I had all intentions of doing a little blogging this morning but I let time get away from me and don't have time now. Insert sad face here!! I am going to copy a post from a church blog that I think is worth reading, rereading and re posting hundreds of times. Good Stuff right here, thank you Faith Promise Blog, blog.faithpromise.org. I have a strong opinion of a parents job and this give dad's something to think about!! So if you know a daddy that needs this, pass it on!! :) I love you all and will be blogging soon! :)

What Every Dad Should Know About Their Daughter

Gina McClain | January 24, 2012 | 59 Comments and 73 Reactions

Last week I was dropping my daughter off for a birthday party. As I was leaving a man stopped me asking for direction. He was standing with one of my daughter’s school friends. Immediately recognizing her I put my hand out and introduced myself explaining that our daughters sit together at lunch often. His reaction was sarcastic as he gave his daughter a side-ways glance. I didn’t fully catch what he said but whatever it was it didn’t honor his daughter in any way. Looking at her I could tell this was not abnormal behavior.

I’ll be honest… I wanted to punch him.

It’s challenging to articulate the influence a father has on a little girl. How much of his attitude and actions toward her can determine her future relationships. I remember how much stock I placed in what my dad thought of me. I remember how much I wanted him to be proud of me. To affirm me. To show me my value.

I remember how he would brag about me on the sidelines of the soccer field.

How he would tell me I’m beautiful.

How he would hug me so hard I couldn’t breath.

How often he reminded me as a teenager, “Never date a boy you wouldn’t marry.”
(What a way to narrow the playing field!)

Dad’s, don’t lose sight of the impact you have today on your daughter’s future. Here are three things I encourage you to focus on:

Affirm Her

She looks to you for affirmation, encouragement, & guidance. As she grows through puberty (ESPECIALLY, as she grows through puberty), she needs your voice reminding her that she is beautiful, valuable and worthy of love. If she can learn to believe you, then she’ll believe her future husband when he tells her the same things.

Set the Standard

Be the husband you want her to have one day. Enough said. Is it difficult? Yes. Does it mean sacrifice? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes. I watch my husband daily making changes to be a better husband and dad. He’s amazing. He demonstrates for our daughter the kind of man he wants her to marry one day.

Talk About the Standard

Talk about the future. As you “Imagine the End” and think about the man you hope she marries… talk about it! Let her know what you expect. Set the bar. She’ll do everything she can to jump over it.

Let me level with you, dad. The more you affirm her today, the less she’ll seek affirmation in some teenage boy later.

"We Are Blessed". Those were the simple words I chose for our Christmas card this year. As I was going through what seemed like millions of options for Christmas cards those are the words that stuck with me. I sat there and briefly reflected on our year and thought of all the people around us who are hurting and I thought nothing could be more true than the simple words, "WE ARE BLESSED".

Tonight as I was being Santa, setting up the toys just right, in a way as to get the happiest looks on the faces of the children in the morning I began to really think deeply about what I was doing. I was putting out toys for my precious children, my precious HEALTHY children. It so happened that Fox News was on and their was a family on speaking about their son who had died from an extremely rare form of cancer. He was 2. His name was Dax Locke and his mother Julie Locke started a foundation called "Cherish Every Moment". You can read about it here www.daxlocke.com Then I started thinking about the family of Zach Little and how they are holding on to the realization that this may be their last Christmas with their precious son. He is 10 years old. You can read about this sweet family at www.caringbridge.com/zachlittle. People around us are hurting, they are suffering and we are called (if we are Christians) to love on each other, lift each other up, be selfless by serving someone else, someone with a greater need than our own. Sometimes this means doing something bigger than us, sometimes it may just mean showing up in the life of someone who needs uplifting. So often we sit around moping in our pity parties, feeling sorry for ourselves for our circumstances, there must come a time when we realize that someone is hurting worse than us, this "bad" thing doesn't have to define who I am, there is always someone hurting worse than us and we should reach out to them.

This afternoon I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with a precious friend. She is a young, beautiful, smart, head strong, business owner, vibrant, ambitious, mother of a 19 month old son and she is a widow. I doubt under any circumstances that she thought last Christmas would be her last with her husband. She just turned 30, she has been with her husband for 16 years, their life was just beginning and yet so quickly ended. I ache for her, I cried with her today and wish that somehow all of her friends could just take a piece of her pain away. It isn't fair, we all know that but because of all the things I mentioned about her, she will be alright, she will grieve and she will grow and she will be happy again. She has an awesome family and serves a loving God who will hold her up when she can't hold herself up. I am thankful for her friendship in my life, she inspires me every time I see her pretty smile.

This wasn't meant to be a depressing or sad post, just a post to maybe make us all, including myself realize that there is always someone less fortunate or hurting way worse than us. I can't imagine us doing anything better for ourselves than lifting up someone else. You never know when it may be you that needs the lift!

This Christmas I am so blessed, I am SO thankful and my prayer for myself is to somehow slow down and find a way to love on others.

Thank you God for the most amazing gift of Jesus. Thank you thank you thank you!!