Judy Jackson Online

Fathers are important, very very important.  Even a Google search for “Importance of Fathers” turns up nearly 35 million hits.

Fathers are necessary, very very necessary.  In order to have a civilized society, order, protection, provision, a future, we must have fathers.

Mothers can not be fathers nor fill the role of a father.  She may try to with every ounce of good intentions within her, go through all the motions, but she can’t be a father.  It is impossible.  Mothers can only be mothers.  Only fathers can be fathers.

Mothers nurture us and sustain us.  Fathers prepare us and affirm us.  Mothers and fathers are innately different.  Without fathers we do not learn how to function in the world… we do not reach completion.

Every soul hungers for a father.  We are designed and created this way.  It is no coincidence that our creator is Father.

Our society has pushed aside the importance of fathers.  It is no wonder that our country – our world – is breeding, has bred, a generation of emotionally and mentally unstable people without a moral sense of right and wrong.  Throughout history, when a society/culture reaches this stage, it collapses.

Today I honor the “Fathers” in my life:  My father, my husband, and my son. Excellent men, excellent fathers, excellent models… doing it right.  I love you.

My Father (with his great-granddaughter)

My Husband (with our daughter)

My Son (full-time father on his own [widowed shortly after his daughters birth])

2011 is only a couple of weeks away. Are you ready?  Got a plan?  Know where you’re going — in your life, relationships, business/work, personal growth and development?

YES? Great, you are one of the choice few… things will be happening for you in 2011.

NO? Then you can expect next year at this time to be sitting right where you are… going nowhere, doing nothing… just stagnating.

If you’re going to get anywhere you’ve got to have directions, a map, a plan.  Same thing holds true with your life.  You’ve got to have a plan, a map, some directions to get anywhere.  Just going to work or school requires a plan.

• Set alarm clock for ??:?? giving self 10 minutes to spare
• Sleep
• When alarm clock goes off hit the snooze button
• When alarm clock goes off again, turn it off and get out of bed
• Yawn and stretch and go to the bathroom
• Stagger to kitchen and make coffee

You get the idea… you have a plan, some directions you follow, a mental map of what to do and where to go.

You need to do the same thing for your life for this coming year — and write them down.

“Ah, those are New Year’s resolutions.  They don’t work.  Done that a dozen times.  Never kept a single one of them…”

True, all true.  I’ll bet your NY resolutions went something like this:

• Lose weight
• Get more exercise
• Get a new job
• Go back to school
• Spend more time with family

Of course these ‘resolutions’ failed.  They are undefined, they aren’t a plan, there are no directions, no map.  What does ‘lose weight’ mean?  Lose a pound?  How? When? What kind of exercise?  Where?  How long?  How often?  To what end?  With a partner or any accountability?  What new job? Where?  How are you going to go about it?  New skills needed?  How are you going to get them and what do you need to do to get them….

For your 2011 action plan you need to break it down.  Each area (the plan) needs to be broken down into specific goals and tasks that are definable and measureable with milestone progress dates attached to them (the directions).  All of it needs to be written down (the map) so that you can see where you are, where you’ve been, and where you’re going next… accountability.

Most importantly, you need to have ending dates (the “X” that marks the spot, the destination)  Otherwise, how will you know you’ve arrived?

Do you plan your life?  How?  Is it working for you?  Leave a comment and tell us about it… if you dare.