Raising Daughters into Leaders

In case you didn't know we have 3 children and one of our children is our beautiful, talented, compassionate, gifted, Jesus-loving daughter, Hannah.

She is the middle child and carries many of the characteristics of a middle child. As a Father one of my many desires has been a desire to set Hannah up to win in the next stages of life. My role as a Dad carries a heavy responsibility and here are just a few...

* Her view of God is directly related to her view of me... Wow, the way she will think about God is impacted by the way I have been a father to her and by the way I trust in my God.

* Her security or lack of security in how she views herself is shaped by the way I care for her.

* Her confidence and courage is directly related to my confidence in her.

* Her identity and the need to find it in God is impacted by the way I love her.

Needless to say, we Fathers have a huge responsibility in the shaping of our daughters. What an incredible opportunity God has placed in our hands as Fathers. I have  taken this seriously, and have said on numerous occasions, I want to set Hannah up to win! I long for her to soar in the power of the LORD.

I have told her on numerous occasions that, "if I could line up all the girls of her age in the whole world and pick one as my daughter I would pick her every single time."

So once again, I witnessed her take the lead as a confident-Jesus-loving, daughter of God, last night. She works for Lippert Components in HR and helped put together a basketball game with workers from Lippert vs Boys and Girls Club Team. 

Before the game I stood from a distance and watched her tell the guys to be nice and remember why they were here. She then walked away and let them do what they came for, play ball.

As I watched my daughter lead I smiled, because it was no different than she has done as a Cross Country Team Captain, or a Wednesday night JR High Girls small group leader, or an RA at Grace College, or holding her ground with her two brothers.

Romans 13:8 reminds us of this truth... if your gift is to encourage, be encouraging. If it is giving than give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.

I am very proud of my daughter as she takes her gift seriously and leads when called upon to do so. And as she ages she will always be my "little girl!"

I love the picture above because it reflects why God has put us on earth. The world will know we are Christians by the way we love others.

Great job Hannah, lead on! Great job Lippert Components!