I turn sixty on Saturday. If the Lord gives me eighty years, three-quarters of my time is spent. That math focuses a man. Most men know what year it is. Few consider what season it is. Here are six legacy-building questions, one for each decade of a man’s life: thoughtful, purposeful, intentional, available, fruitful, faithful. Don’t live by default. Discover what matters most. What season are you in?

You think you made one decision this morning. You actually made two. The decision to do one thing is also the decision not to do something else, and what you don't do says as much about your character as what you do. Joshua once stood before the people he had led for decades and made his own choice plain, no debate, no hedging. Every father does the same thing, whether he says it out loud or not, through what he does and does not do. Values are seen in the yes, and in the no.

My grown children have no memory of 9/11. My two-week-old granddaughter never will either, though she will grow up shaped by the world it left behind. Pew research says that 10% of adults today were born after 2001. Twenty-five years after the event, telling this story is our responsibility and privilege (Psalm 78:4). It is a story of courage and sacrifice in the face of evil, and three truths about God that outlast tragedy...truths that we should never forget.

Most dads tuck their kids in without a second thought. For 1.5 million American kids right now, that moment never comes, because dad is in prison. Camp Agape California exists to interrupt what happens next, kids at real risk of repeating a cycle they never chose. One family's story shows what changes when someone steps in. Fatherlessness doesn't have to determine a child's future. But breaking that cycle takes someone willing to step into the space that's been left behind.

Back to school means math, English, and history all over again. Its a good time for Dads to get back to basics as well. Fundamentals of fatherhood are not a new parenting philosophy, just three things easy to know but easy to skip: how you show affection, what your kids catch from watching you, and whether you talk more than you listen. This week's post breaks down the ABCs of fatherhood, what they actually look like day to day, and why research says they matter more than alm

Last week was about the smart that runs a calendar. This week is harder. Every day at school, your kid faces tests no teacher grades: peer pressure, hard calls, moments that show up without warning and don't wait for you to be in the room. A longtime coach shares the line he's used with kids for years, the one that draws the line between knowing the right thing and actually doing it. Discretion and understanding aren't optional skills. They're the ones that show up when it co

Back to school means new backpacks, new schedules, new expectations. Most dads make sure their kid is ready academically. Fewer ask if their kid is ready practically: can they plan their own week, manage their own time, get themselves where they need to be? There are two kinds of smart. One shows up on a report card. The other shows up when nobody is telling your kid what to do next. This week, Dad Academy breaks down the kind of smart no teacher grades, and why your kid need

Discipline has two sides to the coin: confront and compliment. What you correct and what you affirm should both be driven by the same thing — your values. That's what separates reactive parenting from intentional training. When my wife and I were raising our kids, we chose to confront three things: disobedience, deceitfulness, and disrespect. And we chose to compliment three things: thoughtfulness, thankfulness, and truthfulness. Both lists. Intentional. Values-driven.

It's said "more is caught than taught." That's especially true in parenting. Kids learn what matters by what gets repeated. Not just what gets said. What gets rewarded. What gets ignored. What gets corrected. What gets celebrated. These are the things that really teach and train your child. In Dad Academy, we talk about discipline differently. Discipline isn't punishment — it's training. And training is discipleship.