Dad Tired

When Your Kids Are Struggling, Where Do You Start?

Important Links: Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear You love your kids. But when they’re struggling, it’s hard to know what to do. Come down harder? Give them space? Make another rule? In this honest ramble, Jerrad shares what he’s learning while navigating a challenging season of parenting four kids. From praying with his wife to laughing over Mario Kart, he explores what it looks like to move toward your kids relationally while still addressing the things that need correction. We talk about: • Why feeling out of control can lead to heavy-handed parenting • Paying attention to what each child needs • Making prayer your first response • How your phone can pull you away from the family you want to be present with • Receiving God’s love and forgiveness as you learn to reflect his heart to your kids If you’ve ever sat in the driveway wondering whether you have anything left to give, this conversation is for you. This week’s invitation: Choose one child and take one small, intentional step toward connection.

What Version of You Is Your Family Getting?

Important Links: Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Learn more about Adventures in Missions Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear Does your family know what to expect when you walk through the door—or do they have to figure out which version of you showed up? After a stomach bug leaves Jerrad and his son stranded at a Mississippi airport, an unexpected road trip sparks a conversation about protecting your family, showing up with intention, and becoming a consistent man. In this honest, back-to-the-basics episode, Jerrad shares what he’s learning about the pressure to look impressive, resting in being known and loved by God, and processing big emotions without taking your wife and kids on a roller coaster. Plus, a look ahead at the upcoming Dad Tired family mission trip to Guatemala. An encouragement for the dad who’s still stumbling toward Jesus—and wants to help his family do the same.

The Secret You Planned to Take to the Grave

Important Links: Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear What are you carrying that you’ve quietly decided to take to the grave? Maybe it’s sin. Maybe it’s shame, pain, resentment, addiction, or something that happened to you. You’ve convinced yourself that keeping it hidden protects the people you love—but hidden pain never stays contained. Eventually, it leaks into your marriage, your parenting, and the way you see yourself. In this deeply personal episode, Jerrad shares stories of men who risked being fully known, his own experience of God redeeming an old wound, and why the Lord lovingly reaches into every hidden nook and cranny of our lives. This isn’t a call to recklessly confess everything without wisdom. It’s an invitation to stop carrying it alone. Find a trusted counselor, pastor, or mature brother in Christ who can walk with you toward healing. You are already fully known by God—and fully loved.

What If Your Deepest Wound Becomes Your Greatest Ministry?

Important Links: Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear Jonathan Almonte grew up in extreme poverty in the Dominican Republic, without a father in the home and believing that joining a gang might be his best path to a better life. But God began changing his story through a local church, a childhood friend, and a Compassion International sponsor who faithfully wrote him letters from Michigan. Years later, when Jonathan’s father told him he was a mistake, those relationships helped him understand that his identity was not defined by rejection, poverty, or his past. In this episode, Jerrad and Jonathan talk about father wounds, growing up fatherless, forgiveness, poverty, faith, spiritual darkness, Christian fatherhood, and the way God can redeem the most painful parts of our story. Today, Jonathan is a husband, father, and serves tens of thousands of children in the Dominican Republic through Compassion International. If you’ve struggled with rejection, an absent father, forgiveness, or questions about your identity in Christ, this conversation is for you.

Why You’ve Stopped Dreaming About Your Future

Important Links: Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear Donate to Dad Tired. When was the last time you felt genuinely excited about your future? For a lot of men, life slowly becomes survival mode—work, bills, marriage, kids, responsibilities, repeat. Somewhere along the way, we stop dreaming. In this off-the-cuff episode, Jerrad shares three dreams that have been stirring in his heart for the future of Dad Tired, including serving military families, creating deeper healing experiences for men, and making space for more meaningful conversations. But underneath all of it is a bigger realization: sometimes you have to heal before you can dream again. Jerrad reflects on the last few years of confronting sin, pain, brokenness, and unhealthy patterns—and how God has used that healing to give him the capacity to look forward with hope again. If you’ve felt stuck, exhausted, or like you’re simply trying to make it through the week, this episode is an invitation to lift your head, let God deal with what’s underneath the surface, and begin asking what He might still want to do with your life.

The Dead Things You’ve Learned to Live With

Important Links: Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear Sin rarely destroys a man’s life all at once. More often, it slowly kills his joy, peace, intimacy, trust, focus, and spiritual health—and eventually, he gets used to living around the damage. In this episode, Jerrad asks a difficult question: What has died in your life as a result of sin? Through an honest personal confession, the story of a refrigerator filled with spoiled milk, and the hope of the gospel, he challenges men to stop minimizing the “small” compromises they’ve grown comfortable with. You don’t have to keep living surrounded by dead things. Jesus is not intimidated by the broken, hidden, or lifeless places in your story. Bring them into the light, confess them, and trust the God who makes dead things alive again.

God Is Awake, So You Can Sleep (with Brett McCracken)

Important Links: Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear What if sleep isn’t wasted time, weakness, or something to squeeze in after everything else is done? What if it is actually one of God’s most practical invitations to trust Him? In this episode, Jerrad sits down with Brett McCracken, senior editor and director of communications at The Gospel Coalition and author of The Wisdom of Sleep: How Rest Reveals God’s Truth and Revives Weary Souls. Together, they explore why God designed us to spend nearly a third of our lives asleep, how sleep reminds us that we are the creation—not the Creator—and why closing our eyes each night can become an act of surrender. A Prayer Before Sleep Father, As I close my eyes tonight, I remember that I am not God. I have limits. You have none. I need rest. You neither slumber nor sleep. There are things I did not finish, problems I could not solve, and people I cannot protect on my own. I release them all into Your hands. Forgive me for believing that everything depends on me. Thank You for the gift of sleep; a grace I receive, not something I earn. As I lie down, remind me that Christ has finished the work I could never finish. Protect my home. Watch over my family. Quiet my mind. Restore my body and soul. As sleep resembles death, remind me that I have died with Christ. And if You wake me in the morning, let the rising sun remind me that I have also been raised with Him into new life. Tonight, I surrender control. You are awake, so I can sleep. You are sovereign, so I can rest. You are faithful, so I do not have to be afraid. Into Your hands I place this night. Amen.

When The Enemy Gets in Your Head

Important Links: Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear What is really happening when anger, discouragement, anxiety, or apathy suddenly takes over? In this raw solo episode, Jerrad processes his own battle with comparison and insecurity after watching other successful men in ministry. What initially felt like simple discouragement revealed something much deeper: an old wound had been touched, and the enemy was using it to whisper familiar lies. Jerrad also shares a surprising example from UFC fighters Sean Strickland and Dustin Poirier that demonstrates what can happen when a man has the courage to stop numbing and ask, “Why am I actually feeling this?” Whether your emotions come out through anger and impatience or disappear inward through silence, withdrawal, and apathy, they may be pointing toward a wound that needs attention. You’ll learn how to: Recognize emotions as warning lights on the dashboard of your soul Identify the wound underneath your reaction Notice the lies being whispered in moments of pain Stop using anger, alcohol, pornography, entertainment, work, or your phone to numb Slow down and invite the Holy Spirit to reveal what is really happening Replace the enemy’s lies with the truth of God’s Word Before you react, withdraw, or numb yourself, pause and ask: Where is the wound? What is the lie I’m believing? God, what truth do You want to speak over me? Mature men are not men who never experience strong emotions. They are men who learn to recognize what they are feeling, bring it honestly before God, and allow His truth to lead them. Scriptures Mentioned John 8:44 Psalm 139:23–24 Matthew 6:25–34 Romans 8:28

Granger Smith on Grief, True Conversion, and Gaining a New Identity

Important Links: Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear __ In this deeply moving episode of Dad Tired, Jerrad sits down with former country music star Granger Smith for a raw and hope-filled conversation about grief, faith, and true conversion. Granger opens up about the tragic loss of his three-year-old son, River, the darkness that followed, and the moment on a tour bus when he cried out for Jesus to save him. He shares how that moment began to unravel everything he thought he knew about himself, his identity, and even his faith. Together, Jerrad and Granger talk about what it means to move from simply knowing Christian language to truly tasting the goodness of God, why “I’ve always been a Christian” may be a warning sign, and how God sometimes strips away the very things we use to feel secure so that we can finally see Him clearly. Granger also shares why he eventually walked away from country music, what it looks like to serve in ministry now, and the heart behind his book Poison in the Well, written for those stuck in nominal Christianity. CONTENT NOTE This episode includes discussion of child loss, drowning, grief, suicidal thoughts, and spiritual darkness. Please listen with care, especially if children are present. IN THIS EPISODE • Granger’s life as a husband, father, former country artist, and pastor • The loss of his son River and the grief that followed • The tour bus moment when Granger cried out to Jesus • Why grief, shame, and despair exposed the emptiness of surface-level faith • The difference between knowing about God and truly knowing God • Why Scripture became food instead of a religious obligation • What led Granger to walk away from country music • The warning signs of nominal Christianity • Why every man should examine whether he has truly been born again RESOURCES Pre-Order Granger Smith’s book: Poison in the Well Dad Tired Retreat: dadtired.com

Green Beret Shot in the Throat Reveals the Wound That Hurt Worse

Former Green Beret John Arroyo survived the 2014 Fort Hood mass shooting after being shot through the throat. But in this powerful conversation, John shares why the deepest wound of his life wasn’t the bullet — it was growing up without a father. John and Jerrad talk about father wounds, gangs, addiction, becoming a teenage dad, military life, trauma, and the healing power of realizing that God had been with him all along. This is one of the most moving conversations we’ve ever had on Dad Tired. Important Links: Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear

• Transcript

Should You Make Your Kids Go To Church?

Important Links: Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear In this episode of Dad Tired, Jerrad sits down with Kaleb and Chris for an honest conversation about one of the most common tensions Christian parents face: What do I do when my kid doesn’t want to go to church anymore? Together, they talk through the difference between forcing empty religion and faithfully leading your home, why Sunday worship is about more than personal preference, and how our kids are formed by seeing real stories of redemption inside the body of Christ. This conversation is a call for dads to lead with conviction, compassion, and consistency as they disciple their families toward Jesus.

The Kind of Friendship Every Man Needs

Important Links: Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear ______ What does real friendship actually look like for men? In this episode of Dad Tired, Jerrad is joined by Kaleb Allen and Chris Hilken for an honest conversation about brotherhood, grief, betrayal, loneliness, and the kind of friendship that goes far deeper than networking, convenience, or shared success. Together, they talk about why so many men struggle to build meaningful friendships, how pain often becomes the soil where real brotherhood grows, and why true friends are the ones who stay when your life is messy, costly, or inconvenient. This conversation is a reminder that men were not made to follow Jesus alone. We need brothers who know us, love us, challenge us, and are willing to “waste time” with us for the sake of something eternal.

Raising Kids Who Feel Known, Loved, and Prepared for Life (with Dr. Kathy Koch)

Important Links: Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear Sponsor: VARA Safes. Promo code: DADTIRED20 In this episode of Dad Tired, Jerrad sits down with Dr. Kathy Koch, founder of Celebrate Kids, to talk about raising kids who feel fully known, deeply loved, and prepared for life. Dr. Kathy shares practical wisdom for Christian dads on speaking identity over their children, understanding different learning styles, building emotional intelligence, avoiding over-parenting, and helping kids grow into confident, faithful adults. They also discuss why a father’s words carry so much weight, how dads can affirm more than performance or appearance, why reading to your kids matters, and how to parent children who think, learn, and process differently. This conversation will encourage any dad who wants to lead his family spiritually, connect more deeply with his kids, and raise children who know who they are in Christ. In this episode: Why dads need to speak identity over their kids How children become who we tell them they are Understanding your child’s unique learning style The danger of over-parenting How to prepare kids for adulthood The difference between correction and criticism Helping your kids feel known and loved at home Key reminder: If your kids don’t feel known at home, they’ll look somewhere else to be known. Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear Sponsor: VARA Safes. Promo code: DADTIRED20

• Transcript

Did You Know About This?

Want to stay up to date? Make sure you're subscribed to the email newsletter. __ Hey guys, quick update from Jerrad. As you’re listening to this, I’m currently in Alaska with my son and a group of Dad Tired dads and sons for a father-son rite of passage trip. This season is packed with Dad Tired events, including the Alaska trip, Family Camp, our family mission trip to Guatemala, the annual Dad Tired retreat, and upcoming one-day conferences. Because of that, the podcast schedule may look a little different over the next few weeks. If an episode drops on a different day than usual — or if there isn’t a new episode when you expected one — thanks for giving us some grace as we move through a full season of ministry. The best way to stay up to date on upcoming trips, retreats, conferences, and schedule updates is to join the Dad Tired email list using the link in the episode description. We love you guys, and we’ll be back to our normal rhythm soon. - Jerrad Click HERE to subscribe and never miss a thing.

How To *actually* Care For Your Soul (with Kaleb Allen)

Important Links: Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear When your soul feels anxious, restless, angry, or worn down, what do you do? In this episode of Dad Tired, Pastor Kaleb points men back to one of the most overlooked gifts God has given us for caring for our souls: the Psalms. The Psalms give language to the deepest parts of us — our fear, sorrow, repentance, betrayal, joy, gratitude, and hope. If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t even know what’s going on inside of me,” this episode will help you see the Psalms as God’s invitation to pray when you don’t know how to pray. Kaleb walks through how Jesus, the apostles, and the early church leaned on the Psalms in moments of suffering, anxiety, worship, and spiritual battle. You’ll be encouraged to stop treating the Psalms as ancient poetry only, and start using them as daily prayers for your soul. In this episode, you’ll learn: How the Psalms help diagnose and shepherd your soul Why Jesus prayed the Psalms in His suffering How the early church used the Psalms in moments of fear and persecution Why the Psalms give language to anxiety, repentance, grief, and worship A simple practice for praying through the Psalms each week Whether you’re anxious, tired, tempted, grateful, or grieving, the Psalms give you words to bring your whole heart before God. Mentioned in this episode: Psalm 22, Psalm 23, Psalm 42, Psalm 51, Psalm 63, Psalm 88, Psalm 91, Psalm 103, Psalm 116, Matthew 26, Acts 4, John Calvin, Athanasius, Basil of Caesarea. Important Links: Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear

• Transcript

Why Your Not Seeing God's Power in Your Life

Important Links: Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear Sometimes the only way to see God do what only He can do is to stop trying to control the outcome. In this episode, Jerrad reflects on Elijah’s showdown with the prophets of Baal and the bold moment when Elijah poured water over the altar before asking God to send fire. For dads who feel the pull to manage, manipulate, or quietly “shuffle the deck,” this is an invitation to real surrender. What would it look like to give God the wet wood and trust Him to be the fire?

How to Raise Capable Kids (with David Thomas)

Important Links: Grab a copy of David's book: Capable: Raising Resiliant Kids Mentioned: The Anxious Generation & The Amazing Generation Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear In this episode, Jerrad sits down with David Thomas, executive director of Daystar Counseling Ministries and co-author of Capable, for a practical and deeply encouraging conversation on raising resilient kids. David explains why our goal as parents should not simply be to raise happy or confident children, but capable ones. He and Jerrad talk about the temptation to rescue our kids from hard things, how anxiety often shows up differently in boys, why chores and discomfort matter, and how kids build competence by practicing coping, problem-solving, and flexibility. They also talk honestly about dads doing their own healing work, how unhealed pain can spill onto our families, and why strong families begin with men who are willing to name what is going on in their own hearts. If you’re a dad who wants to raise kids who can handle real life with courage, resilience, and dependence on Jesus, this conversation is for you. Important Links: Grab a copy of David's book: Capable: Raising Resiliant Kids Mentioned: The Anxious Generation & The Amazing Generation Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear

• Transcript

How To Make Your Home More Holy

Important Links: Today's Sponsor: Heavenly Heat Saunas Dad Tired Annual Retreat Full Message from Kaleb HERE Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear In this devotional episode of Dad Tired, Jerrad walks through the story of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 18, where Abraham welcomes the Lord into his home with reverence, urgency, and hospitality. Abraham creates an environment where God is honored and welcomed, but what’s striking is that God comes to speak directly to Sarah. As husbands, dads, and men, this passage invites us to ask a simple but powerful question: are we creating homes where the presence of God is welcomed? This episode will challenge you to think about the spiritual atmosphere of your home, and what it could look like to intentionally make space for worship, Scripture, prayer, and the Holy Spirit in everyday family life.

What if You’re Not Who You Think You Are? (with John Mark McMillan)

Important Links: Today's Sponsor: Heavenly Heat Saunas Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear What if the life you’ve built to survive is keeping you from the life God actually made you for? In this episode, Jerrad sits down with songwriter, worship leader, recording artist, and author John Mark McMillan, best known for writing “How He Loves.” Together, they talk about identity, family, creativity, contemplation, and what it looks like to peel back the layers of survival to rediscover the person God created you to be. John Mark shares about nearly quitting music, moving toward writing, raising teenagers, finding beauty in ordinary family life, and learning to create from a place of honesty instead of performance. The conversation also explores how distraction, phones, addiction, and the noise of modern life are shaping our souls, and how the church might become one of the last places where people can truly be present together. This is a deep, honest conversation for any man who feels tired, distracted, unsure of who he is, or hungry for a more meaningful life with God and his family. Important Links: Today's Sponsor: Heavenly Heat Saunas Dad Tired Annual Retreat Host A Dad Tired Conference at your church Join the FREE Family Leadership Program Shop the Dad Tired store for best-selling gear

Work, Rest, Calling, and the Goodness of God (with Jordan Raynor)

What if your job, your parenting, your neighborhood, and your ordinary Monday morning all mattered deeply to God? In this episode, Jerrad sits down with returning guest Jordan Raynor for a wide-ranging conversation about work, calling, the Holy Spirit, fatherhood, and the lies that keep Christian men exhausted. Jordan unpacks why work existed before sin, how our daily jobs can be worship, and why the Holy Spirit empowers us not just for salvation, but for the good works God has prepared for us. The conversation also moves into evangelism, neighborhood faithfulness, the kindness of God, and the freedom that comes from realizing God doesn’t need us. He wants us. This episode is for the dad who feels tired, scattered, overcommitted, or unsure if his everyday life really matters to God. In this episode, we talk about: Why your work matters to God How to see ordinary tasks as worship The lies and half-truths many Christians believe Why the Holy Spirit empowers us for good works How to talk to your kids about deep theology Why saying no can be an act of faithfulness The difference between a tired body and a weary soul Why God doesn’t need you, but graciously invites you Mentioned in this episode: VARA Safe Use Promo code DADTIRED for $20 off Dad Tired Annual Retreat Free Family Leadership Program The Spirit in You by Jordan Raynor