Fatherhood Today: In Relation to Family

By Everlyne Mujera

Fatherhood is a unique task given to parents, whether biological or spiritual. It is high time parents, particularly fathers, understand how much of an influence they are to their children, society, and future generations. This book offers biblical perspective on parenting with God in view as a father.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973663430

Everlyne Mujera

Everlyne Mujera has been a pastor and is now involved in the Children Ministry. She has recently had a special experience of God as a loving father which has dived her into researching about who God the Father is.

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Copyright © 2019 Everlyne Mujera.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6342-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6344-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6343-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019906670

WestBow Press rev. date: 06/07/2019

To

Absalom, the love of my life

who has seen my dream come true.

CONTENTS

About the Author

Introduction

Part I    Fatherhood Today

Chapter 1   Growing Up with an Absent Father

Chapter 2   How Parenting Shapes a Child’s Self-Image

Part II    God Is a Father

Chapter 3   Who Is a Father?

Chapter 4   The Ways God Is a Father

Part III    Perspectives on Parenting

Chapter 5   The Attitudes Parents Have toward Their Children

Chapter 6   What the Bible Says about Children

Chapter 7   Teaching Children Responsibility

and Discipline

Chapter 8   Priorities and Family

Chapter 9   The Home Atmosphere

Chapter 10   How to Find and Embrace God’s Love

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Everlyne Mujera has served as an associate pastor in her country (Kenya) before accompanying her husband on a diplomatic mission in Belgium. She currently serves in the Children ministry (Kidz Rock) in her local church (Brussels Christian Centre). She is a degree holder of Bachelor in Divinity from Continental Theological Seminary. Everlyne and her husband have 2 Children together.

INTRODUCTION

It is possible to give birth to children but fail to father them. Many problems result from fathers who do not take full responsibility for their children or are trying to be fathers but do not know how to.

Our society was founded by fathers who understood their role as fathers. Scripture tells us of a certain generation that had died and then, after them another generation arose up who did not know the Lord or the works he had done for Israel (Judges 2:10). Did the fathers play their role well?

Teddy woke up one morning brokenhearted. She had been a great mother and wife, and she was faithfully serving her church. She was convinced that she had done the best to build her home on a firm foundation, but news of her betrayal struck her heart and shook and broke her beyond words. The constant question on her mind was, What did I not do right?

Distancing herself became the order of the day. She was often confused and had no idea whom to trust and confide her problems in. Before long, bitterness, anger, and pain filled her heart to the point that she started giving in to self-destructive habits. Teddy, a Christian, realized she was losing her grip on her faith and had to come back to God in repentance or become lost.

Her mother and father had parted ways when Teddy was young. She had lived with her father, who took care of her and provided for her needs. Her relationship with her father was great, but at times, she thought her father was a perfectionist and wanted her to do everything just right. Knowing that she could not please her father, a constant fault finder, she became fearful and shameful about everything she did. A lack of self-confidence and trust made her a very sensitive, quiet, and defensive child.

When convicted to turn from her destructive habits, she constantly felt that she had failed God by not being perfect. She had tried to change her ways, but she still wondered if God really accepted and forgave her or if he too was a perfectionist.

We find ourselves in situations like Teddy’s or even worse, but how we deal with it says a lot about our mind-set and beliefs. Parents, believe it or not, but you are forming your children to think and behave in certain ways. Providing their basic needs is just not enough; there is more to life than food and clothing. There is a reason God initiated marriage, placed husbands as heads of their families, and gave them wives as helpers.

Fathers have what it takes to bring society’s moral rot to a halt. Think of a family in which the husband loves his wife, the wife respects