444 | MULTIPLIERS Part 2: Curiosity Over Chaos, Stones of Remembrance, Blessings Passed Down (Phil Comer)

DADAWESOME BOOKJEFF ZAUGGLegacy & Grandparenting
Written By Jeff Zaugg

Episode Description

This week we zoom way out and remember that the current chapter of dad life is not the whole story. I read Chapter 2 of the DadAwesome book, The Tale of Two Thieves, a ridiculous cookie dough heist that turned into a lesson about choosing curiosity instead of reactivity when life goes sideways. Then Phil Comer joins us with a clip about giving a blessing instead of returning evil for evil, and how the little eyes in the room are watching every choice we make.

  • Jeff Zaugg is the founder and host of DadAwesome, a podcast and movement helping fathers turn their hearts toward heaven and toward home. What began in 2018 as a ten week experiment with a handful of friends has grown into 400 plus interviews with dads, grandpas, pastors, and authors, plus live activation events that have gathered over a thousand men. He and his family spent more than two and a half years traveling the country in an RV. He's the author of the new book DADAWESOME.

    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.

    • You are living into a multigenerational story, and this week, this quarter, this year is only a tiny slice of it.

    • When chaos hits, you get to choose. Curiosity opens doors. Reactivity closes them.

    • You cannot eliminate chaos, but you can shape how it unfolds, and you absolutely control your response to it.

    • Stones of remembrance are not about the stones. They are about keeping the stories of God's faithfulness alive for the next generation.

    • Giving a blessing when you have received a criticism changes the atmosphere of a room, and your kids are watching you do it.

  • Jeff Zaugg  [00:39]

    Welcome back to DadAwesome. Guys, my name is Jeff Zaugg, and today, episode 444, is the second part of our summer series. The back half of the summer, taking us through the end of August, we have a seven part series of short podcast episodes. The series is titled DadAwesome Multipliers. The goal here is to equip you guys with these short episodes that are highly actionable, so you can share these with a few other dads and then get together and talk about the takeaways, the action steps. How are you gonna put action into this? And we also are introducing the Audible of the new DadAwesome book. So it's not available on Audible yet, but me reading a chapter each week of the book is gonna be kind of our launch pad into the theme of the week. So this is the second part of that series, and we call the series DadAwesome Multipliers because we're praying that you guys will multiply this mission, this impact, by inviting a few other dads. If you send a text, you reach out to seven or eight other dads, and let's say two or three respond, they're like, I'm in. I'll join you for that campfire, I'll join you in that boat, I'll join you for a text group that just texts back and forth. If you get a few responses, you have become a DadAwesome multiplier, because instead of addition, thinking one other dad, you're thinking, form a small group. And this is super accessible, super easy to engage in. So hey, quick before I jump into this week's theme though, a quick invitations. One is we have two more spots available in our next coaching cohort. So it just launches in a week here, so you guys need to respond quick. If you're interested, check out the show notes and quickly apply, because we have two more spots left for our summer coaching cohort. We've got eight spots filled, two to go. So there's a couple spots left there. Secondly, in Dallas, Texas, October 17th, we have a Spartan Team DadAwesome taking on the Spartan obstacle course race. That information's in the show notes as well. And then we have a fall running challenge. If you're a runner, or you want to become a runner, or you're a hiker, or you just want to log some miles walking, we have a 100 mile challenge coming at you this fall. Kicks off middle of September and goes through Thanksgiving Day. It's a 10 week challenge, running 100 miles, so it's about 10 miles a week you'll log. It's in brotherhood, so you'll invite some other men to join. Everyone who joins has to have a small team, but you can do this anywhere in the world. The DadAwesome 100 Mile Running Challenge, that information is also

    Jeff Zaugg  [03:00]

    in the show notes. So I wanted you guys to be aware of those upcoming activation events. Okay, we are diving in. This week, the theme is story. Part two of our summer multipliers series, the theme is story. We as fathers need to zoom out and see and understand and realize we are a part of a bigger multi generational storyline. The current chapter this week, this quarter, this year, the current chapter of dad life is not the whole story. We need to have a long range perspective. We're playing the long game as fathers, and it's so important before we go into any of the other parts of DadAwesome to understand story. So I'm gonna read a chapter, and after I read this chapter, I'm gonna get real specific with some action steps for all of us. Here's the chapter from the recently launched DadAwesome book.

    Jeff Zaugg  [04:00]

    Chapter 2. The Tale of Two Thieves. The kitchen was spotless. Too spotless. My wife's voice carried that unique blend of confusion and rising panic as I answered the phone 10 minutes away from home. I think someone broke into our house, she said, completely serious. All the cookie dough is gone, every single piece. And the bathroom door downstairs is closed, she continued. I think they might still be hiding in there. Three dozen balls of chocolate chip cookie dough had vanished without a trace, along with every scrap of wax paper they'd been sitting on. The kitchen table looked undisturbed, not a single crumb anywhere. It was as if the cookie dough had simply evaporated. My wife isn't one for wild theories or panic, but as she described the scene, I had to admit her reasoning made sense. Who else but a desperate cookie dough thief could pull off such a clever heist? I glanced at my buddy Charlie, who could hear enough of the conversation to give me a look that said he was trying not to laugh at the absurdity of all of it. Check the dogs, I suggested, though even as I said it, I knew she already had. Both Boomer, our 20 pound goldendoodle puppy, and Aslan, the 80 pound Great Dane we'd been watching for friends, were lying innocently in the living room. Neither showed any signs of having devoured 36 balls of chocolate chip cookie dough, wax paper and all. No guilty expressions, no cookie dough breath, no crumbs on their fur, nothing. Charlie and I raced through the front door, adrenaline pumping. Following my wife's urgent instructions, we flung open the downstairs bathroom door, half expecting to confront some desperate cookie dough obsessed burglar. Empty. The mystery got weirder. The investigation. Standing in that kitchen, I faced a choice every dad deals with. When things don't make sense and your first assumption is dead wrong, what do you do? This was one of those moments where I could either react or respond. React like I usually do, launch into detective mode, asking questions, but not really listening, because I'd already solved it in my head. Get annoyed when my conclusion didn't match reality. Maybe even get a little grumpy with my wife for calling me with what was clearly a dog situation disguised as a break in situation. Or stay curious. Treat this like the puzzle it actually was. Enjoy the mystery.

    Jeff Zaugg  [06:24]

    instead of being frustrated by it. Ask better questions instead of jumping to conclusions. This moment reminds me of what Phil Comer shared in episode 317. We can respond to stress and frustration with either curiosity or reactivity. Curiosity opens doors, reactivity closes them. As a dad, this choice plays out dozens of times each week. Your toddler draws on the wall. Your teenager comes home two hours late. Your spouse seems distant. Your kids are fighting over something ridiculous. Honestly, in that kitchen staring at two completely innocent looking dogs, I was more intrigued than stressed. I found myself genuinely curious about how they'd managed to pull this off. I examined both dogs again, this time with curiosity rather than accusation. Boomer's innocent eyes met mine, while Aslan's massive head tilted slightly as if to say, What? Us? Never. Though I couldn't prove anything yet, my dad instincts were starting to piece together the puzzle. These two unlikely partners in crime had somehow pulled off the perfect heist. A quick call to the 24 hour veterinarian line confirmed what we needed to happen next. We needed to get that potentially dangerous chocolate out of their systems fast. The evidence emerges. What happened next ranks among the most unpleasant tasks of dog ownership and demonstrated a whole new level of friendship with Charlie. We held open Aslan's massive jaws first, carefully administering several teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide. Boomer, witnessing his giant friend's treatment with widening eyes, reluctantly submitted to the same fate. Within minutes, our backyard became the scene of indisputable evidence. The sheer volume of partially digested cookie dough expelled by both dogs was absolutely incredible. Case closed. I still marvel at their teamwork. How did massive Aslan manage to slide the wax paper off the table without disturbing anything else? How did little Boomer consume his seemingly impossible share? And what secret committee meeting did they hold to decide eating wax paper was essential to eliminating all evidence? For days after that, we found glittering bits of wax paper in dog poop all over the yard, sparkling proof of their masterful mission. The Dad Detective's approach.

    Jeff Zaugg  [08:49]

    Okay, full transparency. We didn't have kids when the great cookie dough mystery went down. This was all about two guilty dogs, but the way I handled that ridiculous situation, it became a pattern I'd need years later as a dad. Crazy stuff will happen with kids. When it does, we get to show them how to handle problems in ways they'll remember and copy. One, stay curious, not controlling. When problems arise, resist the urge to immediately control or fix. Instead, approach situations with curiosity. Ask questions, gather information, seek to understand before seeking to be understood. As Phil Comer reminded us, curiosity opens doors while reactivity closes them. This is especially true when it comes to hearing God's wisdom in challenging moments. Two, seek God's perspective first. Before jumping to conclusions about your kid's behavior, pause to ask God for his viewpoint. This simple habit transforms how we approach everything from toddler tantrums to teenage attitudes. What do you see here that I'm missing, Father? How do you want me to respond in this moment? What are you trying to teach me and them through this situation? Three, don't parent alone. Having Charlie there made managing a 180 pound Great Dane possible. Similarly, parenting challenges become more manageable when you team up with your spouse, trusted friends, or other dads who can offer perspective and practical help. But there's an even stronger support system available. As Ecclesiastes 4 verse 12 reminds us, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. That third strand, it's God Himself. When you weave prayer, Scripture, and dependence on God's wisdom into your parenting alongside these relationships, you can create something truly unbreakable. God never intended for you to parent solo. You need community around you and his presence with you. Four, focus on solutions, not blame. Questions focused on understanding lead to solutions. Questions focused on blame lead to more problems. Instead of who did this, try how can we solve this together. Five, find the humor.

    Jeff Zaugg  [11:11]

    The ability to laugh, especially at yourself, transforms frustrating moments into memorable stories. Those glittering pieces of wax paper became a funny reminder rather than an ongoing irritation. The great cookie dough mystery became a family legend. The tale of two unlikely partners in crime who managed to devour three dozen cookies and eliminate all the evidence. By the way, a side note that's not in the book. This story, this chapter was titled The Tale, T A I L, of Two Thieves for the entire writing process. I was gonna slip that in just for fun, and my daughters, my wife, we voted and decided to pull that out because it was just a little too kid book esque, but I thought I'd mention it to you guys just for fun. All right, moving along. Crafting your family's story. Here's what strikes me most about this whole adventure. We weren't just solving a mystery, we were part of a story that would be told and retold in our family for years to come. Every challenge you face as a dad becomes part of your family's narrative. You can't eliminate chaos, but you can shape how it unfolds, and you can definitely control your response to it. Your kids are watching how you handle the unexpected. What story are you writing? As fathers, we're constantly shaping our family's culture through how we handle daily challenges. Do we approach problems with curiosity or reactivity? Do we seek God's wisdom or rely solely on our own understanding? Do we work together or handle things alone? You're showing them the way. Your kids are learning not just from your words, but from your approach to life's surprises. Stones of remembrance. Throughout Scripture, we see God instructing his people to remember what he has done and pass those stories down. After the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground, Joshua had them stack 12 stones as a memorial. But here's what I love about this, the purpose wasn't just decoration. It was so future generations would ask about those stones, creating opportunities to tell of God's faithfulness. Joshua 4 verse 7 tells us exactly what those conversations were supposed to sound like. In the future, when your children ask you, What do these stones mean? tell them

    Jeff Zaugg  [13:30]

    that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the Israelites forever. Here's the fascinating thing. We don't know where those original 12 stones are today. They've been lost to history, but the story, the story is still being told thousands of years later. That's the real power of remembrance. It's not about preserving the physical reminders. It's about keeping the stories alive. The Bible is loaded with examples of this pattern. Only be careful and watch yourself closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Deuteronomy 4 verse 9. These aren't just suggestions, they're commands. God knows we're forgetful, and he built remembrance into the rhythm of his relationship with us. As dads, we get to be the primary storytellers of God's faithfulness in our families. Every answered prayer, every unexpected provision, every moment where things could have gone badly but didn't, these become our own stones of remembrance that we can point to when our kids face uncertainty or fear. Building our family's memory collection. A few years ago, our family started capturing remembrance lists while traveling in our RV. Every time we packed up to head to a new destination, we'd make a fresh list of ways God had shown up since our last move. Sometimes the items were dramatic, like unexpected financial provision or protection from danger. Other times they were simple, such as a stranger's kindness or a particularly beautiful sunset. We'd scroll through photos and check our calendar to jog our memories, making sure nothing got overlooked. Each daughter would contribute what stood out to them. What amazed me was how often they'd notice God's hand in moments I had completely forgotten. This simple practice was teaching our girls to do what the Israelites did. Mark the moments when God shows up so you can look back when life gets hard. Let me share three specific examples from our journey that demonstrate how God weaves his provision into everyday moments of life. The Hattiesburg Hospitality. Around day 100 of our RV journey,

    Jeff Zaugg  [15:56]

    the isolation was real. We'd been on the road for months, connecting only briefly with two families we knew. The girls were restless, we were tired. Then I remembered an email from a DadAwesome podcast listener who'd offered hospitality if we ever passed through Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I sent Chris a last minute message. His family welcomed us, celebrated my birthday, introduced us to Cajun food we'd never forget, and gave our daughters instant friendship with their kids. That visit became the highlight of the month, and we've been back to see them twice since. The San Diego Surprise. The next year we rolled into San Diego, the girls were feeling the loneliness again. Through one simple text introduction from a mutual friend, we were invited to join a group of eight to ten families who were preparing to plant a church together. They welcomed us into their special evening of costumes, Bible stories, and neighborhood trick or treating. Our daughters went from feeling lonely to feeling celebrated, all because God moved someone's heart to extend an invitation to complete strangers. The unexpected upgrade. During our California stay, I'd been hunting for a used surfboard. Nothing fancy, just something that would let me catch a few waves. But every deal fell through. Negotiations stalled. I was pretty stressed by the prices and getting frustrated with the whole process. Then, after recording a DadAwesome podcast episode, I got ambushed by generosity. The dad I'd just interviewed walked me into his garage and handed me a brand new custom shaped surfboard, complete with a padded case, new leash, and upgraded fins. This is a gift, he said simply. I stood there stunned, holding that board, feeling God's love in a way I struggle to put into words. He didn't just answer my search for a beat up used board. He gave me a perfectly sized surfboard better than I'd ever dreamed of owning. The power of these remembrance lists isn't just in creating them, it's in returning to them. When one of my daughters faces a challenge or is feeling down about something, we can pull out those lists and remind her, look how God took care of us in Mississippi when we didn't know anyone. He's going to take care of you. When we intentionally create and revisit these memories, we're following the pattern laid out in Psalm 78 verse 4. We will not hide them from their children,

    Jeff Zaugg  [18:21]

    but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might and the wonders that he has done. Remember this. The great cookie dough caper happened years before my girls were born, but they love hearing it. Every unexpected moment in your house is building your family story. Your kids are watching how you handle the chaos. Whether you stay curious, whether you can find the humor when everything falls apart. More curveballs are coming. Here's your opportunity. When you retell the stories of God's faithfulness, you're doing something powerful. You're training your kids to look for his hand in the difficult, the disappointing, the chaotic. You're showing them that God is writing a bigger story than what they can see in the moment. This is the sacred privilege of fatherhood. Not protecting your kids from every mystery, but teaching them to see God's presence in the middle of it. The stories you tell about how God showed up will shape how your kids look to him when their own mysteries arrive. Before we jump into taking action and getting real specific with action steps for this week, I want to play a clip from Phil Comer. So Phil has been a guest on DadAwesome a couple times. He was a guest back on episode 160, and he was also a guest on episode 317. And the clip I'm about to play is from 317, and Phil loves God's word. Like the whole episode is threaded with scripture, truths from God's word. And this is about a six minute clip. It's a little longer than I had planned to share, but this is a back and forth, we're basically playing ping pong. We're volleying back and forth with God's word at the center. And we're threading through a real tension that I had been facing at this point around softness and gentleness. So here's a clip from my conversation with Phil Comer.

    Jeff Zaugg  [20:20]

    I find that when I come into a situation of there's a lot going on, a lot of demands, I step into the room with my wife and my girls. My default is if I don't sense tenderness or kindness, often I will just join the atmosphere of that room. And I will also be a little sharp, a little impatient right from the get go. And it's like, she's been spending all, so this is to me a challenging word, both the word tenderness and kindness. I tend to be that. But how often would my girls say, Man, I felt like dad really had this soft tenderness, caring love? So this is a challenge to me.

    Phil Comer  [20:58]

    Yeah. Well I think that we've all been there where we've caught ourselves like, whoa, like I'm not walking in the spirit right now. Where did that come from? Why did I respond harshly to my wife? You know, and I think when that happens, and it will, to the best of us, that's when we should repent, to say, Lord, forgive me, I need you right now, because no one can love their wife or be used of God with their kids the way he wants to use a father with their kids without the Holy Spirit. And so you know what, as soon as you give your life to Jesus, you do receive the Holy Spirit. But I like to say, you have the Holy Spirit, does the Holy Spirit have you? And that comes with a moment by moment daily surrender. And when we do that, then we have the fruit of the Spirit and we're able to love even when we're not loved. I love that you pointed that out. And also in Ephesians 5, it doesn't say husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church when they deserve it.

    Jeff Zaugg  [21:55]

    Yeah, exactly.

    Phil Comer  [21:57]

    And the wife isn't told, honor your husband when he deserves it. No. And so that's when you really find out how godly you are, right? In those moments where you don't, you know, since you started it off with First Peter, I'll just go back to it. You quoted First Peter 3:7, verse 8, to sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind hearted. There's the kindness. And humble in spirit. Now listen to verse 9, not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead, for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. So when my wife and I get to teach on marriage, one of the points we do, we take it from this verse, we say, Give a blessing instead. 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. And it actually changes the atmosphere of a room. Okay. But if I return evil for evil, well, yeah, well, you know, of course I'm upset because you did whatever, then the darkness in the room accelerates, right? But I love what's next. It quotes Psalm 34 right away, for let him who means to love life and see good days. Well who doesn't want to love life and see good days, right? Refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. Let him turn away from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears attend to their prayer. And so I feel like there's a blessing there when we can give a blessing. Instead, we walk into the room and there's some tension and we are used of God with his help to turn the atmosphere, bring him into the conversation, bring love into the conversation, bring tenderness in, bring kindness in, then the result is we're gonna love life and see good days a little quicker.

    Jeff Zaugg  [23:53]

    Wow. And my heart just jumps from there to Deuteronomy 30:19. I've set before you life and death, blessings or curses. Choose life so that you and your children may live. So you speak a blessing in that room in that moment, like you're talking about. We actually likely, that's seen by the little eyes. My little girls are watching me speak a blessing in that moment. And the trickle down effect, the promise is a generation in Deuteronomy 30. I mean it's loaded in all this generational blessing. Like if you just do this, it plays itself forward for thousands of years.

    Phil Comer  [24:28]

    It does. And I think isn't life a series of choices? You know, I read a C. S. Lewis quote the other day. The future arrives at the rate of sixty minutes an hour for every person alive. Or something like, he said it more brilliantly because he's C. S. Lewis. But it's like we're all going through this day, one minute at a time, one second at a time, and we're making choices, you know, what we're gonna do with that. I love that you brought up what Moses says there, but I'm reading Genesis right now.

    Jeff Zaugg  [24:41]

    Yeah.

    Phil Comer  [24:56]

    And I just came across again where Abraham is given this blessing to pass on to his children. This is Genesis, way before Moses, Genesis 18:19. I have chosen him, Abraham, in order that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord, of Yahweh, by doing righteousness and justice, in order that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what he has spoken about. In other words, this is why I've chosen him, because he's gonna lead his children and his children's children in the way of Yahweh, so that the blessing that I've proclaimed, that's gonna happen through him, can continue. And that was a series of choices that Abraham had to make, you know.

    Jeff Zaugg  [25:44]

    Yes, Phil, like right now, I'm looking at First Peter 3:7 through 9. I've got it on the screen right now. So I'm thinking about this verse, and we're talking about this verse, and I'm thinking about this verse. Well, my heart right now feels like the level of tenderness, the ability to engage my daughters, my wife, and like, man, she deserves honor. Man, she's a partner. What a gift. Man, I want to pray for her. I don't want anything to hinder my prayer. So I like all these elements of this verse. But it's because we have chosen in our conversation right now to anchor it in scripture, right. And this principle, like I'm not a Bible scholar, and I can word search the word tenderness and bring up a couple of verses, and we can have a great conversation about the theme, the characteristic of tenderness. So transferable principle to all the dads listening. Anyone can sit down for a cup of coffee with a few other dads and talk about a few things that we're struggling with, just like I just admitted. Like I'm struggling, I got a lot more hardness coming naturally than tenderness.

    Jeff Zaugg  [26:45]

    Let's move now into action, taking action. So this summer series, DadAwesome Multipliers. We want to be dads who take action. And man, maybe bonus, the episode 317 with Phil Comer, that might be your action step. Might be, I wanna go listen to that whole conversation, because man, God's word is threaded in every answer, every question. It's a phenomenal conversation. It'll inspire you in deep ways. But action steps, here we go. We're gonna talk reflection, multiplication, activation. So real briefly here to land the plane in episode two of this summer series, DadAwesome Multipliers. Reflection. Before we look ahead of what's next for our family, we're going to pause and do some reflection around this week's chapter, this month, this first half of the year. We're kind of at the halfway point of the year 2026. So reflecting back, you're living into a multi generational story.

    Jeff Zaugg  [27:49]

    And you're only living in a tiny little slice. Let's slow down. Let's get honest here. Let's reflect a little bit. Man, when chaos has hit, and it does, all of us in the dad life, right? What's that been looking like recently? Have you been reacting or responding? The cookie dough thief, the cookie dough heist story. Have you found yourself more curious or more reactive, more making assumptions, or more, man, I'm open to what does God want to teach me in this moment? Also, the idea from the chapter of stones of remembrance. Man, just the last month here, could you open your phone and reflect back? Look back at some photos, look back at your calendar. Where has God shown up? What are you not calling to mind because you're not pausing to look back? So this reflection exercise is powerful. And if your kids were gonna describe right now the atmosphere that you carry into the room, would tenderness, kindness, would they say dad has a soft heart? He carries softness, he's tender, would that make their list at all? And that gets into more of the fruit of the spirit. So reflection, those are some things to reflect on. Let's move to multiplication. So this whole series, I'm going to continue to remind you guys at the end of every episode, multiplication. It doesn't take much for us as a listener of a podcast to move into being a multiplier. DadAwesome multipliers. And this is what it takes, reaching out to a few other dads and encouraging them to journey with us this summer for the next few weeks through the end of August. And just text them and say, hey, every week I'm sending a text message to a few other dads about my takeaway, what I'm learning, how I'm growing. Would you want to be a part of that text group? Hey, I'm pulling together a campfire in a few weeks. Would you want to join and chat about fatherhood? Hey, I'm looking at planning a camping trip. Would you want to join me and do a dad daughter or dad son camping trip and just be intentional with our kids and grow? These are examples of multiplication. If you make a few invites and a few dads say yes, you have become

    Jeff Zaugg  [30:02]

    a multiplier. The DadAwesome book is also a tool for multiplication. So many stories of dads who are just carrying in their vehicle or in their laptop case, they're carrying an extra copy of the DadAwesome book and they're looking for moments to multiply the mission by affirming, I see you being an awesome dad. And I think this book would really resonate. It would be tools to add to the awesomeness I already see in your fatherhood. So just a little bonus way to use the book to be a multiplier. Okay, let's take action around the theme of story this week. As a reminder, story. We're living into a bigger story. We need to look back, look forward, have a bigger, wider, long horizon mindset when it comes to fatherhood. So one idea is to start a family remembrance list. So this could be making a list as a family, going through photos, going through your calendar and saying, let's remember ways that we've seen God. We've seen answers to prayer. We've seen God's goodness in our family. We've seen provision. We've seen miracles. Let's capture those. A thankfulness remembrance list is gratitude, thankfulness, being specific. You can do that as a family. Another way to activate around this theme is storytelling. At the dinner table, before bedtime, tell stories to your kids about God's faithfulness. I shared a few in this chapter about the Hattiesburg hospitality, or about the surfboard gift, about our family feeling lonely and all of a sudden belonging because of a God story of an introduction to those other families in San Diego. These are ways that we can stir up and remind our family that we're living into a bigger story, remind them of God's faithfulness. And then also, hey, when things go sideways, when a curveball comes at you, let's this week activate and look for how can I immediately flip the switch to curiosity. Can I laugh about the moment? Can I show my kids that instead of dad being thrown off, I am anchored. I actually can bring steadiness because of God's love and his strength. I can choose curiosity instead of jumping to conclusions. So these are ideas for activation. Man, small steps. Do not overstress the current state of fatherhood. You are living into a bigger story with longer term impact

    Jeff Zaugg  [32:25]

    than you can ever imagine. Praying for you guys this week. And man, let's press in. Can't wait for part three of the series next week. Let's go be DadAwesome.

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  • 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.

 

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443 | MULTIPLIERS Part 1: Hearts Toward Heaven, Hearts Toward Home (Mark Batterson)