The Father Difference

Raising Daughters With Courage And Grace

Ed Tandy McGlasson

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What if the words “Daddy, do you see me?” became the lens for how you father your daughter—and how you lead yourself? We dive into the deeper work beneath tactics, showing why a dad’s secure identity in God unlocks the patience, tenderness, and courage a girl needs to thrive.

• Naming a daughter’s beauty through presence and blessing
• Moving identity from performance to beloved sonship
• Asking better questions and modeling forgiveness
• Shifting from control to collaboration on house rules
• Resisting bitterness and repairing after conflict
• Learning to love without needing approval
• Practical ways to “see” and speak life over daughters
• Why the Trinity’s love is the family template

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SPEAKER_00:

What kind of father do you want to be? What kind of man do you want to become for your family and for yourself? If you've ever wondered how to step into the fullness of your role as a father, husband, and man of God, then you're in the right place. Here at the Father Difference, our mission is to inspire and equip men to be the best fathers they can be. It's a powerful mission. And today, we're going to explore exactly how you can take steps toward that calling. Whether you're a father, a son, a husband, grandfather, single dad, stepfather, or just looking to grow, I believe God has something powerful for you in today's message. Whether you're tuning in live or watching this later, we are so excited to have you here. If this is what you're looking for, then subscribe so you can tune in each week to the Father Difference Live. You can sign up below. And now your host, a husband, father, grandfather, author, and former NFL player, Pastor Ed McGlass.

SPEAKER_01:

Hey, good to be with you from Southern California. Welcome. Already got some likes coming in. I'd love to hear where you come from. Today, we're going to talk about those ever-elusive creatures called girls and daughters and how to be the best dad you can be. And uh and I got to tell you right from the beginning, if yours truly can learn how to love my daughters, who are very strong and got Icelandic blood, there is hope for every man out there. Because I didn't tell you, I did not get much from being a football player. Love to hear where you're from. You can throw some comments out. Good to see you there, Justin Carlton. He's a dad and he's got two powerful girls he's trying to love there as he's traveling across the United States. Matter of fact, give him a shout out. He uh goes into churches and companies, and he's uh ex-Air Force, incredibly skilled. He was actually a policeman there. Maybe you're looking for something for your church or your family, and you would like some self-defense or some training with firearms, because under this administration, it's an okay thing to actually own guns, have bullets, and protect your family. So if that's your cup of tea, we'll get uh Justin's info. I'm sure his wife, who is my assistant, will pop it up there on the screen so you know how to get a hold of Justin Carlton. He is a master. Matter of fact, he took yours truly on the gun range back in Montana. I was there, and I actually shot one target, and the bullet just about was perfectly through the very center. There's a lot of them otherwise other ways, but anyway, it was really fun and it gave me a lot of skill doing that. Okay, guys, back to the men's of Justin Carlton. If you want to get a hold of him, you can right here's his number. If you're looking for self-defense classes for your family, for your church, for security. He also does assessments for people. I'm getting nothing out of this. I'm just doing this because I love him and he's really good at what he does. So get a hold of Justin at 406-940-5360. Okay, we're gonna get busy. We're gonna get busy talking about help for dads raising daughters. So, how are you doing, my friend? How are you doing raising your daughter? Well, I got two incredible daughters. I'm gonna tell you a little one of one story of the many that I have. And I went to my daughter's graduation. Now you probably can't see in there, but right in the middle of all these dark-haired people is a blonde. That is my daughter Jessica. And when we saw her, she was waving to me. And when we finally, you know, made eye contact, she went absolutely ballistic. And she's she's screaming, you know, there's you know, here I am, Dad. Daddy, do you see me? Uh such a powerful thing. And, you know, she actually called me on her cell phone. And when I heard that question, that question that every daughter asks. When your daughter gets in high school and she dresses up to go out, she might not come to you and might not say much to you. She's looking for your reaction. Because believe it or not, Dad, first thing I'm going to say to you is that you are, let me repeat this, and I'm going to go with a tight shot. You are the first man in your daughter's life. Matter of fact, you are the most important beginning man. And the way you learn to father her, love her, nurture her, be affectionate to her will really help shape the way she sees herself, even her beauty. She's already got mom. Mom takes her out, buys her stuff, they put on the makeup thing. I'm not talking about all that magic dirt stuff that girls do and all that stuff. But how you look at them, how you love them, how you play with them, how you're in their story is incredibly powerful because their sense of beauty comes from the way you look at them. I got to tell you, yours truly was terrible at it. I was terrible at it in the beginning. I was like, what? Am I in trouble? I uh my my very first beginning time, you know, being a husband and a dad with two daughters, and actually had five kids, I had three more sons. Boys are a lot more predictable, even though they're sneaky and they do crazy stuff, you know where they are emotionally. But daughters are another thing. And so I've come home and my goal was I hope I'm not in trouble. And my daughters could look at me such a way and I would be crushed. The same way with my wife. How about you? And it wasn't, and it wasn't that I was afraid of them. I just did not know how to meet them and nurture them and father them because I didn't get much from my stepdad. Matter of fact, on my wedding day, he comes over to me, and you've probably heard this if you follow me at any time, and he comes over and I'm looking for advice. I'm in the back room, I'm getting ready to walk out and get married to Jill. And he looks at me and he goes, son, I can't tell you much about girls, but I can tell you two things. Number one, they're better seen and not heard. That was the worst thing you could say to me. The worst. And I know he was trying his best, and I know that he was in a lot of trouble with my mom a lot of times. But it didn't get it didn't give me much. And the result was that it it it fray and the other thing, I said two things. The other thing he said was, you know, women are better seen and not heard. And then he said, and it's sort of just drama, drama, drama. And so he, without meaning to, he was conditioning me to basically say that when a girl is emotional or tender or upset or dealing with emotional things in her life, that it's not okay, that they need to somehow stop being that way so that they become as safe a place for us as dads to love. Think about that. Well, here's the truth it's not about our daughter being a safe place for us to love, because by the way, when you love anybody, it's not safe because they can reject you. It's about you feeling so safe in the love of God yourself that you're able to fully embrace and be present in the life of your daughter who, and I say this a lot, it's a big joke in my family, because my daughters at times will live in this estrogen river, and there are monsters there waiting to devour any man that comes their way. Well, I make fun of that, but I've learned something that that the beautiful estrogen river of my daughter's hearts is an incredibly powerful place for them as women. Because without a woman in your story or daughters in your story, there are places of the love of God that you might miss in your own life. There are tenderness and things for you to learn with your daughters that can change the way you see yourself. Because when in listen to me when I say this to you, when I have the heart of my daughters and I they know I am doing my best to connect to them and love them, they are incredibly protective of me as her dad. And now me as her grandpa. They're like mama bears. You you mess with my dad or my grandpa, I went to you in. And you know, they they spent so much of their days living in the laundry room, doing laundry and doing housework and and all those things, is that he just didn't have much equipment from his dad. It wasn't that he didn't love his girls, he just didn't know how to show it. And most of us dads, how much of a model did your father model to you about how to love a girl? And a lot of it is was conditioned into us by the way he dated your mom. And if he's dating mom and loving her and it's affectionate, it gives us a model as a man that it's okay. It's it might not be safe emotionally. One guy once said, I said, so tell me what the guy's a he's a he's a great coach of people. And I asked him, so what's your secret of loving your wife? And he said, Well, I I just what I do is I when I go to bed at night, I forget the woman I fell asleep with and how she was that day, and I love the one that wakes up the next day, no matter who she is. She might wake up and just be in a completely different mood. And and it's like it, they're just, and I said, so it's impossible to figure out or predict them. That's right, because we're no women, we're men. And the best thing for us to do is to learn to love and honor, etc. So, how do you get this place where you get secure enough? So I'm going to talk to you about tonight, where you get secure enough in the love of the Father for you, the love of God for you, where your core identity is so secure in who you are, that you can step towards that daughter that loves you or not. Maybe you have a stepdaughter in your story, or a wife, or an ex-wife in your life, and you've never been good with girls. I'm going to share with you just three things that revolutionize the way I've learned to be okay around girls. Because here's the deal: if you're not clear about who God has called you to be and learning how to receive from Him, you'll try to get your identity all the time from everything you do. And if you try to get your identity from the girls in your life, you're going to be in a whole lot of trouble. And you guys know this, okay? You absolutely know this. How many times has your daughter just looked at you funny and crushed you? Or your wife looks at you a certain way, and you know, oh boy, I'm in trouble. They have an amazing ability because they can uh connect with their emotions, they can collect intellectually, they can uh connect in in the way they look and everything, and and they have this gift from God that we really need in our lives. And so, how do we build an identity that in a real way is bulletproof to the wiles of a woman? And I'm not saying it doesn't hurt, I'm not saying that they're not gonna hit you sometimes, and you're gonna go, what the heck just happened? But I I I will tell you, I've I've learned a couple things about the daughters of my story, and the thing that's so profound to me is I have daughters, literally spiritual daughters, all over the world, that call me Papa. I mean, that's just incredibly amazing to me. That you know, this this football player that used to grab and hold people to keep them from sock and sacking a quarterback would know how to love girls, or at least have some steps with them and be tender enough. And by the way, I I wouldn't use the word no, I'm learning over and over again. If you're with me, give me a high five. Because that is totally the truth. Okay, so let's get into the next slide here. And so when my daughter, and I and I share with you, if you're just jumping on, was in UCLA, calls me on the phone, and and when she said, Daddy, do you see me? When I when I heard that question, I was there with my wife, I realized that's the question that every daughter asks. And uh Jill and I, we just responded by jumping down like crazy fans when my daughter, you know, did that. And I'll never forget the look that she had on her face when we were acting like crazy people. And it's daddy, do you see me? And I and remember when I was a young dad, and from my office, uh I have a big window in my office, and in the center of our house here, there's an atrium as a garden. And my daughters were many, many years ago when they were little, were in there dancing and trying to get my attention, and we're putting on all of their Disney costumes, hats, streamers, and they were trying to get my attention, and they were singing and dancing and playing in front of my window. And I was in here trying to study for something, might have been a sermon, might have been what guys do when you're overwhelmed and your daughters are driving you crazy. You're just hiding doing something, watching TV, etc., because that's a safe place. Job's in my safe place, to be honest. And they're dancing and jumping up and down, and I'm uh I'm looking at them and I'm just and I just watched this movie with Mel Gibson called Well Women, What What Women Want. And I watched the movie hoping that I would get a key. And the only thing I learned is that if you know Mel Gibson is playing this dad who has no clue, he's he electric himself when the hairdryer falls in the bathtub and somehow shocks him because he's trying to get more connected with his daughter, who's a teenager and wants to go to the dance and get a dress and some shoes and have a boyfriend and all this, and he's just going crazy. What do I do? And somehow, in shocking himself, his mind was opened up and he was able to hear what women think. It was a hysterical movie. Wouldn't that be a great gift? And and so I wouldn't even, I even thought, gosh, I wish that worked. I wouldn't be in trouble so much. And so I'm thinking about that movie. I'm watching my daughters jumping up and down, and I asked God, I was just sitting there, I said, God, what do women want? You ever asked that question? What do women want? And I just, you know, right then, the Lord just kind of poured something into me because he had been dealing with my own identity issues. And I just had an incredible encounter with him uh months earlier about my own story, losing my dad, and how God loves fathering us and healing those things in our lives as men that our dads maybe broke or weren't there to help us with. And this is what he said to me. And when I say this, I'm not saying there was an audible voice and smoke came in the room, but there was his internal voice that's not Ed, that spoke, and I recognize him when he speaks because of filling my heart with God's word. If you want to learn how to hear God in your life internally, and there are times when he speaks audibly to people, I mean, that's not something that happens to me. It's very, very seldom, and uh I wouldn't say audible, it's it's internal, but it makes your bones shake. Is that the more you read God's word, and the more you spend time, just even 15, 20, 30 minutes, listen to it, the more you fill your heart with his word, the more it conditions you to hearing from him. And many times he'll just bring a scripture up, and that will be that will be just this demarcation point to a whole new beginning. More on that in the future. We talk about hearing the voice of the Lord. And so I'm there, and that internal voice, it hits me, and he he this is what I heard him say, it's rattled inside my heart. He said, He says, if you learn to turn your heart towards me, in other words, if if you you know will turn your heart to me, I'll help you become the father you've always wanted to be. And that was just so pivotal for me. And then looking, you know, asking that question, what do my daughters want? You know, in this in this moment with him, he just is downloading to me was that he said this is what he said internally. Inside of every little girl when she's born, she's born with a question in her heart Daddy, do you see me? Am I beautiful? Am I someone to be loved? And then he shared something that rocked my world. And if you answer that question and become a present, loving dad in your story, you will keep the pretenders away from your daughters, which solves my other thing of you know, cleaning my shotgun every time a young man comes around. But that my daughters had this question in them Daddy, do you see me? Am I someone to be loved? Your wife had that question. That's why she comes up with her her makeup and her outfits, she wants your comments, and how powerful that is when you're close enough uh to them and and and hearing from the Lord is that you're the one who's naming her beautiful. That's incredibly powerful. Because if you if you're waiting for a guy online or in social media to do with your daughters, he's ultimately sure gonna name them beautiful, but require probably her body in exchange. I have this plus size gal get a hold of me. She saw a video I did on TikTok and Instagram, and it was all Daddy Do You See Me? And matter of fact, it's somewhere around 1.5 million views right now. And one of the gals who watch it, this this plus size uh model, you know, had a you know, pretty I went to her channel because she said, I I've been weeping every day, I can't stop thinking about that question. Because all I ever wanted was my dad to look at me one time and love me. But he always put me down, he was never in my life, and then she confessed, she says, I think I've spent my whole life doing what I'm doing with my body on the camera and everything else to feel beautiful, and so I responded right away and back and forth with her numbers of times, and she said, I would you be a dad in my story? I can't believe of the comments to have a man bless me, a father bless me, because there is no other person in the whole world other than you, dad, that has the authority and the place to speak life into your children, then you do, and when the enemy gets us sideways with him, with the Lord, he's trying to get you away from your kids so that they can fall victim to his false identity agenda. I mean, we've just gone through a horrible season in in our world, uh, and with people who I have come tremendous compassion for people that are confused about who they are and try to get their identity from their sexual appetites. And in further review of them, there was one missing factor in in I won't say how high because I I don't want to overstate it, but it's well over 90% of the people that I run into either had a monster dad or no father, or completely distracted father. And that identity piece they never got. And so you want to secure your daughter into a life where she really understands who she is, and she becomes a powerful force. Well, guess who the person is who starts that journey? You need to the dad who helps her discover her identity in Christ, and her mom who models to her what a powerful woman looks like. And when you have those two things together, you you see you have powerful. My my daughters are powerful. I have my part, but my wife is amazing in the way she has mothered them and been in her life and the model she's been as a missionary and all the things she's done. She's been a great, great mother and now amazing grandma. And we're getting ready for a big trip to go see our grannies in Switzerland. Oh, can't wait. So back to what we're talking about. And so that's the question, Daddy. Do you see me? So, how good have you been dealing with that? Now, if you want to see my daughters, here's me walking Jessica down the aisle, and I get to turn around and do the ceremony. Is that the coolest? You know, I got the, you know, you know, we stand there and had a friend of mine say, Who gives Jessica to be married to Greg? And I said, her mother and I do, and then I walked around and did the service. And here's me and Mary uh having a father-daughter dance at her wedding, and George Andrew's backyard, George and Heidi, who are part of our family. Heidi is Jill's sister. And uh I'm there twirling around and just having a blast with my Mary. So sweet. And to just that look in my face, isn't just the wedding. The look in my face is that I got to be a father to them that I never saw my dad be with my sisters. So why do we struggle so much with the girls in our life? Have you ever thought about that? Or if we look back at that old movie, why can't a woman be more like a man? Right? Predictable. We think, well, that would be great. No, we get bored with them. They are constantly. And I've learned two things. Number one, when I'm made fathering about me, I was really good at hurting my daughters. It's like I had my house rules, I had the McLeod rules. Are you like that as a dad? And to be in my home, you got to do this, and it's what it looks like. And so it wasn't, I wasn't communicating and getting feedback. I was just sort of, you know, laying out the plan for success. And the problem is, is and here's something that you you already know this that your children will follow the rules that they believe in. Now they might act right around you in the home, but when they get away from you, They're going to live out what they truly believe. And the secret of being a good dad is helping be a part of helping them discover great things from God about who they're supposed to be and what they're supposed to do. But if we're just kind of framing it, this is the way it is, well, guess what we do? We just blow them out. And the second thing I was doing, I was trying to prove myself as a good father. I was always really good at always being in trouble with my daughters. Because I would, you know, I was trying to just, you know, I see, and this is where you get stuck, guys, is when you're trying to be a good father, say you read you just read a book or you get an idea and you kind of frame what good is like, and you don't ever involve your children in the design of their life. Now, what I mean by that is that we can only lead them to the level that we have permission from them. Now, when they're little, we can't say things like, well, if you don't eat your spinach, then you're not going to get dessert, or you're going to go to bed. I mean, we can frame that in, and they will obey it for a while. But you do that to a teenager, what does she do? And how many times have you blown your kids out of the house because they weren't following the rules, or they were disobeying God, or they weren't living up to scripture, or they weren't going to church, or and so somehow you just separated, or they showed you disrespect. It wasn't about them wanting just to disrespect me. They were hurt, and I didn't know it. And when I began to learn to ask them about that hurt, it began to heal. One of those questions that that that God has used so many times with my own children and in our coaching ministry that we have with dads and moms and families. So I remember, you know, asking this question. And this, I wish I could say I originated this. I think it just came from the Lord. And here's the question. When I see that my children are like this with me, when they are pushing back, it's because I've heard them and I've not listened to them. Or I'm not talking to them or talking at them. And so my question is you know, I can tell that you're really hurt. Is there something that I did that I need to ask for forgiveness for? Oh, you asked that question. It might take your kids a while if you're not used to asking that question, but who in your family is the one that's modeling what it looks like to heal hurt by asking for forgiveness? Most homes don't ever do that. We talk about hurt, we handle it. I mean, with all these crazy elections, our children have been watching us dealing with who we're for, what party we are, how we treat other people that are different than us. I mean, there's so much bitterness that's going around. What would happen if forgiveness began to permeate all those relationships? Even families that have been separated because they either love or hate Donald Trump, our president. Imagine the healing that God wants to bring. Because I think it's the stupidest thing in the world to draw a line in the sand because we have political differences. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Whoever would think that that would be another thing the devil would use to destroy your family. And by the way, if you're mad at somebody for voting for Trump or vice versa, you need to forgive them and go to them and say, you know, I want a better relationship. And I can tell this political stuff is just not the sideways. We need to talk. We're family. Because guess what? Donald Trump's not going to be at your bedside or Kamala Harris, if she was your choice for president, they're not going to be there holding your hand when you slip into glory. It's going to be your children. It's going to be your wife. It's going to be the people that you love. And if you want to have a small group, just get bitter. There'll be nobody. And I unfortunately have had to be at the bedside of some people in their last moments, inviting them to receive Christ and to deal with the bitterness they feel from all the stuff that was wrong. Bitterness is the devil's greatest weapon, destroying you, dad, and destroying your kids. Let's go on here. And so that's why we struggle. So, see, when I learned to receive my true identity, remember I said earlier that I get stuck sometimes when I'm trying to get my identity on how good of a dad I am or how bad I am. Or I'm trying to get some feedback from my kids is somehow going to help me in those processes. The problem with all that is that you're never going to get enough. But when we learn to get our true identity of being a beloved son of the father, if you're a gal watching a beloved daughter of the father, and learning how to listen to him, he'll teach you how to love your daughters the way he is loving you. It was a profound change in my fathering because the reason I was struggling as a father wasn't the techniques I was doing. It was that I myself didn't, I wasn't clear about who I was. Or I had some pumped-up identity like pro-football player or pastor or something else that was my core identity that, you know, it's very hurtful to my family because I made everything about the church or made everything about football. And yet, daughters, they don't, they they're happy for you if you've got football or the church. But what they want to know is, Daddy, what do you think about me? Am I beautiful? Am I somebody to be loved? Will I ever find true love in my life? Can I come and talk to you anytime I want to? Will you pray for me? Will you not judge me? Boy, I've learned a lot, haven't I? You're probably going, how does he learn all that stuff? And if you've been having en daughters, you've learned some of those same things. It's incredibly powerful. It's incredibly powerful. See, when the voice of God thundered over Jesus as he's being baptized by John the Baptist, and he heard from his father, this is my son, and I love the message version of this, chosen, marked by my love, delight of my life. Just imagine you, as a man, as a son, a beloved son of God, or as a daughter, if you're a gal, watching. And you heard God the Father speak that over you and name you in a moment. Man, I gotta tell you, it'll completely change your life. When your core identity becomes somebody that God loves, you become a beloved son or beloved daughter. A scripture actually talks about adoption that he sent his son so he could adopt us, not only save us and forgive us from our sin, but adopt us and add us to his family. When you have a father like that, no matter what kind of dad, you could have a great dad or a no dad or a really broken dad, that God the Father wants to re-father you in your life. One of the things that happens as you begin to embrace your own sonship or daughtership is that you won't need to look to your kids the same way to find out who you are. And if you want to break a family, then make your family about trying to find out who you are. I did. I was an expert at it. Really hurt my kids. Had a lot of repentance to do. God is so good. I'm so grateful. See, Tim Keller, he describes this perfect love of the Father, Son, and Spirit as a dance of love. It's the dance of the Trinity. And he writes, before the earth was created, and throughout all the history and unto eternity, without end, there has been a waltz of love within the Trinity. The Father loving the Son, the Son loving the Father, the Father loving the Holy Spirit. It's just this incredible thing. It's a picture of family. And it's amazing what happens when our families begin to look that way. And when we can live in the center of that dance. Can you imagine living in the center of the dance of the love of the Father in your life?

unknown:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow. That's what I wanted. See, when God said He loves us, our context of what the is of the way the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit loved each other, that's what Jesus meant when he prayed in John 17. Father, I want those that you have given me to be where I am and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. When Jesus is talking about the glory of the Father on him, that glory of the Father on Him was the unconditional love of his Father upon his life. It's what enabled him to live the life he did, to suffer the way he suffered, to go to the cross, to die for our sake and be raised again in absolute trust. We're getting ready for another amazing Easter season. And when he said it is finished, and he finished the work on the cross, scourged and beaten and suffered and died. And now we have a savior. And in him, you and I get to enter that dance. See, there's three powerful ways. I want to tie this together and conclude it that God's love will energize you as a father and change the way you father your daughters. First, his love is eternal. So God doesn't love us because we do it right. God loves us because Jesus did it right. Matter of fact, God has always loved us. We were created in love, right? It didn't start when you were born and didn't start when you first did something good to earn it, and said the Father has always loved you. He loved you when you were, and he actually knew you, the scripture says, He knew that that that sperm cell and that egg and your mom was going to come together. And you know when he knew that, the Bible says he knew it before he created the earth, before Jesus said, Let there be light, and there was light, before the creation of the world, God knew who you would be, who I would be, and he chose you to love you. Man, it's powerful. I began to think about that and just the power of that. And how it's as a dad, you know, I I remember those those early moments, and I didn't know the kids. I didn't have that foretelling like God the Father does. But I remembered just listening to that heartbeat on my in my wife's stomach. And uh there was a love that I had for my oldest son Edward. I didn't know he would be in Edward, and and then Jessica, and then Mary, and and then Lucas, and then Joshua, and now 14 grandchildren. And God knew all their names and knew your name. He knew what kind of dad you would have, he would knew what kind of problems that you would face. When Jeremiah was even a teenager, the voice of God interrupted, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. So when you begin to understand that God loved you before you arrived on earth, and that's then there's nothing that's gonna happen in your life that doesn't isn't under his gaze and under his love. Even when it's hard. See, there's never been a time in history where you've not been on the mind of God. He's always loved you, and with the same eternal love that's present between the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. You know what that means? That means that you can't be a mistake, my friend. Your mom and dad might have just come together in the last moment. Maybe it was on a blind date, or maybe you know, like James Robeson, his mom was raped by a bunch of football players in Texas and didn't know who the father was, and she chose to have him because she understood this verse. And my son that I carried that I don't know the father, and it's such a horrible thing. God knew this baby before. He said, Let there be light. So you must have a purpose. And James Robison has been and I've gotten to meet him twice and be around him. He was just an unbelievable man of God. One of those heroes of the faith. Way he loves his wife, where he fathers and fathers people. I mean, he's flawed like all of us, but what would the world be like if he wouldn't be born? What would the world be like if you wouldn't be born? You might not think, well, I don't matter much. Well, many times we treat ourselves the way we think God sees us. So if he's been thinking about you before he said, let there be light, he must have an incredible plan for you. You know, the second thing is that his love, because it's eternal, has designed you perfectly for your destiny and who God's called you to be. And by the way, he's designed your children the same way. You ever have one of those kids that you go? Where did that one come from? I have dad's a joke about their kids, but they're all perfect, even if you adopt them. What a powerful thing to adopt children. God's adopted us. The good, bad, and the sideways. Bless you, Bill, for your comment. But his love has designed you perfectly. Let me tell you why that means that's so powerful for us. What would change in your family if you stopped spending a lot of your time when you're awake working on yourself all the time and beating yourself up many times? Because when I'm doing that, you know what comes out of me when I'm around my kids? Disdain. They're never good enough. You know why? Because that internal voice in me is never good enough. What would happen if you began to receive and connect to God's love for you that's eternal and knew you way before he said, Let there be light, and you realize that his love has designed you perfectly for the mission you have, and that you can't be a mistake. And the reason why? Because he created you in love. You might look funny. We all look funny. I mean, my ears is I go, it's like they're they're not totally even. I got sags here and there, but I was perfectly made. And when I stand before the Lord, I'll be perfectly wrinkled on my last day to go be with him and get a new body. I'm so grateful we get an upgrade. And the third thing is see, you know, is the intensity of God's love towards us is measured the way the Trinity loves one another. I love this picture. It's not by our definitions of his love. The Bible says the Father loves us, the Son extravagantly, and he's turned everything over to him so he could give it away, a lavish distribution of gift. You see the picture there. Jesus received everything, the extravagant love of his father for himself. But he didn't just get it so he could just walk around going, I'm loved way more than you. He received that love, which changed his capacity to loving every person the father put in his way. And that's an incredible secret of being a good father. Because it's so easy for us to look on what they do and the mistakes they do and the things that we're frustrated with. But what would happen if you got filled up with his love towards you so that you could take that and pour that out like water to a thirsty man in a desert, to your children that are looking towards you every night with the same question? What does my dad really think about me? And you filled their cups. It would change your family, my friend. So here's a big question. We'll tie this together tonight. What would be different, dad, right now, if you allowed yourself to be loved by God like that? I'm gonna tell you, it will change your family. It'll change your family. It changed mine. See, that's what began happening to me. I when I met the Father, I always wanted, my heart started to change. And here's the scripture that ties it all together. And you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have the strength to comprehend with all the saints, with the breadth, the length, and the depth, the height and the depth of the love of God, to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with the fullness of God. That you may be filled with the fullness of God. My friend, when you spend your life being filled with the love of God and the fullness of God, you're gonna be a great dad to your daughters. And there's a lot of things that we're gonna continue to talk about next week and in the in the month of April. But the more you receive, the more you capacity you have to love. You want some more of that? I'm gonna pray for you before we get off. And see, one of the things that I I want to uh bring up just to show you is that I've built a, it's brand new. We just released it. It's called the Fatherhood Academy. The Fatherhood Academy is built around these principles I'm sharing with you. And it teaches you how to receive for yourself all those things that you need to do. To not only heal your own story and your life and your own core identity to be the man that God's called you to be, but it equips you to be the father your children need you to be. And guess what? The husband your wife has dreamed you to be. Yes, we do a lot of coaching. We have coaching involved. I'm back. Somehow it froze right when you said we're gonna pray. So, Father, I'm praying right now for everyone who's watching, and somehow the devil didn't like that show. And I pray, Lord, that you would open the door into their hearts to be the man that you have called them to be, and they would be able to taste the love of the Father that passes all understanding. I thank you, Lord, for these guys that are watching, those who got popped off for some reason. And Lord, I ask you to come and meet them in Jesus' name. Bless them, Lord. And if you're still watching and you wonder where the heck did Ed go, I didn't get raptured, but I'm here, and I'm so grateful you're here with me. And have a wonderful night. Lord bless you. I want to encourage you to sign up. You can go to our website. And if you go to our website, you can find out about my free book, the Father You've Always Wanted. Uh, you can also sign up for the Fatherhood Academy. I just highly suggest if you want to grow and you want some coaching, we would love it if you joined us at the Fatherhoodacademy.com. And just your limited time access, you got to join today. You got to go to thefatherhood.com and it'll be there for you. Lord bless you. Got to go. Not sure why the internet here is acting so crazy, but uh Lord bless you. We'll be we'll see you next week. Amen.

SPEAKER_00:

Dear friends, imagine a world where every father feels equipped to lead with faith, love, and purpose. A world where families thrive and communities grow stronger because of devoted, Christ-centered fathers.

SPEAKER_01:

You know, beloved, that is the vision that God's put in my heart for every single family. You know, he is on the move, I believe. He promises in Malachi that before the great and coming day of the Lord, he's gonna do something profound. He's gonna turn the hearts of fathers back towards their children. So the hearts of their children will turn back to their father. That's what God is doing. I meet dads daily who want to learn to be better fathers. Yet many have never been shown how. Too many families are being fractured to bitterness, and with parents and grandparents even being canceled. That's why we're launching an online community to quit and to be the fathers that God has called them to be. It's more than a program, it's a part of a movement that God is already doing to reshape fatherhood as a sacred calling rooted in the teachings of price. And we're calling this the Fatherhood Academy, where men will embark on a journey of healing and spiritual restoration that helps them transform their family relationship. And to make this vision a reality, would you consider partnering with us financially as we continue to reach and disciple every man, dad, and grandpa that comes our way? Your donation will help create a ripple across the neighborhoods, communities, you know, and ultimately our nation, and create each child just division in the unwavering love and guidance of a devoted dad.

SPEAKER_00:

Will you partner with us? Your gift, whether a one-time donation or ongoing monthly support, will help to transform lives. Together, we can equip fathers and grandfathers to lead with faith and create a brighter, hopefully future for generations to come. Click the link to donate today. Thank you for believing in this mission and joining us on this transformative journey.

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