As we wind down 2008 and shift our focus to the new year ahead, I’d like to give you what I consider to be a very, very important “Dad Tip.”

Here it is:
Create a list of “must-read” books that you believe will benefit you greatly and help you improve in the area of being a better husband and dad this year.

Then, start reading those books, one at a time. And keep your list on your night stand beside your bed.

Now, depending on how much of a reader you are will determine how many books will be on your list. But I suggest at least one book a month.

There are a surprisingly growing number of books out there that have been written just for us dads on fatherhood and marriage.

One book that I STRONGLY recommend you put at the top of your list — to read at the beginning of the new year and not later on — is a quick but very helpful book by Andy Stanley called “Choosing To Cheat: What Happens When Work and Family Collide.”

I would give a copy to every FamilyDads subscriber if I had the financial means to do so. That’s how strongly I feel about this book.

I know from personal experience after reading and applying to my own life and family how radically transforming the truths in this book are.

The basic premise is that we all cheat. That is, we all make decisions every day to give up one thing in order to gain something else that we consider is of greater value.

Sometimes we cheat in a “good” way, like when we cheat our tastebuds and say no to dessert for the benefit of our waistline.

But all too often, when we apply “cheating” to the arena of our schedule, we are faced with a variety of choices and opportunities that are each competing for our attention — our most valuable resource — our TIME.

Work… Family… Hobbies… House Projects… Sports…

The list is endless.

Andy Stanley has spent hundreds of hours with dads who have cheated their families for the sake of their career goals.

One decision after another to work late at the office and cheat family time. Or cheat our children’s ball games and activities because of workloads and work deadlines.

But without making significant changes, cheating our family has the potential to erode the foundations of even the strongest marriages — and damage our relationships with our children.

The solution, strangely enough, is similar to the problem. Both involve cheating.  Simply put, we must choose to cheat at work rather than at home.

Choosing To Cheat is ultimately a book about establishing priorities — those things we say “yes” to even when it means saying “no” to other important things. It is a principle that is already at work in our lives.

When we choose to cheat in accordance with God’s priorities for our lives, it is an invitation for Him to bless us and our family in ways we never dared to imagine.

What will be your priorities in 2009? What will you choose to cheat?

Learn More and Order “Choosing To Cheat” for yourself, or as a gift for a fellow dad, co-worker, or friend, at DadResources.com, the bookstore that supports FamilyDads–
http://www.DadResources.com/product.asp?itemid=15

After serving as operations and marketing manager for a “workplace ministry” from 2004 to early 2008, I stepped down earlier this year so that I could give greater focus to prioritizing my family and discipling my children, as well as to launch a business/ministry to encourage other dads like you to prioritize your family and disciple your children. I believe this is one of the most important aspects of our lives as dads.

Every week, we men are tempted to consume ourselves with our work at the expense of our family — to make our work the highest focus of our lives. This is because of the amount of time we spend at work, the challenges we face at work, the level of responsibility we perceive in our work, and the money we receive in exchange for our time, our services, and our skills. And for many men, it is also because of the level of “calling” we believe we have in our work.

However, this focus on our work often results in neglecting the greatest influence we will ever have — in the lives of our children. Especially while they are young and still living in our homes.

This influence is our FATHER POWER. It is the level of influence we have in the lives of our children and their destinies simply because we are their fathers. It is the result of our relationship with them and our position of authority in their lives. Our relationship with each of our children will last for the remainder of our life, as well as impact them long after we are gone. And potentially for eternity.

Many of us dads miss this as we busy our lives with our work — week after week – month after month — while our children grow up receiving dominant influence from sources other than their dad.

If work is a higher priority in your life than your family, make a commitment to change that starting today. The FamilyDads emails are written to help you prioritize your family and disciple your children, to be encouraged as a dad, and to give you recommendations of helpful dad resources. Please forward these emails to other dads you know. And find one or two other dads to meet with regularly who share this desire to prioritize our families.

Two outstanding resources on today’s topic which I have personally read and give my highest endorsement are Father Power by Todd Wilson and Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley.

Your purchase of these books at www.DadResources.com
provides direct financial support to FamilyDads so we can reach more dads
with these critical messages of fatherhood.