Grateful for a Father

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It was intentional that I choose Father’s Day as the inaugural day for my blog. Writing a blog is a significant commitment, and an idea that I have struggled with. Mainly, because if feels very prideful to me to think that people would be interested in reading anything I have to say. But, it is time, I have lived long enough, experienced enough, followed Jesus enough, maybe I can help others along their way.

This blog is dedicated to my father on Father’s Day, for all he has done for me, my entire life, to help me grow up to be a decent man who is capable of caring for his family and contributing in a positive way to society.

As I have thought about tomorrow and celebrating Father’s Day, I realize that Father’s Day conjures up more pain than celebration for many people. I guess that should be no surprise with the divorce rate at over 50% in the US for first time marriages, 60% for second marriages, and many more people choosing to have children without getting married at all, that more and more children are growing up in homes without a dad.

As I have let the reality of this sink in, iI realize that I am one of the lucky ones. I grew up in a home with a mom & a dad, who last December celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary! I heard a statistic a few years ago that only 5% of married couples make it to their 50th wedding anniversary. Don’t get me wrong, my parents, and our family, were far from perfect, but they did get some things right.

My desire today is to share with you 10 lessons I learned from my dad that have impacted my life today. Whatever your circumstances, whether you grew up with a dad or not, I hope you can be blessed and learn from me the things I learned from my dad. Here are my top 10:

1. Work Hard & do your best.
2. Don’d spend $ you don’t have.
3. You can fix it yourself.
4. Commitments matter.
5. Most mistakes are redeemable, don’t give up.
6. No matter how rough the road, finishing well is what matters most.
7. Be willing to forgive, even the big things.
8. Be a good friend.
9 . God does answer prayer.
10. It’s never too late to believe in Jesus

Dad, thanks for all you have modeled and taught me over the last 50 years, I am truly grateful. I love you! href=”https://rickallendunn.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/img_7060.jpg”>