THANK YOU, DAD
I know that Father’s Day is over with and this blog may seem like it is too late, but it isn’t.
As wives, we need to teach our children to be appreciative to the Dads.
Of course they are, but do they EXPRESS it.
There are an array of occasions that our children can send their dads a card like his birthday, Christmas and etc.
In God’s word we are told to honor our fathers and mothers.
Ex.20:12 “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”
This scripture implies that we more or less determine the length of our life according to our behavior.
This is exactly why it is important for us as wives to TEACH our children to honor their father.
I heard a sermon once that was really interesting on Ex.20:12. The speaker said that you do not have to honor your father if he is a murderer, child molester, sexual pervert, abandons his children, is a batterer or into demonic satanic activity. I am sure there are an array of other reasons but that needs to be addressed to God on an individual basis.
The following information is from an article that I read. I think it is interesting some of the ideas that are pointed out.
The following comments are from an article called Ten Ways to Say “Thank you, Dad”, by Melinda L. Wentzel (melindawentzel.com)
She states that fathers are often unappreciated, largely misunderstood—an entire populace of men rarely acknowledged for the many and varied ways in which they contribute as parents.
Here is a list of items you might mention SPECIFICALLY the next time you talk or send a card to your dad.
Thanks for encouraging me to forge my own path instead of assuming that the paths of others would necessarily be right for me…for letting me climb to the tops of trees and to skateboard with wild abandon…for ferrying me to the ER when necessary.
Thanks for teaching me how to throw a fastball, wield a mean golf club and sink a jump shot on command…for being my biggest advocate (even still) and for believing in me even before I believed in myself.
Thanks for being oh-so-generous with your time…for listening intently to my wishes and worries…for considering me a worthy companion as we jogged over the back roads of town, watched doubleheaders into the wee hours and sat in scratchy lawn chairs together, completely mesmerized by the thunderstorms that rolled across the skies in the midst of July’s unbearable heat, summer after endless summer.
Thanks for introducing me to the concept of balancing a checkbook, as well as finding balance in my life…for teaching me to accept failure when it comes to call and to learn from my missteps…to appreciate having grandparents, a roof overhead and acres of woods all around.
Thanks for tolerating my teen years (Oy!), for trusting me with your beloved cars even though the voices inside your head must have screamed, “Noooo!” and for resisting the overwhelming desire to share with my High School Yearbook Committee that hideous photo of me with the mumps. For that alone, I love you dearly.
Thanks for navigating so many road trips—to distant airports, to a good number of college campuses I considered calling home, to my very first job interview in the city. Never mind that we got horribly lost in the process; but getting a glimpse of the White House at rush hour surely was grand.
Thanks for inspiring me to be a responsible individual, to work hard and to strive to do good in this world…for illustrating the power of forgiveness, the refuge of one’s church and the necessary nature of grieving our losses…for reminding me that things usually work out in the end—even when they look entirely hopeless at the start.
Thanks for underscoring the importance of finding time for one’s children, time for one’s marriage and time for oneself…for helping me recognize the inherent value of ice cream sundaes, the versatility of duct tape and the irreplaceable nature of a good friend.
Thanks for loving your grandchildren with as much ferocity as you loved me, for implanting within me the seeds of faith and for showing me the beauty of marrying one’s best friend.
By Melinda L. Wentzel
NOTE: I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I did. My father left when I was thirteen. He never returned to live with us again. My dads visits were sporadic, with intervals of years between them. A few years before he died we were reconciled with him. I don’t have all of these precious memories that Melinda has.
What I do have truly blesses my life. I have invested my life into my marriage so my children don’t have to be another statistic of a child living with a divorced parent. My children can have the memories that Melinda has, and they do! Praise God!!
NOTE: Don’t miss tomorrows post. Everyday there is a new post.
LOVE YOUR SPOUSE 
this reminds me of my father. I grew up close with my father and still am.he loves my children so much I never had grandparents so I want them to enjoy. I got stung by a bee and went to my dads to let him take it out. I will always be a daddy’s girl
Hi Sister Nancy,
I come from a broken divorced family my parents divorced when I was about 5 or 6 yrs old.And my dads always been in & out of my life.Mothers day & Fathers day have always been sensative occassions for me because my parents are not saved,& they do not except me as a born again believer.I have a rocky relationship with my mom because she says she wants “The old Vanessa Back” she means me before I got saved the way I used to be.And my dad is ashamed of me for my physical looks & because I am saved.I never disrespect my parents but they don’t want to be apart of my life so I’ve just simply given them to the Lord & pray for them constantly.Any advice for those in similar situations who have unsaved Parents?? I know the Bible says to honor your mother & father but how do I do that when my parents don’t care to be apart of my life? Thankyou Sister Nancy
Hi Vanessa! Thanks for your comment that many others share the same situation. When I got saved in 1975, I felt like I was the only Hispanic that was a Christian. My family and my husbands family were furious with me. It was a very trying time. We gave up all our night clubbing friends and that left no one that we knew. It was a blessing in disguise because we spent all our time in church and with christians. It gave us time to build up our faith and fall in love with God. One by one, our family started to get saved. We need to rejoice in partaking in the rejection that Jesus experienced. It makes us understand His love and hurt. Pray for opportunities to show your parents you love and care for them. Be careful not to be “preachy” or overbearing. Let God do His work in them.
Hello Sister Nancy,
I second what you said, when you tell us to pray!!!! I come from a family of 7 girls and 3 boys. Dad was a number one provider for home, food, clothes, all other areas not so good. In our home there was nothing but fear, walking on egg shells all the time. BUT, many years later some of the family gave their lives to Christ, and no not my dad, not until about 1 year ago, I had the JOY of leading him to the lord. I do know one thing that loving my father the way God loves us was the best thing in my life, I call him all the time I pray for him on the phone and I can tell him I love him without the fear of rejection. He is going to be 80 years old, and what can I say “GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME”
Thank You again for reminding us how we do have so much to be thankful for!!!
Hi Christina! What a great testimony! I am sure that this will build faith in many who are praying for their families. Thanks for this comment. Love you!
I was very close to my dad, we called him Pop. When he would get home from work he would yell “Hi gang!” and we would all yell “Hi Pop!” and come running. I am the youngest of 12 and we all were very close to each other and to our parents. My dad would work two full-time jobs and sell shoes door to door on the weekends just so my mom could stay home with us kids. They both went into eternity knowing the Lord but my dad did admit before he passed that if it wasn’t for my mom insisting we show the utmost respect for him he hadn’t earned it because he felt he wasn’t home enough. Moms teach children to respect or disrespect fathers…is my point!
Hi L. Lopez! Thanks for this great comment. You said it all. It is the mother who teaches the children to respect their father. A child grows so much healthier if they respect their dads. Good point!!