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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">According to Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, a father's involvement with a child increases the child's IQ, the child's motivation to learn, and the child's self-confidence. In addition, children with involved dads are more likely to develop a sense of humor as well as an "inner excitement."</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Victor Parachin, "The Fine Art of Good Fathering," Herald of Holiness, February 1995, pp. 32-33.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Mark Twain's Father</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Mark Twain</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Don't Eat the Forbidden Fruit</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Whenever your kids are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence didn't extend to God's kids. After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing he said was:</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"Don't."</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"Don't what?" Adam replied</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"Don't eat the forbidden fruit." God said.</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"Forbidden fruit? We got forbidden fruit?</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Hey Eve! We got forbidden fruit!"</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"No way!"</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"Yes way!"</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"DON'T EAT THAT FRUIT!" Said God.</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"Why?"</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"Because I am your Father and I said so!" said God, wondering why he hadn't stopped after making elephants.</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A few minutes later God saw his kids having an apple break and was angry.</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Didn't I tell you not to the fruit?" the First Parent asked.</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"Uh huh," Adam replied.</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"Then why did you?"</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"I dunno," Eve answered.</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"She started it!" Adam said.</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"Did not!"</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"Did too!"</SPAN></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"Did NOT!"</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus, the pattern was set and it has never been changed.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Morgan Murray</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">What Does A Father Do?</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I received a letter from a single mother who had raised a son who was about to become a dad. Since he had no recollection of his own father, her question to me was "What do I tell him a father does?"</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">When my dad died in my ninth year, I, too, was raised by my mother, giving rise to the same question, "What do fathers do?" As far as I could observe, they brought around the car when it rained so everyone else could stay dry.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">They always took the family pictures, which is why they were never in them. They carved turkeys on Thanksgiving, kept the car gassed up, weren't afraid to go into the basement, mowed the lawn, and tightened the clothesline to keep it from sagging.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It wasn't until my husband and I had children that I was able to observe firsthand what a father contributed to a child's life. What did he do to deserve his children's respect? He rarely fed them, did anything about their sagging diapers, wiped their noses or behinds, played ball, or bonded with them under the hoods of their cars.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">What did he do?</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">He threw them higher than his head until they were weak from laughter. He cast the deciding vote on the puppy debate. He listened more than he talked. He let them make mistakes. He allowed them to fall from their first two-wheeler without having a heart attack. He read a newspaper while they were trying to parallel park a car for the first time in preparation for their driving test.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">If I had to tell someone's son what a father really does that is important, it would be that he shows up for the job in good times and bad times. He's a man who is constantly being observed by his children. They learn from him how to handle adversity, anger, disappointment and success.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">He won't laugh at their dreams no matter how impossible they might seem. He will dig out at 1 a.m. when one of his children runs out of gas. He will make unpopular decisions and stand by them. When he is wrong and makes a mistake, he will admit it. He sets the tone for how family members treat one another, members of the opposite sex and people who are different than they are. By example, he can instill a desire to give something back to the community when its needs are greater than theirs.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">But mostly, a good father involves himself in his kids' lives. The more responsibility he has for a child, the harder it is to walk out of his life.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A father has the potential to be a powerful force in the life of a child. Grab it! Maybe you'll get a greeting card for your efforts. Maybe not. But it's steady work.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Erma Bombeck, Field Enterprises</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">FATHER'S DAY: A TRIBUTE</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Today is Father's Day. A day of cologne. A day of hugs, new neckties, long-distance phone calls, and Hallmark cards.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Today is my first Father's Day without a father. For thirty-one years I had one. I had one of the best. But now he's gone. He's buried under an oak tree in a west Texas cemetery. Even though he's gone, his presence is very near--especially today.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It seems strange that he isn't here. I guess that's because he was never gone. He was always close by. Always available. Always present. His words were nothing novel. His achievements, though admirable, were nothing extraordinary.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">But his presence was.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Like a warm fireplace in a large house, he was a source of comfort. Like a sturdy porch swing or a big-branched elm in the backyard, he could always be found...and leaned upon.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">During the turbulent years of my adolescence, Dad was one part of my life that was predictable. Girl friends came and girl friends went, but Dad was there. Football season turned into baseball season and turned into football season again and Dad was always there. Summer vacation, Homecoming dates, algebra, first car, driveway basketball--they all had one thing in common: his presence.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">And because he was there life went smoothly. The car always ran, the bills got paid, and the lawn stayed mowed. Because he was there, the laughter was fresh and the future was secure. Because he was there my growing up was what God intended growing up to be; a storybook scamper through the magic and mystery of the world.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Because he was there we kids never worried about things like income tax, savings accounts, monthly bills, or mortgages. Those were the things on Daddy's desk.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">We have lots of family pictures without him. Not because he wasn't there, but because he was always behind the camera.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">He made the decisions, broke up the fights, chuckled at Archie Bunker, read the paper every evening, and fixed breakfast on Sundays. He didn't do anything unusual. He only did what dads are supposed to do--be there.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">He taught me how to shave and how to pray. He helped me memorize verses for Sunday school and taught me that wrong should be punished and that rightness has its own reward. He modeled the importance of getting up early and staying out of debt. His life expressed the elusive balance between ambition and self-acceptance.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">He comes to mind often. When I smell "Old Spice" aftershave, I think of him. When I see a bass boat I see his face. And occasionally, not too often, but occasionally when I hear a good joke, (the kind Red Skelton would tell), I hear him chuckle. He had a copyright chuckle that always came with a wide grin and arched eyebrows.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Daddy never said a word to me about sex or told me his life story. But I knew that if I ever wanted to know, he would tell me. All I had to do was ask. And I knew if I ever needed him, he'd be there.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Like a warm fireplace.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Maybe that's why this Father's Day is a bit chilly. The fire has gone out. The winds of age swallowed the late splendid flame, leaving only golden embers. But there is a strange thing about those embers...stir them a bit and a flame will dance. It will dance only briefly, but it will dance. And it will knock just enough chill out of the air to remind me that he is still...in a special way...very present.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Max Lucado</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">_______________________</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The Flip Side of Love</SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A lot of damage can occur in a family. Parents can be hurt. Children can be hurt. But there is always hope in a home where forgiveness is present. John R. Aurelio, in his book Colors!, gives us a beautiful portrayal of this side of God. <br>
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On the sixth day, God created Father Adam and Mother Eve. <br>
On the seventh day, as God was resting, they asked Him if He would give them something special to commemorate their birthday. So God reached into His treasure chest and took out a sacred coin. Written on it was the word "LOVE."<br>
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On the eighth day, Father Adam and Mother Eve sinned. As they left the Garden of Eden, they asked God for an assurance that He would not abandon them. <br>
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"You have the coin," He told them. <br>
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"But, the coin says LOVE," they answered. "We have lost love. How ever will we find it again?" <br>
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"Turn it over," God said... </SPAN></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Father’s Day can be accessed at <A href="http://www.sermons.com/" target=_blank>www.Sermons.com</A>.</SPAN></div>
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