With only 24 hours in a day, we dads simply cannot fit everything in — work, family, hobbies, fitness, house chores, yard work, socializing, sleep. And what we choose to cheat reveals our true values, regardless of what we think our values are. When you choose to leave work an hour earlier, miss a round of golf, or let the dishes sit while you spend time with your child, you make your family feel valued and you communicate their priority to you. Best-selling author Andy Stanley shares from having spent hundreds of hours with men and women who have cheated their work for the sake of career goals. Strangely enough, the solution is similar to the problem. Both involve cheating! This book is a highly recommended FamilyDads resource. Learn More and Order

It’s late May, and your family may be discussing, planning, or about to embark on a summer vacation. Vacations are an opportunity for us dads to put all our work on pause, unplug from email, phone calls, projects, to-do lists, and all the pressures and responsibilities of our work, and simply focus on spending time together as a family. It’s a chance for us to create memories with our wife and children and have fun together. What family dad doesn’t like the idea of that!?

So, have you given thought to what vacations your family will take this summer when your children are out of school? Are you discussing it with your wife? My experience has been that she puts more thought into this than I do. It’s important to her. Since we homeschool and she is the primary schoolteacher, this is a much needed break for her. Maybe your wife feels a similar need for a “break” from her school-year routine with the kids. Honor her with your involvement in the process of planning family vacations this summer, and then be fully involved *during* the vacation with all your heart focused on your family — not thinking about the work you left behind or will have awaiting you when you return.

Here are a few family vacation ideas to get your mind thinking…

Camping, Cruise, Visit Relatives, Visit Another Family With Children of Similar Ages, Amusement Theme Park, Water Theme Park, National Parks, National Forests, Explore Places of History, Explore Scenic Outdoors, Beach, Lake, Mountains, White Water Rafting, Canoeing, Hiking, Mountain Biking, House Swap With Another Family You Know, Serve Another Family, Travel To A Foreign Culture.

One more thing, dad. Since gas prices are now outrageous, keep that in mind as you plan your vacation. But don’t let that prevent you from vacationing with your family. Be creative and look for nearby vacation spots if necessary. But don’t miss the opportunity before you this summer to lay everything aside, have some fun, enjoy your family, and create some great memories with them!

by Joey Watkins

Last night I was reading a chapter in the book Created For Work with my almost 10-year-old son. The chapter was on blind spots and tells a story of a time when the author, Bob Schultz, nearly killed himself in the woods one day on a runaway logging skidder because his foot was unknowingly mashed down on the accelerator while he stood on the step-up platform to hitch a ride. Because of the noise of the engine, the driver had to literally punch Bob’s leg off the accelerator to save him from a deadly accident.

Bob then ties this story to the problems we each face in life — in our work, our family, or whenever life gets out of hand — and encourages us to consider if we may be at fault.

A blind spot, of course, is some flaw in our actions, our talk, or our character that we do not see but others do. We don’t know what our blind spots are because if we did, they wouldn’t be blind spots!

For many of us dads, our blind spots are in the areas of pride, ego, selfishness, impure thoughts, and love of money. I know a man who worked as a sales manager for a business owner who had a blind spot in the area of his money. His business grew extremely well financially year after year and developed a very large surplus of cash. However, the business owner kept most of the profits and shared relatively little with his sales manager. His blind spot was a false sense of security in his money.

Knowing we have blind spots should humble each of us. Our wife, our children, and those in our work environment are usually the ones best able to help us identify our blind spots because these people spend the most time with us and know us best.

Let’s step up as family dads and have the courage to ask them what our blind spots are. Do it honestly, and don’t be defensive when they tell you. Just listen, pray about it, and then begin changing your ways. You’ll be a better person for it… and a better dad for your family.

“Who can understand stumblings? Cleanse thou me from secret faults.” Psalm 19:12

Resource For Boys

Dad, here’s a great way to spend one-on-one time with your 8-16 year old son. Read aloud with him each evening from this book, Created For Work. Each chapter is very short — only 3 to 5 pages — and uses an adventurous story in the life of a carpenter/handyman along with scripture to communicate principles of life, work, and character that our boys need to learn during their transition to manhood. The writing style is wholesome, engaging, and communicates spiritual truth to boys such as diligence, initiative, honesty, promptness, responsibility, and much more. A highly recommended FamilyDads resource. Learn More and Order

The Mission of Motherhood

This book is a fantastic resource for moms who need encouragement in their vision and role as a mother. It can help a mom to:

- Make her home an atmosphere that is lifegiving and peaceful

- Pass on a legacy of righteousness to her children

– Balance the duties of motherhood with a loving relationship with her children

– Discover creative ideas and direction for keeping her child’s heart open to her and to the Lord

- Catch the vision of God’s original design for motherhood and allow it to shape her life

– Re-discover the joy and fulfillment that can be found in the strategic role to which God in all His wisdom has called a mom to, for a purpose far greather than she can imagine

Learn More and Order

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Mothers Day is this Sunday, May 11th. It is an opportunity for us dads to honor the two most important women in our life: our mother and our wife.