Strengthen "Ties" with our Fathers:YW Lesson #13 Manual 3

I’m going to break my lesson down into 2 parts:  1. How the girls can honor and improve their relationships with their own fathers 2.  Looking into the future (way into the future) how to pick an amazing father for their future children.

I’m going to begin by showing pictures, talking about my own father, and sharing personal stories about him.  I’m a lucky girl w/ a great Dad, so I have lots of good material.

Then I’m going to share the following from M. Russel Ballard, “Fathers and Sons:  A Remarkable Relationship, “ Ensign Nov. 2209, 47-50 (click here to read the full article)

First, trust your father. He is not perfect, but he loves you and would never do anything he didn’t think was in your best interest. So talk to him. Share your thoughts and feelings, your dreams and your fears. The more he knows about your life, the better chance he has to understand your concerns and to give you good counsel. When you put your trust in your dad, he will feel the responsibility of that trust and try harder than ever to understand and to help. As your father, he is entitled to inspiration on your behalf. His advice to you will be the heartfelt expressions of someone who knows and loves you. Your dad wants more than anything for you to be happy and successful, so why would you not want to trust someone like that? Boys, trust your dad.

Second, take an interest in your father’s life. Ask about his job, his interests, his goals. How did he decide to do the work that he does? What was he like when he was your age? How did he meet your mother? And as you learn more about him, you may find that his experiences help you to better understand why he responds the way that he does. Watch your dad. Watch how he treats your mother. Watch how he performs his Church callings. Watch how he interacts with other people. You will be surprised what you learn about him just by watching him and listening to him. Think about what you don’t know about him and find out. Your love, admiration, and understanding will increase by what you learn. Boys, be interested in your dad’s life.

And third, ask your father for advice. Let’s be honest: he is probably going to give you his advice whether you ask for it or not, but it just works so much better when you ask! Ask for his advice on Church activity, on classes, on friends, on school, on dating, on sports or other hobbies. Ask for his counsel on your Church assignments, on preparing for your mission, on decisions or choices you have to make. Nothing shows respect for another person as much as asking for his advice, because what you are really saying when you ask for advice is, “I appreciate what you know and the experiences you have had, and I value your ideas and suggestions.” Those are nice things for a father to hear from his son. In my experience, fathers who are asked for advice try harder to give good, sound, useful counsel. By asking your father for advice, you not only receive the benefit of his input, but you also provide him with a little extra motivation to strive to be a better father and a better man. He will think more carefully about whatever it is that he advises, and he will work harder to “walk the talk.” Young men, ask your dad for advice!

Even though most of my girls won’t be mothers for another decade, I want to talk w/ them about the importance of choosing a good man to be the father of their future children.  I love the “handout” section of the lesson and will discuss each item with my girls. 

(Look the letters are made out of ties)

Usually I make all the handouts, but I thought these would be fun to make together.  To “Tie” everything together, we are going to make Origami shirts (remember making those in Jr. High if not click here for a tutorial?). You can even make Origami ties, but I wanted to print on the ties.  
- Inside the shirt, we will put our “Future Father Checklists”  (pdf file here) and we will attach the ties (pdf file here) to the front.   To make the ties, just print it out on cute paper and cut out the shape of a tie. 

 In their journals I will have them commit to:

1. Think of one concrete thing they can do for their fathers this week

2. Never marry any man that does not meet every criteria on the check list.

If you have any other great ideas how to make this lesson, please leave a comment.

You might enjoy my other YW ideas here.