A man must also have faith in GOD as His Father – that He will love, protect, and provide for him. Dr. Myles Munroe goes on to say that trust and reliance on GOD is what a father needs to model for his children. The greatest heritage a man can leave his sons and daughters is not money or property, but faith. No one can destroy the faith you have instilled in your child.

As men we should have one goal in life and that is to hear our children say ” I serve the GOD of my father” If my children see GOD reflected in me, then I have displayed His life and character to them. By doing this, I have given them a true spiritual heritage.

I have to make it happen.

I am currently reading a book by Dr. Myles Munroe where he breaks down the principles of BEING A GOOD FATHER. I will reveal the 11 principles now and go in-depth on each one for the next 11 days.

1. Knows the heavenly Father and represents God to his children.
2. Loves the mother of his children.
3. Loves his children.
4. Is responsible for his children.
5. Teaches and instructs his children
6. Trains and disciplines his children.
7. Encourages his children.
8. Comforts his children.
9. Warns his children.
10. Does not provoke his children.
11. Leaves a strong spiritual legacy for his children.

Tomorrow we will explore principle # 1.

I love this little girl.

Every year we celebrate her birthday with some type of family gathering because we recognize what a tremendous blessing it is to have her still here on this earth. Last year I missed the celebration to attend my daughter’s mother’s baby shower in Ohio. I say her baby shower because as a man we are merely there to carry the gifts. Although I had a great time and her family was very accommodating, I wondered if I missed the last celebration last year. Well thank GOD I didn’t.

We descended on South Georgia to surprise her with a birthday dinner that included friends and family. I was already in the area after attending the KEM concert in a neighboring town. She was happy to see all of us but nothing compared to her reaction when she saw my cousin Nicole who she raised. Nicole now lives in California and flew in for this special day.

As I sat back and took in all the festivities my love and appreciation grew for my beautiful family. Growing up I thought everyone’s family fellowships and genuinely enjoyed each others company as we do. The more I experience other families the more I appreciate what my family has given me and continues to give.

It’s because of the loving spirit that my grandmother bestowed upon my mother as a child that she is the phenomenal woman that she is today. It’s because of her tremendous sense of family that my uncles and my aunts are more like brothers and sisters to me.

I am glad she enjoyed this special day because it is so important to give the people who you love their flowers while they are alive so that they may enjoy.

I am currently a member of a mega church in Atlanta with a predominately black congregation and every other church that I have visited had the same racial makeup. Although I was comfortable in this new setting, I must admit that I wasn’t sure what our reception would be.

After parking and heading to the church entrance we were immediately approached by a number of church members with warm smiles and genuine good mornings. Upon entering the church, we were approached by an elderly gentleman whose job was to pass out peppermint to every parishioner and another elderly white gentleman who grabs me in a bear hug and tells me welcome and that GOD loves me.

As we entered our Sunday School Class, we once again were greeted with warm smiles and genuine good mornings. Throughout the lesson for the morning, I felt very much at home and I could feel GOD’s anointing on the teacher. Have you ever been in church and felt as if the GOD was speaking directly to you? Or that the message was tailor-made for you? That is exactly how I felt.

The sermon was clearly delivered and right on point. As I looked around, I saw husbands and fathers that looked just like me. Men who were there just like I was to learn how to be better leaders of our families and to be better husbands for our wives. Men and women who were looking to be better Christians. At that point I saw no difference.

As we left church, I felt an overwhelming sense of love and brotherhood. One thing about GOD’s Love is that it is universal.

Those of you who are close to me know that since the beginning of the year I have really made a concerted effort to grow deeper in my faith. It’s been amazing what my eyes have been opened to during this period of time and the people that he has placed in my life. The enemy will continue to use people to try to discourage me or cause confusion but The Bible is very clear in the manner in which to handle these situations. GOD will deal with the other person but I have to save my soul.

The scripture that puts fear in my heart is Matthew 7:21-23 which ends with ” … I Never Knew You; Depart From ME”
Through all of my circumstances in life GOD has favored me, I can think of no greater disappointment than to stand before him and he ask me to depart.

We sometimes value things here on Earth instead of focusing on what’s most important. The Kingdom.

Enjoy your day.

Real Talk … I personally have a phenomenal woman in my life. She is beautiful, sexy as hell, intelligent, loyal, strong, affectionate, but most importantly she treats her man with respect as I do her.

When I say respect, by no means do I mean subservient in any way but respecting her man not only in public but in private as well.

Unfortunately up until this point I had been like many of my brothers left shaking our heads and trying to figure out how to make this thing work.

This video link is not only funny but sad at the same time. As black men we run across this all the time.

As men we often feel that black women have unrealistic expectations of what a good man should look like. No person comes to the table perfect as I often say I am a work in progress. I do agree that certain things by a certain age should already be in place but as women are you asking for characteristics in a mate that you not only not embody but can not appreciate.

I hear women all the time to say that they want a man to court them like men did back in the day. Two questions I have.

One : Are you like the women were back in the day?
Two : Are you sexing him the second night after you met him?

All women deserve respect but all women don’t deserve to be courted.

A lot of women grew up watching their mothers hold it down because the dads were sorry and left their households hanging. Some mothers due to the bitterness towards the men, ingrained in their daughters’ minds that you don’t need a man in order to survive. You can do good or bad by yourself.

I think that is the wrong message to convey.

GOD has equipped men and women unique skills so that together we are destined to be what he wants to be.

When we date women with this attitude, there seems to be no room for flexibility or no margin for error. The man leaves because he gets tired of the drama and the woman proclaims that there are no good men out here.

There are plenty of us but are you in a position to receive?

I made a detour to the local supermarket’s floral department to find just the right arrangement for her. As I perused the 783 different choices of arrangements, a voice over my shoulder said “If I were her I would like these.” Without turning around, I said “She is a very special lady so it must be right.” As I continued to look, that same voice announces “You can never go wrong with roses.” By now I was little irritated with the invasion of my very special moment. So I turn around to dismiss this person and I am stunned to see one of the most beautiful women I had seen in my life. I literally jumped the way Smokey and Craig did in the movie Friday when they said “DAMN !!!!!!!”

This woman chuckled to her self because she was obviously used to the reaction. Was she trying to pick me up in the grocery store? I explained to her that I was buying flowers for my beautiful baby girl. She thought that was the sweetest thing and it reminded her of her dad that presented her with flowers every Valentine’s Day. I thanked her for her suggestions and headed to meet my daughter.

When I saw her her eyes lit up. I didn’t know if it was because of the brightly colored flowers or the fact that she was happy to see her daddy. I think she was happy to see her daddy.

I took her over to the couch and proceeded to show her all the nice outfits her daddy bought for her. I would get a occassional glance but the majority of her attention was focused on her socks.

As I left I made a pledge to always do what I can to make her feel like the most special little girl in the world.

Because she is.

I didn’t expect much from Unstoppable but it had Denzel in it so it couldn’t be that bad. I was pleasantly surprised that this movie was actually very good. I wouldn’t add it to the Blu Ray collection but it was worth the price of admission.

The next day I caught a matinée of For Colored Girls and overall I thought it was just ok. I thought the actresses did a great job (except Janet who is looking more and more like Michael these days) and the storyline was compelling but it just missed the mark for me.

There were some things that caught my attention because I have a daughter now and some things that really cause me to sympathize with my sisters but overall I just thought it was average.

One thing that really made m pause and think was the rape scene because of the many invitations I have received to come over a woman’s house very soon after meeting me. I am a good guy but as a woman you wouldn’t know that unless you have spent time with me on numerous occasions.

I know in our community you can’t say anything bad about Tyler Perry without starting a revolt but I have to call it like I see it.

As a side note, thank you for all your prayers for my aunt who was hospitalized last week. She is at home and doing a little better. So thanks for your prayer.