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    A Father’S Walk: A Christian-Based Resource for Single Fathers
    A Father’S Walk: A Christian-Based Resource for Single Fathers
    A Father’S Walk: A Christian-Based Resource for Single Fathers
    Ebook131 pages2 hours

    A Father’S Walk: A Christian-Based Resource for Single Fathers

    By Matt Haviland

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    About this ebook

    There are over twenty-five million children growing up in America today without their biological father in the home, and single parents account for approximately 37 percent of all households. Yet, there is still a huge lack of Christian-based ministries for single parents, especially when it comes to the dads.

    Based off of his experience as a single dad himself, Matt Haviland shares with us his journey of joy, trials, and grace that has brought him to this point in single father ministry. He tells in dramatic detail the testimony of how Jesus not only rescued and redeemed him from a destructive lifestyle, but how God has given him the ability to lead and guide single dads along the way and become a great dad as well.

    A Fathers Walk is not just another self-help book. It is a tool, resource, and inspiration written by someone who is in the trenches every single daya man who knows the love only a father can have for his child, the daily struggles of being a single dad, and the unimaginable grace that our Savior bestows upon those who call upon Him. This is a must-have for any single dad looking to grow as a father and in their walk with the Lord!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWestBow Press
    Release dateFeb 21, 2014
    ISBN9781490823201
    A Father’S Walk: A Christian-Based Resource for Single Fathers
    Author

    Matt Haviland

    Dawn Walker is the founder and director of Single Parent Missions and author of Hope Notes, daily encouragements for single parents read by subscribers worldwide. Dawn has been a speaker at single mom’s conferences in several states, including Survive N Thrive and Overflow, and is passionate about obeying the call to “go and make disciples” near and far. Dawn’s home base is Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she lives with her son Ethan and refuels with Italian food, football games and retreats to the beach. To find out more, visit singleparentmissions.com. Matt Haviland is the founder and president of A Father’s Walk, a ministry dedicated to keeping single dads engaged in the lives of their children. Matt is the author of A Father’s Walk: A Christian-Based Resource for Single Fathers and the cofounder of the Grand Rapids Single Parenting Expo. He lives in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan and is a single father to a beautiful and amazing daughter. In his free time (if there ever is any), Matt enjoys working out, golf, and almost all outdoor recreation. For more information, please visit afatherswalk.org.

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      Book preview

      A Father’S Walk - Matt Haviland

      Copyright © 2014 Matt Haviland.

      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 publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

      WestBow Press

      A Division of Thomas Nelson

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.westbowpress.com

      1 (866) 928-1240

      Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission

      THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

      Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. New Living, NLT, and the New Living Translation logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.

      Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

      Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      ISBN: 978-1-4908-2320-1 (e)

      WestBow Press rev. date: 02/19/14

      Contents

      Dedication

      Foreword

      Introduction

      Chapter 1 A Father’s Love

      Chapter 2 Loving the Unlovable

      Chapter 3 Standing in the Gap

      Chapter 4 The Other Man

      Chapter 5 Finances

      Chapter 6 The Battle Field

      Chapter 7 Accountability and Mentors

      Chapter 8 The Imperishable Seed

      Chapter 9 The Spiritual Workout

      Chapter 10 Discipleship

      Chapter 11 Legacy

      Dedication

      This book is dedicated first, foremost, and most importantly, to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to the glory of God our Father, without Whom I would not even be here to write this. Words cannot express what You have done in my life and how much I truly love You…but You already know.

      To Olivia

      I simply could not ask God for a better gift than allowing me to be your dad. I cherish every day we share together, and I promise to give you my all—forever. You simply are the best daughter anyone could ever ask for, and I thank God every single day for you. I love you with all of my heart, and you will always be my little girl.

      Love,

      Daddy

      Foreword

      Passionate, exciting, encouraging and most of all inspired by God, A Father’s Walk will bless all who read it.

      A Father’s Walk is an extended roadmap for single dads who may from time to time find themselves between a rock and a hard place, single dads who may be facing difficult decisions in their lives right now or dads who may just need an encouraging word. This book is for you! I call A Father’s Walk an extended roadmap because when you read it, you will also discover that it lines up with the principles of the Holy Bible—our ultimate roadmap.

      We live in day and age where the world has come up with labels such as absent dads and dead-beat dads, and we have allowed these words to enter our homes, our relationships and, for some, even our hearts. But the buck stops here! We are no longer going to accept the labels that this world is trying to hand out. It is time for fathers to rewrite history and take our rightful places in our homes, in our communities and most of all in the lives of our children. The devil’s tactics have been the same from generation to generation—divide and conquer. It’s time to make up our minds as men of God and men of standards at all costs. Sure, the devil is going to try and paint a picture of you being a worthless dad or a dead-beat dad, but don’t allow these distractions to cause you to focus. The Bible tells us in James 1:8 that A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Remain rooted and grounded in God’s Word and keep your mind fixed on being the best dad that God can create you to be.

      Matt Haviland promotes two main things in A Father’s Walk. The first thing is that a dad should always maintain an active and faithful relationship with God; and secondly, a dad should always maintain an active and faithful relationship with his child(ren) at all costs. As you read this book, my prayer is that your life as a single dad will never be the same again! I really appreciate this book because it was written not by someone who was looking for a platform, but rather someone who is down in the trenches.

      After reading A Father’s Walk I am convinced that as a dad, if I keep my relationship with The Father and my relationship with my children intact, my father’s walk will indeed be a walk to remember! Again, A Father’s Walk will bless all who read it.

      In His Service,

      Pastor Daniel R. Jackson

      Senior Pastor, Divine Cathedral of Faith

      Tampa, FL

      Introduction

      One of the greatest gifts a man could ever be blessed with is the role of fatherhood. For some of us, however, that may be foreign, even scary. Fatherless children and single fatherhood are two of the greatest domestic challenges America faces today. I grew up in a home without my dad present. Without a positive adult male role model to follow, many of us, as single fathers, may be facing a variety of challenges, obstacles, fears, and doubts. This book is written with one purpose in mind: to help a generation of children grow up WITH their fathers by equipping and serving all single dads through Jesus Christ. Also, I hope to help single dads cope with the everyday pressures of single parenthood and to help reduce negative influences by keeping fathers involved with their children.

      For over five years now I have been a single dad—experiencing many victories, and some crushing defeats. I have reacted at times to situations with anger and vengeance. Other times I have handled things like a seasoned veteran. Parenting was designed to be a two-person system. When one parent is removed from the equation, the full burden falls on the other. Being a single parent means you give your kids your all, whether you feel like it or not. Even married parents tire, get stressed and have bad days. As a single parent you become the mom AND the dad at the same time; it’s a full time job! I was never married to my daughter’s mom, and the pregnancy was very difficult, both physically and emotionally. Once my daughter was born, I knew something had to change.

      When my daughter was about eight months old, I decided to try out a new church. I had struggled with addiction to drugs, alcohol, and sex for years. I didn’t want to be that dad—one whom his daughter would be ashamed of and resent. Plus, her mom and I were not on good terms, and I knew if we were going to do this, something had to change in that regard as well. As the pastor spoke, I felt the Lord tugging at my heart. After the service ended, I responded to the altar call and received Jesus into my life once and for all. Since then, He has done amazing work in my life. I am a better dad and more involved than I ever thought would be possible, and I have been blessed with multiple ministries.

      God has done more for me in the past five years of my life than I did in the first 30. I now truly realize that it wasn’t until I had reached my breaking point—the point where I realized that I could not continue on the same path and make it—that Jesus gave me a new life in Him, and it just keeps getting better! Now don’t get me wrong, I still go through some tough times, struggles, and trials, but I am now more equipped than ever to deal with them head on. I am writing this book for you. We may never meet, but I understand many (maybe not all) of the issues you are dealing with. I’ve been there; some I’m still going through. I am here today to give you hope—to let you know that if you will trust Jesus Christ with all of your heart, He will confirm and establish you. His Word promises that.

      Come to Me all of you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. –Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB)

      Dads, the time is now more than ever. You may have full custody of your children, or you may have been separated from them for a while now. Finances may not be a problem, but chances are they are. Your relationship with your children’s mother may be wonderful and civil, or you may need God involved more than ever. Whatever your situation, whatever you are going through, and no matter how much hope you may have lost, it can change TODAY. Let’s take this walk together. Let’s follow God’s Word and trust His will be done—not ours. It’s time to step up and become the dad you were always destined to be!

      In Jesus’ Name,

      Matt Haviland

      March, 2012

      CHAPTER 1

      A Father’s Love

      For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. –John 3:16

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