The Gift of a Father gives specific things that my father, Leonard James, Jr. did throughout my life that

were truly gifts and blessings to me. He did these things by way of example, teaching and mentoring that have been real blessings over the entire seventy-five plus years of my existence.

Key points in his teachings are:

1. The sovereignty of God emphasizes that everything that man uses in technology and commerce was created by God. We can do nothing apart from our Creator whether we acknowledge Him or not.

2. My father set forth God's model for manhood by his example and teaching. He emphasized that God set forth the model or pattern in the first two chapters of Genesis.

3. He established that my identity must be set by Godly principles and not by the thinking and behavior of the people and culture around me.

4. He stressed the importance of having a vision for life and to avoid wandering aimlessly.

5. As I entered puberty he impressed upon me the importance of commitment in marriage and a relationship with a female. This means there is more that just sex involved. He set the example in that he was married to my mother for 59 years before his death.

6. Life is filled with traps and snares. He taught me to be careful when dealing with temptations and "bait".

7. Racism was a major issue while I was growing up in Mississippi in the 1950s and 1960s. He and my mother emphasized that my success was possible and I had to assume responsibility for it.

8. He raised me and my sisters to look to God's unconditional love and His Grace even though we made mistakes.