Oh Daddy, Where Art Thou?

By Greg Hogan

God's design is for the father to be the leader and head of the household. The breakdown of the family through divorce and demonic attacks on fathers has caused men to lose their influence of being the leader of the family like they were designed by God to be. Oh Daddy Where Art Thou addresses many root issues that have affected this breakdown, such as rejection, shame, codependency, dysfunctional families, and many more. These root issues have stolen fatherhood from many men. These issues cause men to not follow through with their parental responsibilities. This is a must-read to help the reader understand how the breakdown of the father's role and families has been affected, which has caused our society to become a fatherless society.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 19, 2024
• ISBN: 9798892436137

Book preview

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Oh Daddy, Where Art Thou?

Greg Hogan

ISBN 979-8-89243-612-0 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89243-613-7 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Greg Hogan

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Edited by Jacquelyn Heasley

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

I want to dedicate this book to those who have been healed and set free from their brokenness. Thanks to all who have supported this ministry and have helped us help hurting people. The hardest part of all is when you hear someone lost their battle to addiction.

In Loving Memory of All Who Have Lost the Battle and for the Families Who Are Still Struggling With the Loss of a Loved One.

Pastor Greg Hogan

Foreword

Terry Nance

Author, the Armour Bearer

Introduction

Chapter 1

Society

Chapter 2

Poverty Mentality

Chapter 3

Contributing Factors

Chapter 4

God's Design

Chapter 5

Rejection

Chapter 6

Shame

Chapter 7

Navigating Feelings of Shame

Chapter 8

Dysfunctional Families

Chapter 9

Children and Dysfunctional Families

Chapter 10

Communication

Chapter 11

Psychological Abuse

Chapter 12

Physical Abuse

Chapter 13

Sexual Abuse

Chapter 14

Trauma

Chapter 15

Solutions

Chapter 16

Survivors

Chapter 17

Setting Healthy Boundaries

Chapter 18

Identity

Chapter 19

Conclusion

Bibliography

About the Author

I want to dedicate this book to those who have been healed and set free from their brokenness. Thanks to all who have supported this ministry and have helped us help hurting people. The hardest part of all is when you hear someone lost their battle to addiction.

In Loving Memory of All Who Have Lost the Battle and for the Families Who Are Still Struggling With the Loss of a Loved One.

Pastor Greg Hogan

Foreword

Terry Nance

Author, the Armour Bearer

The Bible says in Psalms 1 that we should be like trees planted by the rivers of water. In Greg Hogan's new book, Oh Daddy Where Art Thou, he shares how important it is to deal with and overcome all the roots of our broken past and our present addictions. This book will move us forward into our God-given destiny.

Greg explains that the life source of a tree is its roots. A tree has to have roots to grow. Here is a powerful statement in his book, If there are no roots, the tree can't grow. The same thing applies to our inner being. If we have deep-rooted issues, those issues have to be addressed, or they will simply continue to grow.

The majority of our hurts come from the lack of a father in the home. This current generation is a fatherless generation. God is calling Christian men to rise and set the example of this current culture of what a godly father should look like.

I believe Oh Daddy Where Art Thou will open your eyes to what is happening in the world around us. It will also encourage and inspire you to pick up the torch of God's kingdom and start making a difference. You are the voice of affirmation someone needs to hear.

Pastor and Author

God's Armorbearer

Terry Nance

Introduction

Healing comes in many forms. Unhealthiness comes in many forms as well. People have experienced traumatic circumstances in life and live with these experiences on a daily basis. Through healing and deliverance, they can be free from these situations and live productive lives.

It's easy to bury past hurt and memories down inside the subconscious to keep from feeling pain. When people acknowledge their traumatic experiences, they can address their pain.

People will not be freed from pain unless they understand where the root is causing this pain. Until root issues are addressed, they are only addressing symptoms and will not be completely healed. This book will teach people how to address their root issues. It shows the importance the father plays in the healing process in order to get healed from past wounds.

Chapter 1

Society

Families in today's society are in disarray. The epidemic of drug addiction and immoral behavior has become the norm. The breakdown of the family has produced dysfunctional families to the point where dysfunction has become common. Society has accepted this as something that cannot or will not change. Nothing will change until society looks deep into what is causing this dysfunction.

To address the problems, deep-rooted issues must be resolved in the lives of people—issues such as alcoholism, drug addiction, porn addiction, etc., which are not the true issues. These are only symptoms of a deeper problem. Addressing the symptoms only applies a Band–Aid to the real problem.

Symptoms have been addressed with ideas such as behavior management. Changing behavior doesn't get to root issues. Back in the eighties, Nancy Reagan had a slogan Just Say No that was popular but not very effective.

Behavioral management has its place in recovery. When behavioral management does not work, then medication is usually the next step. Medication has been used as a quick-fix remedy for a long time. We are a three-part being: spirit, soul, and body. All three parts must be addressed to become a whole person.

The physical can be addressed, but other areas must be addressed, such as the mind (soul) and the spirit. These two areas are where many root issues are held deep in the subconscious.

The subconscious is the storehouse for trauma and other wounds. When root issues are not addressed, people will bury their feelings deep into the subconscious and ride a hamster wheel. They will continue to run in circles without effective results. This causes frustration because nothing is getting resolved.

A tree has to have roots to grow. If there are no roots, the tree can't grow. The same thing applies to our inner being. If we have deep-rooted issues, those issues have to be addressed, or they will simply continue to grow.

Root issues are what cause long-term problems in life and keep people living unhealthy behaviors. There can be hundreds of roots causing issues in one's life. These will cause an unending source of pain and unresolved answers. Someone doesn't wake up one day and say they are going to be a drug addict, food addict, etc. There will always be a cause and effect in someone's actions to address unhealthy behaviors.

Healing is a process, and so is addressing deep-seated issues. Issues cannot be recognized one day and be gone the next. Strongholds in life are made by one issue at a time. Whatever the struggle may be, it is a cover-up for something deeper. I have never heard someone say their goal in life was to become an addict and lose everything, such as families, marriage, kids, jobs, homes, etc.

Wounds and hurts usually start with a small seed and grow into major roots. Each time a wound or hurt is experienced, it adds another root to the tree. Only with God's help will someone be completely whole and able to overcome issues. The Bible has scriptures that say: If you do something, God will do something. God wants us to take the first step, and He will meet us where we are.

One part of the process is submitting your will to God. God is not going to override anyone's will. When people take the first step, God always meets them where they are in life.

When a wound takes root, it grows. It may take years for it to grow to the point of affecting lives and producing unhealthy lifestyles.

The Bible says you will know them by their fruit. Fruit is a characteristic of their nature. People's fruit in life will show their hurt. Do they produce healthy fruit or unhealthy fruit? We see in Luke 6:44:

Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. (NIV)

Fear of being hurt is a root that is always in the forefront of the mind of a wounded person. This is when the defense mechanism kicks in, and people put their guard up to avoid getting hurt. When anything resembles hurt from the past, it will send a defense wall up. Whether the issue is real or perception, it is reality to the person, and the pain is the same.

Perception is as real to a person as if it really happened. To them, it was real because they perceived it to be true in their mind. We have so many thoughts running through our minds every day, and it can get confusing what needs our attention and what doesn't.

We have anything from an estimated sixteen to eighteen thousand thoughts moving through our head every day. (Think Learn Succeed, Dr. Caroline Leaf, p. 131)

People realize they have issues in their lives but do not have the proper tools to overcome and work through issues. Most people have not been taught how to cope with pain because these skills are not a given in life but must be taught.

You must have the tools and the desire to be healed. These work with each other. If you have the tools without the desire, there will be no change. Same with desire; if you only have the desire without the tools, there will be no change. The fear of experiencing pain stops many people from pursuing healing. The pain only lasts for a season. When the pain is not addressed, the wound becomes infected and gets worse.

People have lived with pain so long it has been incorporated into