Unlocking the Power of Fatherhood calls men to seek the full stature of authentic manhood, assume the role of true fathers, and positively impact the world around them. Challenging experiences are seen not as negative, but as transformative events that provide the life skills to achieve our greatest accomplishments. We all have essential contributions to offer society and should reach out with our best qualities to aid our fellow travelers along the road of life.
Adrian Roger's last written manuscript before his passing in 2005, has been edited and brought together by his son Steve, as a final joint work. When We Say Father takes the Lord's Prayer and breaks it down to its most basic components for readers to easily learn how to pray from the ultimate source, Jesus himself.
In 1992 I had a car accident and was paralyzed from the waist down. At the time my daughter was 2 months old. The night of the accident, I knew that I was supposed to die but He kept me. It's hard to put words around it yet I know it to be true. Wow! My life had changed in an instant. I realized quickly that this was not a dream. I was in midst of my toughest challenge. I was totally overwhelmed by the awesome task that lay before me, but in this vast amount of confusion the victory rested just beyond the horizon. I could not clearly see the victory, but I felt it at the core of my inner being. This was the inception of a cataclysmic boom in my soul that caused a magnetic connection between these disconnected chapters that made up my life. The stars lined up and I smelled clarity. My internal compass pointed to "be a father." I never intended to tell my story, but I did. My story is a reflection of my past and more importantly how it motivated me to be the dad I never had. I open this story on the night of my car accident where I was paralyzed. The first chapter I titled a Dimly Lit Room. The only real thing that I remember about that night was the horrendous sound of demolished metal during impact of a car accident at 75th and Outlook in Boulder, Colorado. I was on my way home. It was late, and I was tired. At the time I was an IBM computer programmer, working 60-hour weeks on a major project that was behind schedule. It was tough because I had left my wife and child in New York during the holidays to come back to Colorado early and continue working on the project. I had spent the evening with a friend of mine at one of the more popular nightspots in central Denver and climbed into my Volkswagen Jetta to make the 30-mile trip to my home in Boulder. My Life's story starts from the inner city of East Oakland, California in the belly of the beast. My father left my mom when I was 6 months old. When I was 12 years old my aunt taught me to play golf. I fell in
"From the cradle to the day they leave for college, the daily interactions you have with your child will shape who they are and how they view the world. While there's no proverbial "owner's manual" for raising children, this book will give you the necessary tools for creating a strong relationship with your kids."--
In Fatherhood, beloved NBA player, poet, children’s advocate, and devoted dad Etan Thomas speaks from his heart on what matters most in his life: being there for his children. As a leading participant in President Obama’s Fatherhood Initiative, Etan has reached out to young men (often young fathers) in the juvenile detention system and in local communities. He knows firsthand the difference having a father in your life every day can make. Now he brings together a chorus of voices to weigh in on the importance of being a father in our nation today and to share what they’ve learned from being a father, having a father, or in some cases not having a father around. With Original Essays and Poems from Taye Diggs • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar • Malcolm-Jamal Warner • Ice Cube • Howard Dean • Tony Hawk • Isaiah Washington • Yao Ming • Al Sharpton • John King • Lamman Rucker • Derek Fisher • Kevin Durant • Russ Parr • Michael Moore • Chuck D • Malcolm Shabazz • Talem Acey • Will Downing • Chris Paul • Allan Houston • Talib Kweli • Black Ice • Cornel West • Elijah Cummings • Mumia Abu-Jamal • Grant Hill • Coach John Thompson • Roland Martin • Joakim Noah • Arn Tellum • Damian Marley • Abiodune Oyewole • Styles P • Baron Davis • David Aldridge • Stuart Scott • Dave Zirin • Kevin Powell • John Carlos • Derrick Coleman • J. Ivy • Joe Johnson • Al Horford • Pastor John Jenkins • Julian Thomas • Ed Gordon Jr. • Tito Puente Jr. • Billy Hunter • 13 of Nazareth • Messiah Ramkissoon Through these inspiring personal experiences, Etan and the men he’s gathered together hope to share the message that by standing up and taking an active role as fathers, men not only find their own lives more joyful and fulfilling—they pass on to the next generation an unshakable legacy of love, wisdom, responsibility, and strength.
A group of former gang members come together to help one another answer the question “How can I be a good father when I’ve never had one?” In 2010, former gang leader turned community activist Big Mike Cummings asked UCLA gang expert Jorja Leap to co-lead a group of men struggling to be better fathers in Watts, South Los Angeles, a neighborhood long burdened with a legacy of racialized poverty, violence, and incarceration. These men, black and brown, from late adolescence to middle age, are trying to heal themselves and their community, and above all to build their identities as fathers. Each week, they come together to help one another answer the question “How can I be a good father when I’ve never had one?” Project Fatherhood follows the lives of the men as they struggle with the pain of their own losses, the chronic pressures of poverty and unemployment, and the unquenchable desire to do better and provide more for the next generation. Although the group begins as a forum for them to discuss issues relating to their roles as parents, it slowly grows to mean much more: it becomes a place where they can share jokes and traumatic experiences, joys and sorrows. As the men repair their own lives and gain confidence, the group also becomes a place for them to plan and carry out activities to help the Watts community grow as well as thrive. By immersing herself in the lived experiences of those working to overcome their circumstances, Leap not only dramatically illustrates the realities of fathers trying to do the right thing, but she also paints a larger sociological portrait of how institutional injustices become manifest in the lives of ordinary people. At a time in which racial justice seems more elusive than ever—stymied by the generational cycles of mass incarceration and the cradle-to-prison pipeline—the group’s development over time demonstrates real-life movement toward solutions as the men help one another make their families and their community stronger.
A heartwarming and enlightening collection of advice, wisdom, and practical skills featuring an all-star cast of fathers from the popular online community Life of Dad. Becoming a dad gives men a VIP pass into the greatest club on earth: fatherhood. Its rewards are unmatched, its challenges, uncharted. The experience can reach euphoric highs and gut-punching lows. For those moments (and everything in between), The Life of Dad has your back. The Life of Dad is an all-encompassing, entertaining distillation of the full dad experience, through a collection of interviews, podcasts, online chats, Facebook Lives, and more, dispensing collective wisdom from dads who have been in the trenches. From Shaquille O’Neal explaining how he’s taught his kids to be grateful, or Michael Strahan highlighting the importance of accountability, or Jim Gaffigan discussing the challenges of having a house full of kids, The Life of Dad has it all. Including thoughts from Ice Cube, Henry Winkler, Chris Jericho, Denis Leary, Freddie Prinze Jr, Charles Tillman, Mark Feuerstein, and many, many more, you’ll find plenty of camaraderie in the hardest—but most rewarding—job of your life!
Did you know that in the United States alone, more than one in four children live in a home without a father? When Alec Lace recognized this crisis and launched his parenting podcast 2018, his mission was simple: to give dads an opportunity to encourage others, by sharing the experiences and wisdom they’ve gained during their respective journeys. A few years and hundreds of interviews later--including with many high-profile dads from sports, media, politics, the military, and other industries--Alec has curated a rich collection of anecdotes that provides guidance and inspiration on a wide array of topics, including but not limited to Advice for about-to-be or new dads Finance and education Discipline Dating and social life Faith, values, and service Fitness and health, for both children and fathers How to be a fatherhood ambassador First Class Fatherhood will engage the reader with thought-provoking ideas and realistic solutions from fathers who have been through it all. Alec believes that being a father is the most important role a man can play in the game of life. And his hope is that this book will help change the narrative of fatherhood and family life, and greatly reduce the number of children growing up without a father in the home.
It is never too late to become the father your kids need and the husband your wife wants. Something profound happens inside the heart of a man when he discovers that not only did God send Jesus to save us, but He also sent His Son so we could be adopted and fathered by God. When we allow ourselves to be Fathered by God as a beloved son, it heals our story and enables us to receive everything we need to be a good father and a loving husband.
