and be oblivious to the world around us, undisturbed and tranquil. That may be peaceful, for a little while.
In this final week of Advent, the candle lit reflects the ...read on
Joy to the World may be easy to sing but are you truly joy-filled this time of the year? How is a dad to be joy-filled with all the end-of-year busy-ness? One example of how to do it is King David’s celebration when the ark of God was brought to the City of David. In 2Samuel 6:14, it says, “Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might.” King David put all the busy-ness of being king in its proper perspective, and reflected how joy-filled he was about getting the ark of God in its rightful place.
Should not the birth of Christ spark such elation, to be truly joy-filled as we bring in the CHRISTmas season? In this third week of Advent, the candle lit rekindles the ...read on
“Are you pickin’ up what I’m layin’ down?” That was a question posed by a friend from Mississippi. He was verifying that I truly got what he was saying. He wanted to make sure I saw the value in what he was offering. Are your kids “pickin’ up what you are layin’ down”? Are you layin’ down your faith in a way they want to pick it up?
In this second week of Advent, the candle lit represents the ...read on
There is hope. As news cycles produce what seems a never-ending litany of bad news, a Christian dad has to be cognizant of what it means to be in the world, not of it. He cannot ignore happenings in this world, but he can maintain a healthy perspective as he keeps eyes focused on Jesus. December is a great time for dads to lead the family through Advent to help all live into the hope that is the Reason for the season, the Christ-child’s birth.
Advent, starting four Sundays before Christmas, is ...read on
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.
How has your year been? I think it healthy to spend time reflecting on the high points of the past year, what I call “glimpses of God’s glory.” A late-summer getaway with my bride was certainly a high point for us. Time with our grown kids as they helped me on Faithful Fathering’s summer adventures, and time with granddaughters were also wonderful high points.
How is one to live in peace in such a messed-up world? “Peace” has been defined as “freedom from disturbance; tranquility,” at least per Webster’s dictionary. I guess we can have our ear buds in, or noise-cancelling headphones on, and be oblivious to the world around us, undisturbed and tranquil. That may be peaceful, for a little while.
Joy to the World may be easy to sing but are you truly joy-filled this time of the year? How is a dad to be joy-filled with all the end-of-year busy-ness? One example of how to do it is King David’s celebration when the ark of God was brought to the City of David. In 2Samuel 6:14, it says, “Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might.” King David put all the busy-ness of being king in its proper perspective, and reflected how joy-filled he was about getting the ark of God in its rightful place.
“Are you pickin’ up what I’m layin’ down?” That was a question posed by a friend from Mississippi. He was verifying that I truly got what he was saying. He wanted to make sure I saw the value in what he was offering. Are your kids “pickin’ up what you are layin’ down”? Are you layin’ down your faith in a way they want to pick it up?
There is hope. As news cycles produce what seems a never-ending litany of bad news, a Christian dad has to be cognizant of what it means to be in the world, not of it. He cannot ignore happenings in this world, but he can maintain a healthy perspective as he keeps eyes focused on Jesus. December is a great time for dads to lead the family through Advent to help all live into the hope that is the Reason for the season, the Christ-child’s birth.
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.
