1. What kind of home environment did you grow up in-too strict, too permissive, or just right? What lingering problems, if any, has it caused for you?

2. Today's text offers hope for fathers who will invest in training children in the way they should go. There is a difference between "what" children need to know and "how" they will best learn it. This lesson deals less with the "content" of their training and more with the "environment" you create. If you have kids, what kind of home environment have you created for your children so far-too strict, too permissive, or just right? What problems, if any, has it caused?

3. Today we discussed creating a grace-based home environment with these characteristics:

1. Father has real, personal relationships
2. Father models what he wants to reproduce
3. Father is vulnerable about his mistakes
4. Father consistently enforces fair and flexible rules
5. Father resolves conflicts quickly, fairly, and honestly
6. Father encourages children to risk/experiment

• Put a check mark by the areas where you excel.
• Put an asterisk by the areas in which you want to improve. Use the space to write down one concrete step you can take right away.
• Share one thing about your answers with the group.