🍕🤼‍♂️ Pizza nights. Wrestling matches. Honest talks about sex, phones, and finding the right wife.

✅ Why Tuesday wrestling nights built more than just muscle
✅ The 18th birthday dinner where 4 friends said the exact same thing (and it wasn't planned)
✅ How to talk about sex early and often without shame
✅ Why delaying phones until driving age might be the move
✅ The story of the Sons of Korah and rewriting your family legacy

SUMMARY
What does it look like to raise teenage boys who become strong men of character? In this episode, Carl Cartee—songwriter, speaker, and dad of four sons—shares how weekly wrestling nights, honest sex talks, and delayed technology built a foundation of trust in his home. You'll hear the story of his son's 18th birthday dinner where four friends said the same surprising thing, why he wishes someone had told him about choosing a spouse differently, and how the Sons of Korah can change your entire perspective on fatherhood legacy.

TAKEAWAYS

• Wrestling nights and messy pizza-making weren't just fun—they were intentional time in your presence that builds connection and dignity in your sons.
• The simplicity of being invited into God's work as a father takes the pressure off perfection and puts the focus on faithfulness.
• Early and often conversations about sex, desire, and God's design create safety and health instead of shame and secrecy.
• Choosing a spouse isn't just about attraction at 25—it's about finding someone you genuinely like being with through every season of life.
• Your family legacy isn't determined by what you inherited from your fathers—through Christ, you're rewriting the story for your kids.

GUEST

Carl Cartee is a songwriter, speaker, and worship leader from Franklin, Tennessee. He's written over 150 songs for artists including Elevation Worship and Oak Ridge Boys. Carl and his wife, Heather, host the podcast "Married to Someone Who's Nothing Like You" and are passionate about helping marriages thrive. They have four sons ranging from 14 to 19 years old. Carl loves creativity, adventure, and pointing people to Jesus through music, art, and authentic conversation.

TOP QUOTES

• "God has dignified me by inviting me into His work through my sons. If it turns out great, awesome. But even if there are no guarantees these boys go up and to the right for the rest of their life, I cherish being invited in."
• "Together is better—not just in the great times, but when you feel shame, when you didn't score any points. There's a different outcome when you do that alone versus when you do it with somebody who's there for you on the mountaintop or in the valley."
• "Don't marry somebody that you necessarily think is sexy right now. Look for somebody that you like being with. Because when it comes to seasons of life and circumstances throughout the course of a marriage, you might be married to two or three different women."
• "Shame as a young man was an absolute killer. It was an absolute destroyer of relational connection and intimacy. When the boys bring their struggles to us instead of harboring that shame, it speaks of health in that area."
• "No matter what heritage you have, if God is your refuge and strength, there is nothing from your past, nothing from the generations before you that you cannot undo through the power of worship and trusting in the Lord. You are rewriting legacy."

VOICE MESSAGE - leave us a 90-second question or comment or fedback... Start with your first name and where you are from: https://www.speakpipe.com/DadAwesome

🏋️ Want to become a stronger dad? It starts with doing hard things—together.

✅ How to stay emotionally strong when your teenager isn't in the mood to talk

✅ Why opposition is actually a gift (even when it feels impossible)

✅ The power of gamifying life and creating playful memories with your kids

✅ How a simple bike ride and croissant can become a weekly rhythm your son will remember forever

OVERVIEW

What if the obstacles you're facing right now are exactly what you need to grow stronger as a dad? In this episode, Zac Ernst shares how opposition builds your overcome muscle, why emotional strength matters more than ever with teenagers, and how a simple Tuesday morning bike ride can change everything. Plus, he opens up about losing half his income the month after doubling his mortgage—and the moment God broke through his fear with joy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Emotional strength means staying steady through your kids' ups and downs rather than riding their emotional roller coasters.
• Opposition and hard things aren't obstacles to avoid—they're opportunities to fortify your faith muscle and show your kids what trust looks like.
• Play isn't optional for dads. It connects you to childlikeness, creates lasting memories, and reminds you that joy is found in pointless moments without outcomes.
• Three out of five men have no one to call in crisis. Finding your tribe and suffering together breaks isolation and builds unshakeable bonds.
• Your worry as a dad is like a five-year-old worrying about taxes—God's got this, and freedom comes when you open your hands and trust Him.

LINKS

• Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome
• Learn about the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort
• Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort: Email awesome@dadawesome.org
• Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618
• Pursuit Official Website https://joinpursuit.co/
• Zip Chip (favorite toy for play)
• Wild at Heart by John Eldredge

QUOTES

1. "Your fear and worry right now is equivalent to your five-year-old worrying about taxes."
2. "For a child, 15 minutes can be a lifelong memory. For us, it's a blink—but for them, it's forever."
3. "The most vulnerable man on the sand is the strongest. Let's eliminate shallow conversation and get to the heart quickly."
4. "Play isn't pointless—it's for joy. Men forget to have moments with no responsibility, no outcome, just pure fun."
5. "Every time we go through something challenging, we fortify something in our minds that tells us: I have what it takes. Jesus will get me through this."

• How to pass the 4 pillars of manhood to your kids
• Why celebrating vulnerability matters more than perfect discipline
• How to normalize hard conversations about sex, money, and struggle
• The long view: Becoming a tender-hearted grandpa starts now

FULL SHOW NOTES

LEARN about joining the Fall 2025 DadAwesome Accelerator Cohorts

Some days you feel like a C-grade dad, and that's when presence matters most. In this episode, Josh Krehbiel shares how he's learning to create emotional safety for his kids, celebrate vulnerability over performance, and pursue the long view of becoming a tender-hearted grandfather. You'll hear about the four pillars of manhood, why crock-pot freedom beats microwave solutions, and how to get to the rocking chair with love on your heart.

• Marking moments matter: Creating manhood ceremonies and intentional milestones leaves lasting impressions on your kids, even if the follow-up isn't perfect.
• Celebrate vulnerability first: When your kids fail or confess something hard, make it about their openness before addressing consequences—this builds emotional safety.
• Reject passivity, accept responsibility, lead courageously, and be fueled by the future: These four pillars of manhood provide a framework for raising boys and girls with character.
• Pursue purity as a top priority: The war for purity as a father protects your ability to show physical affection and have compassion without contamination.
• Freedom is crock-pot, not microwave: Breakthrough comes through long-suffering love and staying present, not by trying to manhandle change.

Josh Krehbiel is the lead founding pastor of Every Day Church in Roseville, Minnesota—a community focused on prayer, discipleship, and sending out leaders and movements. Along with his wife Katie, Josh is passionate about raising up the next generation through worship, ministry, and authentic family connection. They have four children: three teenagers and a five-year-old. Josh is also a songwriter and worship leader who believes in the power of declaring truth over families through music and prayer.

• Learn about the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort

• Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618

• Download a free chapter of the DadAwesome book

• Raising Modern-Day Knights by Robert Lewis

• Everyday Church, Roseville, Minnesota

1. "When failure happens we celebrate the vulnerability first because the most important thing is connection and felt safety."
2. "I want to get to the rocking chair with love on my heart and grandkids who say grandpa is kind."
3. "Freedom doesn't happen through manhandling it happens through long suffering love and staying present in the crock pot not microwave."
4. "Your kids don't feel safe because you think they're safe they feel safe when you celebrate their vulnerability over their performance."
5. "The war for purity as a father protects your ability to show physical affection with compassion instead of contamination."