5 Things Every Son Needs to Hear From His Dad - Daniel Darling

By God's good grace, I'm the father of four beautiful children: three girls and one boy. Last time I wrote about the 5 things a daughter must hear from her dad. Today I want to talk about fathers and sons.

Just as there is something wonderful about being the father of daughters, there is something wonderful about being the father of a son. In my house, Daniel Jr (4) and I are outmatched four-to-one by girls, so we sort of stick together to make sure everything is not painted pink, some football gets watched on a regular basis, and that we watch as many superhero movies as Barbie movies.

Seriously though, the job of raising a son is a noble and important task. Sadly, it's a job many men abdicate, leading to what is now a full-blown crisis in our country: a crisis of fatherhood. Look up the statistics when you have time and you will see that a very high percentage of young men in prison experienced little or no involvement from Dad. In my pastoral role, I've seen the devastating effects of a father's absence or lack of leadership in the life of his son.

Being a Strong Father in a Culture of Weak Men - Kevin East

Boys should be able to describe what a godly man looks like, having watched one from the time they were a little boy. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for most. For many boys, a godly man is something like Superman or Big Foot. It is not something that can be grasped.

A couple of weeks ago I brought my two boys with me to a home and garden center. As I was checking out, the old man behind the counter stopped me in my tracks with what he said. My boys were off to the side, gently playing with the wind chimes. They, too, didn’t know how to respond to the old man’s comment.

“What are you two girls up to today?”