TCATS #284 - Dad Assessment

Each year when Father's Day comes around, I ask myself two questions: how am I doing in my fatherhood role? And, how is my relationship with my own father? As we sang the song FATHER today, I couldn't help remember back to when I was a young dad, not really knowing what I was doing, but enjoying the payoffs that fatherhood brought. What's not to love when your kids give you big hugs, say "I love you daddy", fall asleep peacefully in your arms, or are eager for you to sing them another song or tell them another story? Yes, there were plenty of frustrating and hard moments, but the positive experiences far outweighed those. As my kids are mostly all now in an older stage of life, the stakes are higher and the worries are more complex. Do I tell them I love them enough? Do I listen enough (really listen)? Do I give good advice? Am I too lenient? Do I give them my best self? Do I give them enough time? Am I setting a good example? 

These are all questions that are continually going through my head without any answers. In fact, in regards to that last question about setting a good example, I have to echo a line from the Spoken Word today: "Nothing makes a man aware of his weaknesses quite like fatherhood, and the only thing worse than fearing that his children won’t follow his example is realizing that they probably will."
 
While I don't know if my example is good enough, I sure pray for help everyday from my Heavenly Father in hopes that He'll inspire me and lead me in being the best dad I can be.

As for my relationship with my own dad, we've had a few extra conversations this year that have helped our relationship to be more than it ever has. So I'm grateful for that. We still don't have a lot in common and probably never will, but I've learned that that is OK. We can still talk, can still love, and still appreciate, and can still find common ground in our quest to be good fathers to our kids. I love my dad very much and look forward to more conversations in the years to come.

To end today's post, I just want to thank my wife for her important contributions in helping me be a better dad. She helps me know when I'm doing well and lovingly helps me do better in areas I need to improve upon. Thank you Jennifer. :)

Until next time, God be with you.

Singing on today's broadcast

Some pics from a little photo shoot after the broadcast