Wednesday, November 7, 2007

On being my father's daughter

Many girls do not consider serving their fathers a joyful experience much less embrace that service as truly a blessing. Tragically, many of those who call themselves Christians have no respect for their father (or mother, for that matter). But on this subject, the Bible says:

"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." Exodus 20:12

Today I'm going to share some ways that I have found to put this verse into practice.
  • Obey him
Obeying your father is perhaps the most important way to honor him. For young women, this should come easily if the will to obey has been cultivated in the years of her childhood. Obeying my father is a joy and a delight! I love it when my father asks me to do something! It gives me a chance to be a blessing to him! In the same way obedience brings joy to my father, disobedience or complaints bring him grief.
  • Help him
Helping your father is a wonderful way to be a blessing to him! I love to spend time with my dad as I'm helping him build sets and I love to help him by typing, sewing or giving him my opinions on his work. It's such a fantastic way to practice being a helpmeet to a future husband!
  • Talk to him
Something else that can be a blessing to your father is simply spending time talking to him. Besides talking about spiritual matters, you can talk about things that interest him. I know my dad loves it when I show genuine interest in his conversations, hobbies and work. He also loves to hear me talk about what I am thinking and doing.
  • Support him
This means to support him in any way possible. Support his vision for your family and find out if there is any way you can help make it happen. My dad comes up with wonderful ideas and I love to support him and encourage him in these endeavors.
  • Appreciate him
I never want my father to feel unappreciated! There are plenty of opportunities throughout the year that I can show my appreciation for my father. I love to make him his favorite foods or learn to play his favorite song on the piano. I can even use a blog post to show how much I appreciate him!

I'd love to have more input on this subject! If you have some more ways to encourage young women to be a blessing to their fathers, please leave a comment below!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You are a great daughter and you do all these things and more. The blessings I get from your contributions to this family are too many to number. I thank God for you and your siblings every day!
Love, Dad (Mr. P)