A few years ago I was blessed to participated in a class called The Quest for Authentic Manhood - which I highly recommend.
There were three things Robert Lewis suggests a son needs to hear from His Father. These three things as well as many more have stuck with me and I work to try and communicate these things to the sons God has blessed me with!
3 Things a Son needs to hear from his Father:
I Love You..
I am Proud of you.
You are Good at...
This list is just a starter list - but it is a great start! Furthermore if you look at the relationship of God the Father and God the Son in the New Testament, you'll see that God the Father expressed these same things to His Son Jesus, (God the Son) as suggested in the above list! (Check out the Gospels like the Gospel of Matthew for examples)
I share this list because it's important and in the context of the class the focus was on fathers and sons relationships and fathers doing significant things to bless their sons.
Now, I would also add that dads should express these things to their daughters as well and moms should also express these things to there daughters and sons.
The more parents who reinforce these things and affirm and build-up their children the better!
So, take this list and start implementing it now, keep adding to the list, and never forget these three!
My kids are still young and I've done this in writing and verbally but it's also important to mention that if your children are grown-up and off into adulthood, it's never too late to start blessing your children! Take time now to communicate to them in person and or in writing, (or both!) these things! You will bless them and whether they'd admit it or not, your sons, your children hunger for your love, support, and belief in them. If you can do this in person that would be best and following it up with a written note would be awesome!
In closing, I'd love to hear your stories about how you shared this with your children and their response. Please come back to this blog and leave a comment so you can bless others by your example and experience.
God Bless as you Seek Him!
rlk
