I could not be more proud of my daughter than I am in this very moment. She’s been managing a work load as a freshman in high school while running cross country and playing soccer. She doesn’t have a study hall either. If that doesn’t make a dad proud I don’t know what will. Did I mention she’s making all A’s?  I’m not proud in the least bit.

She inspires me. She reminds me of the following New Testament verse.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, life, love, faith and purity. 1 Timothy 4.12

We have a tendency to overlook the positive in the face of the negative, and I’m glad these thoughts about my daughter are crossing my mind. She is a beautiful person who is loyal, and her hard work inspires me in my grind. We work hard to love her the way she needs to be loved, and her reciprocity in that love is a testament to the power of good parenting and fathers not exasperating their children. I truly believe my daughter’s faith is rooted in a Father who loves her through her dad to show her Christ’s unconditional love.

I’m guilty of being too harsh and strict, but I’m repenting of that because she is so self-driven that my unnecessary “discipline” is inappropriate.

When we were trying to get pregnant I told everyone I wanted a daughter. I love my three brothers with all my heart, but I wanted the experience of rearing a daughter. I don’t regret that prayer because it has opened my heart and mind to a beauty I didn’t know existed in the world.

God created male and female, and when He put into motion human life He created something that words fail to express. The Bible is resplendent with the differences and complements we offer each other, and I’m also thankful for books like The Shack that open our minds even more to the beauty of the women in our lives.

My best friends are women. My very best friend is my wife Carey, and what she has done and does for me on a daily basis is another testament to the power of God blessing my life. God has surrounded me with strong women who make my life a proverbial Garden of Eden. I know amazingly God fearing men as well, and this post in no way takes away from the faith they exhibit everyday.

This post is an adulation for my daughter, but it’s a praise as well for the love Carey and I share and have been sharing for over 20 years.

My daughter is the guest of honor in this post, and her love for Jesus Christ stretches me constantly. When Jesus said let the little children come to me he set into motion the greatest youth ministry has ever known. God the Father has always been a champion for minors, but that passage stands out in my mind as I think about my incredibly beautiful daughter. She has a heart for God that cares for others. Her ability to break down barriers brings people together, and as a peacemaker I know that if she decides to choose law as a profession she will help many people.

I think what I’m focused on now is changing from an unfair disciplinarian into a father who desires to see his daughter see the fairest of Fathers in me. My God is the God of the impossible, and what is impossible with me is possible with God. He tells me over and over to ask, seek and knock, and my parents continue to model that faith to me as I model it for my circle of influence.

All of us have things to overcome, but when we partner with our Father those things do not overwhelm us. Somehow they produce perseverance, character and joy, so I’m glad our sufferings are of some purpose.

I’ve never prayed that my daughter not fight depression, but I’m going to start praying that. So many of you know the burden depression is, and I know you join me in asking our Father to heal many from that thorn in the flesh.

Carey and my daughter have practiced the ministry of presence with me in my fight with depression, and I thank them both deeply from my heart for being Jesus to me in that regard. I cannot covey my thanks enough to them both for being present even when they were at the end of their rope. Not only have they tied knot after knot, but they are helping me thrive in the middle of it.

God is good dear ones, and my daughter is one powerful reason why.

I love her and Him!