Nick Hall [00:00:02] I am the beloved son of God, and I can tell that's enough, then it's just going to continue to be a battle and it is a battle to receive that and remember that and rest in that and even be a dad from that place, because I don't want to raise kids to think they have to earn my affection. Podcast Trailer [00:00:23] Welcome to dadAWESOME. Welcome to dadAWESOME. Welcome to dadAWESOME. You've joined a movement of intentional Christian dads who are adding life to the dad life. Thanks for taking a courageous step towards learning and growing and being mentored as you become dadAWESOME for your kids. On this podcast my dad, Jeff Zaugg, interviews intentional dads from all around the world as he explores the path of becoming dadAWESOME. Jeff Zaugg [00:00:58] Welcome back to DadAWESOME. My name is Jeff Zaugg, and you just heard from my three little girls, they took over the trailer, the opening of the podcast. And it's because just 12 days ago, their little sister was born and we've just been celebrating. We thought we'd spend two episodes celebrating the birth of my new little daughter, Zara. We got four little girls in our family now. And thanks for celebrating with us. Today, though, I want to invite you guys in. So Mother's Day comes around every day and this will be our third year of doing the momAWESOME challenge. And it's simply a daily text message for for nine days. So May 9th is Mother's Day this year, and you're just going to get a daily text message for nine straight days that's going to encourage you to pray for momAWESOME. It's going to encourage you to serve and love and pursue your wife. We know that awesome dads, man, a critical part of that is a thriving, flourishing marriage. So so, again, this is our third year. It's going to look a little different this year. We're actually switching over to a new text message platform. So you're going to see kind of a migration over the next two months here. We've been sending the weekly text out before that we send daily texts, but the price got a little too crazy for the text platform we were on. So we're going to move over to a new text message. So I need you guys to join the momAWESOME challenge. Just simply send a text message to this number. It's going to be in the show notes as well, 651-370-8618. You're going to send a text to that number 651-370-8618 and just include the word "mom" or include the word "challenge" or include the emoji of a bouquet of flowers. Like there's a bunch of ways into this challenge. All right. Just so simply say the word mom or momAWESOME. Or a bouquet of flowers or a heart emoji. We'll also get you into the mom. Awesome challenge. So it's pretty simple. It's pretty easy. But send that text message to 651-370-8618 and you'll get a daily text for just those those nine days leading up to Mother's Day on May nine. So today, though, today, I'm so thankful to invite you guys in to hear a conversation that I had with Nick Hall. So Nick has three kids. His oldest is eight, his youngest is one. He leads and founded the organization Pulse and Pulse exists to make Jesus known. And he does that at the broadest level, the biggest stages through digital resources and live events. And I was out in Washington, DC with him. We gathered hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people in the Washington Mall. That was like four years ago. Nick Hall and I, we've known each other for probably about a decade now. And I was just so thankful to get to sit down with him and hear about what has God taught him specifically in being a leader whose trajectory of this is what they do. Large events got shut down last year. And how has that affected the dad life? So I think you guys are going to take away a bunch from this conversation. Let's jump right in here today. This is episode one hundred and seventy one of DadAWESOME with my guest, Nick Hall. And we're going to start with me asking him about, man, what has changed? What has this last year looked like? How is your life different? So here's his answer to that first question. Nick Hall [00:04:13] I was supposed to do one hundred and sixty events last year, and then I ended up doing like four. Oh, right. So I mean, digital, definitely. We did a ton of digital stuff, but just I was home and I have never been home that much. And so it was like being confronted with my need to go, go, go. Sure. And then mourning that and then also coming to terms with maybe some dysfunction there. But then also just I would say just falling in love with the life God's given, you know, and working on stuff at the house and just playing whatever dolls or, you know, crayons or Legos or dinosaurs, you know, or just anything, you know, my littlest he just loves any ball. He just ba, ba, ba, you know, and it's just, you know, I mean, I just think the delight there of the simple things and the slow down, which I think has been a forced slow down for so many of us. But to me, it's just man, what a gift. Jeff Zaugg [00:05:16] When you think of the next two, three years and your leadership and saying yes or no to opportunities, how how will your leadership change because of what you've experienced on the home front the past year? Nick Hall [00:05:28] Yeah, I mean, I don't think I'll ever go as hard as I did before. So I think it certainly has changed my perspective of impact both at home and in ministry. Like, I think it's just saying if I'm going to be gone, is it going to be maximized? Right. Because it's like sometimes doing more isn't doing more. Right. And so and I think the digital stuff teaches that more than anything, just in that, you know, we're doing this podcast and this will live online for who knows, there's just reality there. I've just been in my life making maximum impact. Yeah. And I would also just say that that father heart in me, like every year, becomes more and more alive. And what I mean by that is it's in my kids. Yes. But it's also in how I lead and wanting to invest in others to go further and to see them win and to see them succeed and to see them grow. And so, you know, even like probably the thing I'm most excited about the rest of this year, like we're going to do some events and get back out, but I'm trying to find some young evangelists. And so. I haven't been that excited about something for a long time. Cool. And to me, it's like I don't know if I was if I wasn't a dad, I don't know if I would have that same passion and joy Jeff Zaugg [00:06:43] to father others to lift others up into opportunities. Nick Hall [00:06:46] And that also is tied to I've lost a lot of mentors and heroes. And then in that, at some point you kind of open your eyes. You're like, wait, I'm not just the one that's supposed to receive anymore. Like, man who who is coming after me. That's right. You know, and so I have to be willing am I willing to look for those, you know, that are coming behind and, you know, like my kids, it's like all of us as a parent would be like, man, there's success. And I'm way happier when they're doing awesome, you know? But I just think that that transcends into every other part of life. Jeff Zaugg [00:07:16] It's a game changer. For perspective flip, I want to go back to the year that the year twenty twenty was the slowdown showed you some things about yourself. There was like, oh, I didn't I didn't see that this way before. And some of the things you didn't like that you saw for sure go a little deeper into what it was that revealed, maybe even a couple of the areas and how you're growing into and how God is fathering you in a in a different direction because of those things. Nick Hall [00:07:42] Yeah, totally. Well, I would tell people that like 2020 was kind of like the climax for me of two or three years of just really hard events, you know, really beginning end of the seventeen, all of eighteen, all of nineteen. And I just think there was like real seasons there of loss and pain and disappointment and, you know, things that maybe I did that I wish I wouldn't have done, things that people did to me that I wish wouldn't have happened. You know, in twenty eighteen I had a mentor that was really a man that changed my life. We used to talk many times a week, you know, and he was like the first man that I looked up to that was, you know, verbally like affirming of me. And hey, I'm proud of you. Hey, you're doing a good job. Hey, this is normal. You know, the stuff that we all want to hear. Yeah, right. I don't need you to tell me, like, how to solve every problem in my life. Just tell me I'm not going crazy because it's Jeff Zaugg [00:08:39] like so needed Nick Hall [00:08:40] because I don't know. Right. I've never been through this. I've never been a dad. I've never tried to lead something. And and he died and that just really like began, I would just say this, again, just a season of events and then, you know, and then the things that we turn to. Right. Of busyness, like if I'm busy, then I'm OK. Or if I'm out using my gifts and then people are affirming of those gifts then I'm OK. But it's just like these things kind of become coping mechanisms and things we hide behind. Even the things that you are called and on earth to do can become the idol that you hide behind. And and so I just would say 2020 exposed a lot of that for me. My sister, the older sister Jenny passed away in February of 2020. She had a six month battle with cancer. And so you just dealing with death, you're dealing with loss. You're dealing with like deep pain. And then what am I running to, you know, where is my hope? And and I just think, like those core questions when you're hurt, you know, and it's like, am I going to numb with Netflix or having a beer or, you know, or more than a beer, you know, am I going to, you know, hide behind, you know, because normally I'd be like, I'm busy, I'm busy, I'm busy, I'm busy. And I don't know what to think about that I'm sad, but, you know, like, I can't hide now, you know, I don't have anything to hide behind. Am I enough, you know, does does God love Nick? When Nick's not busy. You know, and I think the unfortunate thing for me, the last three years, I've had to confront this reality that, like, I don't think I've actually believed that. You know, like I have told people all around the world about how God loves you and that it's this free gift. But I have consistently tried to earn it, you know, and and I think it's true for a lot of us as dads, or just people trying to make it, is like, you think of the starting blocks in track. And I think a lot of people's starting blocks are like guilt and shame. And you're pushing off to prove others wrong or you're pushing off to show people that you are enough. But I think like, learning to rest in the fact that I'm enough because my Father says I am. I'm enough because of what Jesus did for me, like I am the beloved son of God. And until that's enough, then it's just going to continue to be a battle and it is a battle, it is to receive that and remember that and rest in that and even be a dad from that place, because I don't want to raise kids to think they have to earn my affection. You know, that doesn't work so well. Jeff Zaugg [00:11:33] But if we're operating and believing ourselves then we're naturally going to raise kids that are trying to earn because they're seeing a dad who's earning. How would you coach, counsel the dads listening, that that heard what you just said, those promises that you are enough, you're a son of God, you are loved that still are just like hear those words, I know that's true in my mind, but I'm still having a hard time walking in believing that's true. Is there just any like what are the next steps for them to start to really walk in that truth and that identity? Nick Hall [00:12:03] I think you got to slow down, you know, you got to slow down. I think people are. I'm reading a book right now and and it's called it's called The Life of the Beloved. And it's it's interesting because it's this Catholic kind of priest, I guess, and he's writing to a secular Jew and he's trying to describe to this secular Jew what life with God looks like. And so it's just the context of it's really fascinating in general. But he describes prayer in the book as he says, prayer is being quiet enough to hear, like, the good things that God says about you. And it's something about like just am I still enough to hear like that the negative voices subside? And I actually I think we're afraid of silence and we're afraid of quiet and we're afraid of not doing because then we think the voices of shame and guilt are going to come in. And I think that's real, but I just think there's something about being willing to confront the false truths that we have built our lives upon. So I think the silence is a part of it. I think slowing down is a part of it. I also think like having a coach or a guide or a mentor or some older person in your life that you would pray for that. You know, I'm a firm believer in counselors. I'm a firm believer in, you know, like just having people who are further down that can help you see through it all. Like, I think as men we feel like I need to have I need to know. Right. That's the old cliche of the guy won't look at the map. And I know where I'm going. I know where I'm going, you know. And it's like I think there just has to be a humility of saying like. And I'm a little overwhelmed. Maybe I'm believing some lies about myself. And I want to be OK to let God move in that space and I want to let some others into that because we do that. I mean, the news flash for people hearing might be you are not alone in thinking that way like we all feel often. Yes. Overwhelmed. What the crap am I doing? Don't let them see. Don't let them know. What the what is happening, insert any swearword you want to use, and it's just that's real, like you were not made to do it alone, you were made to have brothers in arms. You were made to be seen and known and loved by God to know that you're not going to make him love you more if you do more good stuff, but just learning that that is like you have to have others with you, you have to slow down the machine. You have to confront those things that aren't right. And and it is work. It's work. But the work is worth doing. Yeah. Because for me it's like, man, I want the broken things that I grew up with, like I want as much as I can I would love for those to end with me. You know, like, I don't want to pass on dysfunction, right? So I need to heal and I need to grapple and I need to ask the Holy Spirit to minister to me and I need some older men in my life that can be things for me that maybe I wasn't modeled growing up. Right. And yeah. And God's enough for that. Jeff Zaugg [00:15:29] And I just would let that pause for a moment on God is enough because we so often if we can just rest in that. Now, I do believe that our Heavenly Father loves seeing us as dads live with deep passion, deep conviction, live with urgency, purpose, on mission. And something I admire about you, Nick, is a deep conviction, a deep, purposeful I have a mission that God has given me. It's the classic, right? The Blues Brothers. I'm on a mission from God. Yes. Movie Chicago. Nick Hall [00:16:02] We are on a mission from God. Jeff Zaugg [00:16:03] Yeah, yeah, exactly. The collective. So as I researched even for this conversation, a few mutual friends, they're like, well, check out his email signature line for the last 15 years on mission. Am I right? Is that. Yeah. So so there is a shadow side of if we're on mission out of earning God's love. That's what we just talked about, is there's a shadow side to just giving ourselves fully to the work the Lord. And if it's if it is leaving again, a wake or leaving emptiness inside because we're operating out of our fulfillment comes when we do things. Yeah, but there's also, I believe many dads listening need a nudge to ask your Heavenly Father, what is the area? What makes you cry? Because. Right. Tears are often connected deeply, very closely to deep passions, convictions, calling. Talk a little bit about, well one, the thing that that breaks your heart that you've given your life to. So what is your mission? What do you mean when you say on mission and then two, why is it important for dads to live with deep conviction like that? Nick Hall [00:17:00] Yeah, well, I just think ultimately the pinnacle of the Christian faith comes down to...right, like following Jesus. Am I following Jesus? And then as a dad like my call then is to am I following Jesus and am I leading my family to follow Jesus? Right. And so when I talk about on mission, you know, biblically, I would say I'm an evangelist. All that means is I really feel called and an urgency and a God given passion that I, I always will prioritize a lost person over a saved one. Right. So, like, if I'm in a room of people and everybody looks normal and somebody else is in the corner, that doesn't look normal. That's, my whole life I've gone to the corner, whether that was an international kid in my school or the person that acts funny or smells funny or whatever, like I just have I have a predisposition. But part of that, I would say my purpose in being who I am is that I'm supposed to encourage the believers who that's not their thing to say, hey, man, there's people, and they're one conversation away, they need somebody just like you. And so as a parent, because my kids aren't even that way like that, doesn't get calling, doesn't get passed down, right? It's like my kids all have their unique God given calling. My wife has her unique God given calling. And they encourage me in some ways and I encourage them in some ways. But for me, it's like the mission that I'm on is are we living our life to point people to Jesus or does our life look like everybody else's? Do we make the same decision? Do we think the same way? Like it gets into the weeds for me of like, man, do our kids know that like we live where we live for a reason? Do they know that we go on a trip here instead of on a trip there because we are on mission? Do they know that the reason they didn't get that toy and they get this toy instead? Like I want to ask, like, really in the weeds questions of just say, man, like, does my life point to the fact that this isn't my home, you know, and so I just think, like that is the mission that that I want to... But you're right. It's like, where is that coming from? You know, is that coming from a place of like security and hope and being connected to the vine? Or is that coming from a place of, you know, I need people to see that I'm doing this? And I think there has been certainly like parts where I've now realized, man, there was like some broken things there, you know, but now it's like almost being able to redeem those parts of the story because God always uses us in spite of us. Like, that's his only choice. Right? If he only used, like, the whole really good ones in the group, like, he wouldn't have options, you know? And so, like, it's we're we're all there. But I do just think that there's this exciting opportunity that we have to change our neighborhoods to change the sports teams our kids are on, you know, to claim the ground beneath our feet and to welcome our family into that mission as well. Jeff Zaugg [00:20:10] So in every every dad listening, that is a follower of Jesus is invited into that mission that you just described and for sure will link out to all all the resources you guys create, and are ongoing creating to help empower us to share the gospel. There's a home front mission to that to that challenge, that invitation as well. How is that looked with your with your kids taking and helping them realize the gift that Jesus is and salvation for your kids? Nick Hall [00:20:39] Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's daily, you know, trying to talk through Bible stories and songs and trying to welcome them into praying. You know, we pray every every day, every night for, you know, relatives that don't know Jesus. I mean, our my wife's dad is somebody we've been praying for and, you know, and even losing my sister for my kids, auntie Jenny, like, that was just such an opportunity to talk about heaven and where's our home and what matters in life. And and so, yeah, I mean, I just would say, like, we just try to we're trying to be as intentional as we can. You know, obviously, every kid is different. Their questions are different, their needs are different. But it's just are we prioritizing this in them like in them? The Holy Spirit's there. They sometimes they speak in ways that's like holy. That was like so crazy that. Yes. You know, and so even listening, like even realizing, like, my role as a parent isn't just to, like, teach them, but it's also for me to be taught because it's like, you know, Jesus said, right, unless you have faith like a child. And there is something about that simplicity that we lose in in the journey of life, we get jaded, we start to doubt and our kids remind us not God can do anything right, like my my daughter. I remember when she was like two or three, she pointed up at the the sky and she told me that the clouds were God's shoes. And the trees were God's grass. You know, and I just remember looking up and thinking like, man. Like, that is so beautiful and. Like, yeah, I guess that kind of could be, you know, it's like that's a big God, you know. Jeff Zaugg [00:22:22] So I'd love to back up and talk about your dad, what you experienced as a and are still experiencing as a son and areas that you're like, I'm trying to take the same path. I saw some things modeled, but I'm doing the same thing as my dad. And then if there's a couple areas that, like you've chosen to add intentionality or go a different route with some of the areas of your dad life compared, not in comparison that it has to be better, but just different different areas to your dad. Nick Hall [00:22:48] Yeah, yeah. I would say some things that my dad taught me that I'm really thankful for. My dad was was really present, you know, like it just I would just say he was around a lot like and I recognize like how unique that was. But just, you know, my dad was there, like he would come and catch, you know, the baseball or like come and rebound for me if we were playing hoops. And, you know, like, he was just he was a presence in my in my childhood. And so just knowing that, like, stability like that was really big. The other thing I really learned from my dad is like just work ethic, you know, like my dad was like he's a tireless worker, like even to this day, like, well, just hard to get him to sit still. And I just think, like that really taught me the value of doing a good job and having integrity in what you do. And, you know, when you say you're going to do it, you get it done and you do it well. And, you know, and I think for me, like I really wanted, I mean, even to this day, like I want my dad to be proud of me because his voice matters a lot to me, right. And so so those are some like good things. I think some things that that I wish maybe were different. I've just recognized, you know, as you get older, like, you know, my dad, you know, and I think a lot of our dads, a lot of our parents maybe didn't come from the best backgrounds. Right. My grandpa was a really rough, just rough guy. And like, I don't think my dad got a lot of affection. And so we didn't you know, there wasn't a lot of hugs. And I think I think actually that touch makes my dad uncomfortable, you know, and then there wasn't a lot of words. Right. And so which is interesting because then, you know, insert little Nick and I'm like words and touch your my like, love languages. Yeah, right. And so so I think those have always been like areas that the devil can come in and make me feel like I'm not enough because maybe I wasn't getting that, you know. And so because I wasn't getting this. Try harder, try harder, try harder, try harder, you know, and for me it's like the only time I would get a word or touch is sports because then at least I get a pat on the back and a you know, hey, good job, whatever, want to get a little touch and a little word, you know, but I just think it's so interesting, like when you look at your life and you see how your needs, even as a child and my needs are very different from my younger brother. They're very different from my my sister who passed. Right. But just how each of these individual humans, and now I'm shepherding three yeah, right, of just like man, I want to be just mindful of, as best as I can, like, what is it, how do they need, you know, to know that I love them or see them or respect them or. And you know, and I kind of wish that maybe there was more like being inclined to that, right, that I don't know that my dad maybe ever thought about because he was just busy. You know, it's it's the negative side of our strengths, right? My dad's strength is he's a super hard worker and he's always doing. And he's around, but it's like his weaknesses when he's around, he's probably not like fully present or maybe not even able to be emotionally diving in to say, like, hey, how are you? You know, like, I don't know if I've ever been asked that from my dad. Right. Like, no, but how are you really? I can tell you're not OK. Yeah. You know, so anyway, there's there's always learning, you know. Jeff Zaugg [00:26:36] Yeah, but it is the reflection process I think does make us more purposeful because we can learn from both the the lack and learn from the really good. Totally. You have mentioned a couple times role models, mentors, heroes, used even that phrase and some of I know were real in real close proximity to your life. And some you were watching how they lived and maybe even reading from them, or have you always been drawn to kind of these people is a step ahead. They're going after a mission that was, you know, of a shared passion like I was that looked for you having mentors, role models, heroes. Yeah. Nick Hall [00:27:12] I just think that like it maybe it's just because of my background with sports or just whatever, but like, there's just always been people that have been a teacher or a coach or somebody, you know, when I was a kid. And I just think, like, there's always somebody who's doing what you want to be doing or somebody who you would like to look more like. Right. And so for me, I just think, like one of the secrets of life is getting people, and getting around people who are a step ahead. Right? Who are further down the road, like, who can help you see your blind spots. And and I'll say this like I learned some negative truths early on because I actually went out on a limb and asked some people to mentor me or disciple me or whatever, and then like nothing happened. And so, like, I kind of internalized as a young leader, if you're going to make it, you got to make it on your own. Right. And so then I was almost like it almost backfired on me, which really stinks. But the thing that I now realize looking back is I think the majority of the leaders above us, they didn't have somebody do that for them. It's true. And so if they didn't have somebody do that for them, it's going to be really hard for them to know what to do for somebody else because they just don't get it. You're speaking a language that they don't speak. So in some ways, it's as much on us as those that are wanting the help as it is that those were asking to help to say, here's actually what I would really love if we could just get together for 30 minutes every other week. And I would just love to ask you basic questions about life. All right. And I would love for you to just affirm or give me correction if you see it. Just looking for somebody to see me. Yeah. You know, but those people have drastically changed my life. And now, you know, now I'm at the point where I just can't get enough. Like, I just, you know, I have two or three people probably every week that I'm literally on the phone with them just to have them speak into my life like that is the role. It's clear I don't have to go in thinking they are going to need me to do something for them, because that's not so helpful. You know, I'm literally coming in as the needy one, you know, and that's OK because I have 50 conversations where the other presides the needy one. Right. And I just realize, like, if my tank isn't being filled and if I don't have people helping me, I call we call it checking the gauges, you know, then inevitably we're all going to, you know, fall apart. Jeff Zaugg [00:29:41] Is this one of the 50 conversations that I'm taking for. Nick Hall [00:29:44] No, no, this is good. Jeff Zaugg [00:29:46] The plane is landing and you've got someone next to you, young dad, who's eager to learn. And they're like, hey, give me either books to read. Give me suggestions for areas to put a little extra focus, a little bit of rapid fires, top of mind. What would you give to that young, eager dad of just pass along? You know, again, your oldest is eight, so it's like me. We're still learning so much. But anything you'd pass along to that dad? Nick Hall [00:30:09] Yeah, I mean, I just think, like community, you need you need a group of friends around you. You know, I would say, you know, and what I mean is like other families that are at the same place, but you got to prioritize that like other families, like where you and your spouse are both getting some friend support in that community. I really think it's important to be real, like somebody has to change the community and take it to places where you're actually talking about things that matter. Like, it's really easy to waste that time and it's just fun time or hang time, and that's great. But I think until somebody starts to say, hey, can we talk about, like, the fact that our marriage is really struggling or our oldest is really a pain in the butt. We want to kill them, you know, just whatever like somebody has to take it to a place real and then and then honestly, like, then it's like the dam breaks and now it's like, OK, now we can all talk like this. Oh my gosh, I've been there. My little one is just a little I'm convinced it's devil, it's Lucifer incarnate. I'm not sure how we're going to make it, you know, but I just think that community that's intentional. So, like, I would encourage people to pray for that for sure. Pursue that. And if you don't have it, be a leader in helping it happen to help build it, because it needs to happen. Also would certainly encourage like you need somebody above you, like I would pray, actively pray. And I'm not pretending this is easy because it's not. But just like anything else in your life, like the things that are worth having are the things that are worth working for. You've got to find some older men or an older man that you want to sit under and listen to like it's a game changer. You will never go the same. And then, yeah, I would also just say, like a church community, you know, that you can be plugged into and where you're being fed. You know, I think the biggest thing that we all need individually is just like am I am I personally being connected to the word of God, the spirit of God, the people of God? Because if I don't have like an inflow, like if I don't have an inflow from truth from God, if I don't have an inflow of truth from my community and if I don't have an inflow of like somebody kind of helping me see through this, like, personally, I feel really lost. Right. And so those are just be three things that that I think are super crucial lifelines. Jeff Zaugg [00:32:30] Yeah. Any any just last things that you were hoping to share. Nick Hall [00:32:34] Yeah. I just would encourage you. Like, I think the the greatest challenge of being a parent is realizing and letting God parent you. And, you know, the best way to love your kids is to realize that you're the beloved son of God, you know, and that's what this book, you know, that I've been reading is talking about and I was just reflecting on first John, and just how great is the love the fathers lavished on us that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are. And I just think reflecting on that, like, how great is the love that the father has lavished on us? And this book I'm reading, this life of the beloved. He says that we are all called. So I just want to speak this over you. As you're listening, like you are called of God, you are called of God. He knows you by name. He loves you. He sees you. He chose you. You are the chosen of God. The second thing that this book talks about was that you are blessed. You are blessed, you are beloved and blessed. And if you need to rest in that, realize that, God, he is singing over you and that he is for you, that his power is made perfect in your weakness. The third part is that brokenness that we are broken, but that brokenness can be a gift. It can be something that God breaks us so that he can give us out, and that brokenness is a great gift that that made you who you are and that God is going to redeem and give beauty for ashes. And the last part is this, that you're given. That our lives get to be given away. And so he uses those four terms he talks about in terms of communion, that communion is taken or chosen. It is blessed, it is broken and it is given. And that that's the cycle that we get to live on so that God, he welcomes us, calls us. And yeah. So I don't know. I just think like leaning into that, resting in that, delighting in that. And even like one thing that I said about understanding my relationship with God, the thing that I have to work at is doing things for no reason other than to feel the delight of my father. And it's like, what are those things for me, like I have to go fishing a couple of times a year, but I have to be intentional with it, my purpose for doing it is that I would be sitting in the boat. And look across the water and realize that God loves me. You know, I also have started even woodworking, you know, and the reason I do it, I do it and I just feel God's delight in me of something that doesn't matter. But it's just like that helps me be a better dad. The more I realize that God just delights in me, in the little things that other people would say doesn't matter. But for me, it's like, man, it does matter because God made this to be enjoyed. And then I want to love my kids in the midst of stuff that is big and small. Jeff Zaugg [00:35:40] Thank you so much for joining us for Episode one hundred and seventy one with Nick Hall. As I mentioned earlier, you can join the mom awesome challenge by texting 651-370-8618 and just simply include the key word mom or challenge or again, the heart emoji. Any of those ways will get you into the momAWESOME challenge starting May 1st. It's a nine day challenge leading up to May 9th, Mother's Day. Again, ways, specific ways that we can pray for encourage that we can chase the heart of our wife. Thriving marriages are the setup for us as dads to become DadAWESOME. So if you're married, be a part of this challenge. It's going to be I believe it. It has been every year a game changer of orienting. Hey, guys, it matters in the dad life to pursue a thriving marriage. And this is our third year. So again, the numbers, 651-370-8618. He said a text message there with the key word, mom, and you'll be a part of the momAWESOME challenge. Oh, the show notes, all the action steps from today's conversation. The conversation with Nick Hall, are going to be found at DadAWESOME.org/171. As you can find, all those action steps, show notes and the transcripts from today's episode. Pulse.org is his organization that he founded and definitely check out their website and all the resources they have over there at Pulse. Hey, guys, thanks for joining us today. I really appreciate you guys being a part of this movement, a part of our DadAWESOME community. Thanks also for sharing this episode or other episodes, inviting other dads into into the momAWESOME challenge. Your invite is powerful when it comes to expanding and multiplying the mission of DadAWESOME. So simply text another dad DadAWESOME.org for all the resources there or text them again. Hey, you should join this mom awesome challenge thing and just send them the 651-370-8618. So tell them to send a text message to that number with the the word "mom" in that text. All right, that's it guys. Thank you for being a part this week. Let's go add some life to the dad life.