fatherhood

Jackie Bledsoe, Jr. | June 23, 2014 | 1 Comment

The Most Important Date EVER…the First Date – Jackie Bledsoe

photo credit: City of Marietta, GA via photopin cc

Our 13-year-old daughter just competed in the USATF State Meet for Indiana this past weekend. She did great and qualified in 3 of her 4 events for the USATF Regional Meet which gives her the chance to compete in the Junior Olympics (here is a video of her winning her 400m heat).

As my wife and I were running around getting stuff in the car and getting her to the track, we briefly discussed how great it is that she is at the “drop off” stage. The stage where we can drop her off, and she will be able to get where she needs to be, and do what she needs to do.

Of course, as a dad, as I watched her compete and the other boys and girls compete, from age seven to age 17. I realized one day, sooner rather than later, she’ll be driving herself to her meets, other activities, and even being picked up for dates.

It made me think of daddy-daughter dates when she was younger. Those days seem distant now, and I feel like I didn’t get enough of them. Those first dates, and time spent, are actually the most important. Especially the first date, which is the most important date ever.

We should make a really big deal of these first dates, as one dad did in the viral video below. He did a great job on his first date. Watch the video to see what I’m talking about.

Men, were you your daughter’s first date?

Ladies, was your dad your first date?

Jackie Bledsoe, Jr. | April 14, 2014 | 2 Comments

Why Relationships at Home are Your Top Priority – Jackie Bledsoe

I’ve been writing online for a few years, and I am now in the transition phase from just writer/blogger to speaker, podcaster, to web show host. I’m in the early stages of what David Garland would call a Mediapreneur. I am basically a small digital media company all by myself. It sounds great, but you can probably imagine wearing so many hats is a lot of work for one person. So, I have recently been looking into hiring a virtual assistant (VA) or two. I’ve been doing a lot of reading and studying on how to hire a VA, what you should delegate to a VA, and overall best practices.

Keeping your most important tasks

One thing which has stood out to me are ways to determine what tasks you should keep, and what tasks you should delegate. One rule of thumb is to keep the tasks that only you can do. For instance my wife and I will be launching our web show, The 7 Rings of Marriage, next month. Each episode we will be interviewing other couples to learn their story, and find how they’ve grown through the ups and downs of their marriage.

Sitting next to my wife and chatting with each couple is something only I can do. I can’t delegate this task to someone and have them sit in for me next to my wife. First that would be weird, and second I am 100% sure my wife wouldn’t go for it. On the other hand, editing and post production of the web show is something that anybody can do, therefore that is something I can delegate.

Delegate to spend time on what’s most important

Delegation boils down to how we spend our time. We spend them on the most important things, the things that will bring the most results, while we delegate the other things. This made me think about our relationships, and how our time is split among them. If we put our relationships in a similar context you’d have to think, “of all my relationships, which are the ones that only I can fulfill, or are the vital and most important relationships?” The first relationships that come to mind are relationships at home.

Being a husband and a father are relationships that only I can do. I can’t delegate the task of leading and loving my family to another person. I shouldn’t ask someone to love my wife like Christ loved the church. I should not ask someone else to bring my kids up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Your most important relationships

Those are the most important relationships, yet it has become very common that workplace relationships have become more of a priority than home relationships, especially with men. It’s been a reoccurring battle for me as I have tried to provide for my family through the years. So, I completely understand the pull and the struggle.

This struggle led me to write my manifesto, The Family Leader Manifesto. There are a lot of great leaders, who excel in ministry, in the workplace, and in the community. But some of these leaders find it more challenging to be a great leader and build great relationships at home. My manifesto is a call to encourage leaders like this, including myself, to make relationships at home their top priority, while giving them a 3-step plan to get them going.

If you are a husband and a father, you are the only one who can, and should lead and love your family in those roles. If you are a wife and a mother, the same applies. God called you to those roles, and nobody can fulfill them as you can.

How do you make your relationships at home your top priority? Please share in the comment section below.

photo credit: AMERICANVIRUS via photopin cc

Jackie Bledsoe, Jr. | March 31, 2014 | 3 Comments

What’s It Like Being a Dad? – Jackie Bledsoe

What’s the most challenging yet rewarding relationship in most men’s lives? Being a husband. And the most challenging yet rewarding relationship #1a is the dad-kid relationship. You can read all the books, or blog posts, that you want, but there is really only one way to fully understand fatherhood, and that is to live it. And sometimes that doesn’t even help.

This video below from the SkitGuys.com does an amazing job of capturing some of the life as a dad, and they do a pretty good job of answering the question…