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He spent years building a creative career, only to watch it completely unravel.

He assumed he could fix it, hustling harder to avoid going backwards financially.

That was his story.

For years, author Doug McKelvey chased commercial success as a songwriter and scriptwriter—until a devastating season in his late 40s stripped away his pride. In that dark place, he realized how inadequate his ability to truly love his family was without Jesus.

Until a season of brokenness changed everything.

In this powerful and deeply honest episode, the author of Every Moment Holy shares his journey from career failure to spiritual surrender. He explains how losing his commercial ambition birthed a movement of finding God in the mundane.

You’ll hear:

• The painful reality of watching your career and finances fall apart.
• Why our inability to love others well points us back to our desperate need for Jesus.
• How God uses seasons of failure to gracefully strip away our ego and pride.
• The deeply personal, difficult story behind the creation of Every Moment Holy.
• How to actually see the sacred in the ordinary, everyday moments of fatherhood.

This episode is for the man whose plans have fallen apart. For the man who feels like his ability to love falls short. For the man who misses the holy in the everyday. God is in the mundane.

Strong families begin with healed men.

Today's Sponsor: Cozy Earth

For years, Dad Tired founder Jerrad Lopes has dreamed about taking dads and their families on a mission trip together. In this episode, he shares an exciting new opportunity for Dad Tired families to serve alongside him and his own family in Guatemala in October 2026.

The trip will partner with the missions organization Adventures in Missions to serve local communities outside Guatemala City. Families will have opportunities to participate in meaningful work such as serving in children’s programs, supporting local ministries, building safer cooking stoves for families, and potentially helping build a home for someone in need. 

But this trip is about more than service projects. It’s about expanding perspective, strengthening faith, and helping dads and their kids experience the global Church together. Jerrad shares why these kinds of trips can be spiritually transformative and why he believes every Christian family should consider stepping outside their comfort zone to see what God is doing around the world. 

Because this is the first Dad Tired mission trip, the team will be intentionally small—only 6–7 families total. In this episode, Jerrad explains the vision for the trip, what families can expect, and how listeners can apply to join.

Learn more and apply:
dadtired.com/missions

Host a conference at your church: LEARN MORE

There’s a pattern in Scripture that shows up again and again:

See.
Desire.
Take.

From Adam to David… and now to us.

In this episode, Jerrad sits down with Joel Muddamalle about the unseen spiritual realities shaping our homes—and how everyday temptations (work, lust, alcohol, ambition) fit into a much bigger story.

If you’ve ever felt like something deeper is at work beneath the surface of your struggles, this conversation will help you put language to it.

Strong families begin with healed men.

And healed men learn not to take what was never theirs.

Today's Sponsor: Courage For Life Men's Study Bible

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Most men don’t believe freedom is possible.

They assume they’ll carry shame, addiction, and secrets for the rest of their lives.

That was his story too.

For years, he struggled silently with porn, lust, and shame—even while loving his wife, following Jesus, and doing everything he thought a “good Christian man” was supposed to do.

Until one conversation changed everything.

In this powerful and deeply honest episode, a Dad Tired listener shares his journey from secrecy to freedom, from hiding to truth, and from addiction to healing.

You’ll hear:

• The moment he realized his marriage was in danger
• Why white-knuckling never leads to real freedom
• How honest community changed everything
• The surprising cost of becoming a truth teller
• What freedom actually feels like on the other side

This episode is for the man who feels stuck.

For the man who thinks he’ll never change.

For the man who’s tired of hiding.

Freedom is possible.

Strong families begin with healed men.

If you feel like you’re drowning right now… this one’s for you.

Trying to follow Jesus with integrity.
Trying to love your wife well.
Trying to disciple your kids.
Trying to provide and carry the weight of responsibility.

That’s four heavy bags already.

And then the world keeps asking for more.

More opinions.
More commitments.
More distractions.
More “opportunities.”

In today’s episode, we talk about why it’s okay to say, “My hands are full.”

Why you don’t have to carry every bag handed to you.

And why saying no might be one of the most faithful things you do.

Strong families begin with healed men.
Sometimes healing looks like limits.

Today's Sponsor: The Go Bible

Have you ever told Jesus, “I’ll follow you”… but deep down knew there were conditions?

In Luke 9, Jesus encounters three men who all say they want to follow Him. One is overly excited but hasn’t counted the cost. One delays, waiting for a more convenient time. And one wants Jesus—but still keeps looking back.

Each one is close. But none fully surrender.

In this message, we explore the uncomfortable truth about discipleship: following Jesus will cost you everything. Not because He wants to harm you—but because He wants to heal you, transform you, and make you fully alive.

Jesus isn’t looking for momentary excitement. He’s looking for faithful disciples who are all in.

This message will challenge you to ask:

• Have I counted the cost?
• Am I delaying obedience?
• Am I still looking back at my old life?
• Or am I fully surrendered?

The greatest tragedy isn’t rejecting Jesus outright. It’s almost following Him your entire life.

Scripture: Luke 9:57–62

If you zoom into any single moment of someone’s life, you can draw the wrong conclusion.

David looks like a hero… until you keep reading.
Peter looks unshakable… until the denial.
Moses, Abraham—faithful men with very uneven stories.

And the same is true for us.

In this episode, Jerrad invites you to zoom out on your faith journey. Discipleship isn’t an “up and to the right” chart. It’s more like the stock market—ups, downs, setbacks, growth—all held together by a faithful God who finishes what He starts.

You don’t get to crown yourself in the good seasons.
And you don’t get to condemn yourself in the hard ones.

God isn’t surprised by your uneven growth. He knew exactly what He was getting when He saved you—and He’s still at work.

Homework for today:
Stop judging your faith by a snapshot. Zoom out. Speak truth out loud. And rest in the faithfulness of God.

Dadology Parenting Conference for Dads

Most of the discipleship we’ll ever do as fathers happens inside the four walls of our home.

In today’s Dad Tired Devotional, Jerrad reflects on how limited our hands-on time with our kids really is—and why that makes our homes sacred ground. He invites fathers into a simple, practical exercise: finding quiet time to walk through their home and pray over each space, each child, and their marriage.

This isn’t about fear or perfection. It’s about taking spiritual leadership seriously, inviting God’s presence into ordinary spaces, and recognizing that homes are often where the most important formation happens.

Join us in San Diego for our Dad Conference: dadtired.com/dadology

We’re exhausted because we’re treating temporary things like they’re eternal.

In today’s Dad Tired Devotional, Jerrad reflects on how Scripture constantly reminds us that this life is short—and how remembering eternity actually brings freedom, not fear. From a simple moment at a red light to the words of James, Peter, and the Psalms, this episode is a quiet invitation to zoom out, regain perspective, and stop letting temporary stressors dominate your soul.

When we forget eternity, everything feels overwhelming.
When we remember it, wisdom begins to grow.

There’s a moment in Mark 10 where Jesus stops everything for a blind man crying out on the side of the road.

Bartimaeus doesn’t pray a polished prayer.
He doesn’t say the right words.
He just asks for mercy.

And when the crowd tells him to be quiet, he cries out even louder.

In this short devotional, we talk about why so many men stay vague with God, why the crowd often pressures us to keep it together, and why Jesus asks a simple but confronting question:

“What do you want me to do for you?”

You don’t need to clean it up.
You don’t need to stay quiet.

You just need to be honest.