First, I want to let you know that I am a Christian. I am a child of God. I do not claim to be perfect. I do not always, make the best decisions. I am fast to anger, I get my feelings hurt easily, and I have a hard time forgiving those who I feel have wronged me. I get upset with myself about this, because I know; this is not how God wants me to be. I try my best and through the years these challenges have gotten easier for me. I do know now that God is ALWAYS there for me; although, I have sometimes wondered where He was. I have encountered heartbreak. I have struggled with what I wanted to do with my life. I have lost my mom, grandfather, and two best friends. Life hasn’t always been easy for me, but I have a great life. I know that now. And through my struggles, God has proven that He IS always there for me. Sometimes he is silent, and sometimes he sends me the answers I need right away. He is my one true Heavenly Father. He knows me best and He knows exactly what I need.

I attended church the day I launched this blog. I didn’t think when I walked in, I would be using the sermon for a post. It was about fathers and rightfully so, it was Father’s Day. Did you know that Father’s Day is one of the lowest attendance days at church? I didn’t. I also didn’t know the impact that father’s have on their children attending church as adults. Here are some statistics from the sermon:

2% of children are more likely to attend church as an adult if a father does not go, even if his wife does. 66-75% of children are more likely to attend as an adult if the father does go regularly, regardless of what the mother does.

72% of children are more likely to attend Sunday school as an adult if both parents attend. 55% of only the father attends. 15% if only the mother attends. 6% when neither parent attends.

The probability everyone in the household will follow:
3.5% when the child is first. 17% when the mother is first. 93% when the father is first.

WOW! If a father has that much impact on a child attending church as an adult, what kind of impact can a father have on a child’s life outside of church? A LOT!

My daddy played a huge role in my life socially and emotionally. Socially, Daddy taught me how to make phone calls and schedule my own doctor and dentist appointments. I learned how to make friends in sports and be a team player. I was encouraged to speak when spoken to. I disliked having to be social at times. I would be more reserved and shy if it wasn’t for Daddy’s influence on me to have an outgoing personality.

Emotionally, he taught me how to be a good loser. Attitude was important. I wasn’t allowed to blame the loss of a game on bad calls from an umpire. If my team made every play, scored every run, hit every ball, and didn’t have any errors; it would have made for a perfect game. Obviously, that isn’t possible. If so, he would have then allowed me to blame the umpires. Now reflecting back, this was a good life lesson. I now know how to take responsibility for my actions, and not to blame others for my mistakes.

This is just two examples of how a DAD CAN have a positive influence his children’s lives to better prepare them for adulthood. Obviously, the statistics above show that a dad’s involvement is his children’s life is very important. So dad if you’re feeling any discouragement, DON’T! YOU CAN have an impact! YOU WILL have an impact! YOU DO have an impact! I am a daughter raised by her daddy. I am proof that YOU CAN DO IT! It is up to you. Grab life by the horns and go for life’s ride. It my be a bumpy and rough road, but life is a dance. You learn as you go!