Weekend Links 3-2-18

After an unexpected week off a whole host of links for your weekend reading. I'm spending the weekend off of social media and am going book hunting. We'll see how that goes. Meanwhile, enjoy these articles.

This is fascinating: these astronauts have seen Earth from space. Here's how that experience changed them.

Odd but true: divers found an undetonated World War II bomb in Sydney harbor.

Someone decided to abandon a Boeing 737 in Bali and nobody knows why.

If you can't remember the last book you read or the last movie or television show you saw you're not alone.

Speaking of reading, here's how to read more books. I have found that I have to make time every day to read. Plus I have at least one book I am working on at any given time. Right now I am churning through about seven books a month and that feels like a pretty good pace. I also follow lots of different bookish people on Instagram and it's a treasure trove of inspiration.

Tim Challies weighs in on why men don't read books written by women. I think he's on the right track in terms of how writers target their writing for a particular audience but mostly I think it has to do with how publishers market the books.

Quote of the week: Carl Trueman on the Oscars:

I make a point of never watching the Oscars. If I want to waste four hours of my life being alternately patronized and reminded what an abject failure I am according to the criteria of contemporary society holds dear, I can always read The New Yorker.

I don't like to wade into politics here any more in large part because it has become far too toxic to discuss. However, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share this column from Mona Charen. Last week she was booed off the stage at CPAC because she dared to call conservatives on their hypocrisy when it comes to sexual harassment and the chronic excusing of past behaviors of their candidates. I applaud her for her courage. I wish more conservatives had her backbone.

Guns have also been a hot topic in the aftermath of the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. But this piece by David French is very thoughtful and worth careful consideration.

Joe Carter wraps up his series on how Christians should engage with the news. In summary, consume less of it. The previous installments are here, here, and here.

A related issue that frankly has been woefully under-reported is the plague of fatherless homes. Matt Walsh has some great insights into things every boy needs to learn from his father.

Matt Szczur may have moved on from the Cubs to the Padres but he still has fond memories of the 2016 World Series. He's also quite the talented artist.

"Great people choose to do what is right no matter what." That certainly rings true for Iowa's Jordan Bohannon who missed a free throw on purpose.  A very classy move.

Daily Links 4-29-14

In today's roundup: chocolate is good for you, bookplates from famous libraries, how to destroy a church, and more.

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Destroy a Church in 4 Steps. Tim Challies digs into 2 Timothy 4 and shows how a church can easily self-destruct. Sadly, this is the type of thing that is happening all too frequently among churches in America.

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Another thing that unfortunately has become all too common: pastor scandals. But as this article points out, a full and public repentance is the best way to move forward.

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I totally agree with this: it's time to kill the media stereotype of incompetent fathers.

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A gallery of bookplates of 31 famous men.

The bookplate of Sherlock Holmes' creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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Science once again proves what we know: chocolate is good for you.

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Are we expecting too much or too little from the church?

I am convinced that many professing Christians are simultaneously expecting too much and too little from the church. We are now in something of a “tail wagging the dog” scenario. Many people have expectations so church leaders aim to accommodate them. If one church won’t meet their preferences they can go to another. This becomes a significant long-term problem.

The church’s role is really quite simple: to make and train disciples. If we do this then we will create a culture where friendships grow out of the gospel rather than in spite of it. Other programs will see their rightful place in the life of the Christian. As Christians we should all work together to raise the gospel flag above the other markers of identity and heartily salute it then we would be well on our way.

Read the whole thing.

Daily Links 4-17-14

In today's edition: Reader's Digest Christianity, revisiting the great Dungeons and Dragons scare, confessions of a Christian film critic, the aggregation of marginal gains, and more.

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Exposing the flaws of Reader's Digest Christianity. Unfortunately this is what too many sermons have started to sound like.

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How do I talk to my teenage daughter? This is a struggle that every father of girls faces.

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The 4 Stages of Writing and 3 Common Mistakes We Make. I can relate to every bit of this article (particularly the mistakes).

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Recalling the great 1980s panic about Dungeons and Dragons. I recently shocked my kids when I confessed to them I had played the game (more than a few times) when I was younger. Somehow I managed to survive. (Hat tip: Challies)

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12 Places in Pixar movies that exist in real life. Some of these are less obvious than others.

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This is an interesting read: Confessions of a Christian Film Reviewer:

If it’s a challenge to write about Christian films as a Christian, it can be just as problematic to review nonreligious films, especially the bad ones: The humility and loving kindness I try so hard to cultivate in my daily life doesn’t hew to the snark and downright cruelty that can be the occupational hazard of the reviewer’s job. Where I’ve become much more unforgiving, however, is in depictions of violence. As a student of film history, I know that violence is a long-standing, even essential element of cinematic grammar and audience catharsis; as a Christian, I find it increasingly difficult to accept portrayals of brutality that are glib, meaningless, played for laughs or cynically nihilistic. As Underhill wrote, “We cannot begin the day by a real act of communion with the Author of peace and Lover of concord, and then go on to read a bloodthirsty newspaper at breakfast.” If a bellicose tabloid is enough to give peace-lovers a case of indigestion, they should try watching a Quentin Tarantino film on an empty stomach.

Hat tip: Breakpoint

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How to keep your marriage strong. These are great tips. #5 is the one I find the hardest.

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This is very interesting: the aggregation of marginal gains. Having the patience to make small changes will result in bigger changes.

Daily Links 4-4-14

Here are a few links for your weekend reading: when Scripture is the controversy, stolen art, escape from Auschwitz, a normal celebrity couple, and more.

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When Scripture is the Controversy. Yes, the battles that are to come don't have so much to do with particular issues but how we deal with Scripture:

If we learned anything from last week, maybe it’s that the real controversy among evangelicals in the coming days will be about the Bible, not homosexuality. 

Beneath the surface of the recent scuffle is the more vital issue of how disciples of Jesus posture themselves toward God’s word. It’s not simply about our grasp of what Scripture is, or our conviction of Scripture’s inerrancy, or even where we land with different interpretations. It’s fundamentally about how we approach the words of God, even before we get to the interpretation part. It’s about how we look when we’re looking at Scripture. 

Hat tip: Challies

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Trevin Wax says that World Vusion's embrace of same sex marriage and immediate reversal is a sign of bigger divisions to come in evangelical circles.

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Whovians rejoice. You can now own a Tardis backpack.

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Hidden treasures: an Italian factory worker discovered that the paintings that had been hanging on his kitchen wall were in fact stolen masterpieces worth millions.

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Fun facts: 21 things you might not have known about Raiders of the Lost Ark.

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The true story of four men who managed to escape from one of the most hellish places on earth: Auschwitz.

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A collection of wonderful illustrations from the original manuscript of The Little Prince.

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Kudos to New York Mets second baseman  Daniel Murphy who wanted to take some extra time off to be with his wife and newborn son. He's unfairly caught a lot of flack for just wanting to be a good dad.

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A normal, healthy celebrity couple? Is that even possible? It certainly is.

Daily Links 4-2-14

In today's edition: churches remade to become bookstores, things good dads say, notes to write to change your life, and more.

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What happens when a church building is abandoned? In some cases, they are converted to libraries and bookstores with magnificent results. (Hat tip: Book Riot)

Selexyz Dominicanen by Merkx + Girod in Maastricht, the Netherlands

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A brief and fascinating history of one of the most popular game shows of all time: Jeopardy!

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Some excellent advice to fathers in this article entitled 7 Things a Good Dad Says.

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More unexpected ways to work smarter, not harder. Some good advice here and things that I will have to think about.

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This is interesting: scholars are studying Shakespeare's works to determine what his beliefs are about God.

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The idea of writing notes seems a little old-fashioned, but here are five notes to write that could change your life.

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Can you summarize the American Revolution in a tweet? A group of historians gave it a try.

Daily Links 1-16-14

In today's edition: Radio goes Radical, a story that will make you feel good, Alfred Hitchcock and the Holocaust, and more.

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This is good news: Moody Radio has announced that it will be hosting Radical with David Platt on its stations this spring. I'm glad to see that he is going to be getting a wider audience.

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A mom's open letter on the internet to a stranger went viral and for good reason:

A heartfelt open letter from a mother thanking a 'kind stranger' for entertaining her autistic daughter during a two-and-half-hour flight has been read more than 51,000 times with many deeming it a 'touching' and 'beautiful' story. 

Shanell Mouland, 36, from New Brunswick, Canada, uploaded a note to her blog Go Team Kate last Thursday detailing how the mystery passenger engaged her three-year-old Kate in conversation instead of ignoring her. 

'Thank you for not making me repeat those awful apologetic sentences that I so often say in public,' she wrote. 'Thank you for entertaining Kate so much that she had her most successful plane ride, yet. And, thank you for putting your papers away and playing turtles with our girl.'

Be sure to read the whole thing. It is a heartwarming story and a good reminder that in a situation like that its better to extend kindness to a stranger rather than being wrapped up in our own little world.

Hat tip: Powerline

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Chevy's new ad for the Malibu celebrates Dads as the "richest guys on earth".

Right on the money. Kudos to Chevrolet for running this ad.

Hat tip: LifeNews

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The headline on this news story is a little misleading as the film in question is not entirely Alfred Hitchcock's documentary though the famed director did some work on the original project. Reportedly he was quite traumatized by what he saw. Now comes word that the fully restored version of the film will be released later this year. As difficult as it is to watch a film like this we need to not shy away from the evil that was at the heart of Nazi Germany. We must know fully the atrocities of the past so that we don't allow such terrible things to happen again.

Hat tip: Open Culture

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Quote of the day:

Daily Links 1-8-14

In today's links: making college pay off, a caution to Christians about alcohol, a word from a young woman to young men, and more.

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If you don't click through any other link in today's post, take time to read this heartfelt letter from a 19 year old young woman to young men. It is an amazing post.

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Baseball's Hall of Fame will announce their 2014 class of inductees later today. Before the announcement, take time to read this column from Jonah Keri on what's wrong with the current voting process, how to fix it, and what his ballot would look like if he could vote.

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Glenn Harlan Reynolds (a.k.a. Instapundit) on how to make college pay off:

In the field of higher education, reality is outrunning parody. A recent feature on the satire website the Onion proclaimed, "30-Year-Old Has Earned $11 More Than He Would Have Without College Education." Allowing for tuition, interest on student loans, and four years of foregone income while in school, the fictional student "Patrick Moorhouse" wasn't much better off. His years of stress and study, the article japed, "have been more or less a financial wash."

"Patrick" shouldn't feel too bad. Many college graduates would be happy to be $11 ahead instead of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, behind. The credit-driven higher education bubble of the past several decades has left legions of students deep in debt without improving their job prospects. To make college a good value again, today's parents and students need to be skeptical, frugal and demanding. There is no single solution to what ails higher education in the U.S., but changes are beginning to emerge, from outsourcing to online education, and they could transform the system.

His upcoming book, The New School: How the Information Age Will Save American Education from Itself, looks like it will be an important one to read this year.

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Eric Metaxas interviews Malcolm Gladwell at Socrates in the City:



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31 College Campuses that are the perfect wedding venue:

Duke Chapel, Duke University, Durham, NC

Hat tip: Neatorama

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Somehow I missed this when it was first published: The Distinct, Positive Impact of a Good Dad.

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A caution to Christians who drink alcohol. I don't have any objections to occasional drink. This article makes some very solid points.

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Daily Links 10-24-13

Duck Dynasty is a biblical sex-saturated reality show, why you should keep a journal, finding libraries in unusual places, and more in today's roundup of links.

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Duck Dynasty is one of the most popular reality shows on television. Part of its appeal is the fact that it shows the Robertson clan as the real down home folks that they are. It's a show that is steeped in family values. It also is a biblically sex-saturated show. That's a good thing.

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Seven reasons for keeping a journal. (Hat tip: Challies)

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Finding libraries in unusual places (even on the back of a donkey!)

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Stories like this one make me feel old: 10 things that are disappearing from elementary schools.

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I definitely need this: how to quit wasting time on the internet.

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I don't need encouragement to read more books but this doesn't hurt either: 7 unconventional reasons you should read more books. (Hat tip: Trevin Wax)

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One father shares about removing his children from the internet. (Hat tip: Challies)

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It's time to emphasize winning with our kids and sports:

My son will play in soccer tournaments today. And I want him to win

I feel like I’m going against the tidal wave of parental niceness to even say such a thing, but it’s true. During this game, I don’t want him to just have fun or play safely. I want his team to win.

And I hope every dad cheering from the sidelines for the other team feels the same way.

I believe we should resist the fashionable tendency to take competition out of sports. 

That’s why, at the beginning of the soccer season, I asked my son: ”What’s more important? Having fun or winning?" He answered: “Having fun?”   

No,” I replied. “Winning. Because if you’re not winning, you’re not having fun.”

What do they teach children in school these days?

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Calling all writers: 41 redundancies you should ditch.

Weekend Links 9-21-13

Here are a few links of interest for your weekend enjoyment. How to visit a museum without leaving home, keeping up with current events, and Star Trek episodes imagined as vintage movie posters.

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A father dying of cancer knew he wouldn't live to see his daughters get married. But he came up with a way to walk his daughters down the aisle.

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Too busy to keep up with current events? Wikipedia's Date View can help with that.

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How to visit the world's best museums from the comfort of your own home.

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An artist has conceived all of the original episodes of Star Trek as vintage movie posters. The results are pretty amazing. (Hat tip: Gizmodo)

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Disney's Peter Pan is celebrating its 60th anniversary. You can commemorate the occasion by owning this wonderful tea pot.

Advice from Fathers to Sons: How to Look at Women

There is so much written today on modesty and how men should view women. Unfortunately much of that advice, while well intended, is simply wrong. But this article is probably one of the best I have read on the subject in a long, long time. An excerpt:

A lot of people will try and tell you that a woman should watch how she dresses so she doesn’t tempt you to look at her wrongly.  Here is what I will tell you.  It is a woman’s responsibility to dress herself in the morning.  It is your responsibility to look at her like a human being regardless of what she is wearing. 

The whole thing is worth reading. And if you are a dad who has a son, take the time to have the conversation that this article recommends. If we expect men to treat our daughters with respect then we need to do a better job of training our sons how to properly treat our daughters.

From the Archives: Developiing Discernment

The other day my daughters were watching a movie on one of the kids' channels on TV. Based on what they had told me about the movie (which was all that they knew from looking it up online) it sounded like it would be okay. But after it was over and they came to tell us about it, we discovered that there were elements of the story that were not necessarily things we would want them to be exposed to. In fact, if we had known about it ahead of time we probably would have told them not to watch it.

However, I was not angry with them nor did I get angry with them. Instead, I used the opportunity to discuss with them the issue of discernment and being able to determine whether something was appropriate for them based on what was contained in the program. We discussed specific examples of other programs we have told them not to watch and why we found them objectionable.

Our goal is not to police everything they watch or read. Rather, it is to help them to develop discernment and to understand what worldviews are being represented in different programs. Often, we find that material that is theoretically targeted towards kids our age (they are 10 and 9) has content that is really more suitable for older children. We've had to work with them to help them understand that they need to be aware of the messages that are being relayed through media and be able to understand the agenda behind the entertainment.

Developing discernment in my kids has not simply been about telling them what is right or wrong. Nor has it been to say "this is okay" or "this is not okay". Often, we have to go beyond simple right and wrong and explain the reasons why we object to something. By explaining this to them we are helping them to make wiser decisions on their own. That's really the point of training a child in the way they will go: so that they can make wise decisions when they don't have Mom or Dad to make them for them.

This post originally appeared in 2006. 

Friday Tweet recap

It's Friday so it's time for a recap of some things of interest I found on Twitter this week for your weekend enjoyment:

This past week marked the 44th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin did something unusual during the mission: he took communion on the moon.

More Apollo 11 from LIFE Magazine: Up Close with Apollo 11. These are some amazing photos (some of which weren't published in the magazine.

This is from one of my favorite sites: Fathering With Intentionality: The Importance of Creating a Family Culture.

From one of my favorite book-related blogs, 3 steps that will help you read more books during the summer.

Former President George H. W. Bush shaved his head to support the 2 year old son of a member of his Secret Service detail who is battling leukemia.

The best students don't go to public school.

For my bookish friends, 10 pieces of Jane Eyre swag.

Is reading worth the effort?

10 Insights to Help Us Better Relate to Others.

If you're travelling to London (or perhaps live there) be on the lookout for Books on the Underground. This is a neat idea.

A must-see interview with Eric Metaxas about religious freedom.

How you can make your life better by sending 5 simple e-mails.

Here's a sure sign that you're in the South.

How to cook a steak at home that will be better than anything you can get in a restaurant. I put this to the test and it worked perfectly.

So my team (the Cubs) are pretty much out of the pennant race for this season barring a miracle comeback. How about projecting which World Series matchups we'd like to see? 

Ever find yourself in need of a Disney quote? Here's the place to go.

"But God pursued me." How a liberal columnist came to know Christ.

8 Brilliant Scientific Screw-ups.

That's it. Have a great weekend.

Friday Tweet Recap

It's Friday and it means that it's time for another recap of items that I tweeted recently that caught my attention. Enjoy the links!

Have you ever wondered whether to accept a LinkedIn invitation from someone? Here's some good advice on deciding whether to accept or decline.

If you are like me and work online then e-mail can be your worst enemy. Here are some tips on how to manage your e-mail.

First he was a rock and roll musician. Then he became a hero.

My daughter (who is an aspiring writer) shared the four worst pieces of advice for young writers.

How baseball saved a relationship between a father and son.

The original outfield obstruction.

The Home Run Derby is a fixture at baseball's annual All Star Game festivities. But it was a television show first.

Here are nine traditions that have been lost from baseball.

You don't see this every day: a bunt double.

It's the dream of every blogger to have a post go viral. Here's how one blogger did it without even really trying.

Outfitted and equipped for working at a coffee shop.

Ten really cool lifehacks from 100 years ago.

39 Hidden Mickeys found in Disney animated movies.

This movie looks like it will be really good: Saving Mr. Banks.

10 fabulous pieces of Shakespeare swag.

Can't make it to Monticello? Now you can visit it via Google Street View.

Yesterday was Independence Day. Here are reflections on two great speeches from Abraham Lincoln and Lou Gehrig (yes, there is a connection). Bonus: here's a color photo of Gehrig from that speech.

Young George Washington's experience one July 4th went on to shape our quest for independence.

How to apply the craftsman's work ethic to our everyday lives.

Dumb criminal alert: robber fails to get money from convenience store clerk and the wanders off to the Mug Shot Saloon for a drink (you can't make this stuff up).

One of the most overlooked amendments to the Constitution is the Third which prohibits the quartering of soldiers in citizens' homes during peacetime. This was a common problem in Colonial America especially in Boston. So it doesn't normally come up in the normal course of litigation. However, one homeowner decided to assert his Third Amendment rights against the police who wanted to use his home for a stakeout. It will be interesting to see whether the court agrees with the homeowner's argument.

Whatever you might think of his policies or his time as President you would have to agree that George W. Bush is a decent person. One of his big priorities while he was president was helping the people of Africa. It still is as can be seen from these photos of his recent trip there to do relief work. More photos here.

The cheeseburger is certainly an All American dish but who knew that each state had it's own unique burger?

Speaking of food, I'm all for trying to get a free meal but this is insane (and somehow incredibly cute at the same time).

That's it for this week. Have a great weekend!

Time with Dad

I used to think that spending time with my kids meant doing soemthing elaborate or special with them. I’d take each of my daughters on “dates” which were special evenings out that we would go and do something they liked. While thse were good times (and I still occassionally try to have those dates with my duaghters), I was reminded this past week that sometimes that time with my kids doesn’t have to be anything elaborate at all.

Take my oldest daughter, for example. If I’m running errands (such as going to the grocery store) she willl invariably want to tag along not because she finds what I am doing so exciting but because she just wants to hang out with me. In fact, I asked her on one of these recent excursions why she wanted to go with me and she said that she just enjoyed hanging out with Dad. I also have discovered that these are her opportunities to ask tough questions of me. She likes to use these times together to ask me about things that she has been thinking about. It’s in these moments that I get glimpses into what’s going on in her world.

Although my youngest daughter prefers to hang out at home, she will also desire that one-on-one time with me. Like my older daugther, she’ll use the opportunities when we are together to talk to me about difficult things that she may not want to share in front of anyone else.

We have so little time to make an impact on our kids as fathers. By being intentional about simply spending time with them we are allowing for those teachable moments to be created and the door opened to the hearts of our children. For me, spending time with my kids is no longer just about doing something special. It’s about just doing something with them.

Note: This post originally appeared in 2006.

Friday Tweet Recap

During the week I'm usually tweeting out articles via Twitter so here are a few things that you might have missed that caught my attention this week:

Seven marks of false teachers. This is especially good advice if you're either looking for a church or evaluating what pastors to listen to .

I am really bad at remembering someone's name so this article provided some pretty helpful tips.

I didn't realize John Piper had retired from the pulpit earlier this spring. He's spending a year in Knoxville which is a lovely city not far from where I live. The most striking thing he said in this article is that he intentionally left Minneapolis behind to give his successor at Bethlehem Baptist Church some breathing room.

It was Father's Day last Sunday and Joel Miller has some thoughts on what every child needs to hear from their dad.

My daughter pointed this one out to me. I think it has to do with the fact she wants to major in theatre. 10 Ways Being a Theatre Major Prepared Me For Success.

John Stonestreet has some thoughts about what to say to our daughters about the morning after pill.

It's a little bit of a shock but longtime Los Angeles Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully almost signed with the New York Yankees. And demonstrating that he is a true Renaissance man, he took to Twitter earlier this week during the Dodgers-Yankees series. It was as beautiful as you could have imagined.

More baseball: Grantland's Jonah Keri examines the flawed importance of the closer. I have always wondered whether too much emphasis is placed on the 9th inning. Now I'm sure of it. This also made me think of this piece from Joe Posnanski.

This article got me thinking: 9 Qualities of Truly Confident People. It's an interesting read. On a related note, the four questions great leaders ask.

Some of these vintage rules for conversation (from 1875!) are really remarkable. It would be interesting to see how different our conversations would be if we applied these rules.

Life Magazine has been posting photos from their vast library online. The latest installment is unpublished color photos of the ruins of Normandy following D-Day. These pictures are amazing.

Also from the Life Magazine archives, color portraits from the 1950s of Ella Fitzgerald and other jazz legends.

Here's a list of 8 things you shouldn't do every day. I confess that I am guilty of quite of few of these mistakes.

Some tips on how to read a book. I will admit I hadn't thought about some of these strategies before and they look like they are worth a try. This article also has some tips on how to read more books including some interesting ways to keep track of books on your reading list.

That's it. Have a great weekend.

Rules for Dating My Daughter

It's only fair that any young man who wants to date my daughters know what he's getting in to before he considers asking them out:

This also makes me think of one of my favorite Chuck quotes (via John Casey)

Or you can always take the Willie Robertson approach to dealing with your daughter's boyfriend.

Related: Application to Date My Daughter.

UPDATE: Thanks to Adam Baldwin for the retweet!

RT @Daddypundit “Rules for Dating My Daughters - with a nod to ‘John Casey’.” - http://t.co/zWzpOYANDd
— Adam Baldwin (@adamsbaldwin) June 18, 2013

Advice to Dads of Daughters

Here is a list of fifty rules for dads of daughters. It's a terrific list. I only wish I had thought of it.

Hat tip: Joe Carter

It Could Be Worse.....

I always tell my kids they are fortunate I don't do things that embarrass them (at least, not normally). I could have been like this guy.

At least his kid was a good sport about the whole thing.

Time For A Change

When I started this blog back in 2004, I was very interested in following politics and writing a lot about what was happening in the election. It didn't hurt any that a friend of mine was running for Congress in our district, either. I had picked the name Daddypundit because I wanted it to represent that I was both a dad and a pundit (or at least an aspiring one).

But now I'm facing a blog identity crisis. True, I could write a lot about politics but many other fine (and far more talented bloggers) already do that. I could post each day offering links to other things that folks had written that I found interesting. Again, there are many others who already do that.

I've been thinking for some time that maybe it's time to start focusing on the "daddy" portion of my screen name and write more about things I'm experiencing as a father. I'm also thinking that maybe I'll talk more about things that my family enjoys or experiences together. In other words, I'll turn my focus away from writing about politics and culture and more about things that are more family and parenting oriented. From time to time I may still comment on a news story but for the most part I'm thinking this will be a little more personal blog.

My hope is to come back to an original purpose of this blog which is to share my experiences as a dad first and foremost. I'll still have other forums to write about politics and culture such as Stones Cry Out but this will be a little different here from now on.

So I hope you will join me on this journey as I turn my attention more towards my experiences as a dad. And I hope that you will enjoy this journey with me.

A Date With Dad

This past Sunday was a special day for our family. I had the opportunity to take my two daughters to a Father/Daughter dance in honor of Valentine's Day. They were very excited because they got to dress up in their formal dresses, put on makeup, and even wear the corsages that I had bought for them. But most important for them was that they got to do something special with Dad. The whole experience made a real impact on them because several times since then they've remarked about how much they enjoyed the experience.

It made an impact on me, too, in that it reminded me of the importance of giving my girls a "date" from time to time with Dad. In other words, it's important to offer them the chance to just hang out with Dad doing something that they enjoy.

When my girls were younger and I worked outside the home, I made a point to schedule times that I could go out with each one of my girls doing all sorts of different stuff. Sometimes we'd go out for dinner or ice cream. Sometimes it was something simpler like just allowing one of them to tag along as I run errands.

The purpose of such times is twofold. First, spending time with my girls deepens the relationship that I have with each of them. As they have grown older, they have become more willing to share with me things that they are dealing with as they are maturing into young women. The time that I invested in my relationship with them when they were younger will pay huge dividends as they become teenagers.

Second, time that I spend with them offers me an opportunity to demonstrate to them how a gentleman behaves towards a lady. My daughters' conception of how they should be treated by men will be in large part shaped by how I treat them. Dads can be the best example for their daughters of what to expect from men. A healthly relationship between a daughter and her dad will go a long way towards her having healthy relationships with men as an adult especially when she is married.

A date with your daughter doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive. The only thing it requires is time that you're willing to devote to her. As men we have all sorts of things demanding our attention. Our daughters, like our wives, should be a priority. A little time alone with our daughters will be a small sacrifice today that will reap huge rewards in the future.

This post originally appeared at DadBloggers.