DadAwesome

Epizode

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  DA446 | MULTIPLIERS Part 4: A Ring Lost in Five Acres, The Giant Five, and Turning Success Upside Down (Chad Johnson) 06.08.2026 23min

  SUMMARY When Jeff's sister lost her engagement ring in a five acre pasture hours before her wedding rehearsal, a rope, a grid, and a prayer turned an impossible search into a three minute miracle. In part four of the DadAwesome Multipliers series, that story becomes a blueprint for intentional fatherhood built on three things: a system that works, partners in the search, and faith in what you cannot yet see. Chad Johnson joins with a segment unpacking his Giant Five framework and why putting career first costs a man everything that matters. KEY TAKEAWAYS Intentional dads need a system. Without one, you chase whatever is loudest instead of the people you love most. The Giant Five framework orders your priorities: faith, marriage, children, health, and work. Most men have that list upside down. You were never meant to search alone. Partners spot what you miss and call you higher when you drift. Love sometimes looks like challenge instead of comfort, especially when your kids are settling into ease. You don't have to search the whole field today. Move the rope a few feet and walk the line again. QUOTES "I really am okay with stirring the pot." (Chad Johnson) "Live like a movie you'd want to watch with your children and grandchildren." (Chad Johnson) "I call it turning success upside down." (Chad Johnson) "Any fruit that anybody ever sees in my life is in spite of me." (Chad Johnson) "Don't get overwhelmed with the entire field. One pass at a time." (Jeff Zaugg) ABOUT CHAD JOHNSON Chad Johnson is a father of eleven, an entrepreneur, and the creator of the Giant Five framework, a simple system for keeping faith, marriage, children, health, and calling in their right order. He is known for pushing his family toward character over comfort, including relocating them to Los Angeles for five months so his kids could work in his business facility. Chad previously joined DadAwesome for episodes 216 and 217. ACTION STEPS REFLECTION Map your fields. Get a piece of paper and map your current life as a dad. Where does connection feel distant? Is there a child where things feel cold? Where could you raise your game in pursuing your wife or your time with God? Be honest about the gap. Name what you are hoping for in each area. Without naming the hope, you cannot see the distance between where you are and where you want to be. Run the Giant Five. Faith, marriage, children, health, work. Pray through which one is currently getting your leftovers. For many men it is work that needs to be turned upside down. For others it is the opposite, and career needs more drive because provision is the real need. Celebrate one win. Look back and name one victory. Do not skip this part. MULTIPLICATION Name your partners. Who are the other dads in this adventure with you? Is there a rhythm of meeting? Is there a text thread already going? The field search never would have worked alone. Get the free small group curriculum. Send a voice message with your name, where you are located, and your idea for a fall small group. You will get the three page PDF back. Send a few texts. Invite two or three dads to listen to episode 446 so you are all working from the same framework. Use the side door. Extend a tangible invitation: the Spartan race in Dallas on October 17, or the fall 100 mile running challenge. ACTIVATION Block the time. Put a block on your calendar this week for deeper work on the Giant Five. Do not just listen and move on. Open Luke 15:3 through 7 with your family. Read the parable of the shepherd who leaves the 99, then tell your kids directly: this is how I feel about you. I will always come looking for you. Pause and pray first. Before stepping into any of these areas, stop and pray, the same way Jeff and his sister did before they started the search. Move the rope. Ask God for one area where you can move the rope seven or eight feet tomorrow. One pass at a time. Keep celebrating. Look at what God has done and mark it. Go deeper. DadAwesome Labs for Chapter 11 is linked below with additional activations and discussion questions. LINKS MENTIONED Spartan Team DadAwesome, Dallas, Texas, October 17 https://givebutter.com/DallasSpartan DadAwesome 100 Mile Fall Running Challenge - https://givebutter.com/dadawesome100 Leave a VOICEMAIL: https://www.speakpipe.com/DadAwesome Join Team Awesomeness (monthly support team) at any level from $7/month to $1000/month... We have 41 families committed to fueling the ministry DadAwesome as we head toward celebrating 9 years of AWESOMENESS this coming winter: https://www.dadawesome.org/give Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 DADAWESOME book: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Labs, Chapter 11:  Episode 216 with Chad Johnson: https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/216 Episode 217 with Chad Johnson: https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/217  
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  DA445 | MULTIPLIERS Part 3: The $5.5 Billion Blind Spot, Conditional Love, and a Scoreboard Set to Infinity (Jamie Winship) 30.07.2026 26min

  Join the TEAM DADAWESOME prayer team and pray for 20-minutes this Saturtday morning:   Episode Summary:: One ordinary Tuesday in the summer of 2001, Jeff sold a $200 television to a couple in a minivan — and only found out afterward that they were worth $5.5 billion and ranked 57th on the Forbes list. His unawareness didn't change their wealth by a dollar. It only changed how he treated them. In this chapter from the DadAwesome book, Jeff makes the case that most dads are doing the same thing with their own identity: parenting from poverty while holding access to infinite resources, working to earn what's already been freely given. TAKEAWAYS Your unawareness doesn't change your position. Not knowing who those customers were didn't subtract a dollar from their net worth — and forgetting you're God's son doesn't change that you are one. It only changes how you show up. The clipboard teaches conditional love. When affection gets tracked point by point, kids learn love is something they earn. Most of us carry that invisible scoreboard straight into adulthood and into our relationship with God. God set the scoreboard to infinity. Not a clipboard with changing numbers — a gymnasium scoreboard with the infinity symbol permanently displayed. You can't add to it with your wins or subtract from it with your failures. (It's why the DA logo looks the way it does.) Employee mindset and son mindset produce two different fathers. One strives, fears mistakes, measures worth by performance, and competes for attention. The other rests, lives from security, measures worth by belonging, and celebrates other people's wins. Position changes the daily stuff. Instead of managing behavior, you cultivate hearts. Instead of panicking about finances, you remember your Father owns everything. Instead of shame spirals, you experience conviction that leads to growth. TEAM DADAWESOME SPONSORS:   Aleph Ventures — Twin Cities based, partnering with and supporting painting companies across the country to calibrate, deepen impact, and go further than they could alone. https://www.aleph-ventures.com/   TRACK CPA — Minnesota-based, nationwide tax, accounting, bookkeeping, and financial services. https://trackcpa.com/   QUOTES "My ignorance of their position didn't change their actual wealth. It only affected how I interacted with them." "Over time, that clipboard became a symbol of conditional love. I learned that affection was something I earned — point by point, performance by performance." "My heavenly Father has set the scoreboard to infinity. It can't increase with my successes or decrease with my failures. I can't add to infinity. I can't subtract from it." "We parent from poverty when we have access to infinite resources — striving for acceptance we already possess and working for approval that's already been given." "You're not God's employee, you're His son. And sonship is where fatherhood begins." Bonus — Jamie Winship: "Parenting is very much about the identity of the dad. The greatest gift you can give to your kids is the truth of who you are." ACTION STEPS 1. Reflection Name your clipboard. Every one of us has an area — points, grades, obedience, success, output — where we experienced conditional love. Name it, and name what pushed you toward living like an employee instead of an heir. Do the two-column audit. Am I living like an employee, or like a loved son and heir? Scarcity or abundance? (Downloadable PDF in the show notes.) Ask the two questions. Borrowed from Jamie Winship: sit alone with God, settle down, and ask, "What are the things I believe about myself that hurt me?" Name the disappointments, the failures, the places you feel like you're not enough. Then ask the follow-up: "Jesus, what do you say about me?" 2. Multiplication Send a couple of texts. Invite other dads into episode 445 and grow a circle of men who are growing alongside you. Join the prayer team. Team DadAwesome — 55 men — rides this Saturday to fuel fatherhood ministry. Give 20 minutes of prayer sometime Saturday morning, August 1st. Let's multiply in prayer. 3. Activation Start tomorrow with a declaration. Before you check your phone, before your to-do list starts talking, answer whose you are — and say it out loud, don't just think it: "I am a loved son of God." Remind your kids the scoreboard is set to infinity. Tell them, "I love you because you're mine," not because of what they accomplished. Try, "I'm so glad I get to be your dad. I'm so thankful you're my son." Take the holy pause. When you feel a critique or a scorecard-based thought forming, catch it before it comes out. Notice the moments you'd communicate more love if they performed. Ask your spouse. "Are there ways or times I communicate a lack of love because of a performance or a mistake?"     
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  DA444 | MULTIPLIERS Part 2: Curiosity Over Chaos, Stones of Remembrance, Blessings Passed Down (Phil Comer) 23.07.2026 32min

  SUMMARY   The current chapter of dad life is not the whole story. In part two of the DadAwesome Multipliers summer series, Jeff reads Chapter 2 of the DadAwesome book, The Tale of Two Thieves, and unpacks what a three dozen cookie dough heist taught him about choosing curiosity instead of reactivity. Then Phil Comer joins with a powerful clip on giving a blessing instead of returning evil for evil, and how one choice in a tense room trickles down for generations. This episode closes with clear reflection, multiplication, and activation steps you can take this week.   Key Takeaways You are living into a multigenerational story, and this chapter is only a tiny slice of it. Curiosity opens doors. Reactivity closes them. You cannot eliminate chaos, but you can shape how it unfolds. Stones of remembrance are about keeping the stories alive, not preserving the reminders. Giving a blessing when you have received a criticism changes the atmosphere of a room. Action Steps REFLECTION Look back at the chaos. When curveballs hit recently, were you reacting or responding? Were you making assumptions or staying curious and asking God what He wanted to teach you in that moment? Open your phone and look back at the last month. Scroll your photos, scroll your calendar. Where has God shown up that you have not paused long enough to call to mind? Ask the honest question. If your kids described the atmosphere you carry into the room right now, would tenderness make the list? Would softness? Would kindness? MULTIPLICATION Send the text. Reach out to seven or eight dads and invite them to journey with you through the end of August. If two or three say yes, you have moved from addition to multiplication. Pick your gathering. A text thread, a campfire, a boat, a camping trip with your kids. Make one specific invite this week. Carry a copy. Keep an extra DadAwesome book in your vehicle or your laptop bag and look for the moment to hand it to a dad and tell him you see him being awesome. ACTIVATION Start a family remembrance list. Sit down together, scroll photos and your calendar, and capture the answered prayers, the provision, the goodness, the moments God showed up. Let every kid contribute. Tell the stories out loud. At the dinner table or at bedtime, tell your kids one story of God's faithfulness in your family. Flip the switch this week. The next time a curveball comes, choose curiosity first. Laugh at the moment. Show your kids that dad is anchored and steady, not thrown off.   Timestamps 03:00 This week's theme is story 04:00 Chapter 2, The Tale of Two Thieves 06:24 React or respond, curiosity or reactivity 08:49 The Dad Detective's approach, five practices 11:11 Crafting your family's story 12:45 Stones of remembrance 14:30 Building your family's remembrance list 18:21 Remember this 19:20 Setting up the Phil Comer clip 20:20 Phil Comer on tenderness, blessing, and the choices we pass down 26:45 Action steps: reflection, multiplication, activation Guest Phil Comer is a husband, father, and grandfather with 40 years of pastoral and counseling experience. After planting a church in 2004, Phil and his wife, Diane, went on to launch Intentional Parents International, a ministry equipping young parents and providing focused teaching in the spiritual training of children. This clip comes from episode 317. Links Mentioned Listen to the full conversation with Phil Comer: DadAwesome Episode 317 Intentional Parents: intentionalparents.org Spartan Team DadAwesome, Dallas, Texas, October 17 https://givebutter.com/DallasSpartan DadAwesome 100 Mile Fall Running Challenge - https://givebutter.com/dadawesome100 Leave a VOICEMAIL: https://www.speakpipe.com/DadAwesome Join Team Awesomeness (monthly support team) at any level from $7/month to $1000/month... We have 41 families committed to fueling the ministry DadAwesome as we head toward celebrating 9 years of AWESOMENESS this coming winter: https://www.dadawesome.org/give Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 DADAWESOME book: dadawesome.org/book Top Five Quotes "The current chapter of dad life is not the whole story." "You can't eliminate chaos, but you can shape how it unfolds." "Your kids are watching how you handle the unexpected. What story are you writing?" "It's not about preserving the physical reminders. It's about keeping the stories alive." Phil Comer: "If you, with God's help, can give a blessing when you've received a criticism or a curse, it brings peace and it honors God." Tags DadAwesome, Jeff Zaugg, Phil Comer, DadAwesome Multipliers, fatherhood, christian dad, dad life, parenting, dad podcast, intentional parenting, story, legacy, generational blessing, stones of remembrance, God's faithfulness, curiosity, marriage, tenderness, scripture, Intentional Parents
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  DA443 | MULTIPLIERS Part 1: Hearts Toward Heaven, Hearts Toward Home (Mark Batterson) 16.07.2026 19min

  Welcome to Episode 443 and the kickoff of a brand new seven part summer series: the DADAWESOME MULTIPLIERS. It's a lightweight, campfire ready series built to help you spread the mission of Dad Awesome through the end of August. Each week you'll get a slice of the forthcoming Dad Awesome audiobook, a featured guest voice from the vault, real time multiplication coaching, three practical lab activation steps, and a giveaway. https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/443 In Part 1, Jeff Zaugg sets the flyover. He reads the book's dedication and preface, tracing how one casual patio question from his cousin in Arizona, "How do you stay intentional as a dad?", exposed that he was pouring growth into every area of life except fatherhood. That single unanswered question sparked a ten week experiment with twenty friends, a first episode filmed at the base of a snowy sledding hill, a name change from DadVentures to DadAwesome, and eventually a movement built on hundreds of small yeses. The episode closes with a two minute clip from Jeff's first ever interview with Mark Batterson, who wrote the forward for the book.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Intentional fatherhood starts with a question, not a program. Staying awake to "How do you stay intentional as a dad?" changed everything. The mission runs on two turnings from Malachi 4:6, hearts toward heaven and hearts toward home. Read to lead. You don't need 250 books, but read a dozen so you can lead on the home front. Your mistakes are one of your greatest teaching tools. Kids learn to apologize by watching you do it. Prioritize your children, don't idolize them. Batterson names that as a big difference. Batterson learned more about the heart of the Heavenly Father from parenting his three kids than from all his degrees and seminary trips combined. Movements are built on small yeses, not one grand gesture. THIS WEEK'S LABS Reflection: Do an intentionality audit. Open your notes app or a journal and honestly assess how you're staying intentional, heart toward heaven and heart toward home. What are you reading and listening to? Does your calendar show fatherhood is an area of real pursuit? Multiplication: Be an inviter. Copy paste one text to ten dads inviting them into the seven week challenge through the end of August. Listen each week, then get together to talk about it over coffee, wings, a campfire, a run, a bike ride, or a boat. Get two or more to say yes and you've moved from addition to multiplication. Activation: Name your small yes. What yes have you been putting off that God is nudging you toward this week? A dad daughter date, a date with your wife, a follow through you keep intending but haven't done. Pick it and act on it. GIVEAWAY Send Jeff a voice message up to 90 seconds using the link in the show notes. Introduce yourself and share what this first episode stirred up, your action step, or a question. Each week one message gets randomly picked to win DadAwesome summer gear.
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  DA442 | Gamifying Family Values, Manmaker Challenges, and Founding Father Faith PART 2 (Tyler Van Eps) 09.07.2026 34min

  Send DadAwesome a VOICEMAIL (and we will send you the SMALL GROUP guide)   Jenga blocks, jiu jitsu mats, and a decade vision for your family. 👊 SUMMARY What if your family values were something your kids could actually touch? In Part 2 of this paddleboard conversation, Tyler Van Eps shares how he turned a Jenga set into a discipleship tool, why physical discomfort opens the door to spiritual growth, and what it takes to build a legacy of courage in your kids. Plus, he unpacks the question God placed on his heart: what is required to be a founding father? TAKEAWAYS You can only control the outcomes so much as a dad, but you can control the inputs. Zoom out to a 90 day view to realign your family direction. Purpose, vision, and value language is abstract for kids. Make your family values tangible with tools like Jenga blocks and card decks so your kids can see, touch, and speak them. Your family values will stay the same, but the language needs to match the season your kids are in. Men grow through moments of physical and spiritual discomfort. Gatherings like Manmaker sneak spiritual vulnerability in the side door. Think in decades, not just weeks. Ask yourself what you need to be doing today to have a strong relationship with your kids as adults. Your kids will face fear, but you can build a reservoir of courage into their heritage that they can tap into for the rest of their lives. GUEST Tyler Van Eps is a husband, father, and intentional family leader passionate about making spiritual formation tangible. He and his wife, Shelly, practice quarterly whole life stewardship reviews and have built family values their kids can see and touch. Tyler is also the creator of Manmaker, a series of high intensity gatherings that challenge men toward biblical manhood through physical and spiritual growth. He and his family live in Minnesota. #DadAwesome #christiandad #dadlife #parenting #dadpodcast #fatherhood #intentionalfatherhood #familyvalues   LINKS Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Join Team Awesomeness (monthly support team) at any level from $7/month to $1000/month... We have 41 families committed to fueling the ministry DadAwesome as we head toward celebrating 9 years of AWESOMENESS this coming winter: https://www.dadawesome.org/give Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 DADAWESOME book: dadawesome.org/book Vince Miller (on DadAwesome) https://wildatheart.org/ QUOTES "I wanna be remembered as a good husband, a good father, a follower of Jesus... I wanna be remembered as a courageous person... I can't control whether my kids are afraid or scared of something, but I always want them to feel that they've got somewhere in them, somewhere in their heritage, somewhere in their spirit, a reservoir of courage that they can tap into."  "I'm so dialed into what success looks like in my career... I can tell you if I'm on track, off track on anything, but I have no idea how it's all feels as a dad... you can only control the outcomes so much, but there's so much that you can control as far as the inputs."  "I want these moments where we ramp up the intensity a little bit... it's immediately putting you in a space of both physical and spiritual discomfort and a little bit of vulnerability. But for men, the physical discomfort almost overrides your awareness of how spiritually uncomfortable you might be."  "I was challenged for the first time to think in like a decade thing... when I think about wanting to have a strong relationship with my kids as adults, what are the things that I need to be doing today to set the tone for that?"  "Personally I wanted an environment where it felt like I don't know what's gonna come out of this. I don't know when a guy's gonna step up to this blocking sled. I don't know what he's gonna say right before he pushes this thing down ten yards downfield."
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  DA441 | Follow Jesus, Live With Enthusiasm, and Fight for Family (Tyler Van Eps PART 1) 02.07.2026 40min

  Join the up coming DadAwesome ACCELERATOR Coaching Cohort: https://www.dadawesome.org/coaching   SUMMARY: What happens when two dads strap GoPros to paddleboards and hit the lake at 5:45 in the morning? In this episode, Jeff sits down with longtime friend Tyler Van Eps for a raw, reflective conversation about intentional fatherhood, family rhythms, and what it looks like to lead your kids with purpose. From milestone trips to weekly family huddles to quarterly prayer rhythms, Tyler shares the experiments his family has been running... FIVE KEY TAKEAWAYS Fatherhood moves through three distinct seasons of investment: physical, time, and emotional, and knowing which season you're in changes how you show up. A weekly family huddle built around purpose, vision, and values gives your kids a compass they will eventually use to call out greatness in each other. Milestone trips don't have to be expensive or elaborate because what your kids remember most is being pulled out of the normal lineup and seen as an individual. The goal is not to control your family's calendar but to steward it, which means learning when to add things and when to subtract them without shame. Adopting a posture of exploration in your fatherhood is far more sustainable than building rigid rules, because it invites your family into the journey with you. TOP QUOTES "Instead of being an amazing leader and a decent dad, I want to be an amazing dad and a decent leader." "Follow Jesus, live with enthusiasm, and fight for family. The fight for family came out of, hey guys, we gotta stop fighting with our family and we gotta figure out a way to fight for our family." "There has to be a surrender that's kind of fundamental to the way that you approach fatherhood and family and faith." "Soaking in the moments of peace and allowing them to be there with the assumption that disruptions are around the corner." "If I'm not a steward of the time God's given me with my kids, there are these core memories that I could just be blazing by without even realizing it." GUEST Tyler Van Eps is a husband, father of four, and Senior Vice President at the National Christian Foundation Twin Cities, where he serves families and business owners around the stewardship of generational wealth and kingdom-minded generosity. A longtime friend of the Dad Awesome community, Tyler has joined the show multiple times including a campfire conversation and a tree fort recording. He is passionate about leading with purpose, living with enthusiasm, and building a family culture rooted in faith.  LINKS Join Team Awesomeness (monthly support team) at any level from $7/month to $1000/month... We have 41 families committed to fueling the ministry DadAwesome as we head toward celebrating 9 years of AWESOMENESS this coming winter: https://www.dadawesome.org/give Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 DADAWESOME book: dadawesome.org/book  
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  DA440 | Emotional Detachment, Unhurried Presence, and Pointing Your Kids to the True Source (Dad Year in Review PART 2) 25.06.2026 23min

  Your emotional detachment might be quietly wounding the people you love most. In PART 2 of our Father's Day LOOK-BACK, Jeff resurfaces five more conversations that hit different the second time around. ✅ Why your kids can feel when you've checked out emotionally ✅ How to stop pointing your kids to yourself as the source of life ✅ The dad who never raised his voice and what it did to his son ✅ What "unhurried presence" actually looks like in everyday moments ✅ The hard truth about emotional regulation every dad needs to hear INVITATION Join Team Awesomeness (monthly support team) at any level from $7/month to $1000/month... We have 41 families committed to fueling the ministry DadAwesome as we head toward celebrating 9 years of AWESOMENESS this coming winter: https://www.dadawesome.org/give SUMMARY In Part 2 of this Father's Day look-back series, Jeff Zaugg resurfaces five more powerful conversations from the past dad year, featuring Jeremy Pryor, Ted Cunningham, Pastor Tim Timberlake, Mac Lake, and Seth Dahl. The clips cover a dad's superpower of emotional detachment and how it can quietly wound the people he loves most, the faulty input-output theory of parenting and why God is the only true source of life, the transformative power of tone and speaking to the king in your child instead of the fool, the gift of unhurried presence and what it looks like to truly savor your kids, and the hard truth that a man who can't regulate his emotions forces his family to do it for him. This episode is a flyover packed with activation, challenge, and the kind of dad wisdom that sticks. KEY QUOTES "My kids can actually feel that. Like, if something were to happen to me, I think dad would be the least affected." — Jeremy Pryor, Ep. 415 "My source is Jesus, not you." — Ted Cunningham, Ep. 417 "In us we have both a fool and a king. The one that you address is the one that will respond." — Pastor Tim Timberlake, Ep. 424 "A posture of unhurried presence. So often we are present with our kids, but we're not present with our kids." — Mac Lake, Ep. 435 "A man who can't regulate his emotions forces his wife and kids to do it for him." — Seth Dahl, Ep. 429 TAKEAWAYS Your emotional detachment is a superpower that can become a weapon. Dads are wired to disconnect under pressure, and that's often a gift. But when that same skill gets used to keep your family at arm's length, your kids feel it. The question isn't how attached you feel. It's whether they feel attached to you. You were never meant to be the source. Pouring into your kids so they pour back into you is a trap. Your job, according to Deuteronomy 6, is to point them every single day to the only true source of life. Fire yourself. Fire your kids. God in heaven is the source. Tone is one of the greatest gifts a dad can give. Pastor Tim Timberlake's father never raised his voice, never disciplined from anger or frustration, and the love in his tone did the convicting. Your size, your volume, your first response, those things mark your kids. Speak to the king in them, not the fool. Unhurried presence is a posture, not a schedule. Mac Lake leaves adult conversations to throw a football for 60 minutes if that's what his grandkids want. The shift is simple but hard: let your kids be the thing that matters most in the moment, not an interruption to what actually matters. Emotional self-control is a fruit your family gets to eat. When you're getting triggered by your six-year-old, you're not parenting. You're asking them to regulate you. The Holy Spirit wants to grow self-control in you so your family is nourished by it. Your heart is upstream to everything in your home. LINKS Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 DADAWESOME book: dadawesome.org/book Jeremy Pryor — https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/415 Ted Cunningham — https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/417 Pastor Tim Timberlake — https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/424 Seth Dahl — https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/429 Mac Lake — https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/435
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  DA439 | The Dad Year in Review: Strength in Weakness, Order Out of Chaos & Being Tight with Jesus (Part 1) 18.06.2026 26min

  It's Father's Day week and we're doing something special. In Part 1 of The Dad Year Lookback, Jeff Zaugg revisits five conversations that stirred something deeper this year, featuring Dave Brickey, Lance Welch, Dr. Jake Smith, Chris Cirullo, and Craig Allen Cooper. ✅ Why your weakness as a dad might be your greatest strength ✅ The difference between raising kids in the gap vs. the gain ✅ How to stop dismissing your own feelings before you dismiss your kids' ✅ God's call for dads to be bringers of order, not complainers of disorder ✅ The secret gift of a minivan that turned an atheist toward Jesus You don't have to do the miracles. You just have to be tight with the man who did. 🙏 SUPPORTING DadAwesome Write a REVIEW on Amazon for the book DADAWESOME Join the 40 families who support DADAWESOME Monthly (from $7/month to $1000/month) - Learn More SUMMARY In this Father's Day special, Jeff Zaugg revisits five of the most impactful conversations from the past "dad year"... Featuring voices like Pastor Dave Brickey, Dr. Jake Smith, and Craig Allen Cooper. The clips explore the transformative power of fatherly weakness and repentance, the damage of performance-based parenting, the importance of emotional self-awareness, the biblical call to create order in family life, and the ripple effect of quiet, Jesus-fueled generosity. It's a looking-back episode that's really about looking up — because the best thing a dad can do for his kids is stay close to the One who can do what we can't. TAKEAWAYS Your weakness as a dad is not a liability — it's a bridge. When you humbly repent and admit you need Jesus, your kids see who their real Savior is. Raising kids in "the gap" (measuring what they fell short of) creates a performance identity that damages their sense of worth. Celebrate the gain — the progress they've made. Defensiveness and dismissiveness toward your kids often starts with dismissing your own feelings. Learning to name what's going on inside you is the first step to staying steady. God designed dads to be bringers of order — not complainers of disorder. Reverse engineer a family vision, create systems, and name the chaos so your kids can learn to do the same. You don't have to do the miracles. You just have to be tight with the man who did. Small, unseen acts of generosity done close to Jesus can change the trajectory of another family forever. QUOTES "My strength points my kids to me as their savior, but my weakness points them to who my savior is." — Pastor Dave Brickey, Ep. 391 "You lead with your strengths, but you connect through your weaknesses." — Pastor Dave Brickey, Ep. 391 "My heavenly Father has set the scoreboard to infinity." — Jeff Zaugg, reflecting on Ep. 394 with Lance Welch "I don't get to choose what feelings I have. I only choose what I do with them." — Dr. Jake Smith, Ep. 398 "He can't walk on water — but he just might be tight with the man that did." — Walker Hayes (via Craig Allen Cooper, Ep. 418) LINKS Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 DADAWESOME book: dadawesome.org/book Dave Brickey — https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/391 Lance Welch — https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/394 Dr. Jake Smith — https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/398 Chris Cirullo — https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/410 Craig Allen Cooper — https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/418    
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  DA438 | No Scoreboard at Home, Becoming the Man God Designed (Gabe Biedenbaugh) PART 2 11.06.2026 35min

  Book - Get the recently released DADAWESOME book on Amazon. Amazon Review - leave a short Amazon review to help more dads learn about the book. ---------- There's NO scoreboard for a healthy marriage—and no quarterly report on your kids' souls. 📊🚫 Gabe Biedenbaugh is back for Part 2, and this conversation goes deep on what really matters at home. ✅ Why chasing a "scoreboard" at home is a trap (and what to measure instead) ✅ Covering your daughters vs. sending out your sons—a powerful picture of spiritual authority ✅ The eulogy drill: a simple exercise that will change how you lead your family True legacy isn't how you're remembered. It's what your family still does when you're gone. 🔥 SUMMARY There's no quarterly report for your marriage and no scoreboard for your kids' souls—so why do so many dads keep looking for one? In part two of this conversation, Gabe Biedenbaugh exposes the scoreboard trap and shares the vision statements that guide his marriage and parenting. Plus, he unpacks a powerful perspective on covering your daughters versus sending out your sons, and why true legacy isn't how you're remembered—it's what your family still does when you're gone. TAKEAWAYS It's a trap to look for a scoreboard at home. Winning at home is consistency, owning your mistakes, and asking for forgiveness quickly. The best gift you can give your children is a healthy marriage. Aim to be more in love when your kids leave than you are right now. Sons are sent out to start new families; daughters remain under their father's spiritual covering until that authority is transferred at the wedding. The foundation of your life matters far more than the facade. A bridge that looks good but lacks integrity is a bridge no one should cross. Identity is not something to be discovered—it's something to be received from God. Legacy isn't how you're remembered. It's what your family still carries on—in faith, discipline, and character—when you're gone. GUEST Gabe Biedenbaugh is a pastor, men's ministry leader, and the founder of The Forge, an online ministry helping men find clear, God-given direction for their lives. Every Friday, he sends out his "Forge Fridays" email, and he created the 21 Days guided reset to help men establish direction and become who God designed them to be. Gabe and his wife have four children—three sons and a daughter—and live in St. Augustine, Florida. QUOTES "There is no scoreboard for a healthy marriage. There's no quarterly report of how your kids are doing in their soul." — Gabe Biedenbaugh "Winning at home is being consistent at home." — Gabe Biedenbaugh "The best gift you can give your children is a healthy marriage." — Gabe Biedenbaugh "The foundation matters so much more than what you put on the facade." — Gabe Biedenbaugh "Identity is not something to be discovered—it's something to be received." — Gabe Biedenbaugh "Legacy is not how you're remembered. It's what your family still does when you're gone." — Gabe Biedenbaugh "I want dads to be tough and tender." — Gabe Biedenbaugh "Motivation can last for a season, but motivation will not sustain you. Inspiration will." — Gabe Biedenbaugh LINKS Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 DADAWESOME book: dadawesome.org/book Gabe Biedenbaugh's Substack - THE FORGE- https://theforgemen.substack.com/ Reverb Church
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  DA437 | Son, Come Home: Shame, Freedom & Fatherhood (Part 1) — Gabe Biedenbaugh 04.06.2026 31min

  Join the summer DADAWESOME ACCELERATOR 6-week coaching group: https://www.dadawesome.org/coaching   SUMMARY Pastor Gabe Biedenbaugh opens up about the generational faith handed down to him, the shame that nearly disqualified him from his calling, and the "you're not enough" lie so many men carry. In part one of this Father's Day conversation, he shows why vulnerability, brotherhood, and a heart to serve are the way home. TAKEAWAYS The legacy of faith can start with one man stepping in — Gabe's grandfather died young, and other men fathered his dad. Shame attacks your identity; conviction shows you the way out, condemnation just says you're the problem. Beat the lie head-on: "I'm not enough, but Christ in me is more than enough." Vulnerability in real brotherhood is where men get unstuck and find freedom. A dad living free brings joy home; serving (not being served) is the posture — "leaders are into towels, not titles." QUOTES "Satan's goal isn't to tell you a blatant lie — it's to tell you something so close to the truth you believe it." "My job isn't to fill someone else's cup — it's to empty mine, and let God do what He wants with it." "Conviction says you've made a mistake, but here's the way out. Condemnation says, no — you're the problem." "When you have shame in your life, it impacts the way you bring your best, or lack thereof, to your family." "I want to walk into my home with the attitude of Jesus, who took off his garment to wash feet." LINKS Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 DADAWESOME book: dadawesome.org/book Gabe Biedenbaugh's Substack - THE FORGE- https://theforgemen.substack.com/ Reverb Church  
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  DA436 | Coaching Boys into Manhood, Reclaiming Play, and the Questions That Will Anchor Your Next Three Years (Alan Briggs) 28.05.2026 42min

  FEATURED Join DADAWESOME DAY - Monday June 1st, 2026 - text "book" to (651) 370-8618 to learn more and receive updates on Monday, June 1st. Join the next DADAWESOME ACCELERATOR coaching group - APPLY HERE SUMMARY Most men are getting lived by their lives instead of actually living them. In this conversation, Alan Briggs unpacks how a life of constant escape leaves us empty at the end of the day, and what it looks like to design something we can actually engage with instead. From Yes Days with your kids to preparing for the car ride home the way you'd prepare for a business meeting, Alan brings practical insight that will reshape how you show up as a dad this week. TAKEAWAYS ---The best dads aren't the ones with the most time. They're the ones who prepare for the small moments with the same intentionality they bring to work. ---A coming of age year for your son doesn't require waking up at 4 a.m. It just requires showing up consistently and inviting other trusted men to speak life into him. ---Celebrate who your kids actually are instead of trying to make them love what you love. Curiosity is the doorway to connection. ---We were built for both meaningful work and real rest. Without a healthy theology of both, we swing between burnout and apathy. ---The question that changes everything: What is the good life for you and your family three years from now? GUEST Alan Briggs is a coach, author, and adventurer based in Colorado Springs. He runs two and a half companies, including a coworking space, and spends his days helping leaders find a lighter, more sustainable way to live and work. He's the author of multiple books, including his latest resource on anti-burnout, and the host of his own podcast for leaders. Alan and his wife are raising four kids ranging from 12 to 23, including two adopted children. He loves the mountains, disc golf with his son, and learning to cheer for his kids in the worlds they love most. QUOTES "Most men are getting lived by their lives. They are not living their lives. They are letting choices make them. They are not making intentional choices." "I prepare for business meetings. Do I prepare that well for a date with my wife, a date with my daughter, a car ride? Almost always, no." "You don't have to be up at 4 a.m. with your kid. You don't have to do it every day. But do something that affirms you've got what it takes." "Celebrate exactly who they are and exactly what they love doing, instead of trying to make them love the things that you love doing." "We are not the sum of what we carry. Our identity and who we are loved by is so much more important than what we are as dads." LINKS Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort: Email awesome@dadawesome.org Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 Dad Awesome book: dadawesome.org/book Alan Briggs - H2LEADERSHIP Alan's BOOKS
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  DA435 | Speaking Life, Unhurried Presence, and a Biblical Definition of Leadership (Mac Lake) 21.05.2026 47min

  🎙️ Brandon Lake's dad on the DadAwesome podcast. Mac Lake (a.k.a. "Pops") joins us for a powerful conversation on speaking life, leading at home, and shaping your kids into who God already sees them to be. ✅ The biblical definition of leader — disciple, servant, apostle (and why "I'm not much of a leader" is insecurity, not humility) ✅ How a posture of unhurried presence changes everything (Pops TV, dinosaur eggs, and football for 60 minutes if they want 60) ✅ Why discipline is discipleship — and how to stop disciplining out of a wounded ego   SUMMARY The words you speak to your kids today become the voice inside their head for the rest of their lives — for better or worse. In this episode, Mac Lake (yes, that Mac — Brandon Lake's dad) shares the leadership wisdom he's spent a lifetime giving away: how to speak life over your kids, why "I'm not much of a leader" is insecurity in disguise, and how a biblical definition of leader — disciple, servant, apostle — changes how you show up at home. Plus Pops TV, dinosaur eggs, and why discipline is discipleship.   TAKEAWAYS Leadership in your home requires both spirit and skill. David shepherded with integrity of heart and skillful hands — don't lean only on business-style competence, and don't go passive at home either. Your words become your child's inner voice — so speak life. Get on your knee, look them in the eye, tell them you're proud of them and why. Be their biggest cheerleader, not their biggest critic. Build a faith legacy by telling the works of God in your family. Like Asaph in Psalm 78, your kids should know specific stories of how God has shown up for your family, not just for Israel. Unhurried presence is the gift most dads underestimate. Put the phone away, leave the adult conversation, throw the football for 60 minutes if they want 60 minutes — they need you fully there, not just nearby. Discipline is discipleship — not ego protection. When kids misbehave, it's not a verdict on your identity. Shape them into the image of Christ instead of reacting from your wounded ego.   GUEST Mac Lake is a pastor, leadership coach, and the founder of The Multiplication Center, where he trains church leaders to identify and develop multiplying leaders. He's the author of The Multiplication Effect and has spent decades coaching pastors and executives in leadership pipeline development. He and his wife Cindy ("CeCe") have three grown kids — including worship artist Brandon Lake — and six grandkids who know him as "Pops." They live in South Carolina. LINKS Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort: Email awesome@dadawesome.org Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 Dad Awesome book: dadawesome.org/book The Multiplication Effect by Mac Lake Wild at Heart by John Eldredge (referenced) Brandon Lake — music and ministry  
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  DA434 | Bob Goff on Becoming a Secret Superhero Dad & Hovering Over Your Family (FROM THE VAULT) 14.05.2026 35min

  FROM THE VAULT with Bob Goff: ✅ Why hovering over your family is one of the most important things you can do as a dad ✅ How to leave behind treasures your kids will discover long after you are gone ✅ The courage it takes to quit something that no longer fits and start fresh ✅ What Bob learned from his friends at San Quentin about feeding the people around you SUMMARY There are around 8 billion people alive right now, and there have been 107 billion who came before us. That context changes everything about how you spend today with your kids. In this From the Vault conversation, Bob Goff returns to talk about hovering over your family the way God hovered over the earth, leaving behind treasures your kids will discover for years to come, and finding the courage to make bold moves when something in your life needs to change. Bob shares why being fully present matters more than providing, how to live a "no capes" kind of life, and why the small moments will be the bookmarks your kids carry forever. TAKEAWAYS The kind of grandfather you want to be will be a byproduct of the kind of dad you are right now. Hovering over each person in your family means asking what they uniquely need that only you could provide. Living a "no capes" life means doing meaningful things without making a big deal about them. Your family needs you fully present far more than they need what you provide. When something in your life stops fitting, having the courage to quit and start fresh can change everything. GUEST Bob Goff is the bestselling author of Love Does, Everybody Always, Dream Big, and Undistracted, along with several children's books co-written with his daughter Lindsey. He is the founder of Love Does, a nonprofit that operates schools and safe houses for children in conflict zones around the world. Bob and his wife, Sweet Maria, live in San Diego and spend much of their time at The Oaks, where they host gatherings for dreamers and world changers. They have three grown children and several grandchildren.   Quotes "The kind of grandfather you want to be will be a byproduct of the kind of dad that you are." — Bob Goff "Hover over each person in your family. What does kid number one need that I could only uniquely provide them?" — Bob Goff "What your family really needs you to provide is you, like, fully present." — Bob Goff "Sometimes the familiar will get in the way of what's actually possible." — Bob Goff "Everybody doesn't get a slice, but everybody's fed." — Bob Goff Links Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort: Email awesome@dadawesome.org Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 Dad Awesome book: dadawesome.org/book https://www.bobgoff.com/ Bob's BOOKS
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  DA433 | What's Underneath the Anger, Dad Daughter Dates, and Five Ways to Build a Bridge with Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield (Part 2) 07.05.2026 28min

  SUMMARY I brought a real story to Dr. Michelle this week. A small mistake on my part, a hurt little girl, a defensive dad at bedtime, and my wife catching my eye across the room. What unfolded was a live coaching moment I needed more than I knew. Dr. Michelle gently walked me back through what I missed, what was actually under the anger, and how to do the repair that actually reaches a daughter's heart. If you have ever blown it with your kids and tried to talk your way out of it instead of leaning in, this conversation is for you. Takeaways Anger is usually the front door. The real emotion sitting behind it is almost always sadness, fear, or confusion, and your kids feel that gap before you do. When your child tells the story of how you hurt them, the most powerful thing you can say is three words. Tell me more. Then stay there longer than feels comfortable. Defensiveness bombs the bridge to your kids' hearts and to their picture of God as Father. Compassion builds it. Luke 15 verse 20 gives a five step pattern any dad can follow. He saw, he was filled with compassion, he ran, he threw his arms around, he kissed. A consistent monthly daddy daughter date and a note in your own handwriting create anchors of memory your kids will carry into adulthood. Guest Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield is a licensed counselor, speaker, and the host of The Dad Whisperer podcast. She founded The Abba Project, a nine month group for dads of daughters between thirteen and thirty, and has spent the last fifteen plus years coaching fathers in the work of pursuing their daughters' hearts. She is the author of Dad, Here's What I Really Need from You and Let's Talk, and her writing on fatherhood has reached dads in all fifty states and around the world. Quotes  "You guys are wired with tender hearts. Tough and tender is a powerful combination as a man." Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield "Under mad is usually sad or scared or confused. Lead with your heart more than your head." Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield "Tell me more. That's how she gets it out, and then it's not there between you anymore." Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield "Defensiveness bombs the bridge. Compassion builds it. That's the work of fathering a daughter's heart." Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield "Anchors of memory in a place. Find one or two spots that become yours together with your daughter." Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield  
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  DA432 | The Closeness Gap, the Five Senses Experiment, and Dropping Your Anger with Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield (Part 1) 30.04.2026 31min

  You probably think you're closer to your daughter than she'd say you are. The research keeps proving it. Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield is back with the question every dad of daughters should ask this week: ✅ The zero to ten question that closes the closeness gap ✅ Why one word of affirmation revives what looked dead ✅ A five senses experiment to pursue her on purpose ✅ Jeff opening up about missing it with his four year old the night before   MOM AWESOME CHALLENGE > Text MOM to (651) 370-8618 // or click here   SUMMARY Most dads think they're closer to their daughters than they actually are. Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield has spent 30 years sitting with dads and daughters in the gap between, and she came on DadAwesome to say it plain: your words water her dry soul, your anger can wipe out nine good days, and pursuit is the muscle every dad has to keep building. This is part one of a two part conversation, and Jeff brings a real story from the night before about missing it with his four year old.   TAKEAWAYS Pursuit is not a season. It does not end at the wedding or the hospital room. Your daughter and your wife need to be pursued today. Ask your daughter the zero to ten question. Where would you rank our closeness, is that the number you want, and what can I do to be a better dad to you. Your words land like water on dry soil. One sentence of affirmation can revive what looked dead four days ago. Your anger will do more to shut her down than almost anything else. Repair every rupture. Run the five senses experiment. Notice what you see in her, listen one minute longer than yesterday, tie smell to memory, speak one word of life, and give safe physical touch on purpose. GUEST Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield is a licensed counselor, speaker, and the host of The Dad Whisperer Podcast. She founded The Abba Project in 2010, a group coaching experience for dads of daughters, and has written two books for fathers: Dad, Here's What I Really Need from You and Let's Talk.  QUOTES "Your words are like water to her dry soul. She will spring forth with beauty and color and life with your words." "You can do nine things right and one anger response can wipe it out. You've got to make repair for the rupture." "Every one of us as women have a God given place in us that wants to be seen, adored, championed, celebrated." "Ask your daughter on a scale of zero to ten, where would you rank us? What can I do better?" "What you see, she doesn't see. By pursuing and seeing and knowing us, we internalize it." Links: Text MOM to (651) 370-8618 // or click here Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 dadawesome.org/book Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort: Email awesome@dadawesome.org Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 Dad Awesome book: dadawesome.org/book Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield: drmichellewatson.com Dad, Here's What I Really Need from You by Dr. Michelle Watson Let's Talk by Dr. Michelle Watson The Dad Whisperer Podcast The Abba Project Drop Your Anger video  
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  DA431 | JOY BOMBS 💣, Nothing Is Lost, & the Interstellar Scene That Rewired a Dad (Daniel Chesnut) 23.04.2026 50min

  There's a moment in Interstellar where Matthew McConaughey sits down and watches 25 years of video messages from the kids he left behind. Daniel Chesnut drove home from that movie snot-crying, climbed into bed next to his sleeping two-year-old, and asked God a simple question: why is this wrecking me? What he heard back changed the way he has fathered for the last decade. In this conversation, Daniel shares listening prayer with your kids, why vulnerability is actually strength, how to play the long game with a 14-year-old, and the truth that's rescuing him in every transition: nothing is lost.   ✅ The listening prayer practice he does with his 14-year-old son every year ✅ Why spending your 30s building a future can cost you the people you're building it for ✅ How to cultivate access to your kid's heart (hint: it's not across the couch) ✅ The truth rescuing him in every transition: nothing is lost   Takeaways Ask God for a word or theme for the year, and invite your kids into the same practice. Take the pressure off of timing. When a movie, a song, or a moment wrecks you, pay attention. It's a knock on the door of your heart. Spend your 30s becoming the kind of man who can be entrusted with more, instead of building a future your family won't want to share with you. Cultivate access to your kid's heart. Delight in what they delight in. Talk over sushi or on the drive, not across the couch. Nothing is lost. Every missed moment, every transition, every thing you wish you could get back is being restored. Guest Daniel Chesnut is a filmmaker, storyteller, and the founder of Process Creative. He and his wife Katie live in Southern California with their 14-year-old son Brooklyn. Daniel has spent years helping people tell their stories on film and is part of the Pursuit Beach Fitness men's discipleship community. He writes about fatherhood, faith, and becoming on his Substack.   Quotes  "The strongest man on the sand is the most vulnerable man on the sand." "I made time. I created time. And I can make time work for you, not against you." "Spend the next decade becoming the kind of person who can be entrusted with more in 10 years." "Whatever you do, cultivate access to your kid's heart. That's it. Just stay in their life." "Nothing is lost. Even the moments you regret are being restored."   Links Text MOM to (651) 370-8618 // or click here Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 DADAWESOME Book:dadawesome.org/book Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort: Email awesome@dadawesome.org Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 Becoming a King by Morgan Snyder Walking with God by John Eldredge Interstellar (film) and soundtrack by Hans Zimmer Process Creative (Daniel's company) Pursuit Beach Fitness BABY SWIM LESSONS - The Ultimate Routine to Help Our 2 YR OLD Swim and Deep Dive Underwater (The Bucket List Family)
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  DA430 | Core Memories, Unhealed Wounds, and What It Looks Like When a Dad Does the Inner Work (Mark Odland) 16.04.2026 48min

  Most dads are carrying something they never dealt with... Mark Odland is a trauma therapist who works with high achieving men, and he joined us for one of the most honest conversations we've had on this show. ✅ How stuck memories quietly affect the way you parent ✅ A simple tapping technique you can use with your kids right now ✅ Why doing your inner work is one of the most important things you can do for your family SUMMARY Most dads are carrying something they never dealt with. In this episode, therapist Mark Odland explains how unprocessed memories stay stuck in the brain and quietly shape the way you parent, the way you react, and the way you show up at home. You'll also hear what trauma therapy actually is, why doing the inner work is one of the bravest things a dad can do, and how healing in one generation changes everything for the next. TAKEAWAYS When your nervous system gets overwhelmed, memories can get stored in a way that doesn't heal properly and that affects you more than you realize years later. The "butterfly hug" tapping technique is something you can use with your kids in real time to help a hard moment not become a stuck wound. Trauma therapy helps the brain do what it was already designed to do, heal itself when the right conditions are present. The cage many high achieving men live in isn't always visible from the outside. But deep down, they know something's in the way. Whatever you wish your dad had done differently with you, ask yourself if you're doing that with your kids. That question is a powerful starting point. Doing one therapy session doesn't commit you to years on a couch. It's just a first step, and first steps create momentum. GUEST Mark Odland is a licensed therapist, trauma specialist, and the founder of Lion Counseling. He's also the author of Escape the Cage. Mark and his wife have four kids and live in Duluth, Minnesota, where yes, he has surfed Lake Superior. QUOTES "As long as we have the opportunity to be connected to safety and truth, the brain can heal itself." — Mark Odland "You don't have to sign your life away. Just do one therapy appointment." — Mark Odland "Whatever invisible force is keeping you in a cage, the dad you want to be is in there." — Mark Odland "If you can't muster up the belief that you're worth it, look at a picture of your family. They are worth it." — Mark Odland "Some healing usually proceeds breakthrough. Doing some looking back before you try to propel forward." — Jeff Zaugg   LINKS  Escape the Cage by Mark Odland  https://escapethecagenow.com/ Text MOM to (651) 370-8618 // or click here DADAWESOME Book:dadawesome.org/book Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book  
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  DA429 | Loaded Guns, Unprocessed Grief, and the Dad Who Can't Regulate His Own Emotions with Seth Dahl 09.04.2026 45min

  "A man who can't regulate his emotions forces his wife and kids to do it for him." Seth Dahl back for a 5th conversation on DadAwesome. He breaks down what's actually happening when dad loses it and what it takes to change. ✅ Why emotional dysregulation is an identity issue, not just a temper problem ✅ The loaded gun analogy that will change how you think about anger at home ✅ Teen boundaries, the Wise Phone, and how to give freedom without losing your mind   SUMMARY A man who can't regulate his emotions forces his wife and kids to do it for him. That's the hard truth Seth Dahl drops early in this conversation, and it only gets more honest from there. This is a raw, alumni-only Zoom call that turned into something worth sharing with every dad who's ever lost it over something stupid and wondered why.   Takeaways: If you can be triggered, you're identifying with something more than your role as a dad. That's an identity issue, not just a temper issue. Unprocessed emotions don't disappear. They show up as anger, porn, checked-out dads, and kids walking on eggshells. God's model in Genesis wasn't control. It was influence with a boundary. That's the parenting theology most of us are missing. For teenagers, the online world is the living room. Know who they're talking to, just like you would if they came to your house. The Wise Phone gives kids what they need without what gets them in trouble.   GUEST:   Seth Dahl is an author, speaker, grief recovery specialist, and emotional health coach. He and his wife have three kids and have developed a deep framework around completing past emotions, processing present emotions, and shaping future ones. Seth is a longtime friend of DadAwesome and is featured in the DADAWESOME book.   LINKS Text MOM to (651) 370-8618 // or click here Emotionally Skilled Fatherhood Course with Seth Dahl (Interest Form) Wise Phone Radiant Mobile  DADAWESOME Book:dadawesome.org/book Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book SETH DAHL  
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  DA428 | What Unlocks When You Stop Grinding, Becoming the Primary Storyteller, & Parenting from Sonship (Jay Heck interviews Jeff Zaugg) 02.04.2026 53min

  Jay Heck of Being Sons flips the mic and digs into the DADAWESOME book with some really honest questions.   ✅ The prayer counseling session that broke a 15-year lie Jeff had been living under ✅ Why parenting from scarcity makes your voice smaller (and what changes when you don't) ✅ The black pen blue pen journaling exercise that helps you actually hear from God ✅ Three things every father can bring to their kids: proximity, placing hands on, and prayer   Get the 7-Day DADAWESOME Video Series -    SUMMARY Most dads are trying to figure out the right strategy. But what if the thing holding you back isn't a lack of tactics, it's a lie you've been believing about whether you're even loved? In this mic flip episode, Jay Heck of Being Sons turns the tables and interviews Jeff about the Dad Awesome book, and the conversation gets honest fast. You'll hear about the prayer counseling session that changed everything, what it means to set the scoreboard to infinity, and how a dad who's operating from fullness becomes the most compelling voice in the room.   TAKEAWAYS Your kids need to see you pause and point to what God has done, not just celebrate the mountaintops but name the hard stuff too. When you stop trying to earn love and start receiving it as a son, things like dancing, crying, laughing, and gentleness just start coming out of you naturally. You are not behind. Whatever season of fatherhood you are in, God is not disappointed. He's inviting you to turn toward him, not catch up. The three P's of intentional fatherhood are pursuing your kids, praying for your kids, and being present with your kids. Fathers who operate from abundance naturally draw their kids, their kids' friends, and other families in. Scarcity thinking is contagious, and so is thankfulness. GUEST Jay Heck is the founder of Being Sons, a fatherhood ministry focused on dad and daughter and dad and son adventure experiences. He hosts the Being Sons podcast and is passionate about helping men step into the father heart of God so they can lead their families well. QUOTES "Your heavenly father has set the scoreboard to infinity. You can't add to it. You can't subtract from it." "As I learned more about my identity as a loved son of God, I danced more, cried more, laughed more." "Gratefulness and fear can't live simultaneously. When we are grateful, we move toward more vision and more hope." "Fathers who operate from abundance naturally become the most compelling voice in the room." "You are not behind. God in heaven is not disappointed. He is loving this moment that you are turning." LINKS 21 Day Prayer Team - surrounding the DADAWESOME book launch. DADAWESOME Book:dadawesome.org/book Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book DadAwesome Podcast: dadawesome.org/podcast Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book BEING SONS Ministry (Jay Heck) Wild At Heart - Head of Household Prayer (John Eldredge) Ruthless Trust (book)  
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  DA427 | Dad-Daughter Dates, Daily Prayer, and the Fireball Story That Didn't Make the Book (Jeff Zaugg) 26.03.2026 27min

  What do you do when your schedule is maxed out and you feel like you're failing at the very thing you preach? In this episode, Jeff gets honest about dropping the ball on dad-daughter dates, shares three raw discoveries from book launch week, and tells the story of a flaming ball of toilet paper on a frozen lake that never made it into the book — for good reason. Without a concrete accountability loop, even your highest priorities will quietly slip off the calendar. In your fullest, most pressured seasons, adding one stabilizing anchor — not removing things — might be the wisest move you make. Daily prayer with other men isn't just spiritual discipline; it's a stabilizing force that steadies you when everything else is swinging. Bringing two simple questions to a dad-daughter date can surface honest feedback and spark some of the most important conversations you'll have with your kids. Fatherhood grows through friendships and focus — those two things, compounded over years, change everything.   DADAWESOME BOOKhttps://www.dadawesome.org/book