

DadAwesome
Jeff Zaugg
ACTIVATING DADS TO LEAD WITH WONDER
Walking with dads as they lead and love their kids toward God's awesomeness.
We're on a mission to see dads fully alive and fully activated in their roles—leading with wonder to build intentional connection with their kids while experiencing God's awesomeness together.
We partner with dads at every stage of the journey by providing practical fatherhood resources to catalyze connection with their kids, and also with other dads.
Walking with dads as they lead and love their kids toward God's awesomeness.
We're on a mission to see dads fully alive and fully activated in their roles—leading with wonder to build intentional connection with their kids while experiencing God's awesomeness together.
We partner with dads at every stage of the journey by providing practical fatherhood resources to catalyze connection with their kids, and also with other dads.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 18, 2021 • 36min
161 | Dr. Efrem Smith on Cross-Cultural Relationships, Raising Champions & Modeling a "Sneak Preview" of Heaven
dadAWESOME We're on a mission to add LIFE to the dad life. We're passionate about helping dads live fully alive as they lead their kids to God's awesomeness. | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter Dr. Efrem Smith Efrem Smith is a pastor, consultant, speaker, and author. He is passionate about life transformation, multi-ethnic development, thriving churches, and community development. As a product of the African-American Church, he also serves as a collaborative catalyst for African-American Church Planting, Disciple Making, and Urban Empowerment Movements. Efrem was the founding pastor of The Sanctuary Covenant Church, a multi-ethnic church in Minneapolis, MN, He served as the Superintendent of the Pacific Southwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church. He also served as the President of World Impact, an urban missions organization. Currently, Efrem is the Co-lead Pastor of Bayside Church Midtown, a thriving and multi-ethnic community in Sacramento, California. He is also Co-Owner of Influential LLC, a speaking, consulting, and coaching ministry. Efrem is also a Catalyst for African-American Networks for City to City North America. Efrem has been married to his wife Donecia for 28-years and they have two daughters. Show Notes: 3:22 - Movie "Black Panther" - "he simultaneously shows such great reverence and honor for his dad, but he disagrees with his dad at the same time. And I think that shows a real tension of the way in which we honor our parents. But then there are these moments where we may have a sense of calling in our life that that is so different that we decide there's a different way in which we're called to serve, a different way in which we're called to look at a career or a decision in life. And we're trying to simultaneously go a different way from our parents, but yet love them and honor them at the same time." 4:24 - Examples of ways Efrem stepped outside of the path his parents expected 6:42 - Examples of fathering characteristics that Efrem has tried to copy from his dad 10:13 - "Our lives can be a sneak peek to the Kingdom of Heaven" and I rewrote it, "our lives as dads can be a sneak peek to our kids, but way beyond just our own households." 10:23 - How to be dads who lead our families into courageous conversations about justice, racism and reconciliation 11:37 - A story of his dad treating others well even when he was treated poorly - "One of the things that my dad modeled in front of me was in spite of racial divisions and racial unrest, he was somebody that treated everybody respectfully and fairly... I had a chance to see my dad, even in the midst of times not being treated as well as he should have been treated in society, still treated other people - especially the people that were the skin color of others that weren't treating him so well, he didn't do that back." 12:26 - "I've tried to model racial reconciliation and unity and diversity in front of my daughters. And I know that that's impacted their relationships." 13:56 - "Maybe that's one sign that I'm modeling something well in front of my kids, that they see my intentionality showing reconciled, beloved community in front of them. And so that's one way we can be a sneak preview of heaven is in our relationships... allowing our kids to see that we're intentional about cross-cultural relationships." 14:50 - Additional practical ideas to help raise kids who can see the beauty in all people. "Even the dolls, even the toys that they had were intentional about their diversity. So they could see beauty and all kinds of people. They could see intelligence, they could see problem solving. They could not only see that they themselves could be anything, but they could see that other cultures, other people groups could be anything just by the kinds of storybooks and coloring books and toys." 15:35 - Time Machine Advice - Wishing that he would have listened more to his daughters 16:44 - Spending more time praying for our kids 17:35 - Efrem coaching us on the theme of raising daughters with INFLUENCE 17:40 - Documentary on Venus and Serena Williams - https://www.amazon.com/Venus-Serena-Williams/dp/B00CBFB8MG "As long as they could remember their dad told them they would be champions. There was this part of the documentary where when they were being asked, when did you know you were going to be great? And they were like, we always knew we were going to be great because our dad always told us we were going to be champions. Our dad always said, you're going to win Wimbledon. You're going to win the US Open. You're going to win the French Open and you're going to win it multiple times. Both of you will be champions. Both of you will be great tennis players." 18:35 - "When I would pray with my daughters at night, when I would put them in bed, I would say, 'repeat after me, I'm a queen. I'm beautiful. I'm God's daughter, I'm a champion.'" 21:00 - The decision to be more vulnerable and show emotions in front of his daughters 22:35 - "Now my dad and I talk and we can't have a phone conversation without my dad saying, 'I love you. I'm proud of you. I love you'....and even at 52 years old, hearing my 77 year old dad say that to me even now is so empowering [and] so transformative. And so, I think for me, one thing I would say is dads need to not be afraid, not be hesitant in a healthy way of being vulnerable in front of your kids, because what that shows is that you're not stronger than the creator of the universe." 23:06 - "We do a disservice to our kids if we lead them to believe that we can live well without God, that we can navigate life's challenges in our own power, in our own strength." 23:41 - "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" [Dr Martin Luther King Jr.] 24:16 - What are some ways that I'm missing it and being a "White Moderate?" 26:10 - "Sometimes what it's about is the things you should do that you aren't doing, not the things that you're not doing that are blatantly and evil. It's about the things that you're passively avoiding, the things that you refuse to step into." 27:08 - "I think we need to look beyond the sins that we didn't commit and look at the actions that we refused to live into." 28:52 - "A meal where I would ask everybody to bring something that represented their upbringing, their culture... I would say during dinner, the same way we're digesting one another's foods, we have to be willing to digest one another stories, one another's pain, one another's dreams without our first reaction being judgment or denial... We have to digest these stories, receive them without initial denial or judgment. And I think that if we're willing to do that, that makes us better parents to our kids. And it makes us better dads when we're still learning and listening and receiving." 32:26 - "Don't take the moments you have right now for granted and allow God to reinvent you as a dad at the different stages of your kids' lives." 32:30 - CLOSING PRAYER Conversation Links: https://www.influentialglobal.com/ Efrem's Instagram Midtown Church Make a Donation to dadAWESOME Join the dadAWESOME Prayer Team

Feb 11, 2021 • 42min
160 | Raising Passionate Jesus Followers (Phil Comer & Brook Mosser)
dadAWESOME We're on a mission to add LIFE to the dad life. We're passionate about helping dads live fully alive as they lead their kids to God's awesomeness. | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter Phil Comer After raising four kids who are all walking with Jesus, Phil & Diane were commissioned by the elders with the task of teaching parents how to raise passionate Jesus followers. Phil Comer, with assistance from his wife Diane and his son, John Mark, was the founding pastor of Westside: A Jesus Church, a large and vibrant church that welcomes millennials in Portland, Oregon. After handing the lead role over to his son, he and Diane launched Intentional: Raising Passionate Jesus Followers conferences as a way of teaching and training the hundreds of young parents in their church who were now raising families of their own. With his 40 years of pastoral experience and counseling, and lessons learned through his own parenting, he and Diane are bringing parents hope and practical help to accomplish their God-given task of raising children who will walk with God in vibrant faith. Brook Mosser Brook and Elizabeth Mosser help lead the Intentional Parent's ministry with Phil and Diane as well as serve at Riverbend Church in Bend. Elizabeth is Phil and Diane's daughter, which makes Brook their son in law, which means they are all family learning to do this thing called life and relationships together. They live in Bend, OR with their four children Duke (9), Scarlet (7), Birdie (3), and Sloane (1). Brook and Elizabeth are passionate about seeing their own four kids become all in disciples of Jesus and helping other's do the same. Video of this Conversation: http://bit.ly/DA160vid Show Notes: 2:50 - Raising Passionate Jesus Followers book 3:00 - Disproportionate relationships 4:45 - Phil's father's day message "Fathering Like a Father" YouTube Link 5:14 - Jeff asked Phil to speak life over Brook 5:33 - John 1 - Jesus was full of grace AND truth 8:12 - What does it mean to have a generational vision? 10:41 - "And I think sometimes we need to remember that what we're doing with our kids is of eternal value. We're affecting their eternity and even generations to come." - Phil Comer on having a generational vision 11:17 - Jeff asks Brook about the concept of "Default Settings" in parenting 13:39 - Praying over the emotional wounds we've caused our kids 13:50 - Praying "God, would you just shield them from the worst parts of me?" 14:11 - Being aware of where your weaknesses impact your family. 15:36 - Discussing the importance of seeing the big picture and not focusing only on individual moments. Phil and Brook run an organization called "Intentional Parents" 17:22 - "Anything lasting, anything of eternal value, anything of substance, we can't do without Him. But as far as the big picture....we parent out of relationship - our relationship with God and our relationship with our kids and life, it's a rhythm, and God designed it that way." 18:58 - You parent in relationships 19:33 - How to set your own family culture - have a macro vision. "What do we want to put into the world? What do we want to be known for?" 21:38 - What does it mean to "raise passionate Jesus Followers?" 21:56 - "Trying to raise kids that operate in a different kingdom all together." 22:50 - Analyzing scenes from movies to point out the lies people are believing. 23:41 - "So I think as far as raising passionate Jesus followers - it's every single moment is Deuteronomy 6. When you wake up, when you lie down, when you go along the road, you're talking about Jesus, you're doing it yourself. You're not asking your kids to beat something that you're not beating yourself. And it's raising kids that really know and love Jesus." 24:35 - Phil talks about when dads realize that it's a partnership with their wives, realizing kids are a gift from God, and their job as a dad is important - that's the lightbulb moment for dads at their conferences. Phil quoting his son, John Mark Comer, "Pretty much every problem in the world goes back to fathers not doing what they were called to do and not walking with the Father the way supposed to." 27:00 - "Cause I think everyone has father wounds in one way or another. Right? And you're never going to be a perfect dad, but you can be a thoughtful, intentional dad. And we're intentional about so many things in our lives. So as a dad, you can be intentional about your exercise, your hobbies, your work, your relationship with your wife, but oftentimes it doesn't usually trickle down to your kids, you know, by and large. And so I think if you can catch that vision to recognize like that is equally, if not more important than all those other things mentioned in the sense of work or hobbies or whatever, you will never regret it." - Brook 29:10 - Brook discussing how there is a process for you and your kids - there are phases 31:03 - Spiritual parenting - the most important thing you do is to teach your kid to walk with the Lord. 31:30 - The Foundation Years - the first 5 years 32:04 - The Framing Years - Elementary 32:18 - The Functional Systems - Teen years 32:44 - The Finishing Work - 18-22yrs 33:19 - The concept of the box from the book "Raising Passionate Jesus Followers" - Jesus is the foundation, then there is discipline, encouragement, the rod of correction, order. The top is affection, affirmation and fun. 36:15 - The most powerful parenting position is "with-ness" 37:37 - the greatest gift you can ever give your kids after leading him to Jesus is the gift of a good marriage. 38:20 - Phil's last word - "Tenderness" - 1 Peter 3 says, "You, in turn, must treat your wives with tenderness, viewing them as feminine partners who deserve to be honored, for they are co-heirs with you of the divine grace of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers." 39:26 - "So I just feel like the way we treat our wives, especially in front of our kids is of massive importance. You're teaching your sons how to treat their future wives." Conversation Links: Raising Passionate Jesus Followers: The Power of Intentional Parenting by Phil & Diane Comer Intentional Parents - https://www.intentionalparents.org/ Intentional Parents Podcast: Make a Donation to dadAWESOME Join the dadAWESOME Prayer Team Full Transcript: https://dadawesome.org/160

5 snips
Feb 4, 2021 • 38min
159 | Zach Neese on Guarding the Doors of Our Kids' Hearts
Zach Neese, Worship Pastor at Gateway Church, discusses the importance of guarding kids' hearts, the influence of Greek mythology on entertainment, creating a spiritually guarded home, and praying for awareness and a legacy of faith in this insightful podcast conversation.

Jan 28, 2021 • 37min
158 | Dad Life with a Demonstration of God's Power + Celebrating 3 Years of dadAWESOME
dadAWESOME We're on a mission to add LIFE to the dad life. We're passionate about helping dads live fully alive as they lead their kids to God's awesomeness. | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter Jeff Zaugg Jeff and Michelle Zaugg will celebrate 15 years of marriage this year. They live in New Brighton, MN with their 3 young daughters and they are expecting their 4th baby in Spring 2021. After 10-years of entrepreneurial non-profit ministry leadership, Jeff served as a pastor at Substance Church in the Twin Cities for the past 7 years. In Fall 2020 Jeff took the leap and went full-time fatherhood ministry. He is the founder and lead cheerleader at dadAWESOME & FATHERS FOR THE FATHERLESS. When he's not wrestling or playing hide and seek with his daughters, you might find Jeff out for a bike ride, making a pour over coffee, sitting by a fire with his wife or challenging some friends to a game of Spikeball. Celebrating Three Years of dadAWESOME: Episode #1 = "We Trust God" 3:20 - Throw Confetti and please add the hashtag #dadawesome https://dadawesome.org/confetti/ 4:30 - Throw Feedback https://dadawesome.org/feedback/ 5:38 - Throw Some Powerful Prayers https://dadawesome.org/pray/ 6:10 - 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power." Conversation Notes: Full Interview with Jeff Zaugg on the Bethel University Alumni Podcast (Apple Podcast & Spotify) 10:09 - Time hop of post-college career path 10:27 - YouthWorks, pastoring, kids pastoring, dadAWESOME 12:34 - Describing the work of dadAWESOME and Fathers for the Fatherless 13:17 - Malachi 4:6 - He will turn the hearts of the fathers toward their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. 13:41 - The promise that fuels the passion in dadAWESOME - Deuteronomy 30:19 - I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. 16:40 - The LIFE framework: I am Loved. I am Intentional. I am Free. I am Engaged. 17:28 - Fathers for the Fatherless events for Summer 2021 19:05 - "I think every entrepreneur, they find a pain point and you try to meet a need to correct that pain in some way you want to alleviate a pain." 19:49 - Publishing Episode 101 right after his dad went to heaven. 20:07 - Pain fuels passion. 21:16 - Being planted in the local church was a huge part of God seeding the vision for DA. 22:13 - Runs and Rides lead to Resources which lead to Retreats. 25:43 - How has God met you in the wilderness seasons? Expecting every 3-5 yrs a major life crisis will come my way. 26:28 - Wilderness Fellowship 26:50 - Finding brotherhood 27:24 - Freedom heart work 29:54 - Imagine Beautiful - marriage ministry 32:27 - "If you want to get shiny eyes for the current season, if you want to be at a spot, living in your passion, help other people around you get shiny eyes" Conversation Links: Make a Donation to dadAWESOME Join the dadAWESOME Prayer Team Full Transcript: https://dadawesome.org/158

Jan 21, 2021 • 31min
157 | Tech Limits, Pornography and Raising Kids Who Love Jesus (Peter Haas part 3 of 3)
dadAWESOME We're on a mission to add LIFE to the dad life. We're passionate about helping dads live fully alive as they lead their kids to God's awesomeness. | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter Peter Haas Pastor Peter Haas came to know the Lord while working as an EDM rave DJ in a nightclub. Since that day, he has traveled the world, sharing his radical conversion story and calling others to experience the same joy and power. He and his wife, Carolyn, planted Substance Church in 2004 and they serve on the Lead Team of the ARC (the Association of Related Churches). He is passionate about music, film, and comedy. Peter and Carolyn live in the Twin Cities with their 3 children, Lijah, True, and Eden. Conversation Notes: Part 1 of this conversation with Peter Haas (Episode 155) Part 2 of this conversation with Peter Haas (Episode 156) 2:09 - How to raise a kid who loves Jesus? Nightly rituals, helping them find mentors and live in community, and falling in love with God's church. 8:40 - How can dads help their kids with the big question of how can a loving, all-powerful God allow pain and hurt in the world? 10:40 - Navigating smartphones and technology. Create rules younger. 15:55 - When it comes to technology, "You do have to be a learner to be a leader." 17:00 - Talking about sex and pornography with your kids 19:01 - Covenant Eyes 20:09 - Setting quarterly goals 22:00 - Work life balance for dads 24:35 - [Link to Peter's blog post] 24:38 - Parable of the seed and the sower - Mark 4:18 25:23 - Planted in the house of the Lord they will flourish 26:43 - "Find dads who are living out your dreams and get around them." 28:28 - Peter's parenting blog posts How To Be A Better Parent – OR – A Better Son Or Daughter! How To Survive Young Kids – A Marriage Tip That Can Change Everything How Vacations Can Save Your Marriage (& Your Kids)! 3 Tips To Help New Dads Through The First 4 Months Of Fatherhood… Top 5 Must-Read Parenting Books Episode 22 with Peter Haas Conversation Links: Make a Donation to dadAWESOME Join the dadAWESOME Prayer Team Substance Church Peter Haas Instagram

Jan 14, 2021 • 35min
156 | Peter Haas Rapid Fire Dad Wisdom (Part 2 of 3)
dadAWESOME We're on a mission to add LIFE to the dad life. We're passionate about helping dads live fully alive as they lead their kids to God's awesomeness. | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter Peter Haas Pastor Peter Haas came to know the Lord while working as an EDM rave DJ in a nightclub. Since that day, he has traveled the world, sharing his radical conversion story and calling others to experience the same joy and power. He and his wife, Carolyn, planted Substance Church in 2004 and they serve on the Lead Team of the ARC (the Association of Related Churches). He is passionate about music, film, and comedy. Peter and Carolyn live in the Twin Cities with their 3 children, Lijah, True, and Eden. Conversation Notes: Part 1 of this conversation with Peter Haas (Episode 155) 2:09 - The trade off to having golden parenting time. 6:02 - How to find common interests with your kids 8:21 - We cannot expect our kids to initiate finding common interests. 9:55 - Taking advantage of fighting and whining for teachable moments to grow your kids. 12:11 - Your life happens in the margins and the less margin you have, the less time you have for those relationships. 13:53 - They won't understand us unless we seek first to understand our kids. 16:42 - Be present in the pain of life. 17:37 - "I've noticed that my kids don't need me to have all the answers, but they do need me to be emotionally capable of helping them find God in the midst of that. And, and I I've noticed that the greatest disciplers aren't the ones with all the Bible answers. They're the ones that are just willing to be present and go on a journey with you." 18:51 - "One of the number one predictors of healthy parents is the stress level of the parent." 21:36 - Being intentional beyond the sphere of our direct kids (boyfriends, friends circle). 25:19 - Focus on your marriage in the season where your kids are all young because when you begin to empty nest you realize how important your marriage is. 27:56 - Asking mentors, what do I need to be doing now so that it will make things easier later? Questions he asked mentors as a younger dad. 28:20 - Before age 13, make these four things clear: (1) "When it comes to dating, mom, dad and the family get to be a part of the choice...do they fit with the family values?" (2) Speaker 2: "No person will ever fulfill you and you need to understand that." (3) Speaker 2: "When it comes to the timing don't date too soon." (4) Start having the sex talk younger. Conversation Links: Make a Donation to dadAWESOME Join the dadAWESOME Prayer Team Substance Church Peter Haas Instagram

Jan 7, 2021 • 30min
155 | Peter Haas on Maximizing Intentional Parenting During the "Golden Window" (Part 1 of 3)
dadAWESOME We're on a mission to add LIFE to the dad life. We're passionate about helping dads live fully alive as they lead their kids to God's awesomeness. | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter Peter Haas Pastor Peter Haas came to know the Lord while working as an EDM rave DJ in a nightclub. Since that day, he has traveled the world, sharing his radical conversion story and calling others to experience the same joy and power. He and his wife, Carolyn, planted Substance Church in 2004 and they serve on the Lead Team of the ARC (the Association of Related Churches). He is passionate about music, film, and comedy. Peter and Carolyn live in the Twin Cities with their 3 children, Lijah, True, and Eden. Conversation Notes: Substance Church 5:20 - Sharing about dropping his daughter off in a new state for college last year 6:15 - "There are certain things you can't protect your kids from. You need to just watch them go through it." 8:11 - " I like to think this way... parenting is a series of 2000 conversations and I say 2000, I'm making up that number, but it's actually not just 2000 conversations. It's 2000 conversations, demonstrations and impartations." 9:56 - "And if you think about those 2000 conversations, impartations, demonstrations, what's weird about them is you can log a lot of those when they're young, but intellectually, the conversations, they all kind of happen in a very, very, very tiny window." 10:40 - The "window of discipleship" is between 12 and 16. 12:58 - You can't log all of the conversations, but what you can do is give them principles like Psalm 92: "Planted in the house of the Lord, you will flourish." 18:56 - "You can't export what you haven't first imported." 20:15 - Begin with the end in mind. 21:14 - Choosing priorities and avoiding regrets by paying attention to the juggling metaphor 23:57 - How being a part of church helps provide multiple mentors 26:48 - Sacred family rituals 28:20 - "Logging as many hours as we possibly can in that golden window is the definition of good parenting. And if they have to not be exposed to as many opportunities on purpose, and my kids don't regret it, it's not like my kids sit and think, well, I didn't get as many piano and dance lessons and as many sports opportunities. They never sit around and talk about that. They talk about how many hours we logged doing a common hobby together..." Conversation Links: Make a Donation to dadAWESOME Join the dadAWESOME Prayer Team Substance Church Peter Haas Instagram

Dec 31, 2020 • 21min
154 | Rope Swings, Giving Thanks & Big Prayers for 2021 (Jeff Zaugg)
dadAWESOME We're on a mission to add LIFE to the dad life. We're passionate about helping dads live fully alive as they lead their kids to God's awesomeness. | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter Jeff Zaugg Jeff and Michelle Zaugg will celebrate 15 years of marriage this year. They live in New Brighton, MN with their 3 young daughters and they are expecting their 4th baby in Spring 2021. Here's a link to the 2020 Zaugg Family Christmas Card. After 10-years of entrepreneurial non-profit ministry leadership, Jeff served as a pastor at Substance Church in the Twin Cities for the past 7 years. In Fall 2020 Jeff took the leap and went full-time fatherhood ministry. He is the founder and lead cheerleader at dadAWESOME & FATHERS FOR THE FATHERLESS. When he's not wrestling or playing hide and seek with his daughters, you might find Jeff out for a bike ride, making a pour over coffee, sitting by a fire with his wife or challenging some friends to a game of Spikeball. Conversation Notes: 1:20 - dadAWESOME is on YouTube 1:50 - 4 parts of todays podcast (WHY, WHAT, WHERE and HOW) Why dadAWESOME What were some highlights of 2020? Where is this ministry headed in 2021? How can I join the movement? 2:20 - Proverbs 24:3-5 Wise people are builders. they build families, businesses, communities. And through intelligence and insight their enterprises are established and endure. Because of their skilled leadership the hearts of people are filled with the treasures of wisdom and the pleasures of spiritual wealth. Wisdom can make anyone into a mighty warrior, and revelation-knowledge increases strength. I want this for my daughters: Their hearts filled with the treasures of WISDOM Their hearts filled with the pleasures of SPIRITUAL WEALTH They are a mighty WARRIOR They have revelation-KNOWLEDGE They have increasing STRENGTH 3:40 - WHY dadAWESOME - Rope Swing Ripple Effect 3:40 - "The reason we exist is we want to see a generation of dads who are builders, who are saying with intentionality and focus with their time, with their money, with their passions. I'm going to build a family. I'm going to build towards having a heart connection with my kids. I'm going to build, in a direction that glorifies the Lord in a direction that my, my girls, or in your case maybe boys, my kids, my sons, my daughters are proud of a dad. who is building something of significance." 4:15 - Wise dads are builders - they build rope swings 4:20 - All of the POSITIVES of having a rope swing - the contagious ripple effect 6:12 - All of the NEGATIVES of missing out on experiencing a rope swing 7:06 - The Ripple Effect of Intentional Fatherhood 7:40 - dadAWESOME exists to cheerlead and resource intentional fatherhood... Dads with hearts that are connecting with their kids 7:55 - Deuteronomy 30:19 "…I have set before you LIFE and DEATH, blessings and curses. Now choose LIFE, so that you and your children may LIVE. 8:20 - The NEGATIVE - the lack of fatherhood 8:30 - FATHERLESSNESS Ripple Effect According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18.3 million children, 1 in 4, live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (2020). Living arrangements of children under 18 years old: 1960 to present. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau.) POVERTY >> 4X GREATER RISK OF POVERTY MOM-CHILD HEALTH > 2X GREATER RISK OF INFANT MORTALITY INCARCERATION > MORE LIKELY TO GO TO PRISON TEEN PREGNANCY > 7X MORE LIKELY TO BECOME PREGNANT AS A TEEN CHILD OBESITY > 2X MORE LIKELY TO SUFFER OBESITY EDUCATION > 2X MORE LIKELY TO DROP OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL 9:35 - We believe that dads connected to our Heavenly Father's heart are more intentional dads 10:05 - FATHERS FOR THE FATHERLESS - awaken passion and awareness to the cause of the fatherless 11:05 - We Resource & Celebrate Intentional Dads & We Ignite Passion & Action for the Fatherless... Pain Fuels Passion 11:24 - What were some dadAWESOME highlights of 2020? 11:35 - January 2020 - dadAWESOME Podcast Celebrates 2-years (25k downloads) 11:45 - March 2020 - YouTube Intentionality (3k views in 2020) 11:56 - April 2020 - Creation of dadAWESOME Foundations (93 dads joined us) I am LOVED I am INTENTIONAL I am FREE I am ENGAGED & I EJOY my kids 12:24 - August 2020 - FATHERS FOR THE FATHERLESS (64 dads raising $104k for the fatherless) 12:39 - October 2020 - Jeff Takes The Leap to Full-Time Fatherhood Ministry 13:00 - Where is dadAWESOME headed in 2021? 13:05 - Proverbs 24:3-5 Wise people are builders. they build families, businesses, communities. And through intelligence and insight their enterprises are established and endure. Because of their skilled leadership the hearts of people are filled with the treasures of wisdom and the pleasures of spiritual wealth. Wisdom can make anyone into a mighty warrior, and revelation-knowledge increases strength. 13:43 - "Our prayer as a ministry is that we would be helping dads be builders, but that we would build a ministry based with skilled leadership and that we would have the treasures of wisdom and we'd have the pleasures of spiritual wealth and that there would be intelligence and insight that would lead to us equipping mighty warriors for the kingdom. Dads who are mighty warriors, raising up kids who are mighty warriors and there'd be increased strength and all these families." 14:12 - Five Goals For The Upcoming Year 14:19 - Prayer Team Grows to 150 members - monthly / daily / weekly / 2x/month (10 people praying every single day) https://bit.ly/dadawesomePRAY 14:52 - teamAWESOME Grows to 75 members (people giving financially to fuel the mission) https://dadawesome.org/give/ 15:22 - dadAWESOME Podcast Multiplies 10x to 250,000 downloads https://dadawesome.org/listen/ 15:41 - dadAWESOME Youtube Multiplies 100x to 300,000 views https://www.youtube.com/dadawesome 16:11 - F4F Multiplies 10x to 640 dads raising $1,000,000 for the fatherless https://dadawesome.org/f4f/ 16:42 - How to Help Build dadAWESOME Together 16:47 - JOIN us - ride, run and listen and watch 17:06 - SHARE - Subscribe / Share / Review - by simply subscribing and following and sharing, the mission is advanced 17:30 - PRAY - the prayer team is the engine of this movement 17:45 - GIVE - https://dadawesome.org/give/ 18:20 - INVITE - text 5 other dads and encourage them to check out dadAWESOME 18:50 - Jeff's Prayer - Proverbs 24:3-5 Wise people are builders. they build families, businesses, communities. And through intelligence and insight their enterprises are established and endure. Because of their skilled leadership the hearts of people are filled with the treasures of wisdom and the pleasures of spiritual wealth. Wisdom can make anyone into a mighty warrior, and revelation-knowledge increases strength. Conversation Links: Make a Donation to dadAWESOME Join the Prayer Team Subscribe to the YouTube Channel Write a Podcast Review on Apple Podcast Learn more about FATHERS FOR THE FATHERLESS

Dec 24, 2020 • 47min
153 | Marriage Tips, Mentorship & Neuroscience Awesomeness (Ted Lowe)
dadAWESOME We're on a mission to add LIFE to the dad life. We're passionate about helping dads live fully alive as they lead their kids to God's awesomeness. | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter Ted Lowe Ted Lowe is an author, speaker, and the director of MarriedPeople—the marriage division at Orange. Ted is the author of two books—one for marriage ministry leaders (Married People: How Your Church Can Build Marriages That Last) and one for married couples (Your Best US: Marriage Is Easier Than You Think). He served for almost 10 years as the director of MarriedLife at North Point Community Church. He lives near Atlanta, Georgia, with his four favorite people: his wife, Nancie, and their three children. Conversation Notes: 2:35 - "It's about going after more moments of awesome and fewer moments of awful." 3:30 - Moving from fewer moments of awful to more moments of awesome in marriage. 4:00 - Marriage is made up of micro-moves. "We can choose to have awesome moments and they're not as big as we think." 5:08 - What his dad did right 5:12 - On losing his mom at age 10 6:20 - How losing his mom has impacted how he has raised his kids 10:00 - A dad fail moment 11:40 - James 1:9 "Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." 12:30 - "What they've found in neuroscience is that you need eight seconds once you're triggered for your frontal cortex to kick back in." 13:25 - Take time when everyone is calm to coach our kids 15:00 - Nurture vs Nature 15:30 - "Kids come into the world fully baked. God has created them and it becomes our job as parents to steward that" 17:48 - "When we look at our kids, you can take the pressure off yourself dads of thinking that you are in more control than you are... Give yourself some freedom that you just have to guide who they are" 18:24 - Analogy from Pastor Levi Lusko about being an Archeologist 19:35 - How to be intentional with finding and stewarding mentorship. Sharing wisdom from Doug and Kathy Fields. 20:40 - Telling his kids, "It's ok to be shy, but it's not ok to be rude." 22:45 - It's important to find those couples who are down-the-road for mentorship, but be careful not to compare your family to theirs because God created your family uniquely. 25:00 - How to invite feedback from mentor friends. 26:00 - Quote from Dr. Sue Johnson - "We're trying to get emotionally from a couple people what we used to get from a whole village." 26:10 - Their story of adoption 28:09 - Comparing a family to a baby mobile - "it doesn't matter if it's healthy or not, it starts getting in a rhythm. And when you add something to the mobile, whether it's good or bad, it gets the mobile off." 29:40 - The four core habits in his marriage book. Your Best Us: Marriage Is Easier Than You Think 30:30 - Biblical marriage is more about how God wants us to love each other, not necessarily from examples of marriage in the Bible. 35:07 - "Marriage is not about the big day, it's about the every day." 36:15 - "It always takes two to keep a negative cycle going, but sometimes one can stop it." 37:05 - "People don't have bad hearts they have bad habits. And habits we can change." 37:20 - His wife said, "I don't need you to FIX this. I need you to FEEL this" 36:23 - Final marriage tips: 38:44 - Sharing how his wife asked him not to talk to her like a man, talk to her like a woman. Colossians 3:19 - "Husbands, love your wives and don't be harsh with them" 39:15 - Stop patterns that frustrate her and stop allowing small things to frustrate you. 39:45 - Make moments you enjoy. What would make her so happy today. 40:00 - When asking her, "How can I love you more?" Then when she answers, say, "thanks for letting me know." 41:30 - Keep trying to win her heart... She's asking every day; "Will he still choose me?" 42:40 - Tips for becoming a more awesome dad. "Get on the same page as far about what you feel like you want to do with the kids. Because they will play you like a fiddle…kids need to know that you're solid." Conversation Links: Your Best Us: Marriage Is Easier Than You Think Married People: How Your Church Can Build Marriages that Last (Ted Lowe & Doug Fields) http://tedlowe.com/ https://marriedpeople.org/

Dec 17, 2020 • 32min
152 | Dad Perspective from Thailand (Aaron Smith)
dadAWESOME We're on a mission to add LIFE to the dad life. We're passionate about helping dads live fully alive as they lead their kids to God's awesomeness. | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter Aaron Smith Aaron Smith was one of the founders of Venture, now living full time in Thailand as a missionary with his wife and nine year old and thirteen year old kids. He has a passion to resource dads both in Thailand and the US. Conversation Notes: 2:37 - Discussing life in Thailand as a dad. 5:37 - Resources Aaron is providing to help Thai dads experience the love of God. - "I went to a counselor and was diagnosed with work-induced burnout and kind of the result of it was that I just felt like that God expected us to work so hard and prove our worth, similar to parenting here in Thailand. Like you have to prove you have to gain your worth, your value, you have to pay back your parents for raising you, I kind of felt that way with God. But that's really not God's character if you really read the Bible. You can see that there's so much love and grace there. He just wants to spend time with us. We don't have to earn it...His desire to relate to us is not based on what we do or not do...He really cares for and loves us graciously, mercifully compassionately, and his desire is to really connect with us." 8:22 - Losing his dad in a biking accident 16 years ago. 14:10 - Encouragement for dads with young kids and balancing expectations of family and work. 14:40 - Recovering from burnout and needing time to rediscover passion for God, kids, wife. 16:30 - Rhythms that add life 17:00 - Recommended podcast: From Burnout to Breakthrough 18:25 - Verse by Verse ministries - a resource Aaron uses for his morning time with God. 19:45 - Friendships and mentorship while living internationally. 20:19 - "More than anything else in life, as a human, I desire someone to know what's going on in my head and my heart at the most raw and honest level. If you don't have that, you're not living life. And then the truth is, like, what's inside of me is not always pretty, it's ugly, like it's really ugly and thankfully the last year I've spent working on developing that kind of relationship with my wife. Before this we had a good marriage right but it wasn't amazing. It was harmonious, but this last year we both made a commitment to each other that we're gonna share what's going on in our heart even if it's ugly, even if it's distressing, even if it's like, oh man, it's shocking, but we want to be known by each other." 22:45 - Fathers for the Fatherless rides and runs for 2021 23:15 - Sharing stories of the impact of Venture in Thailand. 29:57 - Aaron's closing prayer 31:30 - Recommended books: Surrender to Love (Book) The Gift of Being Yourself (Book) The Place we Find Ourselves (Podcast) 31:51 - Aaron's ministry page Conversation Links: Venture.org Aaron's ministry page


