Fathering Our Future

This week I am collaborating with Rod Richard of 4 Fit Fatherhood. Rod is a girl dad who has been passionate about fatherhood from the start. We talk about his start as a dad and what prompted him to start a podcast aimed at helping other dads by involving them in dad conversations. We also dabble into the topic of social media and when is a good time for our kids to have phones of their own.

If you’d like to learn more about Rod and what he is doing, check out the links below.

https://www.4fitfatherhood.com/

https://www.instagram.com/4fitfatherhood/ 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/4-fit-fatherhood/id1570733607

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For more content make sure to check out https://fatheringourfuture.com/ and if you'd like to support this effort visit: https://fatheringourfuture.com/support/

I stumbled across an article a while back that addressed 9 things we should never say to our children at mealtime. The premise of the article was that we can create bad impression about food and diets by speaking up about particular things when we are at the table with our kids. For example, telling our kids that they need to finish their broccoli before they can have dessert is apparently a bad idea because our kids' bodies might not want broccoli.

As dads, we are leaders in the home. We are there to serve our children and we cannot do that by disengaging from their lives and not giving the the guidance and direction they need. There are some that would like to encourage us to lose our parental authority but if we want our kids to have an advantage as they mature, we must use our wisdom and authority to make that possible.

Join me as I go through the list of what we should supposedly never say and provide my opinion on these points. There might be a couple of points worth taking away from the article but there might be a lot of ridiculous examples that make you shake your head. Let's have some fun.

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For more content make sure to check out https://fatheringourfuture.com/ and if you'd like to support this effort visit: https://fatheringourfuture.com/support/

Are you feeling overwhelmed and dissatisfied with your life? Many fathers today can relate to these sentiments, and it's completely understandable. However, it's important to remember that chaos and unfulfillment don't have to be permanent. 

As a dad, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you no longer have time to focus on personal growth and improvement. But being a dad should not be seen as an excuse; in fact, it should be a driving force to strive for personal excellence. The key lies in establishing and living by a set of principles that guide your life.

In this episode, I want to emphasize the transformative power of living a principled life. By consciously adopting and adhering to principles, you can effectively combat and eventually overcome the chaos and unfulfillment you may be experiencing. No matter what challenges you face, dedicating yourself to living each day in alignment with your principles will pave the way for personal growth, continual improvement, and eventual success.

Remember, chaos and unfulfillment are not permanent states. By prioritizing personal development and embracing a principled approach to life, you can regain control and find fulfillment. So, let's dive deeper into the importance of principles and how they can help you navigate the complexities of fatherhood and achieve a more meaningful and satisfying life.

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For more content make sure to check out https://fatheringourfuture.com/ and if you'd like to support this effort visit: https://fatheringourfuture.com/support/

We often try to plan for the worst even though we never expect it to happen, but sometimes it does. My friend, Darren Gilbert, a pastor in Denison, TX, joins me to talk about the struggles he and his family endured. As he and his wife were stepping into the pastoral role, his wife was diagnosed with Leukemia.

In addition to dealing with his personal life and his family, Darren still had to lead his church. He discusses how he managed to do that and how he received council and support from his community.

The journey was not easy but God was and is faithful.

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Darren recommended the People Fuel in this episode: https://amzn.to/3Wo1SV5

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For more content make sure to check out https://fatheringourfuture.com/ and if you'd like to support this effort visit: https://fatheringourfuture.com/support/

We often try to plan for the worst even though we never expect it to happen, but sometimes it does. My friend, Darren Gilbert, a pastor in Denison, TX, joins me to talk about the struggles he and his family endured. As he and his wife were stepping into the pastoral role, his wife was diagnosed with Leukemia.

This battle with cancer put a lot of responsibility on him that was once shared between he and his wife. Darren opens up to talk about the stress and struggles that came with this journey and how he and his family made it through.

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For more content make sure to check out https://fatheringourfuture.com/ and if you'd like to support this effort visit: https://fatheringourfuture.com/support/

As dads we pay extra attention to our sons. We are passionate about them and how they grow up. We know that they will become men, husbands, and dads, and we want them to be great. Raising sons is a task that we do not take lightly but it is a task where we can be a little too harsh.

Mark Condon, pastor of Infinite Church, joins me to talk about raising sons. Mark has raised three sons who have grown up, started families of their own, and remain faithful Christians. He shares his reflections on his approach with his boys, what he would have changed, and how he related to them to be the dad they needed.

If you have sons and you care about bringing them up the best you can, you'll gain a lot of wisdom from Mark that will help you on your fatherhood journey.

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For more content make sure to check out https://fatheringourfuture.com/ and if you'd like to support this effort visit: https://fatheringourfuture.com/support/

Fatherlessness plagues our society. The lack of dads in the home has a plethora of negative implications on children which stay with them as they grow into adults. Men who become dads, that grew up without a dad themselves, struggle with thoughts of acceptance, belonging, value, and ability when it comes to being a dad.

Cedric Austin, a minister, husband, and dad who grew up without a dad, joins me to talk about his journey to overcoming fatherlessness. He has a remarkable story of reuniting with his dad for the first time but he was still left with a number of unanswered questions. Cedric gives great advice on how men who grew up without dads can start the journey to overcoming the negative impacts of fatherlessness.

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For more content make sure to check out https://fatheringourfuture.com/ and if you'd like to support this effort visit: https://fatheringourfuture.com/support/

Everyone knows marriage takes work. What everyone might not know is that the work we put into our marriage manifests itself in our family. As we grow and become better husbands, we ultimately become better dads. As we strengthen our marriage we strengthen our family because our marriage becomes a beacon to our children of one of the greatest components of life, relationship.

I'm joined today by Adam King of Dear Young Married Couple and we discuss a primary hurdle we face within marriage, ourselves. It can be very easy for us to point the finger and accuse our spouse, but the reality is there is a lot within ourselves that we have not been brave enough to deal with. Fortunately, Adam points out an incredible gift God has given us that allows us to grow individually and as a union with our wife, curiosity.

If you are interested in starting down the path of curiosity after this episode, here is the resource offered by Dear Young Married Couple to help you: https://dear-young-married-couple.mykajabi.com/honestletter 

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Episode book recommendation: The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel A. van der Kolk

https://amzn.to/3PF3dFD

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For more content make sure to check out https://fatheringourfuture.com/ and if you'd like to support this effort visit: https://fatheringourfuture.com/support/

You've heard it said that anything worth doing is challenging, and fatherhood certainly falls into that category. Being the dad our children need us to be requires a lot more than simply waking up in the morning and going about our day. We have to be intentional and work at building relationships with our children so that we can understand their needs.

As we aim to be the dads our children need, we find ourselves faced with a couple of obstacles. Firstly, this goal requires us to grow and become something that we may not currently be. Secondly, being the dad our children need is not always the same as being the dad our children may want.

Even though this pursuit comes with its difficulties, the impact of our effort is immense. What we build and establish with our children influences the lives of those with whom our kids connect. We may never fully realize the scope of that impact, but it makes this journey called fatherhood so worth it.

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For more content make sure to check out https://fatheringourfuture.com/ and if you'd like to support this effort visit: https://fatheringourfuture.com/support/

Do you want to be a good dad? I know the default desire is for us to pursue being a good dad. However, the more I reflect on fatherhood and the Scriptures, the more I am convinced that trying to be a good dad is the wrong goal.

My great-uncle used to regular state this simple expression, "I think I could get more done, if I knew what I was supposed to be doing." Seems obvious and common sense, yet those are usually the things we do worst at. We all want to be better dads, but do we know what we are supposed to be doing as dads?

As Christian dads our mission is to equip and disciple our children to be a part of God's mission in a greater capacity than ourselves. How do we accomplish that? Do we mandate what our children do? Do we tell our kids to do all the right things we do not do ourselves? I am going to share how we go about fulfilling this mission and what we should focus on.

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For more content make sure to check out https://fatheringourfuture.com/ and if you'd like to support this effort visit: https://fatheringourfuture.com/support/