Day with Dad
Today is April 7th, and whereas this day may be just another day for you, it is a significant day for me and an even more special day for my daughter, Mikayla. You see, today is her Day with Dad. Though I spend regular time with my kids during the week, each month I spend SPECIAL time with each of them on the day of their birth (inspired by a my friend Artie Lindsay), and we call it Day with Dad (Mikayla’s B-day is May 7th, Marvin Jr’s B-day is May 27th and Micah’s B-day is August 28th). We put it on our home calendar each month so I won’t forget and so they can anticipate it each month. I really try not to miss this time, and if I just have to miss it (which is extremely rare), I get their permission to schedule it on another day in the same week.
I tend to do what they want, within reason and budget, of course. I think today we are going to the Justice Store at the mall. Really don’t know if my wallet can handle that. Whatever we do, whether it is going out to eat, going to the bookstore (I have not influenced this choice at all) or a movie, studying AWANA verses, studying for a spelling bee, or going to get ice cream, we always spend time walking and talking about our hopes, dreams and fears, laughing a lot, mainly at ourselves, and discussing what it means to follow Jesus.
I ask them questions about how I might encourage them rather than provoke them to anger (Ephesians 6:4) or discouragement (Colossians 3:21). Sidebar: I think sometimes we as parents criticize this angry generation as if we had nothing to do with it. I digress. Although they gave me fairly high marks (I graded myself a full grade lower) last month when they graded me as a father, I know God is still working on me. Because I have a few short years to invest in them and influence them, I must be intentional in turning every minute with them into significant moments.
If you have children, do you have a SPECIAL day or spend SPECIAL time with them? If so, what do you normally do? If not, what prevents you and what do you need to do to begin?
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Tags: Family
April 8th, 2010 at 1:14 am
I really appreciated reading this. You couldn't imagine the number of people (myself included) who would have loved to have this type of time with Dad. I firmly believe that it is something that is truly life changing. I thank God for your commitment to being the father that God has called you to be.
April 17th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Pretty cool idea. I'm going to integrate this into my schedule…somehow.
May 6th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
i can't thank you enough for this post. i have a six year old girl, 2 year old boy and a 2 month old boy. I started day with dad this month (May) and the kids and I simply love it. The personal time is great. I can only imagine the conversations we will have. Thanks a lot for this post
June 17th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
[...] am not certain when it started (maybe three or four years ago), but it has become an annual tradition for the Williams family. Every year, on the kids’ last day of school, my boys and I ride our [...]