by Jor-El Godsey, Heartbeat Vice President of Ministry Services

Have you received your “Thank you” card yet?  Mother’s Day just passed and Father’s Day is just around the corner.   The greeting card companies, flower folks, tie makers, chandlers, and other vendors who profit from the sale of popular gifts for Mother’s and Father’s Day owe you at least a “Thank you!”

As a dad, I rarely shop alone with my elementary-age daughter and son.  But a few days before Mother’s Day, we were on our annual hunt for those precious tokens of our genuine appreciation for their mom and my wife.  The marketing signs were direct, “Show Your Mom You Love Her on May 9th.”  My 9-year-old son was quick to scoff at such crass commercialism saying, “You should show your mom you love her all year long!”   Right you are, son, because moms certainly are worthy.   And so are dads. . .

How many other nine-year olds look for just the right card or the perfect gift for their mom and dad (within their budgets)?  That special smile of love, a homemade card, the warm embrace of their infants -- how many moms and dads are filled with these joys because they found a pregnancy help center?

Since the earliest pregnancy resource centers appeared more than 40 years ago, a million or more moms and dads have enjoyed their Day because of the help of a pregnancy center.  These are special celebrations because they were at risk of never happening.  The newborn we celebrate in our ministry is not just a life, but also a lifetime!  For the majority of babies we see born, there will be dozens of Mother’s and Father’s Day cards, gifts, and phone calls.

Okay, so I don’t really expect a “Thank you!” in my mailbox from the phone company or Hallmark or the florist.  But the reality of the Great Work we are involved in -- the breadth and depth of our efforts to affirm the Gift of Life and the Giver of Life -- constantly amazes me.  The picture of the positive outcomes we all share in is a “Thank you!” in a class by itself.

Life is truly precious, so take heart!  And thank you!

From Take Heart | Vol. 2, Issue 5

• Just as Superman flies around the world, our Dad flies globally to encourage and promote respect for life.
• He’s similar to Flash because as he travels he gets to the airport gates fast!
• Just as Green Lantern’s power source is his ring with a will to press on, our Dad’s power source is his commitment to God and life.
• Like Green Arrow is a sharp shooter, our Dad is a fluent writer.
• As Batman always has the right tools, so our Dad usually finds the right resources to get the job done.
• Just as Martian Manhunter shape-shifts, our Dad is able to adjust to his environment.
• Just as Thor can wield the hammer to fight any enemy, our Dad uses the Sword of the Spirit to fight through challenges.
• Just as Spiderman scales walls, our Dad climbs to the top to help lead and train the next pro-life generation.
• Just as Hulk is incredible, our Dad is marvelous.
• Just as most heroes fall in love, we know our Dad loves his wife and children!

We can compare our Dad to many superheroes, but he is in a category all his own! We think his job gives him the chance to impact many lives for God’s Kingdom, even some he will never meet here on earth. His job also gives us an opportunity to share about life when others ask us what our Dad does.

We love you, Dad!

By Kara and Joel Godsey, children of Jor-El Godsey, Vice President of Heartbeat International. Note: This article was submitted and published as a Father’s Day gift to Jor-El, without his prior knowledge.

by Rick Johnson

In Better Dads, Stronger Sons: How Fathers Can Guide Boys to Become Men of Character, author Rick Johnson offers men straight-forward advice on how to be better dads.

Detailing his own struggle with fatherhood before his conversion to Christ, Johnson sympathizes with the overwhelming feelings of inadequacy that can accompany the parenting journey while reassuring fathers that God has chosen them for this special role in the family. Throughout the book, Johnson offers practical advice on key topics including male bonding, spiritual leadership, and self-discipline that can benefit dads with newborns and dads with twenty-somethings alike.

What I loved most about Better Dads, Stronger Sons was not only the encouragement it offers men as they strive to be the dads God designed them to be, but also that it approaches fatherhood with a generational perspective, reminding fathers that not only are they raising men, but they are creating a generational inheritance of fatherhood as they raise future dads.

As the first Father’s Day for my husband, Johnson’s book was truly a special gift offering the encouragement to truly pause and ask “What type of Father would I like to be?” while offering practical advice to help carry the answer out.

Book review by Dawn Lunsford, Heartbeat International eLearning Specialist.

By Jor-El Godsey, Heartbeat International President 

While walking through the parking lot after visiting a superstore, my wife and I were joking about the labels CEO and CFO and who, in our household, they applied to. Since she has a degree in accounting, you can guess what I was lobbying for.

My then five-year-old son was in between us walking hand-in-hand, taking this all in.  He stopped suddenly and looked up at me with a glint in his eye and said, “You’re the D-A-D.”

As I reflect on that moment, I understand that the reality of “D-A-D” is one that unfolds over a parent’s lifetime. Though motherhood might be more obvious, fatherhood also experiences transitions. Even before a man knows he’s a father, he has already begun the process of becoming one in more than just physical ways. How he responds to that will determine what type of “D-A-D” he can or will be.

In the pregnancy help world, we see too many examples of those who’ve rejected the role of father. Often we might find reasons to agree why a certain young man is not ready to serve in a fathering role to his own child. When our earthly wisdom leads us this way we might be tempted to champion single-parenting or feel more compelled to promote adoption. While there are certainly reasons to do both, we must be careful not to slight the call to fatherhood upon each man.

We must always remember that our Father God is actively working to reproduce Himself in each of us. He has inscribed on the heart of every man the source of good fathering. While earthly examples fail – sometimes miserably so – the Ancient of Days continues to sow seeds into the hearts of each generation. As believers and missionaries in this unique mission field we’ve been called to, we must be careful not to discard this reality.

The God of the Universe has divinely inspired both fatherhood and motherhood. He has established the most basic social unit – the family. Though our wayward culture and secularized media rails against every aspect of family, it remains His idea and His glory in its fulfillment.

As the focus is on Fathers this month, remember part of what we do is sow the godly seeds of family – motherhood, and fatherhood. The harvest of our seed should include more than babies born, but also marriages and families. Just as we seek to inspire the mothering instinct in the women we serve, we should always be mindful of the opportunities we have to inspire fathering. We can take heart that the Lord, in His wisdom, has also placed a complimentary calling upon fathers.