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Building The Community Through Faith and Prayer Building Community - Building Fathers - Building the OKC Metro THE NEW MAN BOOSTER MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2001 ********************************************************************** An interactive devotional for men from the editors of New Man magazine ********************************************************************** DAILY SPIRITUAL WORKOUTS: I remember the story told by Father Richard Rohr about a friend, a Catholic nun, who was working with prison inmates. Early one spring, an inmate asked if she could get him a Mother's Day card to send to his mom. She brought him a card, and pretty soon word got out, and several other inmates asked her for cards. Wisely the nun contacted a company that donated whole boxes of Mother's Day cards, and she distributed all of them to the inmates. Then she realized that Father's Day was approaching, and again the company sent her plenty of cards. To her surprise, Father's Day came and passed, and not one inmate asked for a card to honor his father. The reason was clear: How can we honor someone we don't respect? But my response may surprise you: It can, and must, be done. Honoring fathers means that we place value on the role of fathers in our society. We are not merely called to honor fathers, we are commanded to honor fathers. The commandment says nothing about whether they were involved, reliable, nurturing parents. The command is unconditional. One woman said, "I was abused by my father, and I could not respect him in any way until I began to deal with the condition of my heart and ask for healing. Then over the years I was able to visit him. I took time to sit with him, to talk to him, call him on the phone, and I even wrote him a note. Then in time I realized the love and respect I was showing him was coming from another Father who was helping me work through my own pain. Finally I even helped him financially until he died last year." This story is being lived out by scores of men and women. When another Father has showered His love upon you, it empowers you to forgive and extend grace to your fathers. It's a difficult step for many, because it may mean you have to forgive your father for his behavior toward you. If your dad did a pretty good job, applaud and honor him. Doing so will honor God. But even if you have nothing but negative feelings toward your dad, we have a mandate to look for the good in our fathers. Think of ways you can help your father. If all else fails, ponder this inescapable truth-without your father, you wouldn't be here. Remember, fathers need respect. When a father is given respect, it endows him with a fresh sense of responsibility, compassion, and humility. Here's how one older dad responded: "I never expected to receive this in my life. After my son called and thanked me for being his dad, I wept for days, and I get tears in my eyes when I think about it now." Men, we have the power to give that overwhelming respect and honor to our dads and other men in our lives. ***Post your comments about today's devotional at http://online.newmanmagazine.com (click on "Post Your Comments"). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - POWER VERSE: "A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother," (Proverbs 15:20, NIV). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - QUOTABLES: "Honesty without Compassion is Brutality." Author unknown ********************************************************************** Copyright 2001 Strang Communications Co. Father Power - Humor Picked this up off of 3M Meeting Network June - December 2001 My first task as Project Manager was to give a presentation on the project scope and resources that would be needed. The first team meeting had been a disaster and as such, I was presenting a new scope statement to management. One of the managers in the room began talking to another, disrupting my presentation during a critical juncture. It was important that everyone stay focused on my next couple slides particularly because his department was involved. I stopped my presentation and eyed the offender as my Dad used to do on family trips. "Don't make me pull this car over, 'cause I'll do it!" I mockingly chastised. The entire group of a dozen laughed, including the inappropriate talker. It was a great way to break the tension, gently ask the offender to stop talking, and get refocused. Building Community - Building Fathers - Building the OKC Metro Building The Community Through Faith and Prayer

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