Keith Battle - The Blueprint (Father's Day Special)

Lord, you’ve been so good to me. If that’s your story, if that’s your testimony, just type that in the chat. Lord, you’ve been so good to me. It’s not that I don’t want you to be good to others; I appreciate your goodness to them, but I have to thank you because you’ve been so good to me. By the way, when I did my fourteenth audition to be on the praise and worship team, Bazaar Music, that’s the song I picked. I live it, and I really feel like I do it better than Kenny, who just sang it. But they said I had to be in the cuff, so I needed to be in my car going at a certain speed for me to be on, and it didn’t work out anyway.

Hey y’all, y’all know what today is? It’s Father’s Day! That’s what I’m talking about—Father’s Day! It’s a celebration! Yeah, happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there! It’s a celebration. With all we’re going through, I want to lift up all the dads right now sitting in your recliners by the grill, turning those red cups up—just put some Gatorade in it, that’s it, and some ice cubes. That’s all you need! You won’t need anything else today—be in your right mind, clothed in your right mind. This is your day! Watch some ESPN, highlight some old stuff, 'cause there’s nothing new on.

I want to shout out to all the granddads, stepdads, uncles, nephews, sons, coaches, and every father figure. We appreciate you, we love you, we support you, we applaud you, and we thank you. I’ve got a message for you today called «The Blueprint,» but before I get into it, I just want to thank every dad out here today watching for just being there for your kids.
With all the fatherlessness in this society and all the problems associated with it, the crime rate rises. Wherever there’s fatherlessness, there’s a high recidivism rate in prisons and a high incarceration rate. In places where fatherlessness exists, there’s also a high dropout rate in schools and numerous behavioral problems. The absence of a father is statistically connected to teen pregnancy, linking all these issues to fatherlessness.

Let me first salute and thank every father here who has stayed committed to their family and stood by their children; I celebrate you because it is not easy. I applaud you, even if your child struggles. I commend you for every prayer you’ve offered, every tear you’ve shed, and every sleepless night you’ve endured. Every time you stayed up in bed, hearing the garage door open or the front door creak, you said, «Thank you, Lord, ” because even though they may not be living the way they should, you were grateful they made it back home one more time.

I applaud you for every lawyer you’ve had to hire, every court you attended, and every jail or prison you visited. I thank you for every child and parent conference you went to, where you faced embarrassment. I appreciate every 504 and IEP meeting you attended—those of you who know this struggle—if I’m talking to you, I thank you. I acknowledge everything you’ve done to advocate for your child. Thank you for all the hours of research you conducted to find the right environment for your child.

I express gratitude for the part-time job you took on to afford the support services your child needed. I appreciate all the challenges you faced in your marriage because you focused so much on your child. Thank you for enduring the pain in your own life while ensuring your child was okay. I appreciate every game you attended, every practice you went to, and every instrument you bought for your child, even when they no longer wanted to play it.

Thank you for your support when your child played on a team, quit, wanted to rejoin, and didn’t get playing time; you were still there clapping for them, even when they ran the wrong way down the field. I want to thank you for being a parent and standing by your child. Thank you for disciplining your child, even when it made you cry, and for putting yourself on discipline to teach them a lesson.

Thank you for getting on a ride with your child, knowing it would make you feel sick, just so they would feel loved. I appreciate everything you have done to improve your child’s life, for every worn-out pair of shoes, and for buying your child some Jordans, even when they were in a stage of rebellion.

I thank you for every sacrifice and for every child who didn’t say thank you. The Lord sent me here today to express gratitude on behalf of your children for everything you’ve done. Thank you. Yes! [Applause] That’s right! Indeed, every day, we want to thank you. We cannot thank you enough for every single thing.