What it Means to Be a Father

What it Means to Be a Father

by Olga Hermans

 

The first Father’s Day was celebrated more than 100 years ago on June, 1910. The idea originated from a Spokane, Washington resident named Sonora Dodd who was inspired by a church sermon about Mother’s Day (created in 1907). Ms.Dodd wanted to create a special to honor her father, William Jackson Smart, a Civil Wat veteran who raised 6 children alone. Father’s Day is now celebrated in June because it was the birth month of William Smart. While a presidential proclamation in 1966 by President Lyndon B.Johnson honored fathers on the third Sunday of June, it was President Richard Nixon who signed the public law in 1972 that made Father’s Day a permanent holiday.

Men should take the spiritual leadership in the home

We live in an hour when godly men, husbands and fathers must take a stand for truth and righteousness. When men have a relationship with Jesus, that is vibrant and alive, they will rise up to be the spiritual leaders in their homes. They will have the spiritual strength they need.

Whether the family goes to church or not shouldn’t be the wife’s decision. I love it when my husband takes that role seriously. He is very serious in setting the example of what is important in our family.

Both of us weren’t raised in a Christian family; we never saw our parents reading the bible or pray for us. Men should set the example in bible reading in the home and not only at Christmas time. Thank God it is done then, but it needs to happen more than once a year.

I would like to challenge men to spend as much time reading the bible in the family as they watch the news. People often say, “We don’t have time.” Here is an interesting research stat: “If the father is the first to become a Christian in a household, there is a 93% probability that everyone in the household will follow. If the mother is the first to become a Christian in a household, there is a 17% probability that everyone in the household will follow”.

It is all a matter of priority. It’s the family who prays together who stays together. It is very humbling for men to say, “Let’s pray together.” It’s good for the ego! I love it when my husband calls us together to have our devotions and to pray for each other.

Most of the problems we are facing in the Western world go back to a default by Christian parents in raising their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. When parents don’t train their children in the way they should go, in the next generation there’s even more secularism and godlessness.

Men should also be the ones to see that goals are established for the family. Businessmen can chart what they are targeting for in the future. Likewise, they should chart to target to see their children serving God 25 years from now.

What Dads Love To Do With Their Kids

Dads and their Babies

• Have you seen these daddies who hold their babies close to them to make them feel loved and secure?
• They let babies touch their face as they make funny faces. Babies like faces that show lots of expression.

Dads and their Toddlers
(2- to 3-Year-Olds)

• Dads love to provide safe places where their toddler can play and run — inside and outside.
• They play ball with their toddler. Teach them to catch, throw and kick a ball in age-appropriate ways.

Dads and their 4- to 6 Year-Olds

• During meals, ask your child what the best thing about his day was. Answer the question yourself in return.
• Talk to your child about his or her dreams and share your own dreams. Children also like to hear what dreams their parents had when they were children (“I wanted to grow up and become a….”).

Dads and their 7- to 12-Year-Olds

• Play board games with your child.
• Be physically active with your child. Go for a walk together or play basketball or catch.

Dads and their Teenagers (13- to 18-Year-Olds)

• Attend your teenager’s extracurricular activities (sports, plays, club activities, etc.). If you can’t be physically present at the event, give your teenager a call before or after the event to show your support.
• One of the most important choices dads make is making the decision on Driver’s Education for their son or daughter. This can be a very stressful task; here is where you can turn. Driver’s Ed in a Box has a proven track record of producing collision-free drivers. They guarantee it!
  And, you can do it on your schedule – during your free time

Fun Facts about Father’s Day

The Breadwinner:

• 10% of working dads had a spouse/significant other become unemployed in the last 12 months
• 42% of dads are sole Providers in their households
• 1 out of 10 working dads have taken a 2nd job in the last 12 months
• 63% of dads work over 40 hours each week.
• 3 out of 10 working dads have to take work home more than 5 days a week.
• 30% of dads bring work home on the weekends
• 37% of dads spend 2 hours or less a day with their children
• 35% of dads say they’ve missed 2 or more significant events in ther child’s life.

Man of the House: Married Fathers:

• In 2010, 25,3 Million Fathers were part of married couple families with children under 18 years old
• 22% were raising 3 or more children under 18 years old in their household
• 3% were raising 3 or more children under 18 years old in someone else’s home.
• In 2010 there were 287.000 children with married stay-at-home dads.
• 154.000 of the children were under 15 years old

Single Fathers

• In 2010 there were 1.8 Million Single Fathers.
• 15% of single parents were men
• 9% were raising 3 or more children under 18 years of age
• 46% divorced, 30% never married, 19% seperated, 6% widowed, 1% other
• 61% had a family income of less then $50.000,-

Enjoy this hysterical Father’s Day parody tribute to dads!
Share this with your favorite dad today!
Video done by Church On The Move.