A Father’s Love 
When I think about my Father I’m flooded with fond memories. Dad passed away a few years ago but the impression he left seems to grow stronger. As Father’s Day approaches, I’m reminded of all the craft gifts I made him. For years he put his coins in the tuxedo-painted tuna can on his dresser. I enjoyed watching nature shows, camping, playing games, and eating ice cream together. 
Dad taught junior high science. As we kids learned to drive, he’d let us drive to the high school. We’d drop him off and he’d walk home. I loved walking home with Dad when I was in junior high. He was tall and had a quick pace, so I had to take twice as many steps as him. Every once in a while, we’d stop at the local bakery and he’d treat me to an eclair. He knew how to make things special and didn’t spoil me. Dad made me feel safe and secure. I know he loved and enjoyed me. 
Sometimes dads can be good examples of what our heavenly Father is like. God, our heavenly Father, loves, protects, and provides for His children. He gives good gifts. He also disciplines us for our own good so that we will be trained in righteousness. God is forgiving and expects us to also forgive.
That reminds me of the story my husband loves to tell from his childhood about his father. He and his siblings really wanted to do something nice for Father’s Day. As they discussed their options it came up that dad’s car needed a paint job. They couldn’t afford that, but they had lots of “Flower Power” stickers—bright pink, orange, green, yellow, and blue flowers. They could make dad’s car look beautiful! So, they went to work placing stickers all over the car. Proud of their work, they ushered dad outside to show off their gift. Smiles beaming, they watched their dad’s face as he silently looked at his “Flower Power” covered car. Then he said, “Let’s go for a drive!” 
The selfless love he showed his kids in that moment humbles me. Rather than a quick response, he considered his kids motives and responded accordingly. Children are impacted by the love of a father. Sadly, many children don’t know that kind of love. And they don’t know they are loved by God their heavenly Father. 
Nothing compares to God’s love. Kids may have earthly fathers who seem to love them perfectly. Other kids have fathers who have passed away, left, or neglected them, or even abused them. But God is different from all earthly fathers because His love is totally perfect. His love is steadfast and endures forever. These words are used over and over again to describe God’s love. Steadfast means determined and unwavering. God’s love doesn’t move or change. It always stays the same. Kids can know what love is like by looking at God because love is from God—He is love. Children will be encouraged to learn about the kind of love God has for them. 
God’s everlasting love is connected to His compassion, deliverance, and forgiveness, His comfort, hope, and grace. God loves righteousness, justice and a cheerful giver. Most importantly, God loves people and shows His love through Jesus coming and dying for us even while we were His enemies. When kids know God as their heavenly Father, they can know they are loved for eternity. They will find comfort and strength knowing nothing can separate them from the love of God. They’ll never need to feel alone and can always look to the all-powerful, all-knowing, wise God for help.
One activity you could do with kids to help them learn about God’s love is to read verses about God’s love and have the kids write the qualities of God’s love on a piece of paper. They may want to decorate it and make it into a poster. Scripture references are included with the full article “A Father’s Love” at cefonline.com.
If you missed having a steadfast loving father or feel that you’ve missed being a steadfast loving father, take comfort in 1 Peter 5:10, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” 

A Father’s Love
When I think about my father I’m flooded with fond memories. Dad passed away a few years ago but the impression he left seems to grow stronger. As Father’s Day approaches, I’m reminded of all the craft gifts I made him. We enjoyed camping, playing games, and eating ice cream together. I know he loved and enjoyed me. Sadly, many children don’t know the gracious love of a father or that they are loved by God their heavenly Father. Nothing compares to God’s love. When kids know God as their heavenly Father, they never need to feel alone and can always look to Him for help. You can read the full article “A Father’s Love” at cefonline.com.

Fathers as Good Examples
My dad taught junior high science. I loved walking home with him when I was in junior high. He was tall and had a quick pace, so I had to take twice as many steps as him. Every once in a while, we’d stop at the local bakery and he’d treat me to an eclair. He knew how to make things special and didn’t spoil me. Dad made me feel safe and secure. Sometimes dads can be good examples of what our heavenly Father is like. God, our heavenly Father, loves, protects, and provides for His children. He gives good gifts. He also disciplines us for our own good so that we will be trained in righteousness. God’s love never changes. You can read the full article “A Father’s Love” at cefonline.com.

“Flower Power” Car
My husband loves to tell this story from his childhood about his father. As he and his siblings discussed what they could do for Father’s Day it came up that dad’s car needed a paint job. They couldn’t afford that, but they had lots of “Flower Power” stickers—bright pink, orange, and blue flowers, and a few peace symbols too. They could make dad’s car look beautiful! So they went to work placing stickers all over the car. Proud of their work, they ushered dad outside to show off their gift. Smiles beaming, they watched their dad’s face as he silently looked at his “Flower Power” covered car. Then he said, “Let’s go for a drive!” You can read the full article “A Father’s Love” at cefonline.com.

Steadfast Love of God
When kids know God as their heavenly Father, they can know they are loved for eternity. The Bible tells us the steadfast love, of the Lord endures forever. These words are used over and over again to describe God’s love. Steadfast means determined and unwavering. God’s love doesn’t change. As a matter of fact, love is from God—He is love. God’s everlasting love is connected to His compassion, deliverance, and forgiveness, His comfort, hope, and grace. Most importantly, God loves people and shows His love through Jesus coming and dying for us even while we were sinners. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. You can read the full article “A Father’s Love” at cefonline.com.