DadAwesome

Latest Episodes:

89 | Commitment, Humility & Experiencing God in the Valley (Terry Lijewski) Sep 29, 2019

Show notes

Terry Lijewski is a business leader, family man, mentor and passionate believer in doing hard things for the benefit of others. He's the Vice President at Scott Equipment Company. Terry loves focussing on investing his energy and resources in others as he follows God's footsteps. He's been married 32 years and is the father of three adult children.

Conversations Notes:

3:25 - Terry intro
4:40 - Value of mentors in every season of marriage
6:30 - Scott Equipment Company
8:06 - Fatherhood advice
8:30 - "Be all in on your kids interests and passions"
9:40 - Windshield Time - intentional conversations while on the road
11:05 - Terry sharing dad mistakes
11:30 - Take the vacation and get away to build memories
12:12 - Story of too much focus on house projects and skipping his daughters event
13:22 - Story of the painful cancer battle that his son walked through while in college
16:35 - The gift of people standing together with their family in prayer and support
17:25 - The struggle of being a father and feeling defeated and wanting to be his sons strength.
18:45 - Hosting a Chemo Kick Off Party
19:40 - "If I look back, it's never the mountaintops when I've grown, it's always the valleys"
22:07 - The power of friends in moments of hardship
23:20 - Seeing God's goodness in the struggle
24:09 - Advice for helping friends know how to show support when others are walking through a valley
26:20 - Terry's reflections on his father and the contrast between his dad and the fatherhood journey that Terry wanted to live out.
28:10 - He never heard his dad say "I love you" and still today Terry texts his kids everyday to say "I love you".
29:45 - Terry's encouragement to fathers who feel discouraged
30:00 - "Humble yourself and go ask for forgiveness"
31:20 - "Commitment baby. Ain't no substitute"
31:40 - Just encourage your kids to commit and do their best and see it through
32:10 - Deciding to do hard things on behalf of others
Link to Venture Expeditions
32:50 - FATHERS FOR THE FATHERLESS June 20, 2020
33:30 - God spoke to me not to just write the check, but to actually go and join what God is doing
35:45 - Terry's parting words... Always bring your kids with you for opportunities to serve… Transferring generosity and compassion to your kids
37:06 - Terry's closing prayer

Episode Links:

88 | Scheduling Adventure, Encouraging Entrepreneurship & Living Your Story (John Bolin) Sep 22, 2019

Show notes

About John Bolin:

John Bolin is an entrepreneur and storyteller passionate about encouraging others to use their talent to create opportunities to be remarkable and make an exponential impact. As a speaker and consultant, he works with companies to help them clarify and amplify the stories of their customers. With over twenty years of experience in theater, publishing, and film, John is a trusted voice on faith and culture.

Conversation Notes:

3:29 - John introduces himself
4:53 - The elements of "story" weaves into every part of our life
5:05 - Conflict changes people. The process of conflict or tension and then release.
6:00 - The hero of the story meets the Sage or the Guide. The parent is the guide.
7:45 - Stories of pain and difficult times
10:05 - Parenting is a long game. We must learn to embrace the tears and pain.
11:10 - Parenting mistakes
12:10 - Family values. Creativity, Hospitality, Spontaneity, Entrepreneurship, Travel, etc
13:15 - Stories of his kids being entrepreneurial
15:00 - The challenges of 5 kids and the adventure of a long extended month long family trip to Europe
16:35 - Travel tips for family adventures
17:00 - Schedule first what matters most. It took prioritizing.
17:57 - John shares reflections about his father
18:20 - Learn to make what matters to your kids matter to you
20:21 - Time machine advice. Spend more time investing in your kids. Ask more questions. Play more.
21:55 - John shares his top fatherhood resources
22:10 - You must have friends to walk this dad life out with.
- The Perfect Father (Rob Stennett)
- Focus on the Family (Jim Daly's podcast)
- Business Authors: Seth Godin, Jeff Goins, Ryan Holiday, Stephen Pressfield, Michael Hyatt, Tim Ferriss even Gary Vee
25:11 - You are the perfect dad for your kids. God put your kids in your family for a reason. You have everything you need to parent your kids the way god wants you to... You've got what it takes. Don't compare yourself to other dads.
27:20 - You can't lose. We all make mistakes. There is hope. No matter how far you've drifted.
27:50 - Be willing to listen. Don't be afraid.
28:50 - God redeems us. God carries us.
29:30 - We can't live our kids story. We can't take their burdens. All we can do is carry them.
30:00 - John's Prayer

Conversation Links:

John's website
John's books
John on Instagram

87 | Chasing Bold Ideas & Living Free From Shame (Leary Gates) Sep 15, 2019

Show notes

Leary Gates is a leadership coach, business creative, entrepreneur, bi-vocational leader, podcast host and non-profit leader. Leary's primary interest has been to unearth a person's (or firm's) core value and find creative ways to grow it. He is the founder of BoldPath Life Strategies co-host of the Bold Idea Podcast. He's a husband of 39 years and dad to four kids.

Conversation Notes:

2:55 - Leary introduces himself
4:15 - Leary explains his passion to chase bold ideas. "So many ideas, so little time"
5:40 - Put your faith to work. Don't get stuck.
6:30 - "To redeem something is to release it from captivity"
9:01 - "What makes me a strong dad is having a strong marriage"
9:55 - Having a strong relationship with our spouse can give us clarity on our blind spots. Our spouse can see things that we can't see
11:49 - Dad Advice >> The book he would send back to himself - Carol Dweck's Mindset
12:20 - We do not need to prove ourselves to be worthy. It's not about performance, it's about effort.
13:08 - "Understand the impact of shame on your own life and how easy it is to impart it on your kids"
13:25 - Reinventure Me Podcast on Mindset
14:58 - Reflecting on how his dad was an anti role model
15:44 - The need to find other role models when his dad was not able to play that role
17:54 - The commitment to be opposite of what his father was. To connect and pursue his kids.
20:01 - We ask God what He wants to teach us... Asking "pain escape" questions.
20:29 - Maybe God isn't trying to get us to learn anything. Maybe God just wants us to be faithful role models for our kids to see what it's like for their parents to go through a challenging time.
22:12 - Leary explains the benefits of journalling. Creating self-reflection time. It helps him get outside himself by getting his thoughts on the page.
23:00 - The importance of making sure both parents are aligned. It's the child's job to get agreement from both parents.
23:40 - "We are more interested in unity than we are interested in your needs being met"
24:38 - The First Four Minutes - a business principle and a family principle. The first 4-minutes of any interaction sets the tone for the entire interaction. When Leary got home, the first 4-minutes were for him to connect with his wife.
26:00 - The Relationship Test - Blog Post
27:50 - The pursuits that we invest in can either enhance or detract
28:35 - The need for rest. We can't just keep pushing for more and more.
29:39 - Stories of failure as a dad
30:05 - Becoming overly frustrated with his son. Triggering each other into arguments.
31:53 - The honor of being a dad. We can't see this when we're right in the middle of parenting.
32:45 - Just stay with it. Lean into the dad life. Embrace this role as a holy calling. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Take care of yourself.
34:50 - What Leary hopes his kids will say about his life at his funeral someday. That his kids will feel listened to without being judged. The gift of being present and not judging others.
35:56 Leary's prayer

Episode Links:

www.learygates.com/
Bold Idea Podcast
Leary's Book List
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success Paperback (Carol S. Dweck)

86 | Bringing our Dad-ideas to life (Charles Lee) Sep 08, 2019

Show notes

Charles Lee is the Founder and CEO of Ideation, an idea agency that specializes in helping organizations and businesses take their ideas and make them remarkable via creative strategy, branding, design, and marketing. He is also the author of Good Idea. Now What? - a book that guides people in implementing ideas well. Charles regularly speaks around the country on topics such as creative process, idea-making, innovation, branding, new media, and compassionate justice.

Conversation Notes

2:44 - Introducing Charles Lee
Timed talk format from Charles' Youth Specialties presentation = PechaKucha
4:44 - "My life mission is to reduce the number of people who take their good ideas to the grave." - Charles Lee
5:00 - God designed us and has aspirations for us. We can pursue things that God has birthed in us.
7:36 - Charles on the influence of his family
9:05 - Less about life-balance and more like a fulcrum. Move your attention to where it is needed in specific seasons.
11:12 - Teaching resilience to our kids: modeling stewardship
12:48 - Learnings from painful moments - coming to terms with our limitations
14:46 - Trust God that he has something bigger planned
15:40 - Priorities in Charles' family: continued generosity and the gift of encouraging their kids to engage with adults
16:43 - Parenting mistakes: failing to put ourselves in the position of our kids and increase empathy for them
18:28 - How to reserve creative energy for our family: It's about pace
19:46 - "The way that innovation works is often two or more unrelated concepts intersect. So if I can put [my kids] in environments that they're not familiar with, I'm hoping it will trigger an unexpected connection in their thinking." - Charles Lee
21:01 - Charles summarizes his book Good Idea. Now What? and why he wrote it
22:29 - The Third Eye Principle applied to the dad-life
24:23 - How the concept of limiting/trimming relates to parenting
25:01 - "Don't become a wandering generality. Be a meaningful specific." Zig Ziglar
25:42 - "Since we are finite beings with finite time and resources, we need to prioritize regularly what really matters to us." - Charles Lee
26:01 - "We will always make time for things that we value... If [being a dad] is a priority, then our actions should reflect that commitment." - Charles Lee
26:36 - The importance of writing down our ideas
28:08 - Encouragement for dads
28:47 - "If I will be faithful as I can be… God will still make His path straight for our kids… He loves them far more than I do." - Charles Lee
29:38 - Legacy Question: What Charles hopes his family would say at his celebration of life service
31:01 - Charles' closing prayer

Resources

Charles' website: https://charlestlee.com
"Ignite" timed presentations - http://www.ignitetalks.io
Charles' company website: https://theideation.com/
Charles' book: Good Idea. Now What? How to Move Ideas to Execution - http://goodideabook.com

85 | Activating Legacy, a Hero's Character & the Courage to Start (Paul Cole part 2) Sep 01, 2019

Show notes

Invitation: We're looking for 9 volunteers to help us create the dadAWESOME Fruit of The Spirit small group curriculum. Would you be interested in volunteering 2 or 3 hours of your time to listen back to a previous week's episode and take notes and gather more resources on your assigned Fruit of the Spirit? Please email da@dadawesome.org for more information.

This is the second part of our dadAWESOME conversation with Paul Cole. If you missed last week, here's the link to episode 84. Paul Cole is a dedicated champion for raising up successful young leaders, and committed to challenging and helping men be great dads. He's the President of the Christian Men's Network Worldwide and is active in 138 nations, connecting over 86,000 leaders. Paul writes, speaks and travels extensively encouraging and advancing the men's movement around the world.

Conversation Notes:

4:55 - Book Point Man by Steve Farrar = "Don't screw up this fatherhood thing"
5:40 - "You are your child's hero. What God the Father is to us, a source of provision, a source of discipline, security, affirmation, value, love"
5:55 - "True discipline doesn't come out of anger, it comes from love"
6:40 - 1 Corinthians 10 gives a picture of God trying to grow up his people
7:20 - "Every great culture is built on the character of it's hero's and the courage of it's warriors" (Isaiah 3:1)
8:25 - Dads need to show their daughters what a real man looks like
8:50 - "The most important thing for you to work on as a dad is YOU and then after working on you, disciple your children"
Proverbs 22:6 "Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it."
9:30 - Gideon failing as a farther (Judges 8:30-33)... not one of his sons stood up for what was right.
10:50 - "Legacy isn't what you do in life, it's what you put into motion"
12:30 - Story about a failure as a father... His daughter felt like she was an agenda for her dad. He had compartmentalized his life.
14:10 - The importance of just saying yes and being present with your kids... Be careful not to build walls that lower your connection.
Top Books for young dads: The Well Played Life & The Boy Crisis & Phil Pringle Podcast
Just a Bartender book by Paul Cole
17:30 - "One of the most important things you can do for your kids is to let them see you live your life and invite them into seeing you make choices, decisions and mistakes"
18:55 - "It has to be normative that you can pray together at anytime throughout the day. It does not have to be at special moments"
20:00 - Powerful story of changing the culture of Uganda through men's discipleship
21:00 - "They weren't famous men, they just started. The most important thing about discipling your kids is to start. Don't try to figure it all out, just start"
24:30 - "David reproduced what was in his heart. As a father, you don't just reproduce what's in your hands, you reproduce what's in your heart. Your children may not always listen to you, but they will always imitate you"
25:05 - Spread the word about dadAWESOME - share www.dadawesome.org with other dads
25:35 - Paul's prayer

Episode Links:

84 | Hug Your Kids, Show Them Their Future & Change The World (Paul Cole) Aug 25, 2019

Show notes

Paul Cole is a dedicated champion for raising up successful young leaders, and committed to challenging and helping men be great dads. He's the President of the Christian Men's Network Worldwide and is active in 138 nations, connecting over 86,000 leaders. Paul writes, speaks and travels extensively encouraging and advancing the men's movement around the world.

Conversation Notes:

3:25 - Paul Cole introduces himself
4:30 - "If things aren't based on the Word of God, if we don't have a true north centering us, then we move all over the place"
4:50 - The Global Fatherhood Initiative
5:14 - "If we change the hearts of men, we change the soul of a nation"
5:25 - "We live in a world that seems to be more concerned about the calorie content of our children's lunches than the character content of their hearts"
5:50 - Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
10:45 - 1 Corinthians 4:15 "Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel."
11:40 - "An instructor tells you what he knows, but a father gives you who he is. A father will teach by example with his life, while an instructor gives you his words. There's a lot of people who will tell you where you've done it wrong, but there's very few who are willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up."
12:05 - "Fatherhood and the spirit of fathering is actually what will undergird a reversal of the trend in our culture away from Christ"
12:43 - Many of the father to child handoffs are not done well. Many people mess this up.
13:20 - "The role of a father is to reach into a child's heart, pull out their future and show it to them... A father says don't let them look down on you because you are young"
14:20 - Paul was setting Timothy up in a generational ministry - 2 Timothy 2:2
14:50 - Jesus spent 30 years preparing for 3 years of ministry
15:50 - All men by nature are selfish
16:15 - "The enemy is always trying to rip men off of their destiny"
17:45 - "The conversion process of following Christ is what changes us from selfishness to giving, to generosity. IT moves us from the negative to the positive."
18:00 - "Fatherlessness is a form of selfishness. And selfishness in it's working out is childishness"
19:30 - The importance of being engaged when you get home from work. "When you walk in the door, you belong to your family"
20:05 - The importance of touch. What did Jesus do for people? He touched them.
20:18 - Let your kids see you love their mom
20:30 - Words have great power

Episode Links:

83 | Surf Trips, Being Known & Living Fully Alive (Zack Curry) Aug 18, 2019

Show notes

Zack Curry is the Executive Pastor at Jesus Culture and he's the host of the Man Camp Podcast. For the past 15 years he has been ministering to students in high school and College. Zack's passion is to see student leaders raised up to go into all areas of society to release the kingdom of God and see cultural transformation. Zack and his wife Melissa have three beautiful little girls Grace, Olivia and Ellie.

Conversation Notes:

2:48 - The Man Camp Podcast
3:03 - Zack introducing himself (wife, 3 girls & a male Goldendoodle)
3:40 - Amazing adventure of ministry with Jesus Culture
4:05 - "Our legacy as parents and as a dad is one of the greatest measures of success and what real fruit looks like"
4:20 - The need for a healthy balance of ministry and dad life
5:00 - Zack talks about some recent adventures with his girls
5:10 - "We're raising strong confident women... I don't want my girls to not know who they are or to be looking to a man when they get older to validate them..."
5:40 - The hashtag #dateyourdaughters
6:00 - Using adventure to teach his girls to overcome fear or to be confident
7:20 - "The challenge for us, as dads, is to be disconnected and not present"
8:45 - We grow through hardships
8:50 - The painful moments of his mom battling cancer
11:00 - Story of his daughter wanting to pray for her grandmother
11:50 - We should have faith like a child
12:04 - Moment of weakness when his daughters showed their faith to pray
12:30 - "What we model, what we teach, what we invest in our kids will come out of them."
13:30 - When we sow, we reap what we sow and not just in our life... it's in our kids life.
15:02 - The miracle story of Zack's mom being healed
15:44 - Living fully alive does not mean that we're doing crazy wild adventures
16:30 - Move ourself into dependance. Refuse to coast.
17:45 - Moments of just trying to get through the day. The hard moments.
18:30 - "Our heart matters and we need to live fully alive. And that is not separate from your role as a dad. It's important that you take care of yourself because you're modeling something for them... You've got to have something you're looking forward to. Make sure your heart is alive physically, spiritually and emotionally"
19:20 - Caution about not centering your life around our kids
20:10 - "My goal is to stay connected to my daughters heart. I want to do stuff together and I want her to want me to be part of her world."
21:31 - There is a tendency to isolate as men, but we need other people. We can't do this alone.
22:00 - The importance of brotherhood
23:00 - Make sure you're known. Be known. Share your story. Make sure at least a hand full of other guys know your story. And share your dreams.
24:10 - Do you have something that you're looking forward to? If not, that's a RED FLAG.
24:45 - When was the last time you went on an adventure? Do you have an adventure you're looking forward to now?
26:20 - The power of reminding dads of who they are
27:50 - The areas that Zack is working on in his fatherhood (loosing his patience & not being present with his kids)
29:00 - Missing moments that won't always be there
30:05 - Parenting is not easy. "Being a dad is one of the hardest things I've ever done and the most rewarding thing"
32:00 - Intentional rhythms and focusses
Values (Character, Integrity, Love Jesus, Work Ethic, Gratitude)
22:50 - "We want our kids to know their identity, to know Jesus and walk in a confidence through every season"
33:20 - It's taught... It's not just learned.
34:12 - "Are we aware of what's influencing our kids and are we being intentional?"
34:40 - "God want to use our kids now, not just later in life"
35:50 - Planting seeds in our kids that we are confident will come to fruition in the future. We will reap what we sow.
36:32 - Time Machine Advice = Take more time to be present and enjoy the moments
37:23 - John Eldridge book: You Have What It Takes
37:40 - "You have what it takes. Don't compare yourself. There is no one else who can take your place. Just you being in the game is more than many kids have"
39:10 - Zack prays for all of us dads

Episode Links:

82 | Intentional Influence with Sam Collier Aug 11, 2019

Show notes

Sam Collier is a speaker and host at Northpoint Ministries (founded by Andy Stanley) as well as the Director of City Strategy for The reThink Group (founded by Reggie Joiner). Sam is also the host of nationally syndicated radio-podcasts "A Greater Story w/ Sam Collier" and "The Countdown w/ Sam Collier". Sam lives in Atlanta, GA with his beautiful wife and daughter!

Conversation Notes

2:12 - Introducing Sam Collier
5:23 - Sam's family and summer of his current roles and projects
8:35 - "Sometimes a story can do more for our development and direction than principles."
10:23 - Sam's backstory and the influence of his father
15:40 - Sam shares what is going well in his dad role
17:12 - God's call as a step-dad (Bonus Dad) to honor his daughter's biological father
19:00 - Supporting mom in the discipline acts of parenting
21:40 - Unlocking wonder in our kids
23:30 - The importance of intentionality in parenting
25:08 - With intentionality, something is better than nothing. But if you want to get to that next level, you need to plan.
27:35 - Sam on influence in the dad-life
28:03 - "You are being influenced by something whether you like it or not… Something is influencing you, so you might as well get intentional about it."
28:51 - Introducing 3 key areas of influence
Influence of Friends
29:05 - "Our desire to fit in often outweighs our desire to stand out. Therefore, we become what our friend group demands."
30:05 - "God created you for acceptance and community… you will always choose acceptance over being great… let's stop trying to change that principal.. embrace it and rearrange our lives to fit around that."
30:27 - "Who are you hanging around? Every great dad that I have met hangs around great dads."
Influence of Leaders
31:40 - "Not every mentor is supposed to mentor me in everything."
32:25 - "You want to control that circle. Hang around great dads as peers because they will rub off on you. Get some older dads… to be your leaders to help mentor you, so you can be everything God has called you to be."
Influence of Followers
32:45 - "Followers are the mirror into our souls and into our gifts. They help reflect back on us what God has put in us."
33:12 - Ask your followers and fans what they love about you and then turn that dial up
33:40 - Ask others what our blind-spots are, and use it to examine our parenting
35:27 - Current culture is beginning to realize the importance of parenting too
36:52 - "Only you can raise your kid."
39:23 - "I want to raise the bar and punctuate the idea that parenting and fatherhood is the most important thing you'll do outside of serving God."
39:51 - Sam's closing prayer

Resources

A Greater Story Podcast & Radio Show
Sam's Books: The Essentials & Find Your Voice
https://www.samcollier.tv/
Orange Ministry - Orange Leaders Blog

81 | Adjust the Pace, Live w/ SELF-CONTROL & Hear God's Voice (Tim Bohlke) Aug 04, 2019

Show notes

dadAWESOME DAILY:

Receive an encouraging daily text message with prayers, Bible verses, dad tips & other fatherhood inspiration. The resource is free and the initial test group of dads has LOVED these simple daily fatherhood encouragements. Simply text "dad" to 33222 to join DA Daily.

To finish out this summer's Fruit of the Spirit 9-part series, we have Tim Bohlke joining us to discuss the theme of Self-Control. Tim is a husband, a father, a grandfather, a disrupter, and dreamer. He has spent three decades investing in leaders and helping forge a new path that will serve leaders, their families, and their organizations well. As the executive director of a large youth ministry, a pastor, teacher, coach, counselor, and founder of Harbor, Tim has continued to pursue SPACE and seek Thin Places where he can be refreshed and restored.

Conversation Notes:

2:15 - Jeff's introduction of Tim
2:40 - Seven city blitz tour for Harbor Ministries
3:24 - Tim introducing his family and ministry
4:00 - Harbor Ministries overview
5:00 - Overview of the RHYTHMinTWENTY and Rogue groups
7:46 - Tim shares his passion for fatherhood
8:20 - "My dad had the ability to invest in significant ways and significant times. He was present"
8:45 - "How can I create key moments with my kids? Create milestones and ceremonies to celebrate the transitions"
9:30 - Specifics around key conversations with his kids
10:30 - the power of combining intentional conversations with fun memory making trips
11:25 - Creating significant memories takes investing resources and time and intentionality
11:40 - Asking multiple people in his kids life to write specific words for his kids at the age of 18
13:20 - Book "Thin Places"
14:05 - "A thin place is a time when Heaven and Earth collide and just for a moment we see God for who He really is and we see life for what it was meant to be"
14:45 - Slow down and embrace moments
15:40 - Story of Tim's trip to Iceland and searching for a specific cliff (Video of the Cliff featured by Sigur Ros)
18:40 - What does being a cliff chaser look like?
18:55 - "God loves risk takers. Men who are willing to step out and do things differently and think differently. Maybe step out of the box. And that sometimes takes a different level of intentionality and resource. It takes stepping off of the treadmill and adjusting the speed of what we are doing and how we are living life. The oppressive work… If we are inviting our kids into Thin Places, we need to invite them into quieting down and listening and slowing down enough in their own lives and turning off the phones long enough and turning off the noise. But first we have to be willing to do that ourselves."
20:10 - We are designed to be on the open waves, but we need to slow down and come into harbor
21:04 - Theme of Self-Control
21:15 - "It's key that we understand this idea of harbor as dads. The idea of bringing people in. Because if we're living constantly in open water, and on mission. If work becomes too much in the context of our lives, we can't survive out there just like a ship. If you don't come into harbor ever, you're worthless. You're dead in the water. Whatever your mission is no matter how important it is. It isn't going to happen. And if we're not modeling this at some level to our kids, they're just going to carry on with what they've seen. We must model for them how to come in and create sabbath and rest and turn off the noise"
21:40 - Modeling rest and sabbath and shutting off the noise for our kids
22:10 - Inviting men to find space… find quiet time to shut off the noise and be still.
23:00 - Self-control… every other Fruit of the Spirit require Self Control
24:00 - Creating the discipline of quiet and rest helps us be prepared and not operate in reactive mode
24:35 - James 1:19 "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry"
26:00 - Practical guide to taking time for space, silence and listening to God = Look back and look forward
29:06 - "I was starting to take people to a place in their spiritual journey that I was not going myself"
30:10 - Luke 9:33 - deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him
30:50 - specific challenge: Take 2-hours and slow down and listen for God's voice
31:30 - John 10:10
32:00 - Jeff thanks Tim and encourages the dads to explore Harbor Ministries
32:52 - Tim's last word = take the TWO HOUR CHALLENGE
33:25 - Tim's prayer over every listener

Episode Links:

Quotes from Thin Places Book:

"One of my hopes was to wake up leaders who were coasting, who were settling, or backing away from dangerous pursuits. When the faith of a leader loses its edge, when we doze off and get bored, or forget what it was like to take risks and pursue this mysterious God and all He has for us, everyone loses. We lose. Our families lose, and those we lead lose."
"Often it's not the struggles or the hard times that derail leaders, but times of extended prosperity, success, coasting and safety that can take us out spiritually"
"Sometimes faith is just hanging on. But if we continue to pursue a relationship with Jesus through our lives, just maybe we can do more than hang on. Maybe we can do more than survive during the hardest of times. Maybe we can actually thrive during those times."
"The farther we separate ourselves from our powerful encounters with God, the more the memories of his tangible presence fade, the more likely we are to settle and to coast to the finish line"
"We were designed for the reckless, heart pounding pursuit of the Edge of the Wild, not a boring routine of dos and don'ts"
"I want to fight for, cheer lead, and encourage my wife and my kids to chase their dreams…"
"Is there a step you need to take to light a fire and engage yourself and others in a more passionate pursuit of this wild mysterious God?"

80 | Leading our Family with GENTLENESS (Matt Brown) Jul 28, 2019

Show notes

Episode 80 continues our nine-part series on the Fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. We get to hear from evangelist Matt Brown who reminds us about Gentleness: "The greatest joy we can experience in our life starts with how we treat our family." Matt Brown is an evangelist, author, and founder of Think Eternity, a ministry dedicated to amplifying the gospel every day to millions through podcasts, devotionals, videos, live events and more. Matt and his wife Michelle and their three children live in Minnesota.

Conversation Notes

2:30 - Introducing guest Matt Brown
6:45 - How having kids changed Matt's understanding of the LOVE of our Heavenly Father
9:49 - "Part of spiritual maturity is understanding God's love and a deeper and greater way your life and in your walk"
10:03 - "that to me is what fatherhood is… it is a love and depth of love that goes beyond anything you can put into words."
11:13 - Most of our life is playing with Legos, Hot Wheels, and GI Joes… being a dad brings us back into the fun zone
11:45 - Matt reflects on the example of his dad in his life
13:38 - "Our kids aren't going to do what we tell them to do, so much as they do what WE do."
14:52 - "If we work too hard, if we are too driven, if we don't know what's driving us in our motives or in our desire to succeed and do well, sometimes that pace of life can lead to less peace and being more aggressive to people."
16:04 - "No Dad is perfect, but there is something really powerful about being willing to apologize and admit you are wrong, especially as a father… in a leadership role. It means more that way."
18:25 - Jeff talks about how we're not after perfection, but we still are intentional to reflect our perfect Father to future generations
20:33 - Matt's time-machine advice to his past self: enjoy the journey, capture the moments, and take care of yourself.
23:42 - Matt talks about how the fruit of the Spirit applies to dads
24:09 - "The fruit of the Spirit are so simple we almost forget about them, but it is so important as believers that we come back to the basics."
25:04 - "Focus on starting with your own home … because true success is when people who know you the best respect you the most."
25:23 - "The greatest joy we can experience in our life starts with how we treat our family."
25:47 - Matt on gentleness
27:38 - "What is it like to be on the other side of your leadership?"
27:45 - "A lot of times we carry more authority and more weight, and so when we say things that are a little bit intense it comes off as ten times as intense… It is so important to be gentle."
28:08 - "[Gentleness] is one of the things God works in your life when you're truly getting closer to Him… and submit to the Lord. It is not our natural flesh response. It is something the Bible calls us to work towards… not just hope it happens. Work towards being gentle with others starting with our kids."
29:02 - "The way you live you live your life not only affects you, it affects your children and their children and generations to come. You are setting the pace right now with how you're faithful in the little things that has a ripple effect that you won't even realize until eternity."
29:34 - Matt's thoughts on prayer
30:10 - "Only you can pray a father prayer over your children"
30:32 - Themes Matt prays over his children:
- Be people of the fruit of the Spirit
- Be people of wisdom
- Know the joy of knowing the Lord
- Be humble servants
- Be generous serving others
- Spend their life pursuing the Lord
31:20 - "We want to teach our kids truth, but we also want to live it out in front of them (so it is caught more than taught). But there is also some things only prayer can do."
32:28 - Matt's closing prayer

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thinke.org

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