It only takes one loving father to change the course of generations - and one perfectly heavenly Father to begin the process.
This episode explores the transformative impact of being a present father and how that can shape our children's lives and their choices. This episode is an invitation to explore the profound, life-changing realm of fatherhood, and how to make the father difference in your family.
So, join us, share this episode with loved ones, and let's create that difference together.
Check out my Link tree for a special Gift for you.
Want to become the father you were meant to be? Check out my free resources that will encourage and equip you to make the most significant difference you can.
It only takes one loving father to change the course of generations - and one perfectly heavenly Father to begin the process.
This episode explores the transformative impact of being a present father and how that can shape our children's lives and their choices. This episode is an invitation to explore the profound, life-changing realm of fatherhood, and how to make the father difference in your family.
So, join us, share this episode with loved ones, and let's create that difference together.
Check out my Link tree for a special Gift for you.
Want to become the father you were meant to be? Check out my free resources that will encourage and equip you to make the most significant difference you can.
https://linktr.ee/edmcglasson
Rob McQuay:
Welcome to the Father Difference Podcast, where we help men learn how to be the Father they were meant to be so that their children can live the life that God has made them for. Each week, you'll find new podcasts and interviews with men who want to make the biggest difference they can. Your host, pastor Ed Tandy McLassen, has been teaching and equipping men in events and conferences for the last 41 years in 14 different countries, and now here's Ed.
Ed McGlasson:
What kind of dad do you want to be remembered for? What do you want your children to say about you when they're standing over you, when you've got tulips planted in the ground? I know what I want. I want to be. I want them to say my dad made a difference. He laid his life down for me. He helped me conquer things that I was afraid of. He was there watching me from the stands. He was. There was no question in my mind that my dad loved me because he showed it. He said it, and I've always wanted to be just like my dad.
Ed McGlasson:
Imagine you hearing that from heaven. How about if you were to hear that on earth and one of your friends called you and said I've just spent time with your son and he is an extraordinary man. He's just like you or your daughter, and she's so secure that she chooses a future spouse and she says I've just. You're just like my dad. I didn't know when I first started to father that I was modeling the kind of man my daughter would choose. I didn't know that I was also modeling the kind of man that my sons would be. I learned so many things and realized that I needed to be that guy. I needed to learn how to make those hard choices that you got to make when you're busy and there's so many things and your sons waiting for you.
Ed McGlasson:
I remember being in that moving escalator many years ago, walking behind a man who was wearing one of those fancy Gucci suits. And I was walking behind him and he was on the phone with his wife and he said I know, I know I've made this promise over and over again, but tell my son I promise I won't miss the next game. I just got one more deal I got to do. I could hear her trying to convince him to change his mind, but he was already at the airport and he hangs up. I think he noticed me because my football player size was making that moving walkway bounce up and down. And he gets to the end of the escalator and says did you hear that? I said I sure did. You know, sir, can I say something to you? You could make all the money in the world, you can get this next deal and every deal after, but if you lose the heart of your son, you're going to feel like one of the poorest men in your whole neighborhood. And he looked at me and it just I could see something going on and he smiled at me. He turned around and headed out of the airport to make his son's game.
Ed McGlasson:
That was a touchdown for me when we make those decisions to choose to be present with our children when they need us most, over all the other things that we have to do. I know you got to make money, you got to deal with the economy, you got to do that but could it be that God's blessing towards you maybe gets held up because of your focus of trying to make it all the time instead of one of the greatest gifts that God has given you and has to be a father? You might have blown it as a dad. Well, guess what? It's never too late. You could have been a deadbeat dad or not there at all, or you could have done the best you could. Your children will hang on every one of those little moments.
Ed McGlasson:
You've done so many end-of-life memorial services for a lot of dads who seem to be dying a lot earlier than the moms do, and they're searching for words. I did one the other day, just searching for words. Well, I know that my dad loved me. He wanted to work every day to provide a living for us, and so I look at them and there's that look where the kids' siblings are together, trying to share about their experience with their dad, looking for something to hang onto that they can carry, without their dad being there at all. I learned something that's profound that on this side of heaven, for you and for me as a father, our words really matter, our time really matters, and if you want to learn how to be the most powerful and the most wealthy man in your neighborhood, it might never hit your bank account, you might have to drive an old beater car, but if you'll sew your life into your children, my friend, and be the best father that God wants you to be, you'll make a difference, not only for your children, but you're going to make a difference right for your grandkids too, and I want to share this little anecdote that just it almost makes me weep and talking about it again.
Ed McGlasson:
It was a number of Christmases ago and my grandkids or I didn't mention that I had number 13 grandchild this week but when we were a smaller family and only had eight grandkids, my kids are all over for or Christmas. We had mattresses all over the floor and they were all playing. And they do what kids do they're fighting, they're stealing their toys from one another at Christmas. And I'm watching my children. You know, as a grandpa, what do we do? We kind of kick them back in the ring. We wait for them to deal with it right. And I was watching and they were sharing things with my grandkids that I had to learn, like asking for forgiveness, not saying I'm sorry, and remember Jessica telling her son you go over to your sister and ask for forgiveness. And he went over and they hugged. And I'm watching this and I'm watching them leading and speaking life into my grandkids and realizing that the whole field of them doing this, of running around my house, had already been played by their dad.
Ed McGlasson:
God did something powerful on me when I really wasn't a good father, when I was really a broken dad. He did something profound in me that healed that core identity of how I saw myself and I learned how to make the father a difference in my kids. Because God, the father, made his difference in me and I just wanted to record this short little podcast to tell you that it's never too late for you to be the best version of dad you can be for your kids. It's the one thing that will break down the craziness and the wickedness of this culture that's trying to come in and name our kids, change their identity, even their gender. The guy who carries the most authority with his wife, other than it's not political people. They can do whatever they want to do, but at the end of the day, the guy who has the voice that helps a son or a daughter define their future is your voice, dad, the power of your voice. And how do I know that? Because when I learned how to connect to God, the Father, like Jesus did, matter of fact, in 2 Corinthians 6, 18, the scripture says and I'll be a father to you and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord, god Almighty.
Ed McGlasson:
I remember reading that verse and I just. My prayer was I need you to be my dad too, god, I need you to be my father because I'm missing stuff. You feel like you're missing stuff. Even though your dad was a great guy, you're still making fathering about you. It's just so easy to do. I got to tell you. It rocked me many years ago. As a matter of fact, it so rocked me sharing this podcast with you and spoken in 14 different countries and stood in front of thousands and thousands of men who have been or being told every day that you don't have what it takes. But I got to tell you in Christ, you can make a difference. You can make the father difference in your family. You can change the course of your family, and even this.
Ed McGlasson:
A second great miracle is that you can also get your wife to start liking you again. I know my wife loves me. She tells me all the time, but when she likes me it's like a really, really good day, because when she doesn't like me you've heard me sing this song before Ain't no sunshine when she's home. Oh, it's such an honor for me to share with you. I'm so grateful that you've tuned into our podcast. Would you share this with your friends? Share about the father difference, because we're going to provide the best we can to help you really connect and be the father that you were meant to be.
Ed McGlasson:
This podcast is also for moms, so just shout out to all you moms out there and you really want your husbands to connect to your kids. My wife is tuned into where my kids are. She always has been, and I was like I didn't seem to get those antennas, how about you, guy? But God did something to me, even with my wife, which was an amazing thing, which is for another podcast episode. But not only is she a great partner and help you connect to your kids emotionally the way you need to Moms. I got to tell you I have I can't tell you how many men who maybe you divorced and are no longer in your home with your kids. They've learned how to go back and be that father that you always wanted them to be. And so, man, it's never too late, and I'm so grateful that you are listening to me. I'm so grateful that you have searched and found this place. Would you follow me on this channel, subscribe to our channel? Would you share with your friends?
Ed McGlasson:
Because if we hear from the Lord during these days and make a father different with our kids, a miracle can happen in our family culture. The miracle that we really need and I wish I could tell you it comes from Washington. They probably need it more than anybody else, so many of those political leaders. They need an encounter with God, the Father, through the perfect love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Can I pray for you now and your family, father? I just thank you for my friend who's watching. I pray you would bless them with every spiritual blessing they need. You would bless them with the how-to's of being the Father they were meant to be.
Ed McGlasson:
I'm so grateful that you've drawn them in and I pray, father, that you would give them a breakthrough with their daughters and with their sons even those who have been lost to the world or the culture that they wouldn't spend any more days beating themselves up for not being the best dad they could be, but that today is the best day to take a step to being the best dad that your children need you to be, and I pray that you would heal their families in profound ways across the world.
Ed McGlasson:
For those who are watching and listening. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen, thanks again. As a special gift for you, if you go to the bio, there's a book that difference a father makes, that believe it or not. We've had over 400 and think 50,000 people download it or get that book, and it's my free gift to you to get a digital PDF. Read it, and there's even a coaching moment that you can sign up for absolutely free. I can help you take a step towards the biggest giant that you're facing now is a man, father in your family. God bless you.
Rob McQuay:
We hope you enjoyed the father difference podcast. Are you ready to learn more about the father difference? But we have a special gift for you in the bio to help you get started. Remember the father loves you and wants you to make the father difference in your family.