For many men and fathers, the concepts and teachings contained in this series may seem like a mountain that is too hard to climb, because of the baggage they still carry from their own upbringing. For those men especially I am writing this teaching, and hope that you can find some real and life bringing encouragement in your hearts.

Every man in this nation has been brought up in one way or another, some have had a tremendous upbringing in a loving family, and others have been less fortunate. There is a general understanding in the world today that we are merely 'products' of the environment we have been brought up in, and that we don't have any real ability to change what we are, and the hand we have been dealt in life. I have found this teaching to be false in the extreme, and denying the fundamental principle of personal accountability and choice.

Each one of us will have challenges throughout our lives, and many of them may seem to be insurmountable at the time, but when you bring God into the equation then 'all things are possible'. I heard someone once say 'Man can change his mind but only God can change a heart', and this I have found to be true. The things that seem impossible to man, God can do 'in the twinkling of an eye'.

Some may think 'I would like to become a fantastic loving dad, but I was not brought up like that and these concepts are foreign to me'. To those men I would say that experience has shown that if you really desire to become that type of father to your children and if you will reach out to God and ask Him to bring the change in your heart, you can indeed become all that you hope for.

Even if your family may have never have showed you the love and encouragement that you really needed in life, you can still become 'a trailblazer' in your own family and choose the direction you want to go in life. We as fathers have the authority and the ability with God's help to choose to have a loving and wonderful family, and to ensure that our children follow the trail that we have made.

Warm Regards
John Nolan
Dads Uni

Definitions of trailblazer on the Web:
-someone who marks a trail by leaving blazes on trees
-pioneer: someone who helps to open up a new line of research or technology or art
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

(1 Samuel 10 v 9)
⁹So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day.