A long-time FamilyDads subscriber named Steve recently emailed me a story that may challenge and encourage you today:

Steve worked as a a graphic designer/art director for the past 15 years at a top notch firm in Seattle. He was blessed to work in a field that he enjoys and that always presented new challenges, working with tiny start-ups all the way to bigger national clients, doing projects like logos, posters, web sites, packaging, advertising, merchandising and even some video.

But there was a problem.

Steve’s job was VERY demanding, and he was tied to an office away from his family most of the week. His wife was feeling very isolated from her husband, raising the kids and running the home without his input or leadership much of the time. And their marriage wasn’t doing so well either.

Steve and I emailed back and forth about this.

After much prayer and discussion with his wife, Steve took a very courageous step. He gave notice to his employer that he would be leaving his very secure, well-paying job. This happened last year in 2010 by the way… not the rosiest of times in our economy.

I reconnected with Steve recently and asked him how things were going with his work, and more importantly his family.

Steve spent a short time freelancing after leaving his job. Then, an old client asked him to take a position at their company that is a leader in their industry.

Today Steve drives to an office very close to his home, is able to eat lunch with his family every day, enjoys 3-day weekends, and has much less work-related stress.

His marriage and his family are doing much better too. In Steve’s words, “God has really provided for our family in a way that I hadn’t anticipated. My connection with my wife has been better than it ever has in our 16 years of marriage. Wished I had acted sooner.”

That’s what keeps many of us dads from stepping up for our family. Fear of lack of provision. But Scripture tells us…

“Trust in YHUH with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all Your Ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” -Prov 3:5-6

We must trust our Heavenly Father for our provision — not our work. He will make our paths straight as we trust Him with all our hearts. That doesn’t mean we just quit a job we don’t like, but that we are led by Him and trust Him, rather than the false security of money.

Blessings to you and your family,
Joey, a fellow Family Dad

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Since this time of year has many of us dads scrampling to finish our federal tax returns (as well as state and local) in the USA, I thought I would highlight a few areas of “other income” the Internal Revenue Service reminds us to report on our tax returns.

Lest you think I made these up, you can actually read these on the IRS Publication 17 webpage.

Bribes. If you receive a bribe, include it in your income.

Illegal activities. Income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Form 1040, line 21, or on Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity.

Kickbacks. You must include kickbacks, side commissions, push money, or similar payments you receive in your income on Form 1040, line 21, or on Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ (Form 1040), if from your self-employment activity.

Stolen property. If you steal property, you must report its fair market value in your income in the year you steal it unless in the same year, you return it to its rightful owner.

LOL. You just never know what helpful insights you might get by reading the FamilyDads emails?! 

Seriously, let me encourage you to not wait till the very last minute to get your taxes done, and be extra careful not to vent stress on your family if you are still working on your return or find you owe more than expected.

And of course, have complete integrity on your tax return. After all, it’s only money.

“…Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (Matt 22:21, Mark 12:17, Luke 20:25)

Many dads and their families are in tough financial circumstances right now. Maybe you’re one of them.

Mark is a self-employed dad, married with two young children, who sent me a very encouraging and insightful email about his own financial situation that may help you.

Here is Mark’s story:

Because my business had dropped by 80% over the last year and half due to the recession, we have been in full-out survival mode!

I believed in my head that I was depended on God’s provision, but my heart and emotions were completely dependent on my bank account and signed business agreements.

Now, my wife and I had handled our finances “by the book.”  We only have our home as a debt (a home we can easily afford and does not stretch us.)  We even had a full year’s salary in savings!  Dave Ramsey would be proud of us.

But God had to empty us of those two dependencies we were leaning on – money in the bank and my business income — to show us His reality for our lives.

Back in June we got down to our last $700!  We were at the point of not having enough to pay the mortgage and medical benefits.  I had come to the end of my abilities to “make it happen.”

Because there was nothing more I could do to “turn the Titanic around,” and because I had been hearing from God that I was not to do anything else but stay the course of my profession and current direction (no matter how bad it was), I finally rested in God’s unseen plan to do something for us.

I finally took my hands off the wheel.

A strange thing happened.  I felt more peace than I had in years!

The best way to describe it was like I had been desperately flying a small plane (with my family on board) through the terrifying storms of a hurricane.  Our plane had been frighteningly jerking and jolting due to the winds.  I could hardly see out the rain-soaked window.  My eyes blinded by deadly lightning all around me.  My hands painfully locked, white-knuckled to the steering wheel.  The wings about to snap off at any second and we would plunge to our death!

This was the picture of the last year and half of survival in my devastated industry.  It had been one of the hardest times of my life.

But when we came to the end of our resources, I felt like I finally broke through the howling winds of the hurricane we were trying to survive, to then break out into the Eye of the hurricane.  The Eye of a hurricane is still and calm.  There are no winds and rain, and the sun is bright.  There is peace and rest there from the storm.  The storm was all around us still, but we were no longer being buffeted by it.

I remained in that state of peace and rest for a couple weeks, with a felt awareness that God was up to something I had not sensed before.  During that time, a few small and random checks came in from reimbursements I had forgotten about or written off.  They were just enough to pay the bills that month.

Then the flood gates of heaven opened up!

In the last 3 months, God has released more business than I could have ever imagined!  I have closed larger deals than ever in my 7-years of operating my own architecture firm.  And they are coming faster than I have ever seen them. They are even the best design opportunities I have had in my firm – they are some of the most exciting designs I have had come in.

Plus, they are coming out of seemingly nowhere.  They are not coming from leads I sowed, but rather from old acquaintances or through channels I was not working on at all.  This unbelievable abundance is coming out of sources and places I cannot claim any credit whatsoever.  It is completely uncanny.

And the work keeps coming!  And I’ve discovered a new rest and a new peace.  I’ve discovered a new Source that had been there all along.  Thank you Father.

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I trust Mark’s story has both encouraged and challenged you today.

Feel free to point others to this post who would benefit from Mark’s story.

Blessings to you and your family,
Joey Watkins
Founder, FamilyDads.com

This Book Has Major Impact
Living On The Third River is a book that has absolutely revolutionized my thinking about money in a way no other book on money and finances has, and it’s only 68 pages!

As dads, part of leading our families involves the work God calls us to. Among other things, our work is a significant means of income, a primary channel through which God, our source of provision, supplies money to us and our family.

So imagine this scenario at your place of work. It’s Friday afternoon and your supervisor steps into your office with a seemingly casual question…

“Can you come into the conference room for a brief meeting?”

You finish your email, save the document, or complete whatever task you are right in the middle of, and then make your way down the hall to the company conference room. In the past, you’ve participated in many staff meetings, strategy planning sessions, and even birthday parties in this conference room, but none like today’s meeting.
“As you know, our company’s revenue has gone way down in recent months, and we’ve had to evaluate ways to significantly cut costs. Effective immediately, your position is being eliminated.”

And with that, you find yourself out of a job — without any advance notice and through no fault of your own. What makes this especially painful is the fact that you have given five years of faithful service to your company, many of those weeks spent working well over 40 hours.

When God closes a door in our lives — especially a major one like our work — the natural tendency is to panic and to project negative “what if” scenarios about our future. If we haven’t been in close relationship with God and regularly hearing from Him, we can be be easily overcome by feelings of fear, rejection, and even anger.

The song lyrics of “Look For A Window” give encouragement and advice to the person facing this very scenario:

Hot on the trail of God’s will
And getting warmer still
Stopped by the slam of a door
God, what’d You do that for?

When God closes a door, look for a window
Don’t stand at the door, there might be a window

Responsibilities change
And so do our pathways
One way God shows which way to go
Is to let the old road close

There’s no point in getting down on yourself
God is only pointing you somewhere else

In challenging times like this, a wise dad will go to God with this attitude in his heart and prayers…
“God, this did not take you by surprise. You knew this was going to happen, and You knew when it would happen. I am so grateful that you take care of me and my family. Help me guard my heart and my thoughts as I seek to know what you are doing in my life and what the next step is for me to take. You know our financial needs, and You are the source of provision for my family. So help me remain full of faith in You during this time, waiting on You, listening for Your promptings, and obedient to whatever You tell me. And thank You for your faithfulness to me during the past five years that I worked at this company.”

As I consider my closing thoughts on this topic, my six-year-old son, totally unaware of what I am writing about, just blurted out in the other room…

“Do you know what song I have in my head right now?”

He then proceeded to sing a kid’s song version of Matthew 6:34 which says, “Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will look after itself.”

I suspect that verse is directly for someone who will read this. Out of the mouth of babes!

If you’re in the midst of job transition, stay encouraged, and continue to…

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” ~Proverbs 3:5-6

Blessings to you and your family,
Joey Watkins
Founder, FamilyDads.com

PS – This would be a good post to forward along to another dad you may know who is in the midst of job transition. Also, take him out for lunch or breakfast and spend some time with him talking and praying together. He would probably appreciate your friendship, kindness, and prayer support right now.

Do you know the five Biblical uses of money, the spiritual power behind money, the symptoms to guage where you are spiritually with your finances, and the two different economic systems in the world? Learn More

We have been enjoying the Dad Summit in the live webinar sessions this week.

Norm Wakefield and Todd Wilson have given us very helpful messages on identity, turning our hearts toward our children, our “father power”, and how to love our wives and live with them in an understanding way.

The recordings have turned out great and should be available for access on Wednesday to those who have registered for the Dad Summit.

Tonight we will have another special guest.

Craig Hill is the Founder of Family Foundations Intl. His passion is helping God’s people discover and walk in God’s very best for our lives.

One of the primary areas is finances and money.

Craig teaches on this topic in a very unique way, especially on Jesus’ admonition about serving God vs. mammon and seeking first God’s Kingdom.

This is a VERY positive message and life-changing.

Craig’s little book, Living On The Third River, absolutely revolutionized my thinking about money in a way no other book on money and finances has.

I have shared this book with others and it has transformed their thinking and perspective about money, mammon, blessing, and abundance, and raised their trust in God to a new level.

Craig will be with us tonight at 9pm and 10pm Eastern.

If you get this email in time, it’s not too late to join us at the live Dad Summit webinar sessions tonight with Craig.

You can register at this link and also get access to the recordings of all the other sessions too–

http://www.dadresources.com/Dad-Summit_c_36.html

Hope to see you tonight!

Blessings,

Joey Watkins, Founder of FamilyDads.com

PS – We will also be emailing instructions for  accessing the recordings of the Dad Summit sessions. (Recordings are included with registration.)