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One night during the Thanksgiving holidays, my 6-year-old son was up late. His older brother and sister had already gone to bed and he was still wide awake, which is unusual for him because he’s usually the first one asleep.
Sensing an opportunity to spend some quality one-on-one time with him, I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk with me to see the moon and stars.
Bundling up in our coats and gloves, we ventured out into the cold, crisp night air with no agenda other than just to chat, walk, and take in the night sky together — which he loved.
As we walked, my son would talk about something and then ask “Right Dad?” to which I casually answered “uh-huh” not really considering his questions carefully. After this went on 3 or 4 times, it occurred to me that I might be saying “right” to something that may not have been right.
So I began listening to him more carefully.
The “Right Dad?” question must have come up at least ten more times during our walk. I wasn’t counting, but I began to notice that my son’s “Right Dad?” questions were really not so much about whether he was right or not about a certain thing, but more importantly…
He was wanting AFFIRMATION, VALIDATION, and ACCEPTANCE from the most powerful man in his life… his dad.
Basically, he was looking for my approval of him — that he was “valid” or “approved” or “accepted” by me.
In his booklet You Have What It Takes, best-selling author John Eldredge says every boy is asking the same basic question in his heart: Do I have what it takes? He wants to prove himself to his dad. He wants to impress him. He wants to be loved and accepted by his father. He is looking to his father for gender identity.
This is how God designed it. For us dads to bestow this upon our sons. No one on earth is more powerful in our sons lives than we are as their dads.
It’s something I need to be reminded of regularly. And maybe this little story will help remind you too… Right Dad?
Blessings to you and your family,
Joey Watkins
Founder, FamilyDads.com
P.S. – It’s almost too late to get a Christmas Cross Light for your front yard or a To Bethlehem board game for your family to have fun together during the holidays. Also, we’ve listed some of our best-selling Christmas gift items that are on sale right now at DadResources.com.
Here’s a new Bible I discovered online. No doubt every dad will want one for himself and family — especially the tech-savvy teens. Warning: If you watch this video, you will immediately want to buy this technological breakthrough. But don’t say you weren’t warned first!
A great Family Dad finished his earthly life last week… in the prime of fatherhood.
On October 12th, Chris Klicka, a 48-year-old faithful husband and father to 7 children, passed away after a 15-year battle with the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis.
His life, his commitment to his family, and his vocational work were an inspiration to many and a blessing to those who knew Chris personally.
Chris worked as an attorney for Homeschool Legal Defense Assn. and helped many families who faced obstacles exercising their right to homeschool.
This past June — just 4 months before his death — Chris was interviewed about his physical struggle and how he dealt with his feelings and suffering with MS. His attitude was amazing. The words he shared leave us dads with a profound message on suffering, discouragement, pain, priorities, and the brevity of life.
About once or twice a month I try to spotlight a good resource for dads to read or a good one to read aloud to your family. (After all, family reading is one of the best ways you can spend time with your children.)
If I were to ask my children to list their favorite books we’ve read together as a family, one of the books that would be near the top of their list is Faith Hunt.
It is written by Gary Keesee, a family dad who has five children, owns several businesses, pastors, speaks at conferences, hosts a weekly tv show… and loves to deer hunt.
Years ago, God spoke to Gary about his deer hunting. No, He did not tell Gary to “give it up.” Instead, He taught Gary how to trust Him for his deer.
At first, Gary had no idea what God was telling him… “Trust God for my deer?”
But each deer season, God taught Gary a new spiritual truth to apply to his deer hunting. And each deer season, Gary got his deer quickly.
Amazingly, Gary has had 100% success in bagging deer for over 16 years now.
He even has a trophy deer that ranked among the top bucks in Ohio… and of course a “deer story” to go with it.
In his book, Faith Hunt, Gary has recorded many of his deer stories as well as the spiritual truths he has learned from his hunting experiences. God’s Word and it’s truths hold the keys that have given Gary 100% success in deer hunting for over 16 years.
As a guy, you will enjoy reading Faith Hunt.
And if you have children at home to read with, they will also be captivated by these real-world hunting stories while learning key spiritual truths they can apply to their lives all the way into adulthood!
Faith Hunt is a featured resource at DadResources.com–
http://www.DadResources.com/product.asp?itemid=55
