I am most definitely a Daddy’s girl! Yep. Always have been. He’s my favorite dad. I’m his favorite girl. Okay. So, I’m His ONLY girl. But the fact still remains: I am so proud to be my Daddy’s girl—the proud daughter of Ken Snider!
One of the best compliments I’ve received throughout my life is “Kim, you look just like your dad!” (Actually, they usually qualify the compliment by saying, “You look just like your dad, only with hair!”) As a youngin’ I didn’t appreciate this compliment the way I do now. With age I have come to cherish this frequent response since my dad reminds everyone he meets of our Heavenly Father!
With three daughters of our own, Teal, Tori, and Tress are also blessed to have a dad who intentionally loves and lives like Jesus. Are my father and my husband perfect? Of course not. But they are “perfect-able papas.” They are the men God gave us to perfectly deepen our understanding and love for Him as our Divine Dad.
As mommas, we have the unique opportunity to either fan into flame our daughters’ love for their father or to dampen their devotion to their dad. To celebrate Father’s Day this year, another tie or shirt may be your “go to” gift for the head of your household. But perhaps this Father’s Day, as mommas, the best way to honor our men is to become more devoted to raising Daddy’s girls.
So if your heart needs some hints on HOW to raise the bar on “Raising Daddy’s Girls,” here are a couple of suggestions for us as soul sisters:
HOW to Raise Daddy’s girls:
1) Respect Him more!
As God’s girls, His Word exhorts us to “respect our husbands…and our fathers.” (Eph. 5 & 6)
How respect-FULL are your words, attitudes, and actions toward your husband? If you’re like me, sometimes I get the command of Titus 2 flipped. I begin to love our children and try to train my husband rather than “love my husband and train our children.” God knows that my hubby already had a wonderful mom. The best gift I can give him is simply to love him privately and publicly, especially to love him visibly and audibly in front of our daughters. Every day I have the choice whether to respect his decisions or to reject his leadership. Every day I have the choice to be his advocate or his adversary. His cheerleader or his opponent.
I’ll never forget a moment in my teenage years when my brother and I were complaining about my mom. My dad firmly but lovingly set us straight by saying, “That’s my wife you are talking about. I don’t ever want to hear you demean her again.” Wow! Those two sentences forever raised the bar of our respect for both of them. Period. Our words can do the same. As we choose to praise the positive in our husbands, God can powerfully raise up a new generation of daddy’s girls!
And yes, the same is true of our Heavenly Father. The more we actively respect God’s leadership before our young ladies, the more they will follow suit. The more we complain, the more we (and our daughters) will remain faithless. The more we praise Him, the more our hearts (and daughters) will be raised faithful!
2) Relish HIM more!
My wise mom used to always say, “Kids spell love- T.I.M.E.” My dad and husband still pass this “spelling test” as both of them seek to spend quality time with their daughters. As a young girl, I remember my dad gave up golf and other “extras” to make time for his family. This allowed quality margins for bike rides and reading books (without skipping pages), camping and conversations. As a college gal home for the summer, my dad made time to walk and talk with me after my work hours at the mall. As a 50+ year old mom of three, my dad still makes time for weekly coffee (actually he’s a hot chocolate guy) and “catch up” at our church café.
Similarly, my hubby also prioritizes the principle of personalized time. Thankfully, both men know the value of spelling love through “one-on-one” time both with their girls and their God.
As a momma, I can also clearly spell out LOVE daily to our daughters through “T.I.M.E.” invested with God, then my hubby, then our girls…in that order.
Since retiring, my Dad’s daily pattern continues to reflect his personal life priorities. His love priorities. He now invests the first hour and the last hour of each day relishing “one-on-one” time with his Heavenly Dad. The result? His reflection mirrors His Father. Ours will too. So will our girls’.
It doesn’t have to be two hours a day, but what if mommas all relished Jesus more this summer? And daughters too? Jesus says in John 14:9, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen The Father.” Like comparing me to my dad, the ultimate compliment is to become that same kind of powerful reflection of our Heavenly Father…to our families, to our world.
Bottom line:
The more we respect and the more we relish, the more we will reflect our Father.
The more we will become Daddy’s girls. The more we will raise Daddy’s girls!
Yep. I am most definitely Ken Snider’s Daddy’s girl! He’s my favorite dad. I’m his favorite girl. How do I know? Well, every night as a youngin’ before going to sleep, my daddy would say these two phrases before turning off the light, “Love you! Proud of you!” And he still says those same two phrases today at the end of every visit and phone conversation we share. He also says it to his grand-girls too. Every time. Sweet, right? Powerful, right?
You know? I believe we are all “Daddy’s Girls” at heart!
Luke 3:21-22 relates God’s audible words, “… when Jesus was baptized…the heaven was opened… And a voice came from heaven saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (NIV)
My personal translation? “I love you and I am proud of you!” As God’s girls, let these words renew your heart this Father’s Day. Your earthly dad or earthly husband may not communicate any love to you this June. But I pray you will feel God draw you close and hear Him say to your heart, “I’m glad YOU are My Daddy’s Girl! I love YOU and I’m proud of YOU!”
Filled with His powerful love, we are positioned to raise up the next generation of Daddy’s girls. Girls who live confident of their Heavenly Father’s love! Girls who respect and relish God. Who reflect His love to earthly dads and to the world. And my guess is that we will hear more people say, “You look just like your dad!”
