No dad is perfect, but every dad is important.  To be a godly father is one of the greatest aspirations and hardest challenges a man will face. On the good days as well as the hard ones, a father can make a powerful difference in the life of a child. In reality, the art of fathering is seldom taught, but best learned through example. The impact of a father’s legacy shapes generations. Get ready for Father’s Day with these inspiring quotes honoring the importance of fatherhood.

I remember the days when my young son wanted to be just like his dad. Caleb loved to slip his toddler feet into my husband’s “big-heavy” shoes, following him around the house. I can only imagine how big those shoes must have felt as he trudged from one room to the next.

Grass mowing day was a favorite time for father and son. When my husband mowed the grass, my son loved to help with his Fisher-Price pop-pop mower. Whatever my husband did, my son wanted to do as well.

“Big boy, come on, let’s go fix the porch,” my husband would say. Caleb would grab his little tool box and work alongside enjoying the time with his dad. I still chuckle about the time we Introduced our son to new friends, “This is our son, Caleb.”

Caleb piped up immediately “No, my name is Big Boy!”

I love that my husband knew just how to make our son feel special. As the years passed and we had two more children, I have watched my husband work hard, pray faithfully, and love well as he gives his all to our family. I am honored and proud to be his wife and I’m grateful for all that he does for our family.  That’s why so many of these quotes warmed my heart. I have seen the truth and importance of them lived out over the past 29 years of family life.

The Value of Good Fathers

There’s so much truth to the famous sentiment that a father is a son’s first hero and a daughters first love. The value of a good father cannot be counted and is often overlooked. You can read the testimony about my father in the post A Father’s Legacy or listen to my Father’s Day Sermon honoring fathers at the end of the father’s legacy post.

This Father’s Day, celebrate the fathers in your life with quotes to inspire and appreciate the blessing of father’s who love their families well.

32 Meaningful Quotes to Celebrate Dad this Father’s Day

1. “Of all the gifts a dad can give his kid, maybe the best one of all is a good example to follow.” –Joey Benevento
2. “I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.” –Umberto Eco, Foucault’s Pendulum
3. “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” —Sigmund Freud
4. “A father’s smile has been known to light up a child’s entire day.” —Susan Gale
5. “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.” –Billy Graham
6. “The nature of impending fatherhood is that you are doing something that you’re unqualified to do, and then you become qualified while doing it.” –John Green
7. “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” –Theodore Hesburgh
8. “Being a father is the most important role I will ever play and if I don’t do this well, no other thing I do really matters.” –Michael Josephson
9. “Every father should remember one day his son will follow his example, not his advice.” –Charles Kettering
10. “The imprint of a father remains forever on the life of the child.” —Roy Lessin
11. “No man stands taller than when he stoops to help a child.” –Abraham Lincoln
12. “The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature.” –Antoine François Manon Lescaut
13. “Father: Respected for his wisdom. Appreciated for his strength. Admired for his love.”  –Barbara Loots
14. “The impression made by a father’s voice can set in motion an entire trend of life.” –Gordon MacDonald
15. “Being a great father is like shaving. No matter how good you shaved today, you have to do it again tomorrow.” –Reed Markham
16. “There’s no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it.” –George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings
17. “As old as she was, she still missed her daddy sometimes.” –Gloria Nayler
18. “The greatest mark of a father is how he treats his children when no one is looking.” —Dan Pearce
19. “Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man.” Frank Pittman
20. “A man’s worth is measured by how he parents his children. What he gives them, what he keeps away from them, the lessons he teaches and the lessons he allows them to learn on their own.” —Lisa Rogers
21. “The older I get, the smarter my father seems to get.” Tim Russert
22. “A girl’s first true love is her father.” —Marisol Santiago
23. “It is a wise father that knows his own child.” —William Shakespeare
24. “Daddies don’t just love their children every now and then, it’s a love without end.” –George Strait
25. “Being a good dad starts with being a good man.” —Paul Treacy
26. “The greatest thing a father can do for his children is love their mother.” —Anjaneth Garcia Untalan
27. “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could ever give another person, he believed in me.” –Jim Valvano
28. “My daddy, he was somewhere between God and John Wayne.” –Hank Williams, Jr.
29. “A father’s love is forever imprinted on his child’s heart.” –Jennifer Williamson
30. “A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow.” Unknown
31. “Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, storytellers and singers of song.” —Unknown
32. “A dad is his son’s first hero.” —Unknown

As you celebrate the father’s in your life, let them know how much they mean to you. Tuck one of these quotes into a card to let them know how much you care. Which one of these quotes is most meaningful to you?

More on A Father’s Legacy

Fathers have the capacity to leave a powerful legacy for their children and the generations to come. The greatest thing that we can do beyond loving and appreciating the fathers in our lives is to pray for them. A loving and wise father makes a powerful difference in a child’s life. Everyday can be a day of gratitude for the blessing of dads in our lives.

Discover the Practical Power of Your Choices

A deeper, healthier life in Christ happens in the choices we make in the moment. Learn practical ways to live with freedom and joy to overcome perfectionism, anxiety, insecurity, self-righteousness, and negative attitudes. Are you ready to discover the difference your choices can make?  (Includes a parenting  chapter.)

Read the book and join the FB Holy in the Moment Community to make the most of your one holy life!Learn more about the award-winning book from Ginger Harrington. Intentional choices to trust God in the moment will change the way you live. *Contains an affiliate link at no cost to you.

Top Parenting Posts

•  A Father’s Legacy
• 10 Bible Verses to Encourage Moms When They Need it Most
• 14 Things I’d Say to My Younger Self About Being a Mom
• Powerful Truth Gives Direction For Our Children
• Letting Them Go: Faith Prayers For Our Children