318 | Choosing Connection, Using Your Hands for Love, and Creating a Fatherhood Vision (Zack Blair)

DadAwesome

For Zack Blair, walking in unconditional love is the foundation of joyful fatherhood. In this episode, he shares personal experiences and practical examples to show why connecting with your kids matters more than trying to be perfect. And ultimately, how it leads to a parenting approach grounded in thankfulness and love.

Key Takeaways

• Walking in unconditional love is the source of joy and thankfulness.
• How can your children one day remember your heart if you are not intentional to connect with theirs?
• Use your hands to express love, not produce pain.
• You need other men in your corner—not just for you, but also for your kids.

Zack Blair

Zack Blair is an author and the founding pastor of Hill City Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Lauren, have been married for 17 years, have three children, and are foster parents.

Key Quotes

• 35:00 - "An apology, it goes so far with [your children]., Hey, dad's imperfect, but he's trying, and he's taking ownership in the areas that that he missed it. I tell my kids, I'm not going to be a perfect father. I'm going to do some things great. You're going to look back and you're going to say, man, that wasn't so great. Whatever we did great, carry it on. But whatever we didn't do great, fix it and keep on getting better."

• 39:53 - "When you hold your child and you look at them and you feel the pain of, maybe I didn't receive this or I don't know that I received that unconditional love. In every man where we look back on our life with regret, that's an area that if we dig deep and we we allow the Lord to heal and we open up to the right people, that will change our family's trajectory forever. A lot of guys will get stuck in the normal things that society talks about to distract us, but there's a part of us that's unhealed. If we can focus on that part and with kindness and curiosity, just go there and ask the Lord, Lord, when did I accept this lie? Or when did I develop this belief about myself? Or when did I experience this pain and God where were You in those moments? Even with help through counseling and and pastoral guidance, even when the Lord heals that it'll change everything and you will be set free to be the dad that you really want to be. So go there. Be brave enough to go there."

Links from Today’s Conversation

• Learn More About the DadAwesome Accelerator Group
• The Father Code: Codes of a Connected Father by Zack Blair
• Follow Zack Blair on Instagram
• The Father Code YouTube Playlist

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