Timing is everything. Following on the heals of the nation's focus on domestic violence and family values and the Million Man March in Washington, at a time when there are many fragmented, dysfunctional, and broken homes in present-day society, Jakes has created a much needed account, using an up-close and personal perspective.
In Daddy Loves His Girls, he covers the multidimensional role and responsibility of fatherhood. For example, in "Fatherless Girls, Fearful Women, and Faithfulness," the author poignantly relates that "you and I both know that there is no such thing as a fatherless girl. Every girl has a biological father, or at least a man who contributed his seed toward her production." Here the author asserts that the role of father is "greatest after birth, not before. It is the rearing of the child that determines whether a man is just a donor or a father in the true sense."
Jakes is very open and frank about his love and relationships with his daughters. His chapter "Daddy Loves His Girls," the title of the book, is a letter to his daughters. The letter, which he explains in the dedication, is written for them but also "for all of the Father's daughters, every woman and every girl." Jakes describes in another chapter, "You Are Not the Same," that though his daughters were born only eleven months apart, they are different and unique. Through the author's professional study, sensory perception, and observation, he points out that each of us is born "unique," "priceless," "valuable," and "irreplaceable." We should strive to learn from others but never try to duplicate them. The Heavenly Father made us unique and different. Yet, "Different doesn't mean less than or more than, just different."
Both Jakes's mood and tone are unrestrained expressions of fatherhood that are brilliant, enlightening, and sensitive. Readers will not find reflective chapters merely about the good times of life but about the pains and struggles of responsible and loving parenting of daughters. In "Talita, cumi-Damsel, arise!" he speaks to the troubled, oppressed, depressed, and distressed daughters of the world.
Chapters cover the search for the Heavenly Father to guide our everyday lives, "The Right to Choose," "Daughterhood, Motherhood and Beyond," "Some Things Nurtured, Some Things Neutered," "An Enemy Hath Done This!" "Why Women War Against Each Other," "Some-times He Must Say No," and "Your Father Left You Loaded."
Bestselling author T.D. Jakes is the founder and senior pastor of Temple of Faith Ministries in Charleston, West Virginia. His books have sold over one million copies since 1993. Bishop Jakes ministers to millions in crusades and conferences and on his syndicated television show, "Get Ready with T.D. Jakes."
In Daddy Loves His Girls, T.D. Jakes has sprinkled grains of wheat to fodder the soil and ripen the role of fatherhood. He has produced a sound, nondidactic but solidly written book about daughters and fathers and their search for a relationship with the Heavenly Father. This book is recommended reading for every mother, daughter, and father. Fathers and daughters are topics seldom explored. T.D. Jakes's book on the subject is an affirmation of that precious, priceless relationship between father and daughter and is most welcomed.
Emma Wisdom is an enterprising author, publisher, and teacher in Nashville, TN.
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