Dad Tired

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He spent years building a creative career, only to watch it completely unravel.
He assumed he could fix it, hustling harder to avoid going backwards financially.
That was his story.
For years, author Doug McKelvey chased commercial success as a songwriter and scriptwriter—until a devastating season in his late 40s stripped away his pride. In that dark place, he realized how inadequate his ability to truly love his family was without Jesus.
Until a season of brokenness changed everything.
In this powerful and deeply honest episode, the author of Every Moment Holy shares his journey from career failure to spiritual surrender. He explains how losing his commercial ambition birthed a movement of finding God in the mundane.
You’ll hear:
The painful reality of watching your career and finances fall apart.
Why our inability to love others well points us back to our desperate need for Jesus.
How God uses seasons of failure to gracefully strip away our ego and pride.
The deeply personal, difficult story behind the creation of Every Moment Holy.
How to actually see the sacred in the ordinary, everyday moments of fatherhood.
This episode is for the man whose plans have fallen apart. For the man who feels like his ability to love falls short. For the man who misses the holy in the everyday. God is in the mundane.
Strong families begin with healed men.
Today's Sponsor: Cozy Earth

For years, Dad Tired founder Jerrad Lopes has dreamed about taking dads and their families on a mission trip together. In this episode, he shares an exciting new opportunity for Dad Tired families to serve alongside him and his own family in Guatemala in October 2026.
The trip will partner with the missions organization Adventures in Missions to serve local communities outside Guatemala City. Families will have opportunities to participate in meaningful work such as serving in children’s programs, supporting local ministries, building safer cooking stoves for families, and potentially helping build a home for someone in need. 
But this trip is about more than service projects. It’s about expanding perspective, strengthening faith, and helping dads and their kids experience the global Church together. Jerrad shares why these kinds of trips can be spiritually transformative and why he believes every Christian family should consider stepping outside their comfort zone to see what God is doing around the world. 
Because this is the first Dad Tired mission trip, the team will be intentionally small—only 6–7 families total. In this episode, Jerrad explains the vision for the trip, what families can expect, and how listeners can apply to join.
Learn more and apply:
dadtired.com/missions

Host a conference at your church: LEARN MORE
There’s a pattern in Scripture that shows up again and again:
See.
Desire.
Take.
From Adam to David… and now to us.
In this episode, Jerrad sits down with Joel Muddamalle about the unseen spiritual realities shaping our homes—and how everyday temptations (work, lust, alcohol, ambition) fit into a much bigger story.
If you’ve ever felt like something deeper is at work beneath the surface of your struggles, this conversation will help you put language to it.
Strong families begin with healed men.
And healed men learn not to take what was never theirs.
Today's Sponsor: Courage For Life Men's Study Bible

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Most men don’t believe freedom is possible.
They assume they’ll carry shame, addiction, and secrets for the rest of their lives.
That was his story too.
For years, he struggled silently with porn, lust, and shame—even while loving his wife, following Jesus, and doing everything he thought a “good Christian man” was supposed to do.
Until one conversation changed everything.
In this powerful and deeply honest episode, a Dad Tired listener shares his journey from secrecy to freedom, from hiding to truth, and from addiction to healing.
You’ll hear:
• The moment he realized his marriage was in danger
• Why white-knuckling never leads to real freedom
• How honest community changed everything
• The surprising cost of becoming a truth teller
• What freedom actually feels like on the other side
This episode is for the man who feels stuck.
For the man who thinks he’ll never change.
For the man who’s tired of hiding.
Freedom is possible.
Strong families begin with healed men.

If you feel like you’re drowning right now… this one’s for you.
Trying to follow Jesus with integrity.
Trying to love your wife well.
Trying to disciple your kids.
Trying to provide and carry the weight of responsibility.
That’s four heavy bags already.
And then the world keeps asking for more.
More opinions.
More commitments.
More distractions.
More “opportunities.”
In today’s episode, we talk about why it’s okay to say, “My hands are full.”
Why you don’t have to carry every bag handed to you.
And why saying no might be one of the most faithful things you do.
Strong families begin with healed men.
Sometimes healing looks like limits.