AUTHOR'S PREFACE It was Christmas morning, 1996. Our extended family - three generations of Wingates and Edwards - had gathered at the farm we call 'Limerick'. Fifteen people, three Labrador Retrievers, and a cat scurried around the festively decorated farmhouse. A fire crackled in the fireplace. I vividly remember every detail of that cold, beautiful, noisy morning. The children were excited, gift wrapping was flying, dogs' tails were wagging, Christmas music was playing. But in the midst of the revelry something was missing. Somehow the nicely wrapped gifts, though beautiful, seemed a little empty. The real agenda of the day was not yet accomplished. I went for a solitary walk in the woods, and as I walked I prayed out loud: 'Lord, what is the best gift I can give my children for Christmas? What present will truly last?' My immediate impression was, 'Write them a book on life's most important lessons.' In the days and weeks that followed, I searched the Scriptures, asking myself what lessons a father ought to pass on to his children. I kept going back to this passage from Proverbs. Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck (1:8-9). What instructions? What teaching? Thus I began sifting through and summarizing the lessons of Proverbs. What are its key principles? What words of wisdom did the father impart to his sons and daughters? The longer I've studied, the more I am captivated by the practical wisdom of the book of Proverbs. It reveals the path to abundant life - and that is precisely the gift I want to give my children. Twelve years and many life events later, here is the gift I've been making. It is really a personal gift for my three children, Miriam, Bryan and Catharine, but I am more than happy to share it with anyone who cares to eavesdrop on our conversation. Ken Wingate Columbia South Carolina