Reflections on 30 years of raising men

Richard, William, Andrew & Matthew
(Andrew & Elizabeth's Wedding -  Dec. 2015)
There's no preamble for this week's entry.
My Vicki and I have raised four boys to the age of 21. This Sunday is my 30th Father's Day.

Dads:

1. Love Jesus and join His church every Sunday. Get your hands dirty in ministry.

2. Model the marriage you pray your boys will have. Deeply love their mama.

3. Respect your own parents. Speak well of them.

4. Make communication a priority in your family. Kill the communication; kill the relationship.

5. Set high expectations for your sons. We get what we expect out of people.

6. Don't be a dream killer. Let them live big and wide and far. Let them fly.

7. Teach them to respect money, but not worship it. Model contentment.

8. Encourage your sons to read. Reading equals learning; ignorant people first ignore reading.

9. Have the balls to say "No" even if every other misguided dad is saying "Yes."

10. Don't let the neighbors raise your sons - directly or indirectly. It's not a shared experience.

11. Be a disciplinarian. Timeout is not discipline. Respect is dosed with healthy fear.

12. Create your own family traditions beyond Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Andrew, William, Richard, and Matthew
13. There's nothing wrong with making brownies at 11 p.m. just for the hell of it. Fun is good.

14. Avoid saying "It's too much trouble" or "I don't have time." You will absolutely regret it.

15. Teach your boys to cook and clean house - even the bathrooms.

16. Force your boys to be involved in sports, theater, band, choir, clubs, or youth group.

17. Teach your boys to value choosing the 'right way' over the 'smart way.' It's called integrity.

18. Don't glorify the sins of your past. You've been forgiven. Live forward.

19. Teach your boys to expect the next person they meet to be the best friend they'll ever have.

20. Create a home environment that's full of laughter. Love follows the laughter.

21. Make sure they can swim - the Earth is mostly water. Make sure they can ride a bike, shoot a BB gun, and build something with their own hands.

www.scottdvaughan.com




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