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Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters DevotionalStrong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 13/28/16 1:06 PM
Strong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 23/28/16 1:06 PM
Meg Meeker, M.D.StrongFathers,StrongDaughtersDevotional52 DevotionsEvery Father NeedsStrong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 33/28/16 1:06 PM
Copyright 2016 by Meg MeekerAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any formor by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any informationstorage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing fromthe publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with areview written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, website, or broadcast.Regnery FaithTM is a trademark of Salem Communications Holding Corporation; Regnery isa registered trademark of Salem Communications Holding CorporationCataloging-in-Publication data on file with the Library of CongressISBN 978-1-62157-501-6Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ),Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rightsreserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright by Eugene H.Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress. All rightsreserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible , Copyright 1960, 1962,1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used bypermission. (www.Lockman.org)Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ,NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan.All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version”are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permissionof Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.Published in the United States byRegnery FaithAn imprint of Regnery PublishingA Division of Salem Media Group300 New Jersey Ave NWWashington, DC 20001www.RegneryFaith.comManufactured in the United States of America10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Books are available in quantity for promotional or premium use. For information on discountsand terms, please visit our website: www.Regnery.com.Distributed to the trade byPerseus Distribution250 West 57th StreetNew York, NY 10107Strong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 43/28/16 1:06 PM
To my beloved husband Walt,my inspiration for writing about strong fathers.Strong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 53/28/16 1:06 PM
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ContentsIntroductionxipart iThe Need for Strong FathersWeek 1Calling Strong Fathers3Week 2Today Is a New Day8Week 3You Have What It Takes13Week 4You Are Not Alone17part iiThe Priorities of Strong FathersWeek 5The Priority of Family25Week 6The Priority of Faith30Week 7The Priority of Love35Week 8The Priority of Integrity41Week 9The Priority of Example45Strong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 73/28/16 1:06 PM
Week 10The Priority of Forethought50Week 11The Priority of Peace54part iiiThe Virtues of Strong FathersWeek 12Compassion61Week 13Contentment66Week 14Courage71Week 15Creativity77Week 16Faithfulness82Week 17Forgiveness86Week 18Generosity91Week 19Gentleness95Week 20Grit100Week 21Honesty104Week 22Humility109Week 23Joy115Week 24Patience120Week 25Purity125Week 26Self-Control130Strong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 83/28/16 1:06 PM
part ivThe Habits of Strong FathersWeek 27Accepting135Week 28Adoring139Week 29Apologizing144Week 30Biting Your Tongue149Week 31Coaching154Week 32Connecting159Week 33Discipline164Week 34Getting off the Crazy Train169Week 35Keeping Your Eye on the Ball173Week 36Leading178Week 37Liking182Week 38Listening187Week 39Picking Your Battles192Week 40Practicing Gratitude196Week 41Praying200Week 42Problem Solving204Week 43Protecting208Week 44Serving214Week 45Setting Boundaries218Strong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 93/28/16 1:06 PM
Week 46Showing Affection223Week 47Soul Care227Week 48Speaking Words of Life232Week 49Staying Alert237part vThe Impact of Strong FathersWeek 50Leaving a Legacy244Week 51No Guarantees249Week 52The Fight Worth ong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 103/28/16 1:06 PM
INTRODUCTIONI’d like open this book with something that you might not expect—anapology.As men, many of you have been led to believe that aside frombringing home a paycheck and maybe knocking in a nail here or there,you’re not much needed at home.You might even doubt yourself—you don’t really know how to be adad.You might think your wife doesn’t listen to you, your kids don’t listento you, so you might as well just shut up.You might feel that you bunk at your home. You don’t actually livethere.So let me say right now: I’m sorry.I’m sorry because I was there when the modern Feminist movement,and the pop culture that has adopted it, derided and degraded masculinity.xiStrong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 113/28/16 1:06 PM
xiiIntroductionI’m here to help you regain what is rightfully yours—your role as aninvolved father.I know you are a good man because you picked up this book, becauseyou want to be closer to your kids. You’re on the right track.Let this truth sink deep into your being: you have what it takes to bea great dad to your kids.How do I know? Because I’ve talked to dads of every description: NFLfootball players, Joe Lunchbuckets, and high-flying executives.I’ve seen you with a temper that’s out of control, a depression that hasswallowed you up, an affair that has split your family apart, and drinkinghabits that have landed you in jail.I’ve seen you turn away from each and every one of these temptations,and draw on a God-given fatherly strength and tenacity.Everything you need to be a great dad to your daughter is hard-wiredinto your soul. It’s part of being a man. You just need to find it.Believing you have failed is easy. It’s easy to give up and go away.But as you know, real men don’t quit.Yes, it takes work. A good marriage is harder than having an affair(for a while at least). But a good marriage is what you were made for—andit’s better than any affair can be.Being a good parent takes work. But fatherhood is the greatest adventure a man can ever have.I hope in this book to help you along in that adventure—to help youdiscover what’s within you; how to be the great dad your daughter needsyou to be.I say this as a doctor who has spent decades listening to girls talk abouttheir fathers—and I say it as a Christian who believes that your faith isprofoundly important to helping you be the best man and father you canbe.Bible scholars tell us that after the Old Testament was given to God’speople, God went silent—silent!—for three hundred years. Before theseStrong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 123/28/16 1:06 PM
Introductionxiiicenturies of silence, God told His people something incredibly profound:“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful dayof the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their childrenand the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strikethe land with a curse.”His last words, before the coming of His own Son, were to you fathers.Who you are, what you believe, what you say and do with your childrenmatters. It really matters.Strong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 133/28/16 1:06 PM
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part iThe Need forStrong FathersWeek 1: Calling Strong FathersWeek 2: Today Is a New DayWeek 3: You Have What It TakesWeek 4: You Are Not AloneStrong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 13/28/16 1:06 PM
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Week 1CALLING S TRONGF ATHERSThe glory of children is their fathers.—Proverbs 17:6, esvIdon’t know why you picked up this book. Maybe someone recommended it; or perhaps your wife or a friend gave it to you. I don’t knowif you’re examining it in a bookstore or skimming it while riding on acommuter train.But if you are reading these words, three things are almost certainlytrue:1. You have a daughter you love.2. You are a conscientious man with a good heart.3. You desperately want to connect with your daughter and helpher become a healthy adult.It could be that your daughter is a teen or young adult who’s struggling.You’ve tried everything you can think of to help her. To date, nothing hasworked. Maybe you’re at your wits’ end.3Strong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 33/28/16 1:06 PM
4S T RONG FAT H E R S , S T RONG D AUGH T E R S D EVOT IONA LIt could be that your daughter is still a young and reasonably compliantchild—but she’s growing faster than bamboo in a tropical rain forest. Andwhile you can’t shield her forever from every pain of life as she rocketstoward adulthood, you want to spare her unnecessary heartache.I don’t have to tell you our world is cruel to girls. Every day our daughters are exposed to ugly realities. The media assaults their worth. Peers andpredators make them targets of verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse.Often by the time a troubled, hurting girl shows up in my office, she’sdepressed, addicted, infected (with an STD), or pregnant. Some of mypatients have run away from home. Others are just waiting for the opportunity.What’s the solution to this “daughter crisis”? It depends on whom youask. Politicians call for more studies and new laws. Mental health professionals call for more counseling and empowerment programs. Women’sgroups call for more sex education, birth control, and federal funding.I’m calling for stronger fathers.This is also the call of your daughter: “Be strong for me, Dad. Protectme. Teach me. Show me the way.” Girls think such things constantly, evenwhen they can’t or won’t say them overtly. As wise King Solomon observed(in the verse cited above), the glory of a daughter is her father. In my bookStrong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know,I expressed it this way: “If you could see yourself as [your daughter] seesyou, even for ten minutes, your life would never be the same” (pp. 4–5).From experience, I know that when fathers don’t engage, when they failto offer the masculine strength and guidance a mother is unable to provide,something goes wrong within the soul of a girl. I know this from thirty-plusyears of practicing pediatric and adolescent medicine. I know this also froma mountain of scientific data. This is not an opinion; it’s a fact: girls getbetter and do better and are better when they are guarded and guided bystrong, involved fathers. Conversely, girls don’t do well—they get lost andin trouble—when their dads go AWOL or become distracted.Strong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 43/28/16 1:06 PM
Calling Strong Fathers5No wonder the apostle Paul wrote this sobering warning in the NewTestament: “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will notlose heart” (Colossians 3:21, nasb).Heed the sacred warning: “Do not exasperate your children.” Howdoes a father exasperate or discourage his daughter and cause her to loseheart?I’ve seen this loss of heart happen in two primary ways: (1) when a dadis guilty of being harsh and making unreasonable demands; and (2) whena dad is guilty of gross inattention and neglect.But I’ve also seen something else. I’ve seen fathers who nurture theirdaughters and enjoy great relationships with them. They do this by heedingthe divine call to move strongly into their daughters’ lives. These girls areheartened, encouraged, and brimming with confidence.The place to begin is with this essential truth: God is calling you. Beinga father is a divine summons. This call transcends what I think as a doctor.It’s bigger even than what your daughter wants or needs.Sadly, many men have difficulty hearing and embracing this high andnoble calling. That’s because for decades fathers have been mocked anddemeaned. Cultural voices ridicule your authority and deny your importance. Internal voices challenge your competence and suggest your effortswill be futile.I want to encourage you to turn away from all that noise and listen tothat other Voice.Being a strong father is a high and holy calling, but it’s not a walk inthe park. Being a dad is always tough, sometimes even terrifying. But likeany great and worthy cause, when the risks are great, the rewards are evengreater.Late in life, Abraham was called by God to leave his homeland, go toa faraway place, and trust that his infertile, elderly wife would give him ason. He risked looking like a fool. But because he faithfully followed God’scall, the nation of Israel was born.Strong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 53/28/16 1:06 PM
6S T RONG FAT H E R S , S T RONG D AUGH T E R S D EVOT IONA LMoses was called by the Almighty to lead his fellow Israelites out ofEgypt. He risked death, rejection, and failure. But because he went, millions found freedom and made their way to the Promised Land.Paul was called to preach the Good News to people across Asia andEurope. He risked his reputation and his life, enduring great hatred andabuse for announcing a message of love. But because he heeded the call ofGod, countless people through the ages have found hope and redemption.Instead of choosing to make excuses, these men chose to make a difference. This is the mark of a great man.Being “all in” when it comes to being a father to your daughter is asimportant as anything you’ll ever do.Will you heed the call?PRAYGod, there’s so much I don’t understand about being afather—especially being the father of a daughter. But I have tobelieve You entrusted me with this precious child for a reason.And the truth is, if I don’t step up to the plate, who will? If Idon’t answer the call to guard her and guide her through life,who will? I don’t want to exasperate my daughter and cause herto lose heart. So please give me wisdom. And please supplycourage. I want to be the kind of father who makes his daughter proud and who points her in the right way. Amen.Strong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 63/28/16 1:06 PM
Calling Strong Fathers7FLEX YOUR DAD MUSCLESTake a few minutes and write out a list of your hopes anddreams for your daughter, such as: I want my daughter to know at the core of her beingthat she is loved unconditionally by God and by me. I want my daughter to value honesty and to grow intoa woman of integrity. I want to help my daughter become discerning whenit comes to evaluating cultural ideas, invitations frompeers, and potential friends and boyfriends.Then make a separate list of the challenges your daughteris currently facing. For example: My daughter is painfully shy and lacks self-confidence. My daughter is struggling in school. My daughter is beautiful and people only seem tonotice and comment on her appearance.Take your lists, review them, pray about them, and then setthem as an action plan for your role as a father.Strong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional p7.indd 73/28/16 1:06 PM
Strong Fathers Strong Daugthers Devotional_p7.indd 3 3/28/16 1:06 PM 4STRONGFATHERS, STRONGDAUGHTERSDEVOTIONAL It could be that your daughter is still a young and reasonably compliant child—but sh
