Day 5.  From the top.

L – Love (everything starts here)

A -Attitude

B – Best Effort

C- Courage

D – Discipline

E – Encouraging

F – Faithful

G – Gracious

H – Helpful

I – Imaginative

J – Joyful

K – Kind

M – Modeling

N – No excuses

You are responsible for you.  You can’t blame others for your actions.  You have to choose.  Will you be a victim to your circumstances or will you overcome?  Your children will pick up their cues from how you respond to your circumstances.  If the world is against you your kids will think it’s against them too.  If they see you overcoming challenges they are more likely to overcome as well.  Take ownership for your life and help your kids take ownership of theirs.

O – Observe

When your children talk cut out the distractions and listen.  Listen beyond the physical vibrations rattling your ear drums.  Look them in the eyes.  See their posture, their motions and their face.  Notice how much information their body will tell you.  What is being said beyond words?  As you know more than 70% of communication is non-verbal.  If you aren’t paying attention there is a lot you are missing.  Be present when you’re with your children.  Begin to really see them.

P – Perseverance

Life is an endurance sport.  It can be a challenging and tiring activity.  It takes a lot of energy.  There are a lot of surprises.  There are a lot of disappointments.  Your kids need to understand that life will not treat them fairly, but if they can persevere life can be tremendously rewarding.  It’s in struggle that they will find beauty.  It’s in darkness that the sun will rise.  Show your kids that despite the weary battles they will have to fight that life is worth living.  It takes guts.  It takes getting back up on your feet.  It takes planting one foot in front of the other.  Show them how.

Q – Question

One of the best ways to learn about your kids (or anything for that matter) is to ask questions.  Become curious about your kids.  Ask open-ended questions that get them talking.  “Tell me about…” “what do you think about…” “how would you…”
Find the things that are interesting to them and ask questions.  After you ask listen closely.  Kids will tell you all kinds of things if you are curious enough to ask.

Reading about being a good dad is easy.  Writing is easy.  Practicing is hard.  Keep practicing.  Ready, set, go!