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You’re tired.
Not just physically; though yeah, that too.
You’re tired in your bones. In your soul.
Trying to be a steady husband, an intentional dad, a man of God… but deep down, you feel like you’re falling short. Like you’re carrying more than you know how to hold.
Dad Tired is a podcast for men who are ready to stop pretending and start healing.
Not with self-help tips or religious platitudes, but by anchoring their lives in something (and Someone) stronger.
Hosted by Jerrad Lopes, a husband, dad of four, and fellow struggler, this show is a weekly invitation to find rest for your soul, clarity for your calling, and the courage to lead your family well.
Through honest stories, biblical truth, and deep conversations you’ll be reminded:
You’re not alone. You’re not too far gone. And the man you want to be is only found in Jesus.
This isn’t about trying harder.
It’s about coming home.
Hey guys. Welcome back to the Dads Tired podcast. My name is Jared LOEs. I'm the founder of Dads Tired. I'm also one of the hosts here on the show. Um, for the last four months, I have not seen social media. That's probably been the longest time I've ever gone without actually seeing any social media.
Since social media was invented. I was probably, I was like on MySpace. That's actually how I met my wife, MySpace. Um, as embarrassing as that is, um, I met my wife on MySpace. I was on Facebook and Instagram and, um. You know, other social media platforms. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is haven't been on social media and I haven't been on news for the last four months.
I'll dive into why. I made that decision and, and how that's impacted me over the last four, I guess actually coming up on five months now. Um, it's impacted me in a really good way, but sometimes I feel like I have my head in the sand, in the sense of like, news. Like I don't, I don't, I don't have any idea what's going on in the world news wise and in many ways that's really refreshing.
But sometimes things are happening in the world that I would like to know. I don't wanna be totally ignorant about what's happening in the world. And so, um, I recently came across an um. Uh, app called World Watch News, and they're actually specifically designed for kids. Um, they, they make news for kids so that, that your kids can listen to and watch.
They make daily videos so that your kids can watch the news every day. And, uh, it's all faith-based and, um, it's, they have integrity in their journalism, which is amazing. They, they're not taking any political stances or doctrinal doctrinal stances. Um, they're just. Telling you the facts of what's happening around the world.
And they do it in these 10 minute videos on the app every day. And they, they, their app allows you to watch like Apple tv, Roku app, your, your Android, your iPhones, whatever. Um, but you can watch these 10 minute kind of recaps every day of what's happening around the world. And again, it's made for kids.
And so you can feel confident putting this in front of your kids. Let your guard down and you know that the content is very dependable and it's very safe for children and, uh, and so, and it allows your kids to understand that the world is bigger than their school or the little town that you guys live in, that God is doing stuff all over the world, that there are things happening all over the world.
I. And they really recognize like God's design, which I really appreciate about their journalistic kind of worldview or viewpoint. Um, everything they do has a faith integration into it. And so their posture, their content choices, the message that they, um, they want to get across is that God is in control when all this stuff is happening around the world got us in control.
And so, anyway, if you're looking for a way to like me, hear the news, but you don't want to get, you know, sucked into all the. Chaos of sometimes the new cycles. Um, this is a great way for you personally. Like I, I personally enjoy it. I, I've learned stuff as I've watched these videos. And then, um, it's really great for your kids to also kind of have a bigger worldview of what's happening across the globe and, um, while also being totally safe and not making any kind of like, again, political stance or doctrinal stance.
Doctrinal stance. I keep saying that. Weird word, weird. Uh, you can get thir, uh, I'm sorry, 90 free days. Trying out their app, which is awesome. Try it for three months. Watch these videos with your family. Um, you personally, watch 'em with your kids. Uh, if you go to World Watch News slash Dad Tired again, that's World Watch News slash dad Tired.
They will give you three full months for free to try it out. And they do videos daily, um, so that you can check out. What they're doing. Really, really great stuff and I'm thankful for them being a sponsor of the Dads Hired podcast. Um, let's jump into today if you have, I imagine there are many of you guys who have listened to the podcast.
Um, you found it, you recently discovered Dads hired in the last I. Uh, four or five months. And you've probably been hearing my friends Chris on the show, or my pastor Caleb, who's also one of my best friends. Um, they've taken over the last four or five months on the podcast. And, um, they've done such a great job.
I've listened to their episodes and have been personally encouraged by them. Um, but they did that really as a way to just give me some space to like think through my own life. So maybe if you're, if you just discovered dad's tired in the last. You know, four or five months, you, you might be like, who are you?
Um. I just wanna reintroduce myself for all you new listeners. Again, my name's Jared and, uh, I started Dad Tired in 2016. Uh, I had no plans on starting Dad tired. I was just like, uh, struggling as, as a husband, as a dad, as a man back then. And, um, looking for resources. There were very few resources. We started a little Facebook group.
There's probably 60 guys in that group, and we're just trying to encourage each other. We didn't know each other. We were just, you know, all guys from all over the world. And we're just trying to encourage each other to be the men god's called us to be. And I think one of the guys in that group said, Hey, you should start a podcast.
And so I knew nothing about podcasting back then. Podcasting wasn't even very big, uh, eight, nine years ago. This was two, late 2015, early 2016. And, um, and so I just like, you know, threw together podcast where I were just kinda ramble through really my struggles and my own marriage and my own life and my own parenting and, um.
At that time because there were very few, uh, podcasts out there for, for dads specifically, it just kind of took off. I think as people were searching for Dad podcasts, we would come up at the top and dead tired, really grew pretty quickly into a ministry of now we have guys from all over the world. Um, I would say tens of thousands of guys.
Who have interacted with dad tired in some way from all over the world and, and many of these guys who are just encouraging each other. And again, the mission has really stayed the same for almost a decade. And that is that we're just like normal broken dudes trying to figure out what it looks like for us personally to love Jesus and then help our families do the same.
And so that's what I started. Um, the reason though, that I took, uh, the last four or five months off is because, um, there's been some stuff in my own life. Um, again, I'm, I'm, I've, I've always tried to be open about. The stuff that I'm struggling with and the, the way that I'm stumbling my way towards spiritual leadership in my own home.
Um, and at the same time there, there's been some like, kind of bigger sin stuff that I've not addressed, um, up until four or five months ago that I felt like, um, you know, as my buddy Chris, who's. Been on this podcast many, many times has said, you know, that we need to treat our, our sin like a cancer and not like a headache.
Meaning we, we don't go to sleep and wake, wake up hoping that it's gone in the morning. Um, but that we actually, like we do, we, we put every resource possible into seeing that sin removed from our life. And so there was just some stuff. I, again, I, I don't feel comfortable on the podcast yet. You know, sharing all my deepest, darkest ends, uh, with the world and with the internet.
I've done it many, many times. Um, with my closest friends and the people that matter. My wife, my board of directors, my, my close friends here. Um. Just to look at that sin head on and be like, all right, I, I need to deal with this stuff because if I don't, it's gonna plague me for the rest of my life. It's gonna hinder me.
Um, and sin just eventually kills, like it will kill something. Um, so it'll, at the very least, it'll kill your joy and your peace, your sin, um, and at the most, like, it, it could kill your, your life depending on what sin you're entangled in. And, uh, it could even kill your eternity with Jesus. Uh, not to get like too dark, too quick, but.
Um, so I just really, there were some things that I felt like I need to address if you want more clarity on like what is, like if you're, if you're brand new to dad tag, you're like, what the heck are you talking about? Who are you, what is this? Um, the last episode that I recorded was with Caleb and Chris, and we kind of dive, dove into that a little bit more, and then there's a episode.
From November, late November, where, uh, it's called an important ministry update. You can go back and listen to that one and, um, and hear a little bit more about, you know, the process of me stepping out and now stepping back in. My goal for today is, um. I wanna share just a little bit about what I've done over the last four months, what my life has looked like the last four months, um, and then kind of give you an idea of where I think that tired, where God might be leading us.
Um, I always say that with open hands, like I don't, I. This is the God of the universe we're talking about. You know, like, um, to say with such confidence God wants us to do this always scares me. And sometimes we do have this like really, really clear vision of like, no, God is calling me to do this. But that's in my experience of trying to follow Jesus for decades, it's, it's pretty rare to have like such.
Clear vision from God or, um, you know, and just not getting entangled in your own emotions and your own circumstances. So what I wanna do is just share a little bit about where I think God might be leading us based on circumstances and the word of God and wise counsel and all that. But, um, again, I hold everything with open hands.
You know, I could in two weeks be like actually that I was, I, uh. I ate too many cheeseburgers and Oreos and, um, that was my emotions talking and lack of sleep and terrible diet that was not God. So I apologize and I'm totally open to that. Totally open to being wrong. Um, four months ago, there was some sin that was exposed in my life, brought to the surface.
Um, and I called, I, I ended up reaching, reaching out to a pastor friend of mine. Um, I had met him years earlier at an event. And we didn't know each other super well. And at the time we, we just met, I didn't know him super well, but, uh, I kind of flagged him in my, my brain of like, if stuff ever went down in my life, like if things ever hit.
And blew up. Um, I'm gonna call him. And part of that was just he had a really like, gentle, wise vibe to him. And I just thought, like, he just seems safe and he, I feel like if my world got chaotic, he would be able to walk me through the chaos. And so again, uh, I, I wanna, I plan on sharing my story at a much deeper level when it's not like recorded for all the internet to hear.
I plan on sharing my story more at the dad's hired retreat, which registration is open for that. So. Um, you know, I, I'm not, I'm, I'm kind of purposely being vague and I, I'm frustrated with myself even that, but I do wanna share more details, um, with you guys in kind of a less, you know, internety space. Um, anyway, so my life kind of felt like it was blowing up and things were things, stuff was hitting the fan, as they say.
And, um, so I, I just called him. And I said, uh, I shared with him in the midst of probably the darkest day of my life, um, really, really deep. Like almost not to oversize things, but maybe like demonic, like really, really bad spot. Um, so I call him and I'm just like crying and I'm. I'm in a dark, low, low spot, and he says, all right, man.
You know, he walks me through that moment and then he's, he puts me in touch with another guy who I didn't know, but I met maybe once or twice before, and he says, we're going to send you out to this counseling out in Colorado. It's a two week program, and, um, we just want you to go in there and be fully invested.
And at this point in my life, if I'm totally honest with you guys, here, here was my perspective. At that moment, this was late November. My perspective of life was I have so much pain, so many dark areas of my life, um, so much stuff that I feel like, I feel like my life is so compartmentalized and I don't really even know who I am.
I don't know who I'm presenting myself to the world. I was just so confused and broken and lost in my mind. The options. There were two options. Number one, I take my life and I just end it all. Because I'm so confused. Things are so dark, things are so painful, let's just end it. Um, it feels hopeless. Um, and obviously that that's like dark and demonic and not of God at all.
So that was one option. The other option was you embrace this. Fully and you get all the healing possible. And it could cost you, everything, could cost you your job, it could cost you your ministry, it could cost you your future. It could cost you, your wife and kids. It could cost everything. But you just, you are committed to full healing without any reservations of, of what it could cost you.
Kind of the um, the rich young ruler idea where he says, Jesus, I'll follow you. And he says, then give up everything. You know, sell everything and come follow me. What does it take? Uh, what, what is a prophet, a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? That kind of idea. And so I was like, okay. Um, and by the way, I, if I'm totally honest with you guys, I deeply cons considered each option.
Um, that's not funny, but, um, that's true. Uh, I deeply considered each option and I got to the point where in many ways I feel like God saved me. And uh, and then I said, okay, I'm not gonna take my life. I'm gonna live. And if I live, I'm going to embrace this journey fully, and I don't care what comes of it.
Um, and so I went, I went to this program and dude, oh man, I, uh, you, you show up to the airport, you know, I fly out there, I show up to the airport. I make, I know that I'm not gonna have my cell phone for a couple weeks, so I'm not gonna get to talk to my family. I'm not gonna talk to Layla. Or any friends, and I'm gonna meet with nine other guys and who I don't know, and I know that they're broken and they're a mess.
And so, uh, I'm at the airport and I make one last call to Layla. And then I get on this bus, dude and, uh, with nine other guys. And I'm just driving out to this place and I'm just like, I'm looking out the window and I'm crying. And there was a guy there, uh, he like turned to me and he, he tried to introduce himself to me.
Um, he's probably listening to this podcast. I love you, bro. Like, you know exactly who you are. But, uh, he tried to turn to me and like introduce himself to me and, uh, I would, dude, I gave him the coldest of all cold shoulders. I was just like, I don't like you. You're messed up. I'm messed up. I'm not here to make friends.
Like I'm, my life is falling apart. I don't, I I was just, so, I feel totally bad now 'cause he's turned out to be one of my dearest friends. We've gone through literally it feels like, to the depths of hell and back together. But I was just like, dude, forget you. You know? And, uh, so anyway, that started the two week journey and, and what I realized is when I got there, and I, I'm gonna spend the next weeks and months, I probably end up writing about this.
That journey was life changing. And I, I, I'm always so hesitant to say stuff like that 'cause you hear people talk like that and you're like, okay, yeah, you're different, you know. But, um, I can say, let, let me say a couple things. One, um, I, I can get really excited about things. I can get into fads, you know, I'll get stoked and, and all in on something.
And then two weeks later. I'm not in on it at all. And, uh, and I, I actually hate that about myself. Um, because what I do is, my buddy calls it sell unsell. You're selling unselling, selling unsell. You, you'll sit down with me depending on what day of the week it is, and we'll have dinner together, or lunch or whatever.
And I'm just like selling you on the newest and greatest idea and like, I just discovered this. This is awesome. You gotta get into it. And then I'll sell it. I'll be, I'm so passionate about it that I get you sold on it and then, you know, a week later you come. Back to me and you're like, dude, I got into that thing you were into, you know, let's, you know that book or that hobby or whatever, and I'm like, yeah, I'm over that.
Like I've, I've moved on to the next thing. I can tell you with confidence. My wife hates that pers part of my personality. And honestly, I hate it too. Like I, I, it feels so inconsistent to me. And so I know that about myself. Um, that's not one of my favorite characteristics, but that is a true part of myself there.
And, and I know they're like half of the audience. You're like, dude, I'm the, I'm the guy who's always getting sold because some freaking guy like you gets all excited and comes and sells me on it. And then you're over it. You know? Uh, or you're skeptical. You're the skeptical friend. 'cause you're like, I know you're gonna be over this in a couple weeks.
Or you might be like, me, like, darn it, dude, that's me too. Like, I get super into things and then I'm, I'm over it. Um, regardless, that's not the point. The point that I'm trying to make is, um, I have been living this new way of living for five months now, and even as recently as yesterday, I woke up and I feel like I'm such a different man.
My brain is thinking so differently. The way that I act and interact is so different. Um, but I'll wake up and I'm like, is, am I faking? Like, am I, is it, am I really changing? Did God really heal me? And, um, and, and part of like, even that happened yesterday. I wake up, I don't have my phone near me anymore when I sleep, so I'll wake up and I have the Bible near me.
And a little like, um, a little reading lamp. And so I'll just grab my Bible and I'll read some scripture. I'm usually up before Layla, and so I'll, I'll just lay there. I'll read some scripture. And like yesterday, I, I held her hand, um, while she was sleeping. I told my kids this yesterday at dinner, and, uh, they're like, that's creepy.
I'm like, that the, is it creepy? I don't know if that's creepy. I'm, I wasn't trying to be creepy, but, uh, you know, I, I'll hold her hand while she's sleeping. I just pray for her and I pray over her. And, um, so, and I was just praying and I was feeling like, man, I feel like, Lord, I, I feel like sometimes I'm just, am I faking this?
And I really just sense, like the Lord was telling me or reminding me that like, don't, don't underestimate my power and don't diminish the work that I'm doing in you. Um, to say that you're faking or to say that, you know, this is a fad is to diminish the work that I'm doing in you and that I've done in you and I.
So I just, I say that because. You know, I've never really done anything for like five months with this much passion and zeal. It's not even passion, it's just like faithfulness, like different than I used to be to the point where even my, some of my closest friends are like, dude, you're, you're different.
Um, and that kind of begs the question I told my buddy this yesterday. It kind of begs the question in me. Um, the Bible is constantly describing like. Um, this contrast between who you used to be and who you now are when you meet Jesus and you used to live in darkness, but now you live in marvelous light.
Uh, you used to be dead, but now you're alive. You, you've taken off the old man and you've become, you've put on the new self, the new man. There's all these scripture references of like, you're not who you used to be. And I'll be honest with you, dude, there were so many times I would read that scripture, those passages, and I would feel like, well.
I still kind of feel like the old man. I feel, I kind of feel like the same dude I was like at 13 and I still am struggling with stuff that I've struggled with since I was a preteen. Um, like why I don't feel like a new man. I mean, I know I believe in Jesus and I want to be more like Jesus. I. I'm a pastor for goodness sake.
Like I've written books and smoking on stages like I and I, and I'm not, I wasn't doing it like being fake. I wasn't doing it, you know, just like trying to fool everybody, trying to build big bank accounts or anything, you know, I was just like, I really believed what I was teaching, and yet there was still part of me reading these passages where I'm like, I, I don't feel like a new man.
I feel like the old man still. I don't know how to answer that. We probably need to get Caleb back on here and Chris back on here and gimme some theological response on what that means for my salvation. I don't know. I don't even know if it really matters. What I do know now is when I read those verses I'm like, yeah, that's me.
I used to be like this and now I'm not. Dude, the two weeks there was the start of insane healing. If I, I think I said this in the last week's episode, like if had I known everything that I, they, they were gonna make me do, uh, and I'm probably not even allowed to share everything that they made me do for their, for their business model.
You know, they, they probably want to keep it like some secrets. So you go in there and, and get blindsided a little bit. But had I known everything I was gonna do in that, that program, I don't know if I would've gone, man. It was the most intense thing. And um, and I came out of there and that just was like the start of this long journey of new ha, new rewiring, God doing deep, deep healing work.
But I feel, it's not even like, I feel like I know I'm different. My brain is not thinking the same way. Um, even recording this podcast, like there I feel different. I. The criticism that may come the way that I'm coming across right now, which I would've been so afraid of, uh, how you would perceive me. I just don't really care.
Not because I don't care about you or care about people, but I'm just like, I'm getting deeper and deeper into my rooted identity in Christ. And also I know why I did all the things like I learned. I discovered the, the point, the, uh, the pain point, I guess for lack of better words, like the. The wounds, and when you discover where the wounds came from and how your behaviors and your thinking and your actions, and you built a whole life out of reacting to those wounds, trying to soothe those wounds, the whole world just changes and you become a different person when you get to the source.
Otherwise, you just are managing all this behavior. And I'm laughing because I literally wrote a book that's right here if you're watching on Spotify or YouTube. I wrote a book, this yellow one called Stop Behaving. And the whole premise of that book was like, the goal isn't behavior change. The goal is heart change.
And if your heart changes, then your behavior will change. If you're just trying to change behavior for the sake of behavior, you're gonna always white knuckle it. And um, I laughed because I'm like, I still probably was just chasing behavior. My heart really hadn't been changed. Now I feel like God has ripped out my old heart and given me a new heart.
Um. And so where are you going with all this, Jared? Well, um, I don't think that it's a fad. I don't think that I'm just kind of on this high. I think that God healed me and is healing me, and, uh, I don't think that now I can just say I went to this two week thing and I've done four months of intense counseling.
I've done over three years of counseling, you know, tens of thousands of dollars worth of counseling, um, in the last four or five months. And I still feel like I'm just starting my journey of healing. Um, but I do feel like God has done a radical work in my life. And so what does that mean for us, um, as a ministry?
This ministry that I almost gave up on, which makes me really sad, um, as I sat through two weeks of just. Deep surgery as I've gone through almost three years worth of counseling time-wise and certainly financially, um, over the last four or five months. Um, it's been impossible for me not to think of you knowing that you listening, have your own stuff.
There are parts of you that feel like I'm still the old man. I'm, I hear those verses and I'm like, I, um, don't feel different. Like I feel the same. There are parts of you that may feel like, I know I have wounds and I've never addressed 'em. I'm too afraid to address 'em. There are parts, there are some of you probably who feel like I don't, I, maybe I have wounds, but I don't even know what they are.
But anyway, it was impossible for me to be in all these settings and trying to deal with my own stuff, literally thinking I may never come back to dad tired. I may never come back into ministry. But even with that, even with that, in the back of my mind, I still kept thinking like, man. My heart is heavy for all the dads that I've interacted with.
Um, I'm not gonna show you this. Um, there's, I'm holding up a piece of paper, um, if you're watching on YouTube or Spotify on the other side of this piece of paper, which you can't see, but I can see, I have a picture, a collage of many dad tired faces on here. Creepy, uh, not trying to be creepy. I, uh, I printed a bunch of pictures.
Uh, from Dads Tired guys, um, guys from our community, our Mighty Networks community, which we have, um, for free. Um, these are guys who are just part of the dads tired community. And I, I printed some of their pictures and I put 'em in a collage here. I. As I'm saying this, it feels really creepy. Uh, but the reason I did that is because, um, part of me feels like there's gonna be some criticism and pushback for me coming back.
Certainly some skepticism. I'm prepared for all of that, I think, to the best that I can be. But the reason I did that is because I know there are a lot of you dudes who I've met you, like I've met you at conferences and I've talked to you via email and. You've been to the dad tired retreat and I've seen you, man, I get emotional thinking about this.
Um, you know, I've met and interacted with you guys and it just would be so foolish of me to think that you're not dealing, there's so many of you dealing with your own stuff, and I just wanted to look at your faces as I record these podcasts. 'cause I'm like, dude, if, if, if I could journey with some of you.
See you go, man, I can't even look at these pictures 'cause it's getting me emotional. If I could just journey with some of you and, um, be a brother who walks shoulder to shoulder with you, um, I would love to do that. And that's why I'm back. Like, that's why I want to come back here and, and be part of the dad's type of ministry.
And here's the truth, man, like for the last almost 10 years of dad tired, I've wanted that for you and I never really experienced it myself. I wanted it as much for myself as I wanted it for you. And now I can say with integrity, um, I'm not a liar. Uh, I don't have secrets. That feels so good to say, dude.
Like, I don't have any secrets, and that's been proven. I, I don't have any secrets and I'm not lying about anything. And my wife literally knows everything about me. Everything about me, radical honesty, and the people who. Closest to me in my circle know everything about me. And so just to be a man who doesn't have secrets and who has found, started to find healing and who understands the wounds and understands why I've made decisions and understands my childhood.
Again, not healed, but finding healing, deep healing. Um, I, I've experienced some life changing stuff, some gospel stuff, like I am not the man I used to be. And um, and so now I feel like I'm coming back to dad tired. Um, it's gonna be the same. It's really just me stumbling alongside of you, but, but I'm, I'm doing it as like a healed man, as a man who's finding healing.
And so, again, I don't wanna say healed man, like I've got it figured out, but just like, as a man who's experienced real deep healing, and I guess what I could say is I'm, I'm, I'm doing it as a man with more integrity and that feels really good to say that with integrity. You know, it feels good to say that honestly.
So I know there are many of you guys, not all of you, but many of you who you got your own stuff and you need an outlet where you can start to find healing that I'm describing, and that's what Dad Tired is going to become. In many ways, we're the exact same that we've always been, and in other ways we're totally different because our whole mission is going to be, can we help you?
Find true healing where you could say, I'm a different man than I used to be. I changed. If you go to dad tire.com right now, I changed the headline of the banner, like the banner page or whatever it says. The, I dunno, mission statement feels too like businessy. But if you look at the top of it, I changed it to say healthy families begin with healed men.
And the reason I did that is because, um, we could talk about parenting all day long. We could, I, I could give you some parenting advice, which would be foolish of me. 'cause I have four kids that I don't really understand and I'm trying to figure out, like, I don't know. Dude, my prayers every morning are like, God, help.
I don't know what I'm doing with my four kids, so I could fake it and try to tell you as a young dad have mastered some parenting strategies. I haven't, I don't really know what I'm doing as a parent. Um, we could have guests on here and talk about all the latest parenting strategies we could do marriage experts and, and listen.
I'll probably have some parenting people on here. I'll probably have some marriage people on here who are smarter and wiser than me. Um, but dude, it, it really, how does any of that matter if you personally aren't healed as a man? Like, who cares? What I knew. Parenting strategies, who cares? What I knew from a marriage perspective, if I've got my own stuff that I'm dealing with, my own wounds that aren't healed, my own darkness and sin that I have yet to wrestle with and be honest with and confront, like, who cares about that stuff?
I mean, I get it. It matters, but I can only take them as far as I'm healed. You know what I mean? And so, um. My goal for Dad's hired is that we would be a ministry where men find healing. And pretty much everything I want to do from here on out, I want to help you get healing, and I'm just gonna stumble along with you as I always have.
I'm gonna be honest with you about the things that I'm struggling with, ways that I'm finding healing. Um, and I just, I'm inviting you to come with me on like a healing journey because I think that there. Again, I don't care if like half of you bail on this podcast and you're just like, this isn't what I want it to be.
That's okay. There are so many great podcasts out there, but some of you, even just 10 of you, um, are gonna be like, man, I want healing. And for us, dude, let's just journey together. And I've got ways, like I've got very low level ways that you can start to find healing and get connected. And I've got really like deep.
Like intense life-changing ways that I've gone through that I think I wanna invite you into. So all that will come in the weeks and days to come, days and weeks and months to come. But for right now, I guess here's how I want to end today. Um, when you think about your family being healthy and it beginning with a healed man, do you feel healed?
Like what comes up for you when you think about that question? Do you think, uh, I think I'm healed. I'm good. Do you think, I know something's not healed. Like I feel sick and I don't totally know why. Um, are you convinced you're healed? Are you convinced that you're totally not healed and you don't know how to get help?
Like maybe try to attach an emotion to it? Um, and some of you're like, oh, geez, here we go. Jared's gonna get all therapy. Uh, I might, but I'm not a therapist, you know? But I might like just. Use some language that they've used with me. But, um, when you think about like that, that idea of being healed, is it hopeful for you?
Do you feel some hope, like, okay, I wanna step into this. The fact that I'm even listening to this podcast right now is probably evidence that God's chasing me down and he wants me to find healing. Are you scared? Do you, is your heart beating faster? Is your chest getting tighter? Do you feel a knot in your shoulder or your back and you're like, oh dude, the thought of getting healing, um, sounds nice, but the cost of it.
How much is this gonna cost? And I'm not talking financially, I'm talking how much is this gonna cost me? Relationally, sacrificially? Like how much of, uh, the world will I have to give up? The things that feel secure to me right now, my relationship with my wife or my kids or my job. How much of that would I have to give up to find healing?
Is that, do you feel a little bit panicky? I know that feeling, um, I know that feeling really, really well. Is that what comes up for you? Just ask yourself right now. Like, just if, you know, if you're not driving, um, or you're not running, just close your eyes and just try to feel like, what do you feel when you think about getting healing?
What do you need healing from? Do you think you need healing?
What would you want to say to God right in this moment? As you think about being a healed man, what's the first like, don't over church it Don't oversize it. Don't get, you know, weird and try to pray like a Pharisee all fancy, just like with your eyes closed and you're thinking about. Being a healed man, what would you wanna say to God?
Like, what's the first thing that comes to mind?
Um, I had like four or five pages of notes. I didn't read one of them. Um, maybe that's a good thing. Um, in the next several weeks and months, man, all we're gonna talk about every week is what it looks like for us to become healed men. And then I'm gonna start rolling out over the weeks and months to come.
Really practical ways that you can find healing so you're not just hearing about it on a podcast, but like really practical ways. Um, and I just want you to know, like my, my goal is to just, I, I said this on the last week's podcast. I'm not trying to get the next million downloads. Don't care. Um, I want to find those of you who are at your breaking point and you feel like you're at the lowest and you are so sick and tired of like.
Where your life's at and you're desperate for change. You want to, you want to give your family what you so desperately want. You want your sons and your daughters to experience healing and you haven't experienced it yet. You wanna protect your sons and daughters from the things that you're feeling right now.
Like, if that's you, dude, if you feel just broken and you're at your the end of your rope, this is the place to be for you. 'cause we're gonna spend a lot of time. Talking about that and so that, that's the future of dad tired and this podcast and this ministry. If you're not signed up for the retreat, definitely come to that.
I would love to meet you guys there. Um, more than ever. I really, really wanna meet you there. So, um, you can sign up on the, at dat Tired on the website there. Um, share this with a friend. Um, and I say that because just like as a kind of spoiling future stuff, like there's no way you're gonna find healing.
Um, I. Unless you do it with some other people, and I know that's probably frustrating news to so many of you 'cause you're introvert or you're a dude and you don't want to do things with other people and you certainly don't wanna confess things and you certainly don't wanna like let other guys know you're broken and you're not as qualified or not as great as you look on the outside.
But just like spoiler alert, it's gonna be impossible for you to find healing unless you've got some friends or a friend to journey with you with. Uh, in this, and I'm sorry that I equally am like, that's frustrating. I hate that. I hated that. And, and now I'm finding healing and it's coming through the relationships.
So that's just part of it. So just send this to a friend and if you are the friend that got this episode, like you had a friend send you this, just know you have a, a brother who's like looking for healing. So you guys potentially already have that in common. Um, so share this with a friend and just like.
You don't need to say anything, just be like, Hey dude, I listened to this episode, thought of you. And, um, maybe that would start kind of this relational journey of finding healing so that you guys can both be the men god's called you to be. Um, alright. If you, if you're not part of the Mighty Networks group, um, again, that's free.
Just go to dad tire.com and then, um, it's a good way to start getting, just seeing other guys like you don't have to Totally. Dive in right away. You can just see other guys on there. We've got thousands of guys in there. And that will be the place that I'll, I'll start to kind of, um, give next steps and, and tease out, you know, where we're gonna go from here.
Sign up for the retreat if you haven't done that, if you wanna be part of that, we'd love to have you. We, we can, we're gonna try to squeeze 400 guys in this year, but, um, I'm confident that we'll hit that. So make sure you, you, you sign up so you're not on a wait list or anything if you want to go and then, um.
Yeah. Alright. I think that's enough rambling for today. I love you guys. I was super nervous to record this episode. I was like getting all weird and shaky. Um, but as I'm sitting here in the moment doing it, I'm really excited and I can't wait to be on this journey again with you and to figure out what it means to be the men God's coldest to be and to actually be different men, to be healed.
And, uh, so we'll talk about what is healing next week and, uh, how do you even know if you need healing? What does it mean to not be healed? And we'll go through things over the next coming months and y, months and years. I love you. Can't wait to see you. Bye.