FW Ep 67 Welcome to the Brotherhood of Fathers

FW Ep 67 Welcome to the Brotherhood of Fathers

This book is for fathers. Most of us are not doing a great job and the world has noticed. We've garnered a bad reputation. Spend ten minutes around a group of wives and you are likely to hear a handful of criticisms about some guy's fathering skills. Being a good father is not easy. It doesn't come naturally. Why should dads bother trying? Why are kids important? Why are fathers a necessary part of their lives? Why should we prioritize our kids over our hobbies and work? Is there some goal we are working toward with them or is parenting just haphazard and random? Wouldn't our kids be better off without us? Everyone knows that kids need their mom, but what about dad? Fathers have a unique influence and sizable power to make the world a better place by investing time and energy into building stronger families. What would the world look like if dads stepped up to the challenge of fatherhood? What if they protected their kids from negative influencers instead of inviting them into the cave? The world is in desperate need of good fathers. Father and The Wolves: A Guide to Elevate Fatherhood, Fix Families, and Save the World depicts a new kind of hero, one who takes up the spear and steps into the greatest work of his life. Season one of this podcast ( episodes 1-66) is the serialized version of the book. Each short section is designed to stimulate conversation between fathers and sons and small groups of fathers. The content can also be very helpful for those men gearing up for fatherhood, perhaps as a study during the nine months of your baby's gestation. Whatever your stage of fatherhood, this book is for you. After each brief section a handful of questions are posed to start the process of applying the ideas to real life. I encourage you to keep a notebook of your thoughts, actions steps, and results to help you apply these life-changing ideas better in the midst of busy schedules and short term attention spans. You may start at episode one and take the entire journey, perhaps listening to one section each day during your daily commute. Or skip around by topic. However you listen, I hope it will help you elevate fatherhood in your own lives, so that as we fix our families  we can start to heal the brokenness in our neighborhoods, nation and world. I appreciate your help in spreading this podcast to others by following or subscribing to the podcast. Leaving a five star review, and referring it to your friends and family. Thanks for giving this work legs. I couldn't do it without you. Find the print version of Father and The Wolves at online retailers or request it from your local book store. This book makes an excellent gift for the men in your circle of influence. I appreciate those of you, that have found it helpful, and keep a couple copies on hand for those that need to hear the message that fatherhood is the most important work any man can do. We need to expand the brotherhood of fathers, you are making that happen. Amazon link here: https://www.amazon.com/Father-Wolves-Elevate-Fatherhood-Families/dp/1088024246/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1646923414&sr=8-1 You can find B.T. Higgins at bthiggins.com or the e-mail contact bthigginsbooks@outlook.com [bthigginsbooks@outlook.com]

FW Ep 66 The Father's Journey

We have covered some important ground in this small treatise on fatherhood. In many ways, the journey of a father is the same as that of the hero on a quest. The call to adventure. Supernatural aid. Crossing the threshold into the unknown. Temptations and challenges. Mentors. Helpers. Revelation. Rebirth. Transformation. Atonement. Returning home changed. The only difference is that fatherhood doesn’t feel heroic. It seems ordinary and common, but that is by no means true I hope this book has helped you to see fatherhood through a new set of lenses. The Father’s path is a hero’s journey that every man is challenged to walk. Some men reject the call to adventure, declining to have children or refusing to embrace fatherhood. They pursue pleasure, polish plastic coins, or fail to take their responsibilities seriously. These men become old men, full of regret, having missed their opportunity for greatness. Other men are sidetracked by temptations and challenges, trading counterfeit treasures for a legacy. Some men buckle under the pressure of the many hardships that come with fatherhood. They abandon the quest and leave their families to suffer alone. These men are forever incomplete, empty shells of masculinity, without a greater purpose in life, without a cause to die for. Some men reject the revelation when it comes and never rise from the trials having embraced wisdom. Refusing to transform into a better version of themselves, they do not return home with the elixir. Still others, refuse to confront the monsters within themselves and live to see themselves become the wolf in their own kids’ lives. This is the most tragic end of many fathers. But some fathers will answer the call to adventure, battle through the temptations and trials, be reborn in the crucible of battle, receive the revelation, and be forever transformed into a better version of the man they once were. This kind of father/hero lives to love, protect, prepare, and launch his kids, to equip them to thrive in a dangerous world. He returns from his journey and witnesses the good generational fruit of his labor evident in his children’s children. This father finishes his journey with honor, contentment, and a secure legacy. Which man will you be?

FW Ep 65 The Hundred Year Plan

I recently listened to a podcast where the hosts were debating how to save the world from man-made catastrophic climate change. They questioned whether one person could make any difference or whether the world could only be saved by global action? These apprehensive individuals believed, with extreme religious zeal, that the world was going to spiral into disaster if something, anything, and everything weren’t done. I won’t debate the merits of their arguments here. That is a subject for a different book. But, one of the hosts made a statement so outrageous that it lodged in my memory. They were discussing how an individual might interrupt and change every aspect of their life to protect the earth. One of their personal actions steps was to choose not to have children. Their logic went something like, “People are destroying the earth. Reducing the population will reduce the damage to the planet. It is environmentally wrong to have children. Therefore, if I do not have children, I will be doing my part in saving the world. I am noble and good because of this.” One host condemned the other, in humor, for having already failed in this. Paraphrasing here, “You already have two kids. It’s too late for you, but I am not having kids. I’m still environmentally pure.” To my shock the other host replied with a guilty tone of voice, “I know. I’m sorry,” as if he had sinned and fallen short. How could anyone believe this? I could not fathom the brainwashing needed to view your own children this way. And then, I realized that this is our GIANT DOOR OF OPPORTUNITY! The differences in reproduction rates between people groups are a powerful force through time. Having the advantage of just one more offspring per family can transform a small minority into the majority in a hundred years. Do you have any idea how powerful this tool could be? Let’s look at how a higher birth rate over time can change the culture. In fact, it is the only way to restore freedom to a land that has forgotten its roots. We must raise freedom and truth-lovers, so they can raise freedom and truth-lovers. It’s just math. Consider the following doubling principle. Two parents have four kids. That is replacement plus two. Each of those kids grows up, marries, and has four kids. That’s sixteen grandkids. At the same reproduction rate, those sixteen grandkids lead to sixty-four great-grandchildren. If we can pass on our values well, we can change the course of our world in a hundred years. Unfortunately, it is not as easy as the math indicates. Good values are always just one generation from being lost, for every child and grandchild must choose to embrace the cause of freedom and truth for themselves. That doesn’t happen as automatically as parents would like. But even if reality isn’t as optimistic as my math, we can still change the course of our culture. There are a lot more of us than it appears. I believe it would not take long to turn the tide if we, fathers, take a stand for our families and embrace these principles. Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court. Psalm 127:3-5 NIV

FW Ep 64 Dead Sea Scrolls

In times where wrong is declared right, the principles of this book will be ridiculed, if they are acknowledged at all. They may be discounted or distorted. Our culture has removed the trustworthy bedrock of truth and replaced it with shifting sand. We can expect great trouble in the future as a result. That is why this book is so important. No matter what the culture-as-a-whole does, each of us can build our families on the foundations of Biblical principles. If the whole world disagrees, so be it. Two plus two still equals four. In the course of these chapters, I have leaned heavily on the wisdom of Scripture because it is trustworthy and true. Today, this is considered radical or peculiar by our culture. How strange this seems to me. Only a generation ago the Bible would have been considered, “plain-old common sense.” Two generations ago, it would have been seen as, “The wisdom of the ages.” Before that, “God’s Holy Word.” We have traveled so far from any semblance of moral high ground. Now our culture is building skyscrapers on shifting sand. We are all that remains of those that love truth. We must preserve it so it is not lost. We can be the counter-cultural movement in these relativistic times. Each family is like a safe house on a network leading to freedom, in the vein of the Underground Railroad in the nineteenth century before the Emancipation Proclamation. Let us wage a values revolution in our families. Restore the truth to our homes, preserve the truth through hard times, and spread the knowledge of the truth through our children. By raising our kids according to the principles in this book, we will disrupt the plans of the world. Even if it is just within our four walls, that is enough. We must preserve what is important in the hearts of our children, so it will not be lost. Just as the Bible was preserved in the dry caves at the Dead Sea so it could survive the persecution of that time, let us safeguard these transformational truths for future generations.

FW Ep 63 Values Revolution

When the United States government took silver out of the coins in 1965, the dimes with silver were sifted out of circulation by citizens who recognized that not all dimes were created equal anymore. The value of the dime now depended on what it was made from, not the number stamped on its face. A 1962 dime might look identical to one in 2021, but they are not the same. The silver in one makes it intrinsically more valuable, but the modern ten-cent piece loses around 2-5% of its value every year as the government devalues our currency. Its value bleeds away, year after year. At the time of this writing, one of those silver dimes is worth $1.56, based on the spot price of silver bullion. That is not a great fortune, but it is a great illustration for our families. What is your family made of? Biblical values are akin to the silver in the old dimes. They have intrinsic value and strength that lasts. If you allow the government, big business, and the secular culture to lead, your family will devalue at the same rate as the society you live in. Currently, our nation is abandoning truth and reason at a break-neck pace. If they are influencing your family, you may expect your family to deteriorate along with them. This is unacceptable to me.