In this episode, we are talking about a role that is often misunderstood, sometimes undervalued, but arguably the most high-stakes job a man can take: The Stay-at-Home Dad.
Joining us to share his journey and his 'why' is Paul Granger. Paul has navigated the highs and lows of stay-at-home fatherhood and has emerged with a powerful message for every dad who feels like he’s bucking the trend.
To connect with Paul Granger or learn more about his ministry, visit: https://www.wheredidyouseegod.com/
Special thanks to Smile Online Course & Books for sponsoring this episode. To learn more visit: https://thefatherhoodchallenge--smileteenskills.thrivecart.com/social-career-skills-accelerator/
Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
https://zencastr.com/?via=thefatherhoodchallenge
00:06.07
Jonathan Guerrero
At every backyard barbecue or professional networking event, the same question inevitably comes up. So what do you do? For decades, the correct masculine answer has been tied to the job title, a salary bracket, or a corporate ladder. We've been conditioned to believe that a father's primary contribution to his family is the paycheck he brings through the door.
00:29.30
Jonathan Guerrero
But in 2026, the definition of a provider is shifting. Dads are realizing that while a bank account provides for a child's needs, a father's presence provides for the child's soul.
00:42.10
Jonathan Guerrero
Today, we're talking about a role that is often misunderstood, sometimes undervalued, but arguably the most high stakes job that a man can take. It's the stay at home dad.
00:55.34
Jonathan Guerrero
we're driving We're diving into we're dive into why being the home front leader isn't a career break. It's a strategic investment. We're exploring how to navigate the ego shift of leaving the traditional workplace, how to handle the social side eye, and why men who are home with their kids should be the proudest guys in the room.
01:16.79
Jonathan Guerrero
This isn't just about childcare. It's about intentional legacy, which we will explore in just a moment. So don't go anywhere.
01:33.30
Jonathan Guerrero
Greetings, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me and my son and co-host, Isaac. Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Father Challenge. Joining us to share his journey and his why is Paul Granger.
01:45.78
Jonathan Guerrero
Paul has navigated the highs and lows of stay-at-home fatherhood and has emerged with a powerful message for every dad who feels like he's bucking the trend. Paul, welcome to the program.
01:57.82
Paul Granger
It is great to be here.
02:01.58
Jonathan Guerrero
Let's start here. When you made the first transition to being at home, what was the hardest part of your old identity to let go?
02:09.78
Paul Granger
That is a good question. i think The reality is, is there is this set in mindset of how life is supposed to work. And when before the transition, my wife and I were living into it. All right. We have a mortgage. We have bills.
02:27.96
Paul Granger
We have to do this, that and the other. I had been working in ministry. My wife had been a teacher. So neither of us had ever made a lot of money, but we were getting by. And when I unexpectedly lost my job, I found myself in this very difficult space where people were telling me, you need to find a job right now because you need money in order to survive. And that's logical.
02:50.04
Paul Granger
But i found this opportunity to lean into something very unexpected and untraditional. I've been full-time volunteer ministry since losing my job. So that was almost, that was a little over seven and a half years ago.
03:06.01
Paul Granger
And when I stepped into it, there was no guidebook. And I had to own the reality that whoever I was before, however I functioned, you know, getting a paycheck every two weeks, working at nine to five, being able to tell people clearly what it is I do, what it is I don't do without any side eyes. I was going have to be willing to let that go because where we were in life, ah it was...
03:33.98
Paul Granger
important for me to be there for my family. It was important for me to be flexible, particularly when my wife got back into full-time teaching. For anybody that knows teachers, you know that in order to take off for work, you have to do even more work. And so it is not easy for a teacher to be able to Be home if a kid is sick, take them to the doctors. And so for many years now, that has been the role that I've had to sit in
04:05.72
Paul Granger
And what's what I found really amazing is that the hard moments are when I think about what other people might think of me, what other people might say, what they when I have had people lean into that, well, the husband's supposed to be the provider, you know you need to take care of your family.
04:25.94
Paul Granger
ah but the But the reality is, I have been able to be present in my kids' lives in ways that I never thought were possible.
04:36.22
Paul Granger
Because prior to the shift, eight hours of my day at least were locked out away from my kids. But I got to be there as my youngest was going through his formative formative toddler years. And Now that my kids are all three in school, I've been able to be present with them when they are sick. They don't have to have a babysitter or someone else. They can have their father with them. when they're We've had kids who are older who have had some hard times with peers in school. And one time, one of them recently had to take off a day because it just was too hard to go to school. And I was able to be there for her. Take her on a walk down the street. We went and got coffee and had a conversation.
05:19.35
Paul Granger
And so the hard thing was to let go of what I'm told I'm supposed to be. The rewarding thing was realizing that is a very limited option and there are so many more.
05:35.38
Jonathan Guerrero
Society often views providing strictly through a financial lens. In what ways have you discovered that your presence at home is actually a more valuable currency for your children than a second paycheck?
05:50.71
Paul Granger
Yeah, so you know, 2025 was a hard year for a lot of people, particularly financially, and and we're no different. ah And we have had many conversations, practical conversations of this is where the bank account is.
06:07.29
Paul Granger
This is where it isn't. This is what needs to happen. And and those conversations are still ongoing. But in that space, i started thinking looking into scenarios. Okay, if it was decided that I should get a traditional job, what would that look like? And I realized, you know, just on a very straightforward level, getting not even getting to the value piece, ah the the practical value is that I realized I don't know how much I'm going to need to make to actually
06:39.48
Paul Granger
ah justify what is being lost in this around my availability, the way I'm able to, man, even serve my wife by doing the laundry. Like it's a small thing, but for her, it's huge coming home from a long day of teaching.
06:54.23
Paul Granger
And so I realized there's actually practical value, but the the the value I've discovered of how I've been able to been a father to my children and a wife, a husband to my wife, I cannot put a monetary number to that.
07:15.29
Paul Granger
I can't say, well, you know, if I made a job that provided this much money, then it would make it worth letting go of who I'm able to be for my family through this.
07:27.67
Paul Granger
And man, it and like I said, it's those little moments that you don't expect that aren't planned or scripted when a kid is homesick and we're able to connect or I'm able to bring them peace. Like those, you know, that there's that trope of, um you know,
07:45.59
Paul Granger
When your kids grow up and get older, they're not going to remember what you did for you know during the work week or how much you made on your paycheck. They're going to remember who you were with them, how you interacted with them.
07:59.00
Paul Granger
And so for those fathers who find themselves in a position where they feel called to be a stay-at-home dad or they feel it thrust upon them, um yeah I would encourage you to know that there is going to be a value from that that will far outweigh the largest paycheck, that will actually plant seeds in your children, but also go with them in ways that simple provision will not.
08:27.93
Jonathan Guerrero
This conversation that we're having is is very personal to me. And the reason why is because I used to be a truck driver. I pulled doubles and I was very, very good at what I do, if I do say so myself.
08:41.86
Paul Granger
Yeah.
08:42.49
Jonathan Guerrero
And um I enjoyed it. ah It was rough sometimes. It was a challenge, but i I really enjoy it. I mean, when you're really good, when you're good at something that you do you have a lot of freedom as you do job.
08:55.70
Jonathan Guerrero
do your job And you do it really, really well at a high level and you're receiving recognition for doing your job really, really well. um it's It's really hard to leave that.
09:08.18
Jonathan Guerrero
And I remember i I could hear God's voice clearly calling me out of the truck. And it was probably about the most painful experience I can remember.
09:19.19
Jonathan Guerrero
My last day of work was probably one of the hardest days of my life. And the reason why is because as I was cleaning up the truck for the last time and I was climbing out of there, I knew I was not ever coming back again.
09:33.02
Paul Granger
Mm-hmm.
09:33.17
Jonathan Guerrero
This wasn't temporary. It's it's it this was it. This wasn't what God was calling me to do. Not now. Probably not ever. ah There was something else in mind and I still had no sight of that either.
09:47.93
Jonathan Guerrero
So I was in between where this is a definite God's telling me get out of the truck. ah You're doing something else. That's very clear. But what is something else? That isn't very, very clear. That makes it even harder to obey and leave. but and And that's why months before it was time to leave, you know, and I heard that voice months. Like I would say somewhere between three and six months is when I was hearing that voice stronger and stronger calling me out of the truck.
10:17.91
Jonathan Guerrero
And i I remember I was on one of my one of my routes and I was praying as I was driving and my heart was super heavy. It's like, I know we're months away from this, but it hurts.
10:31.38
Jonathan Guerrero
And, and I was praying and I asked God to make me a promise. And i said, look, I, I hear you clearly loud and clear. I know you're calling me out of the truck.
10:44.18
Jonathan Guerrero
ah my intention is to obey that instruction and and to get out. But I'm going to need your help. If I'm going to get out of that truck, you're going to have to pull me out of the truck. You're going to have to be present with me in an extra special way on that day.
11:02.62
Jonathan Guerrero
Because if you do not help me, if your presence isn't there, And if if you aren't walking with me through every step of that shutdown, I will not get out.
11:13.30
Jonathan Guerrero
i'm I'm staying. ah So make me that promise. And looking back, I can tell you, God kept that promise. It's still, that doesn't mean it wasn't easy. It was one of the most difficult things that I've ever done.
11:26.78
Jonathan Guerrero
um I don't think there were any cameras on me in the shop that day pointed at me. And that's, I'm i'm very, very glad because ah that no one saw I was alone that day, except for God's presence.
11:39.10
Jonathan Guerrero
Um, but it it was a mess. Um, I, I was a mess getting from the truck to the van, uh, for that last drive home. Uh, that hit me hard.
11:50.49
Jonathan Guerrero
And I remember driving home, almost yelling at God, um, completely a mess. Um,
11:57.10
Paul Granger
Mm-hmm.
11:57.75
Jonathan Guerrero
and trying to say, i got to pull myself together. I can't let my family see me like this when I get home. But I remember almost yelling at God saying, this is stupid. Nobody does this.
12:09.27
Jonathan Guerrero
This is stupid. have i Have I mentioned that this is stupid? Normal people don't do this. Normal people do not walk away from a career that they're really good at that makes them lots and lots of money.
12:23.99
Jonathan Guerrero
So make me another promise. How about you remind me why we did this stupid thing? And I finally said, minute, did I just say we?
12:34.78
Jonathan Guerrero
Okay, yeah, I did say we. Yeah, okay. Why are we doing this stupid thing?
12:42.46
Jonathan Guerrero
And I can tell you, when I got home, I started getting the answers.
12:50.74
Jonathan Guerrero
And then Isaac's right in front of me here now, and he can remember this. Isaac was trying to learn how to swim. and oh yep, yep.
13:01.56
Jonathan Guerrero
I remember this. Yeah, he was trying to swim, to learn how to swim. and he went through a few teachers, and it was years of trying to learn. And he could not figure out how to swim, and he was still in a three-foot pole.
13:14.71
Jonathan Guerrero
though I do remember this too. I'm just going add a little bit onto the story too. go for it. oh Every single time i kept on doing swimming lessons, I couldn't even, you see, and here's the thing.
13:25.21
Jonathan Guerrero
This is the reason why we don't do swimming lessons at this specific place anymore. Every time I went into the water, i always had to use my hand to plug my nose so the water wouldn't go up through it.
13:35.84
Paul Granger
Mm-hmm.
13:38.46
Jonathan Guerrero
And then all of a sudden, one day when we're we were on vacation at the beach, we wit i went we went to the pool one night. at the They had a pool inside the place that we were staying.
13:50.30
Jonathan Guerrero
so we went So then we went to the pool, and all of a sudden, my brother, he literally just said, oh just don't plug your nose in. Just breathe out. everyone just Everyone told me that. But after Ansel...
14:03.61
Jonathan Guerrero
After my brother made it sound so simple, I just... I just plugged my nose. No, I just... I i unplugged my nose. i just went underwater. and all of sudden, I just started breathing out. and it It was the easiest thing in the world. I did not know it was this simple to do it.
14:18.74
Jonathan Guerrero
And then, like... Like last year or maybe like two years ago, I don't know. I think this was in 2024. My dad was literally and this is why it was so important that my dad actually quitted trucking. Because if he didn't quit, I probably still would have been stuck there. I probably still would have been stuck at at the moment where I couldn't even tread underwater. Basically, meaning I couldn't even keep my head above the water unless I was touching.
14:44.66
Jonathan Guerrero
So literally, my dad just, just he was literally just teaching me how to swim. I was going underwater. um i think there was like those, you know those little like sinkable toys kind of?
14:55.42
Paul Granger
Yeah.
14:55.68
Jonathan Guerrero
You know, you can throw them in the water and they sink. Well, he kept on throwing those out there. and And I could just easily come down, get them, come up underwater. I mean, my swimming technique was still a little bit off, but I could actually swim.
15:10.10
Jonathan Guerrero
And I mean, it was just so cool. And what I do remember about that is, you know, now that I was out of trucking and I still wasn't quite into what I was going to be doing next. And I had all this time and I started showing up to his swim events.
15:26.58
Jonathan Guerrero
And, um, and I remember being so upset and angry at his teachers. And I was like, what a bunch of idiots he's been teaching. They've been teaching him for how many years and he still can't swim.
15:42.04
Jonathan Guerrero
I was like, this is stupid. I'm going to do what they should have done. So I pulled him out of the three foot pole and we go into the deeper pool. It's kind of in the middle actually.
15:53.75
Jonathan Guerrero
And, um, and that's where I worked with him one-on-one and we did this for a few weeks. And then after a few weeks, he was on the deep end on the 14 foot pool swimming like nothing.
16:03.98
Jonathan Guerrero
And then next thing, next thing, you know, he was qualifying to be able to jump off the jumping board, no issues. And actually, recently, in last year, no like two years ago in 2024, I actually went off like a I don't know, like an eight-foot diving board.
16:20.41
Jonathan Guerrero
oh i'm I'm usually not too good with heights.
16:21.57
Paul Granger
Thank you.
16:22.69
Jonathan Guerrero
But I i mean, like, I'm not, like, going to, like, pass out if I'm going too high. Like, sure, it'll give me a good fright, especially if I'm jumping off of it. But I think, ah and um whenever, there's like this, there's, so here's how it works.
16:35.44
Jonathan Guerrero
on On the left and on the right, there's these two diving boards that only go, like, two feet up. And then there's the and there's the one down the middle, and that thing goes at least like 10 feet up or something.
16:46.87
Jonathan Guerrero
Like 10 or 8 feet up. I've never gone up that. i mean, heck, I could barely even go off the side ones. But then after I got really good with going on the side ones, then eventually, in 2024, I climbed up it, and then I and i just... And i didn't even jump on or anything. I just got up to it, and I just kind of fell. Yeah.
17:06.56
Paul Granger
Mm-hmm.
17:06.71
Jonathan Guerrero
Like, I didn't even try to jump.
17:07.04
Paul Granger
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
17:07.83
Jonathan Guerrero
But then, last year in 2025, I literally... i i put all my body weight on the edge of it and jumped up. My my only goal was to touch the bottom.
17:18.67
Jonathan Guerrero
It was a 14 feet deep deep pool.
17:19.48
Paul Granger
and
17:21.99
Jonathan Guerrero
And my only goal was to touch the bottom. Like, I wasn't even scared of it. So... I still remember the day that you went to the 14 foot in is probably the first or second time you went there.
17:33.43
Jonathan Guerrero
And I remember you saying, I'm not scared of the 14 foot side. I got my dad right here.
17:38.58
Paul Granger
Yeah.
17:38.74
Jonathan Guerrero
And then you did just fine. You killed it. I mean, and we did in a few weeks what his teachers couldn't do in several years. And I remember muttering about that when it was time to go. And I walked out the gate and I heard God's voice.
17:54.52
Jonathan Guerrero
And God said, you asked me to remind you why we did this stupid thing? You asked me to remind you? This is why his teachers weren't the problem.
18:04.92
Jonathan Guerrero
You were.
18:08.76
Jonathan Guerrero
He needed his dad there. This is why you're out of the truck. And it was it was hard not to collapse right there on the pavement in gratitude.
18:20.82
Paul Granger
Yeah.
18:21.43
Jonathan Guerrero
And I just said, thank you, thank you. And God has such a sick sense of humor sometimes. Because the funny thing is, every single day, including right now, this moment right now that we're having, we're doing this podcast episode, Isaac's right across from me.
18:27.48
Paul Granger
Well, and this is
18:41.08
Jonathan Guerrero
If I was still trucking, this would not be happening. Because I would be still sound asleep right now, trying to get rested and recovered for my shift later tonight. This would not be possible. God is still reminding me why we did that stupid thing together.
19:00.76
Jonathan Guerrero
i have no regrets.
19:02.10
Paul Granger
And you tapped into something really important because we talked about the practical things. you know There's value to it and there's importance to it and you know you're able to serve your family. and And those things are all true. But your story captures something that I think we miss that You know, you and, you know, we believe that a God exists that created everything and that is still actively working.
19:29.94
Paul Granger
And yet too often we live as though that's not true because we have to figure out how to make our life work. And I've got to keep this job because I've got to pay the bills. And, You know, we'll have all these ideas of how life is supposed to work. And meanwhile, the God of the universe is like, man, your imagination is so small. my One of my favorite verses is Ephesians 3.20. To him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine because of the power at work within us.
20:01.88
Paul Granger
Which means that anything that we're asking for, God, my bills need to get paid, you know, my I want my kids to be happy. Anything that we're imagining, oh, I wish I could create this life for my family.
20:13.35
Paul Granger
It's all small compared to what God is able to do. And what he's doing is bigger than us. And so somebody could hear that story. and think, oh, you know, that's just the story of swimming in the pool. mean, sure, that's nice. but But the way that you two just told it indicates to me that there is something deeper there. Something deeper happened than just learning to swim. There is a...
20:39.64
Paul Granger
a connection that deepened. There was a trust that deepened. There was an excitement and joy that was experienced together. Things that become seeds that become greater things. That moment in the pool has no doubt impacted countless moments in the years after, but we can't see that on the front end. All we see is, oh, why am I leaving this truck? Oh, where these teachers got things wrong? And God's like, I am actually doing something greater.
21:09.72
Paul Granger
And so that's what I would really encourage any any fathers out there that, again, are feeling called to or thrust into this concept of stay-at-home parenting Know that it is more than just, you know, who's going to take care of the kids, who's going to take care of the house?
21:27.86
Paul Granger
How is this going to happen? How is that going to happen? God is trying to do immeasurably more than we're asking for imagining. We're still going to have our budget sheets. We're still going to have our plans. But if we hold all that loosely like you did in the truck and said, all right, God, I'm doing this. I don't like it, but I'm doing it. and I'm going to trust that you know what you're doing.
21:46.26
Paul Granger
like If we're willing to walk like that, man, We're going to have moments like you two just shared with us where we look back with amazement and realize i would not have i would not have chosen this. like I would not have ever landed here. And who knows where I would have ended up. But thank goodness God is God and I am not.
22:10.62
Jonathan Guerrero
um I actually noticed something here. And you're talking about there is um that figure. This was when you're talking about that. There was something greater behind that and all that. But something else that I picked up is that um this is those were not the first at like the first water moments that I will ever have with my dad. Those are not the first. And i know that for a fact, because pretty soon I'm going to be baptized.
22:35.94
Jonathan Guerrero
I'm working on getting baptized here soon. And I realized that my dad gets to baptize me. And I just kind of see the connection there. He's the one who actually taught me how to swim. He's the one who taught me how basically everything with the water, aside from, you know, blowing out my nose underwater, being being actually able to use two hands. My brother did that part. But other than that, basically most of my swimming skills came from this man across from me.
23:05.27
Jonathan Guerrero
and i And I get to have one more, oh ah how do I put this, yeah like kind of like water moment with him when I get baptized. And that's and that's just something greater than I can explain.
23:18.00
Paul Granger
Yeah, it's really really good
23:21.50
Jonathan Guerrero
I'd like to change gears a little bit. So you have this website and you have a volunteer ministry and your website is wheredyouseegod.com.
23:32.15
Jonathan Guerrero
And what that makes me really curious about is, is how do dads teach their kids to hear God's voice? We know the obvious, we can hear him in scripture if we read, and that's where we always go to be grounded.
23:49.85
Jonathan Guerrero
But beyond that, experientially, how do you hear God's voice? Is it thought? And if it is thought, then how do you discern, okay, well, is Satan can also speak to us.
24:01.66
Jonathan Guerrero
So how do you know if you're hearing his voice and not God's? And then sometimes your own thoughts get in the mix.
24:05.67
Paul Granger
yeah
24:07.94
Jonathan Guerrero
So how do you know it's the Holy Spirit and not your own thoughts? So how does all of that work for dads trying to teach their kids to hear from God directly?
24:18.26
Paul Granger
yeah well and out the gate i'm going to push against one word in that question because i think it's where we stumble and it's the word teach and it's because we do not understand how teaching can work and I would even say should work because we tend to go on an intellectual level.
24:38.74
Paul Granger
And that makes sense because that's what school is. That's where we see teachers. And so then that's how fathers will then engage with their children. If I just download this information and this knowledge, if I just tell them things in a way that they'll get, then they'll get it and then they'll do it.
24:56.02
Paul Granger
But every father knows, every human knows that that's not always how things work. And when we look at Jesus and how he navigated this, because his disciples were trying to figure out how do we hear from the father?
25:02.33
Jonathan Guerrero
Come on.
25:08.54
Paul Granger
Well, how do we pray? um There was a moment that Jesus gave them a specific prayer. There were many moments where Jesus taught, but the bigger thing that he did was lived it, demonstrated There was one time when Lazarus was dead and everyone knew he was dead and there was no hope that Jesus goes and prays and brings him back to life.
25:22.21
Jonathan Guerrero
There we go.
25:30.85
Paul Granger
But the thing is, is when Jesus is praying, he acknowledges, i don't actually have to vocally say words to you, Father, because we're in such deep relationship.
25:41.50
Paul Granger
But I'm going to pray this prayer for the sake of those listening so they see it.
25:46.66
Jonathan Guerrero
Wow.
25:46.68
Paul Granger
And so that's been one of the really beautiful things that God has done in the last particularly almost eight years of this very untraditional way of living is I have been able to live out my faith very on display for my kids, particularly when my faith caused me to do things like you in the truck, like really foolish things, decisions that do not make sense. And they're able to see how I process that, how I pray through that, how I communicate about that.
26:21.30
Paul Granger
And, man, I'll be honest, sometimes it could feel better to do the overt teaching method because it seems like it's going to have clearer outcomes and it can be hard to live it out because it can seem like nothing's sticking. But one of the, man, some of the most beautiful moments are the moments where Suddenly you see that something's stuck. Like my son one time just started talking about how God provided for the home that we're living in. That's a whole other story we won't get into now, but ah we couldn't afford it.
26:55.14
Paul Granger
Weren't even looking for it. It was an impossible house. And I'm literally talking to you from it now. And one day my son just started conveying the story and the way he talked about God as provider and as provision. I'm like, I didn't even know this stuff stick to this level where he can then vocalize it to others. And so we need to be living it.
27:17.62
Paul Granger
And in that way, we end up modeling it. And in that way, we end up teaching it in such a way that it's not just this informational thing, but a transformational thing.
27:28.44
Jonathan Guerrero
Okay, that went really, really, really deep. Isaac, you go ahead. um and This is actually something that's very that's kind of important to know, especially for people that are listening out there.
27:40.89
Jonathan Guerrero
elm And that is, my parents were gone. They were out doing stuff. I think they were out with thumb some friends. And it was just me and my brother at at the house.
27:53.82
Jonathan Guerrero
om And my brother was was all the way on the other side of the house om on on his phone. i have no clue what he was doing. um And then I was just sitting on the TV for for a little bit. And then all of a sudden,
28:09.78
Jonathan Guerrero
um I asked the Holy Spirit and I'm like, listen, I was just kind of curious. You know, I was kind of looking for an answer here. I was kind of curious. So then I so i was like, if I was really made,
28:21.05
Jonathan Guerrero
For casting out demons or for like taking them out of people or anything like that. If I was made for that task, then show me. And I feel like I just about gotten that answer. Because that exact night, my parents are already home and I was just laying in bed.
28:36.87
Jonathan Guerrero
And we usually have this one light on in our room because don't know. I don't know. We just have it on for no absolute reason, like all the time in the daytime and at night.
28:48.79
Jonathan Guerrero
But then of this one particular night last night, I don't know why my brother had me do this, but he said, went so i was just I was just writing on a book. and then And then he was like, and he kept on trying to say, like, put it down. And I'm like, I can't write on a book. Like, come on, man. And he's like, OK, fine. Well, just turn out the light when you're done, because I'm on the bottom bunk and the light is and the light is right next to me So then when I was done, I set my book on the desk right beside me, and I turned out the light.
29:18.36
Jonathan Guerrero
And then the next thing I know, i kept on seeing these weird faces in front of me. These look like very... How do I put this? together They look look very like very demonic faces and stuff. like It looked like very...
29:32.07
Jonathan Guerrero
Try to put this kind of creepy creatures and like look demonic faces and stuff. And then all of a sudden, I clenched my hand together into a fist position. And I said, and I made a strong prayer too. And I could tell that it was strong. And I was like, listen, all demonic beings around me, let me tell you something.
29:50.87
Jonathan Guerrero
If I have the Holy Spirit with me, then you gotta leave. Go somewhere else. I don't care where you are. Leave this house. And when I said that, my vision almost immediately cleared up.
30:05.30
Jonathan Guerrero
The room started to get a little bit brighter. Like I could see a little bit better. And all of a sudden, those faces were pretty much gone. I sat there for about two more minutes about.
30:16.66
Jonathan Guerrero
i sat there for about two more minutes. And all of a sudden, i saw a little bit more of those faces pop up again. And I'm like, was I not clear? I told you to leave. And if you do not leave, then there are consequences. So if you do not leave, then put it up with the Holy Spirit and all.
30:36.82
Jonathan Guerrero
Because if you're not going to leave under my command, then then you're gonna have to put up with the Holy Spirit in that case. And I'm like, and maybe it's just my mind talking. Maybe it's just my my vision, just because, I don't know, my mind's crazy.
30:51.04
Jonathan Guerrero
It's just my personality. Anyways, and then, um and I'm like, just, and I'm like, even if you are still there, Leave. And mean if it's just my brain, well, then I need to sleep. But if it's still, if those are still demonic faces and stuff that are sitting there, then leave.
31:11.83
Jonathan Guerrero
I clenched my fists, and basically most of that time, i was just clenching my two my two dinosaur arms' fists together, and I was just clenching them together as hard as I could as I said that. I felt like I could i felt like i could fight one of them with my two bare fists.
31:26.84
Jonathan Guerrero
But ohm eventually, i got my sleep, and I woke up in an unpleasant way. I wish I could sleep longer. But anyway...
31:40.25
Paul Granger
You know, there's something really important in that story. You know, it captures this this thing that we're we're not always honest about. So one of the biggest hindrances to the teaching is that we don't, we're not always honest about what we believe.
31:57.21
Paul Granger
And so for fathers, do you actually believe that your children can hear from God? Do you believe that you can hear from God? Because if there's something in us that doesn't believe something, we can have all the right things to teach, but it's never going to be effective because it lacks that depth and that honesty.
32:21.14
Paul Granger
Now, does that mean if someone has doubts and questions about God speaking, if they're like, I've never heard God speak, so I don't know what to do. Does that mean that they should not then go and enter this topic with their family? No, but it means being honest about it.
32:36.47
Paul Granger
It means as you explore it, say, right, kids, like I am still learning what this looks like, too. I'm still wrestling with times where I feel like talk to God and he's silent. So like we're going to we're going journey through this together. And then something really beautiful happens here because then it shifts it from just being an expert, teaching a student to being a family seeking God together.
33:00.22
Paul Granger
And it also helps the kids then to engage scripture differently because they see these heroes of the faith, not as experts who got it all right, but as humans who were constantly still on the journey, which means that it gives them a freedom to know that they don't have to be perfect today. They just have to be willing to keep on stepping. And so what we do with our kids is we invite them to just practice.
33:27.18
Paul Granger
You let's, what are some simple ways that we can, try to listen for God? What are some opportunities where we can choose to seek God, even if we're not sure how or if he'll respond?
33:40.09
Paul Granger
And when we engage it like that, ah my kids treat it less like something they have to perfect and more an opportunity to connect with the God of the universe, which should be and inaccessible thing and yet they're being invited to just try it out, to step in, to take a little step and to do it again the next day.
34:06.33
Jonathan Guerrero
Paul, I love how you said all of that. I think the way you explained this whole concept of hearing for gods from this whole concept of hearing from God is very relatable to dads listening in the audience. So I really appreciate how you explained that.
34:24.67
Paul Granger
Yeah.
34:25.17
Jonathan Guerrero
um How can dads listening connect with you with any questions that they have? Or maybe they just maybe they are a stay-at-home dad and they could use a little bit of encouragement.
34:35.06
Paul Granger
Yeah, yeah. Well, my heart is to create authentic, accessible space to process things like these. That's what I feel like God's invited me to in this full-time volunteer ministry, which means I've had to stay on my toes for whatever he throws at me.
34:52.21
Paul Granger
And what that has looked like is creating content ah and community. And so if somebody wants to connect, there's there's two ways. If you go wheredidyouseegod.com, my heart is to create as much stuff so that if somebody is in a place where they're not ready to talk to anybody, but they they need to think through some things. There might be a book or a podcast episode that meets you right where you are.
35:17.08
Paul Granger
And in that way, ah space is being created for you to know that you're not crazy and you're not alone. um And then if somebody does want to press in a little deeper, I'm always happy to have conversations. If somebody wants to share their story, I want to help create space for that. And so That would be my invitation. My encouragement is that there is no definitive guidebook to how this all works, because as you noted in your story of the truck, ah your trajectory wasn't a bad one in certain from certain vantage points.
35:54.71
Paul Granger
But God was inviting you to ah a different path, a different way that was leading to something that, as you noted, you had no idea what. And so that means that many of you listening, there may be a there may be a lot of confusion, a lot of questions.
36:11.77
Paul Granger
And I want you to know that's okay. I've got a lot of confusion and questions and unknown in my life right now. But what I do know is that God is with me, that he goes ahead of me, that he has been with me in the past, that he is faithful and that he has carried me through when I thought there was no way through.
36:30.55
Paul Granger
That God is the same God for you. And so keep on stepping towards him because he knows the plans he has for you.
36:46.87
Jonathan Guerrero
to that to To that dad listening who feels like less than because he's because he's at home right now, what is the one thing you want him to know about the the eternal ROI?
37:02.20
Jonathan Guerrero
The return of turn of of oh return on investment of of the time he's spending with his kids.
37:17.11
Paul Granger
You know, as you were reading that great question, by the way, I immediately what came to mind is one of the big titles that God has given in scripture and is is father.
37:30.62
Paul Granger
He is called father so often.
37:30.82
Jonathan Guerrero
Mm-hmm.
37:33.53
Paul Granger
And so right there, like choose being invited to live into the role of father rather than part-time father and then full-time lawyer or whatever like don't underestimate the amazingness of that like you are being called to live out this role of father in with the bulk of your life and so yes there is a return on investment on an eternal level
38:04.92
Paul Granger
of of the ways that you are going to be able to pour into, invest in, care for, celebrate, journey with your kids in ways that you wouldn't if you did if you lost those 40 plus hours week.
38:21.11
Paul Granger
Like celebrate that. That is is beautiful. But there is also this beautiful thing that happens that as you live into that role more fully, more deeply in hard and confusing spaces, it is going to cause you to process more deeply who God the Father is.
38:37.85
Paul Granger
which means your faith is going to deepen by being a father, by living this out. And as that happens, you're going to end up modeling that relationship to your heavenly father, to your children, which is then going to deepen their faith, whether you realize it or not.
38:54.68
Paul Granger
And so, yes, there are practical things that will come from being a stay-at-home dad. But the eternal things that God can do, the immeasurably more than you ask for imagine, man, you cannot put a number on that. You can't even describe it.
39:08.76
Paul Granger
And then I'll say this, because there may be a father who is a working father who is like, well, this this stinks. Like, I don't feel like God's calling me to stay home. like i ah So do I miss out on all this?
39:23.06
Paul Granger
No. God's gonna meet you where you are in the ways that he wants to meet you. ah But this is to encourage those stay-at-home fathers who are often looked down on or forgotten or misrepresented to know just as when Jesus was doing the Sermon on the Mount and he spoke to all those, blessed are the poor in spirit, but blessed are those who are persecuted. God wants you to know that he sees you that he loves you and that he is actually doing something amazing and profound through your willingness to be home.
40:01.75
Jonathan Guerrero
This is a perfect place to wrap. Paul, thank you so much for being on the father challenge. Already you've been a shining light and encouragement to dads leading them to the bigger light.
40:14.71
Jonathan Guerrero
So thank you so much for everything that you brought in all of your wisdom to the fatherhood challenge.
40:20.06
Paul Granger
My pleasure. and Man, what a gift it is to be on a podcast. It's ah a father-son duo. This is this is really cool.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/thefatherhoodchallengepodcast/donations
