I attended a fatherhood conference recently, and one of the speakers was filmmaker Stephen Kendrick. He walked us through a cool exercise on fatherhood. He discussed the various roles of a father. Specifically, he used the Lord’s Prayer as our prompt. Read through Matthew 6:9-13. In this short prayer, how many different attributes and descriptions of God THE Father can you find? Since we are to model our fatherhood after the one true father, consider what this exercise teaches you about your various roles as a dad. Just one to get you started: since God is giving (verse 11), we too should be giving, generous dads who pour into our families (time, resources, encouraging words, etc.). I found the exercise both challenging and inspiring! As you walk into a new year, spend some time looking at your fathering through this lens. It may open your eyes to some new ways you can grow and lead as a dad!

Simple age-appropriate chores that instill discipline: Work is a good thing, and chores help instill that truth into our kids at an early age. Give them an age-appropriate task like feeding the pet for younger kids or mowing the lawn for older ones, and they will feel like contributing members of the family.

Finding a fresh start: The desire for fresh starts is built into our DNA. God wants us to use these fresh starts as a way to get reground ourselves in His will. We may often have times where we see a needed change in our lives or the lives of members of our family. Let’s explore what we need to keep, improve, stop, and start to achieve a richer connection to God’s will.

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” – Anne Frank

“You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

Make a New Year’s Role-a-lution. In all the “roles” of a father – provider, coach, counselor, example-setter – consider just one role that will get disproportionate attention in the coming year. Would you like to be a more generous giver? A more intentional guide? A more patient listener? A more self-controlled disciplinarian? Godly dads wear a lotta hats. What’s one you’d like to wear better this year?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Kent Evans
Author of The Manhood Journey, co-founder of Manhood Journey and Father On Purpose.

P.S. Was this Mountain Monday helpful? Tell me if you love it, hate it, or if there’s something you’d like in the next one.

Forward this to a dad you know who needs some encouragement.