Did you hear these words from your dad when you were growing up? If your dad is still alive, do you hear them from him now as an adult?

If you have a son, do you say these words to him? Very often?

Do you ever proclaim these words publicly about your son where both he and other men hear you?

“I love you son. I’m proud of you.”

In the New Testament of the Bible, there are only 3 recorded instances where God audibly spoke from heaven. Did you know that 2 of these 3 instances are God the Father communicating this very message to His Son Jesus?

At Jesus’ baptism, a voice from heaven spoke audibly to those who were present saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22)

At the mount of transfiguration, God again spoke, this time from a cloud, saying “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear him.” (Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35, 2 Peter 1:17-18)

These are incredibly powerful and affirming words that boys and men of all ages long to hear — need to hear — from their father. It was important for God the Father to communicate this on more than one occasion audibly to His Son Jesus and those who were present. It was important for Jesus to hear these words audibly from His Father.

Likewise, it is important that we fathers speak these words audibly to our sons.

“I love you son. I’m proud of you.”

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!

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

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

After a fun visit to enjoy the furry and feathered animals at a local pet store, we walked across the parking lot to a newly built massive furniture store. It was HUGE — taking up at least a city block, if not more.

Once inside, we were immediately impressed with the size of the store, and even more impressed as we walked around looking at the variety and quality of all the expensive furniture inside.

That’s when I began to notice something potentially DANGEROUS happening in my heart.

I sat down and leaned back in a very nice leather recliner couch. It was luxurious and very comfortable.  I casually mentioned to my daughter, “This is much nicer than our couch.” She agreed.

Then we went over to the bedding section and began testing the selection of mattresses, laying down on one after another. Again, we commented on how much more comfortable and nicer they were than ours at home.

After wandering around the store together through room after room of showroom furniture, we finally made our way back to the entrance.

Heading back across the parking lot, we walked past a late-model luxury car. I noticed the inside, which sported an elegant wood trim dashboard console and stylish leather interior.

“Wow,” I thought to myself. “That car sure is a lot nicer than ours.”

My heart wrestled with these longings for “bigger and better”, “nicer and newer” things as we made our way to our car. Before me was a choice: to allow discontentment to take root in my heart, or to be thankful and grateful for the provisions God had already given to me and my family.

When we compare the provisions God has already given us with newer, nicer, more expensive, and more comfortable items that don’t belong to us, there is usually a struggle, a wrestling, a temptation, a DANGER — envy, covetousness, and discontentment.

Whether it’s a new car, a recreational vehicle, furniture, a house, or even our spouse, when we compare what has already been provided to us with what is “out there” in the marketplace, a tv commercial, a webpage, or even another person, we run the risk of becoming discontent in our hearts. Which can lead to foolish decisions and regrets, bondage to debt, and even more tragic consequences in our lives.

If we compare any provision God has given us with something else that we don’t have, there is potential for danger around the corner. We must always be on guard, paying attention to what is happening in our hearts in any given situation.

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” ~Proverbs 4:23

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

Attention Dads with Daughters: Two Great Resources

She Calls Me Daddy Seven Things Every Man Needs To Know About Building A Complete Daughter Learn More

What A Daughter Needs From Her Dad How A Man Prepares His Daughter For Life Learn More

If you follow the news, you know I’m referring to South Carolina’s governor, Mark Sanford.

If that wasn’t enough, the event happened over Father’s Day.

Married to his wife Jenny for 20 years — yes twenty — Mark is yet another example of our vulnerability as men in the area of sexual temptation.

Last year, I wrote about then-governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, a husband and father of three daughters, who was publicly exposed for involvement with a woman who was not his wife.

These men’s appetites for sensual pleasure controlled their hearts to the point that it ultimately resulted in acting out their thoughts and fantasies for a brief episode of physical pleasure at the expense of their family.

They betrayed their wives… their children… their grand-children… and more.

This area of temptation probably trips up more dads than any other single issue. Why? Because it is so attractive, so alluring, so provocative, so accessible, and so seemingly easy to keep secret.

Dad, maybe you’re not governor of a state. It doesn’t matter. Whether or not you have public leadership obligations, know this…

Our families are DEPENDING on our loyalty.

Our wives are DEPENDING on our faithfulness.

Our children are DEPENDING on our integrity.

They need our loyalty, faithfulness, and integrity, whether they express it to us or not.

Unfaithful behavior has repercussions that are NOT limited to you alone. They touch many areas of your life… your relationship with God, your wife, your children, friends, co-workers, work productivity, leadership status, finances, and more.

If you struggle in this area of temptation and have not shared it with another man whom you trust for accountability, you need to take that first step.

Find another man or small group of men with whom you can meet regularly to expose your heart, your thoughts, and your actions. Someone you trust enough to share honestly with.

Use Internet accountability software to protect your marriage and setup your wife as your accountability partner to view your Internet viewing daily reports.

In this day and age of “anything goes” morals, we must be loyal to our family with our eyes, our thoughts, our actions… our hearts.

Remember this strategy each time you are tempted: “What I feed grows; what I starve dies.”

Let us also remember to pray for Mark and Jenny Sanford and their four boys during this time.

“Let not immorality be heard of among you.”  ~Ephesians 5:3

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

Internet Accountability Software

For less than $8 a month, Covenant Eyes software can monitor all the websites you visit each day and send an email report to people you select for accountability. Optional filtering service also blocks objectionable websites from your computer.

FamilyDads has arranged to offer a 30 day free trial period by entering promo code FamilyDads when signing up.

Learn more at–
http://www.covenanteyes.com/?promocode=familydads

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.)

One son was divorced. The other son was getting ready to file for a divorce.

The parents had never liked their son’s wife and had tried everything they could to split the marriage and find him another wife.

The sons and the father had a broken relationship. It was so bad, if either son even saw him in a store, they walked down another aisle to avoid him.

There was much bitterness and hatred.

Yet this was a father who was very involved in church, even in prominent leadership roles.

The father attended an event where he heard about God’s promise and provision to fathers, God’s blueprint for the family, and the Biblical role of the father.

God turned the heart of this father in a very significant way… toward his sons, toward his family.

He was so convicted about his failure as a father, he asked himself…

“Is it too late? I’ve already done my child rearing. My children are adults now.”

He wrote 12 letters to his sons. Letters of repentance…

“Would you please forgive me for not being the father to you I should have been?”

“I didn’t know I was supposed to do anything with you?”

“I didn’t know how to call you out as sons?”

“I want to minister to you now.”

“I want to be the father to you that God intended me to be.”

As the father did that, and his heart was turned toward his children, God turned the hearts of his children to him.

The first son turned his heart to God for the first time, came to his father, and began to confess to him things he had done wrong.

The 2nd son, on the very day of filing divorce papers, after listening to the teachings from the event the father attended, was so convicted that he confessed his own sins and turned his heart to seek God.

His wife said when he walked in the door, she immediately knew something had changed his life. She said “I want that” and came with him to his parents for counseling! The parents confessed to the daughter-in-law how they had not loved her and all the things they done against her.

The dad sent the teaching messages to his daughter. Her husband listened.

The daughter said it completely changed his heart and turned his heart toward his family.

God healed this family!

It is a testimony of God’s promise to broken families:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD; And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers…” ~Malachi 4:5-6

God keeps His word.  He  will turn the hearts of a family back to the fathers when the heart of the father is turned to the children.

Norm Wakefield will be sharing this teaching at the Dad Summit, the first-of-its-kind LIVE webinar event for dads. It starts this Sunday night at 9pm Eastern. There is still time to save $15 on Advance Registration.

Blessings to you and your family,

Joey Watkins

Founder, FamilyDads.com

His story makes a very strong case about our priorities…

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We all know how the economy is going nowadays, and probably most of us, if not all, are concerned about the near future, our jobs, and praying hard about it.

Yesterday at church I saw a good buddy of mine, and he was not looking good. So I took him aside and asked him what was going on. (We are accountability partners, and we often go straight to the point, no “how are you ?” between us.)

He told me that at his workplace “pink slips” were flying all around him, personnel reduction was the “word of the month,” and he was very worried about his job.

He works in IT and was studying madly to get a very hard IT certification to make his position harder to get rid of.

I understood, since I share his same concern, and I am in the ’same boat’ so to speak.

That made me think, and I told him the story I want to share with you all, that happened in my workplace last week.

Last Monday, as soon as we got to the office, we were told that one of the oldest executive managers in the company, “James” had passed on the night before, in his bed.

James was the General Manager of our most lucrative sales market, he had been the company VP and CFO
in different times, and was one of the oldest employees of the company.

The guy was working 12-14 hours a day, taking very little care of himself, and work was his life.

You all see where this is going, right?

A few days after the funeral, I was in the car with our VP, going to Dallas, for business. In the car we started to talk almost immediately about James and what had happened.

After a few casual comments of sorrow about his death, the VP made a comment that gave me the chills …

She said “You know, James “passing away” is going to save the company a lot of money, his salary was quite good, and all in all, we were considering “letting him go” anyway, for we still have to cut salaries and personnel…”

My heart sunk, for I realized how little “James” the man, the individual, had mattered to the company.

Technically, the comment was right.

Under the moral and “human” perspective, it was chilling.

Today, a week after the event, “James” is nearly forgotten.

Gone, merely a faint memory. His position will not be replaced, the company will save money, and that is the end of a 17 years old career.

Guys, put your time, heart and effort in your family and in God.

I still remember the stories my grandfather used to tell me, and he passed away 25 years ago.

My children still laugh and cherish the stories I tell them about my mother’s grandfather…

It’s just money, folks… rust and moths.

What really matters is in the hearts of people you live with, share laughs, experience life and faith with.

You (we all) are not what your job says.

We are fathers, husbands, a brother, a friend, a son of a wonderful God.

Your company will erase the memory of you in a few days, if you drop dead tomorrow.

Your family will remember you forever — put your sweat and effort where it will bear good fruits.

Sorry for the story, it’s probably depressing, but I felt the urgent need to vent…

God Bless you all, brothers.

TexasDad

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I pray this story has been a clear reminder to all of us dads of what and who to truly prioritize in 2009.

Blessings to you and your family in this new year,
Joey Watkins
Founder, FamilyDads

PS – The best resource I’ve found on helping dads make and keep the right priorities is–
http://www.dadresources.com/product.asp?itemid=15

Where I live, we get to 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’s something else I like that is unique to December…

It gives us an opportunity to do two things:

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

As dads, this involves significant reflection on our role in our family.

So, fellow dad, how was your 2008?

Here are some questions I’m asking myself as a dad…

Did I spend enough time, quality time as well as quantity, with each of my children this year? How about with my wife?

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

Are they closer to reaching my goals for their lives than they were at the start of this year?

Dad, how will 2008 be remembered in your memories?

Among my top family memories are…

1) Attending with my son Andrew our first father/son outdoor camping trip/retreat… which was also a highlight of his year!

2) Enjoying a “1950’s” themed father/daughter dance with Angela. To this day, she proudly displays our dance photo beside her bed.

3) Washing our car “shirtless” with my 5 year-old son Abraham in Florida.I will always remember him asking if he needed to take off his shirt, because he wanted to be “just like dad.”

And my wife and I had a short but relaxing getaway at a nice hotel on a gorgeous beach in Florida… something we very rarely get to do alone without our children in tow.

Dad, let me encourage you as we wrap up this year to set aside some time alone to reflect on the year
we are about to say goodbye to.

Do this together with your wife too. It’s a great bonding experience.

Share your memories and thoughts with one another. Reminisce about the fun times and significant events
and memories from 2008, and even write them down.

And then consider and discuss how you might make 2009 an even better year… for you personally, for your marriage, and for your family.

Listen carefully and openly to your wife’s input.

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 and DadResources.com