December is such a great time of year.

Where I live, we enjoy a lengthy holiday season, decorated houses and yards colorfully lit up at night, the sending and receiving of Christmas cards, fantastic Christ-focused music playing in the stores, delicious food with family and friends, and extended downtime from work to spend with our family.

Andy Williams’ song indeed says it best… “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

But there is something else I like that is unique to December…

It gives us an opportunity for two very important things:

1. Reflect on the year coming to an end
2. Consider and plan for the new year approaching

As dads, this involves significant action on our part!

So, how was your 2009?

Did you spend enough time — quality time as well as quantity — with each of your children this year?

How about time with your wife?

Did you teach and train your children in the things you wanted them to gain understanding in this year?

Would you say they are closer to reaching your goals for their lives than they were at the start of this year?

Is your marriage richer, closer, and more fulfilling for both of you than it was at the beginning of this year?

How will 2009 be remembered in your memories?

I encourage you to write down at least one top memory you have with each of your children and your wife from 2009.

In fact, why not gather the family together one evening after dinner and just sit around and share memories from the year? Reminisce about the fun times and signficant events and memories from 2009, and even write them down or have a recorder handy while everyone shares.

And then consider and discuss how you might make 2010 an even better year… for you personally, for your marriage, and for your family.

Have a planning time with just your wife too. It’s a great bonding experience.

Listen carefully and openly to her input.

Let me encourage you as we wrap up this year to also set aside some time alone to reflect on the year we are about to say goodbye to, and plan for the new year.

Spend time praying about this, too, discerning God’s direction for you and your family. Listen to Him most of all.

And commit to honor Him in the new year as the dad of your children, the husband of your wife, and the leader of your home.

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

P.S. – As you consider your year-end giving, if you can help FamilyDads with our ongoing financial needs, we could sure use it.  It will encourage me personally, but more importantly provide much needed funds to help more dads discover, embrace, and maximize their influence and leadership in their family in 2010.

P.P.S. – Thank you to everyone who has done some of their Christmas shopping at DadResources.com this month. You can still place orders using Priority Mail for delivery in time for Christmas. Shop here.

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