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Most men are working on building something up. It may be a solid business, a standard job, a successful career, a social status, or any number of things. But some of these things can vanish quickly due to financial loss, natural disasters, gossip, sickness and other unforeseen difficulties.

If we work on marble it will perish. If we work on brass, time will efface it. But if we work on immortal minds, we engrave on those tablets something that time cannot efface, and which will brighten and brighten to all eternity.

One of the greatest achievements you and I can accomplish in this life is passing on a legacy of faith to our children and grand children. Many things can be destroyed in this life. But, a legacy of faith will live on for generations.

Let us be the ones who sow the seeds of love, truth, and righteousness in the hearts of the next generation, so they can advance the Kingdom of Christ in the years to come. Pray that God would make you the kind of godly father needed to impact the lives of the next generation. Ask Him to provide opportunities for you to minister, encourage, and train up your own family in His Word and ways.

In Deuteronomy 11:18-21 we read, "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the Lord swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth."

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 10.25. Live for God, on purpose, fathers, leading your children as you walk in the Lord.

Blessed for Life – Fathers Who Walk in the Blessings of God

In Numbers 6:24, Moses is given a special word from the Lord – a word from the Lord he was to speak over the Israelites to bless them – "The Lord bless you and keep you." God desires to bless His people. And, I believe that today, he wants to bless men who will serve Him.

This Sunday is Father's Day here in America. Dads across the nation will be given greeting cards, neckties, and cologne by their children, along with a variety of other trinkets and objects to honor him on his special day. But, what every man needs – especially every father – is not ties and toys, but the blessing and anointing of the Lord upon his life.

Here at WFA we will honor our fathers with a special gift. But, more that any token gift, we want to speak a word of blessing over every father. There are some specific character traits found in fathers whom God blesses. This Sunday, we're going to share those characteristics, and pray for every father present, that they would walk in obedience to God and His Word, and live in the blessing and anointing of the Lord.

Be sure to join us this Sunday, Father's Day, here at WFA, as we share how to be "Blessed for Life – Fathers who Walk in the Blessings of God."

Advice for Fathers

A mother was out walking with her 4-year-old daughter. The child picked up something off the ground and started to put it into her mouth. The mother took it away and said, "Don't do that!"

"Why not?" asked the child.

"Because it's on the ground," said her mother. "You don't know where it's been. It's dirty, and it's probably loaded with germs that could make you sick."

The child looked at her mother with total admiration and said, "Mommy, how do you know all this stuff? You're so smart."

The mother said, "All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mom's Test. You have to know it or they don't let you be a Mom."

There was silence for a minute or so as the child thought this through. "Oh, I get it," she said at last. "And if you don't pass the test you have to be the Daddy?"

Fathers don't always get the respect that mothers do. That will become evident on Sunday. The truth is, Father's Day is just not as big as Mother's Day. On Mother's Day, there's a higher attendance at church, mothers have corsages on, emotions run high, and restaurants do a booming business. On Father's day, well, there are more collect phone calls than any other day of the year (yes, that's a true fact).

Despite the fact that fathers are sometimes overlooked, the Bible is clear about the great responsibility given to those of us who are fathers. God challenges husbands to be the leaders in their homes. He challenges fathers to be someone their kids can look up to. Allow me to share a few biblical pieces of advice with those of you who are fathers.

Love your wife! Paul said in Ephesians 5:28, "So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself." That's one of the most important things you can do as a father. Trust me – your children do watch how you treat their mother. They watch, and they are learning and forming their concept of marriage from you.

Spend time with your children. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 127:3, "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward." In other words, our children are a great blessing. Children are given to us to enjoy – not to be a burden, not to avoid, not to ignore, but to enjoy! And in order to enjoy them, you've got to be with them, have fun with them, and share your life with them.

Listen to your children. Give them your undivided attention – not with one eye on the TV and the other eye on them. When they have a problem, they don't need cartoons, they don't need a video game, they don't even need their best friends. Dad, they need you! We need to be approachable. Be the kind of father that they can come to and say anything that's on their mind.

Train your children. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:4, "And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." Notice what Paul said. He didn't say "parents." And he didn't say "Sunday School teachers." He said, "fathers." As we train our children, our goal is not merely to get our kids to outwardly conform to a list of rules. Our goal is to train and develop children who seek to glorify God with their lives.

Be a positive role model. Much of what our kids learn is caught rather than taught – they learn from what they observe. This means we can't afford to cheat on our taxes, lie to our boss, or be rude to a salesperson. You are a role model for your children and, like it or not – good or bad – they will, to one degree or another, model their lives after you. You have inherited some of your father's characteristics and your children are inheriting some of yours.

May God bless those of you who are fathers, and may we always look to our Heavenly Father as a perfect example of what a father should be!

An Hour of Your Time

I have seen the following story in various places, but I do not know the original author:

"Daddy, how much do you make an hour?" With a timid voice and idolizing eyes, the little boy greeted his father as he returned from work.

Giving his boy a glaring look, the father said, "Look, Son, don't bother me now, I'm tired."

"But, Daddy, just tell me please! How much do you make an hour?" the boy insisted.

The father, finally giving up, replied, "Ten dollars an hour."

"Okay, Daddy. Could you loan me five dollars?" the boy asked.

Showing his restlessness and positively disturbed, the father yelled, "So that was the reason you asked how much I earn, right? Go to sleep and don't bother me anymore!"

It was already dark and the father was meditating on what he said and was feeling guilty. Maybe, he thought, his son wanted to buy something. Finally, trying to ease his mind, the father went to his son's room. "Are you asleep, son?" asked the father.

"No, Daddy. Why?" replied the boy, partially asleep.

"Here's the money asked for earlier," the father said.

"Thanks, Daddy!" rejoiced the son, while putting his hand under his pillow and removing some money. "Now I have enough! Now I have ten dollars! Daddy, could you sell me one hour of your time?"

As a father, this story hits me hard. It is so easy to get involved in providing for the family and doing "good things" for others that my family ends up being neglected. We sometimes think that what will make our children happiest is to have more "things", when what they really want, what they desire more than anything else, is just a bit of our time.

"Children's children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their father." (Proverbs 17:6)

Heavenly Father, as we stand aware of your constant presence, help us to learn from you to be the kind of fathers we should be to our children. Help us to never grow so "busy" that we fail to have time for those you have entrusted into our special care. In Jesus‘ name, amen.

Priceless Scribbles

Richard Fairchild tells about a story that appeared years ago in the Christian Reader. It was called "Priceless Scribbles." It concerns a father who touched his child's life in an unexpected way. A young boy watched as his father walked into the living room. The boy noticed that his younger brother, John, began to cower slightly as his father entered. The older boy sensed that John had done something wrong. Then he saw from a distance what his brother had done. The younger boy had opened his father's brand new hymnal and scribbled all over the first page with a pen.

Staring at their father fearfully, both brothers waited for John's punishment. Their father picked up his prized hymnal, looked at it carefully and then sat down, without saying a word. Books were precious to him; he was a minister with several academic degrees. For him, books were knowledge. What he did next was remarkable. Instead of punishing his son, instead of scolding, or yelling, his father took the pen from the little boy's hand, and then wrote in the book himself, alongside the scribbles that John had made.

Here is what that father wrote: "John's work, 1959, age 2. How many times have I looked into your beautiful face and into your warm, alert eyes looking up at me and thanked God for the one who has now scribbled in my new hymnal. You have made the book sacred, as have your brother and sister to so much of my life."

The author of the story, now an adult, goes on to say how that hymnal became a treasured family possession, how it was tangible proof that their parents loved them, how it taught the lesson that what really matters is people, not objects; patience, not judgment; love, not anger.

"And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)

Advice to Fathers
About Children

A – Always trust them to God's care
B – Bring them to church
C – Challenge them to high goals
D – Delight in their achievements
E – Exalt the lord in their presence
F – Frown on evil
G – Give them love
H – Hear their problems
I – Ignore not their childish fears
J – Joyfully accept their apologies
K – Keep their confidence
L – Live a good example before them
M – Make them your friends
N – Never ignore their endless questions
O – Open your home to their visits
P – Pray for them by name
Q – Quicken your interest in their spirituality
R – Remember their needs
S – Show them the way of salvation
T – Teach them to work
U – Understand they are still young
V – Verify your statements
W – Wean them from bad company
X – eXpect them to obey
Y – Yearn for god's best for them
Z – Zealously guide them in biblical truth

What is the Origin
of Fathers Day?

Just like Mother's Day, Father's Day is celebrated in every part of the world. In the United States, Canada and most countries in Asia, Father's Day is the third Sunday in June. Although Father's Day is not observed on the same day in some countries (like Spain and Belgium where Father's Day falls on March 19th, Sweden on the second Sunday of November, and New Zealand on the first Sunday of September), expressing gratitude and appreciation for dads with a special day seems to be universal. Today, Father's Day is not only a day to honor fathers, but one to show respect for all father figures. Families honor grandfathers, stepfathers, uncles and other adult male figures that are special to them.

Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, of Spokane, Washington, was 27 when she listened to a Sunday sermon about Mother's Day in 1909 and wondered why there was no corresponding day for fathers. (Mother's Day observances began in 1908 in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, according to Hallmark Cards in Kansas City.) She was just 16 when her own father, Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was widowed when his wife died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his five other children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state.

Sonora Dodd began her campaign after that sermon. She believed that the nation did not show enough respect to fathers, citing such popular songs of the day as "Everybody Works But Father," she promoted Father's Day out of love for her father.

"One group of men conventioneers laughed and said they didn't want a Father's Day," according to an article in The Spokesman-Review. "A national fishing day would be better," they told her. She persuaded the Spokane Ministerial Association and local YMCA to pass a resolution in support of Father's Day, and the first local Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington. Mrs. Dodd wanted Father's Day to be celebrated on the first Sunday in June, her father's birthday. However, the Spokane council could not get the resolution through the first reading until the third Sunday in June.

States and organizations began lobbying Congress to declare an annual Father's Day. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson approved of this idea, but it was not until 1924 when President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event to "establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations." In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.

Sonora Smart Dodd was honored for her contribution at the World's Fair in Spokane in 1974. Mrs. Dodd died in 1978 at age 96.

The Last Impression

The little girl was sitting in her father's lap as he read her a goodnight story. From time to time, she would take her eyes off the book and reach up to touch his wrinkled cheek. By and by she was alternately stroking her own cheek, then his again.

Finally she spoke, "Daddy, did God make you?"

"Yes, sweetheart" he answered, "God made me a long time ago."

"Oh," she said, "Then Daddy, did God make me too?"

"Yes, indeed honey" he assured her. "God made you just a little while ago."

"Oh" she said. Feeling their respective faces again, she observed, "God's getting better at it now isn't he?"

This week I have been teaching at another Church Multiplication Network "BootCamp," this time in the New Jersey District. What a privilege to invest in the lives and ministries of these church planting and revitalizing pastors and their spouses! We will conclude the BootCamp this afternoon, and then I will be heading back home to Wilmington, Delaware.

Looking forward to being home, and worshiping together with my WFA family this Sunday! It's going to be a great day in the presence of our Heavenly Father, as we honor our earthly fathers, and worship our Lord Jesus Christ! Don't miss it!