5 Things Every Daughter Needs to Hear From Her Dad

1) You are beautiful and you are loved. This is something you should tell your daughter at least once a day and probably more than that. Daughters who know their father loves them grow up with more confidence and tend to avoid looking for love in all the wrong places. Hearing she is beautiful is oxygen for your daughter’s soul. So do it often, in good and creative ways.

2) The best gift you can give your daughter is to show her how a man treats a woman. Let her see modeled in you, however imperfectly, the God-given love between a man and a woman. Tell your wife daily that she is beautiful, that you love her, and that you are glad you married her. Tell her you are committed to her for life. And say these things, periodically, in front of your children.

3) Girls frequently battles insecurity over a number of issues: their weight, their looks, their friends. Maybe sometimes they feel unimportant or unwanted, even in a home with love. This is why you, as a father, should remind them often that they are special creations formed lovingly by the Creator.

4) You are forgiven. Your girls will mess up. They will sin. They will disappoint you. She may grow up wondering how to measure up or what to do with her sins. Evangelize your daughter and then disciple her. Train in her in the vital practice of repentance and forgiveness. Repentance for her sin and forgiveness of others’ sins. Let her know that God is always ready with fresh supplies of grace. Let her know that she must apply that grace not only to herself, but toward others who will wound her.

5) You are accepted. Whatever you do, don’t let your daughter consume the poison of the culture which measures a woman’s worth by her independence, by her ability to give away freely her purity. Don’t for a moment let her swallow the lie that sexual license is anything but a bondage of the worst kind, the enemy’s way of stealing the creativity and beauty and purpose for which she was created. Teach her what to look for in a man (hint: not the slackers you see on TV). Also: be that man so she knows what it looks like. Make her aware of the beautiful image of womanhood painted by the Creator. Her acceptance, her sense of self, her worth are bound up in her unique calling as God’s daughter.

By Daniel Darling for crosswalk

Photo Credit : Google Images

How to Get a Toddler to Stop Writing on Walls

Sooner or later, kids with crayons seem inevitably to stray onto the walls around the house, not to worry when this happens, here's a solution!

1.     Store art materials out of reach when they're not in use. When they are in use, provide appropriate surfaces for drawing, and supervise. This is as much for the child's safety as for your walls because small children can put things in their mouth.

2.     Emphasize that all artwork is done on paper (or other approved medium) not on other things. Use short, direct language. When art work goes wandering, redirect the toddler. If the child persists, take away the materials immediately.

1.     Make a wall just for drawing on. Decide which wall is going to be approved for your toddler to write on. Measure this space's width, and about a foot over your toddler's head. Or get a board strictly for writing. Explain this is the wall they can write on, and not to write on or outside the tape. If they write on any other wall, they will be disciplined.

2.     Teach the toddler to write on paper.

3.     Be consistent and patient with your toddler. It may be hard for him or her to understand the difference between drawing on one surface versus another.

Happy New Month

May you be greatly blessed this Year 2015.