Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith

This Father’s Day week, we hear from two men whose completely different experiences of childhood and fatherhood led them to the same mission: helping dads show up with intention. Jeff Hamilton, pastor and author of Dad Academy, grew up with the rare gift of an engaged, present father. Today, he’s helping dads build stronger relationships with their children through intentional parenting.

Later in the episode, we hear from Glen Henry, known online as Beleaf in Fatherhood, whose story couldn’t be more different—a childhood marked by feeling unwanted and unloved, and a young adulthood spent shifting his identity just to feel accepted. It was becoming a father himself that finally forced the inner work he’d avoided and how he learned the importance of fathering yourself first.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Jesus Calling Podcast
Jesus Calling
Jesus Always
Jesus Listens
Past interview: Dr. Meg Meeker
Upcoming interview: Dr. Michael Guillén

Jeff Hamilton
Dad Academy
Dad Academy: Raising Courageous, Capable, Confident Kids - Book by Jeff Hamilton

Glen Henry
Beleaf in Fatherhood YouTube Channel
Father Yourself First: Everything You Need to Become the Father Your Family Deserves - Book by Glen Henry

Interview Quotes:
“Kids are going to be kind of self-conscious as they start to compare themselves to the environment or to the relationships that are around them, but our job is not to let their self-worth and value be influenced by an image of what other people want them to be.” - Jeff Hamilton
“There’s inherent greatness in our kids, and it’s our job as parents to nurture it within them.” - Jeff Hamilton
“I think the greatest thing that we can pass on to our kids is the value of serving. We find a sense of significance by the value and benefit that we bring to others.” - Jeff Hamilton
“A dad’s mission is to prepare their kids for life by passing on their values and their skills to their children.” - Jeff Hamilton
“The rituals and traditions of your family are the things that give your children a sense of identity and understanding of who they are and the priorities that they need to establish in the course of their lives.” - Jeff Hamilton
“[Traditions and rituals] create memorable moments that help our kids understand when they move from one stage to another, and it affirms who they are becoming and the future and the destiny that’s ahead for them.” - Jeff Hamilton

“Once I started to grow as a man by having to apply the things that people were trying to teach me my whole life, I recognized the true gift that fatherhood was.” - Glen Henry
“My thought is that you would father yourself out of that and start to change your inner voice so that you always speak to yourself as a father that loves you, just like you love your children.” - Glen Henry
“The way I have been held as a father, I’ve never felt closer to God than I have being a part of a family. You’re collaborating with God on a masterpiece.” - Glen Henry
“There are things hidden in the relationship [with your family] that if you allow it to teach you, you will grow closer to God.” - Glen Henry
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Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel!
Audio Episodes: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7
Bonus Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw
Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C
Peace for Everyday Life: https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj
Peace in Uncertain Times: https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u
What’s Good? https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj
Enneagram: https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY
________________________
Connect with Jesus Calling
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Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Welcome to this special bonus episode of the Jesus Calling Podcast. We’re talking to men who look at their lives as fathers as one of the most important roles they’ll ever have. Our earthly fathers—or the significant father figures in our lives—cast a profound and lasting shadow on who we become. We carry their wisdom, their lessons, and their support as a foundation for our own lives. Yet, for many, that influence also includes painful memories—moments of absence, criticism, or misunderstanding that leave behind wounds and a deep yearning for unconditional acceptance. No human father is perfect, and the imperfections in our relationships can sometimes make it difficult to grasp the concept of a loving Father in heaven. Through prayer and faith, we can allow God’s perfect love to mend the broken places and provide the strength to honor and navigate our relationship with our human fathers.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Jesus Calling Podcast
Jesus Calling
Jesus Always
Jesus Listens

Steven Curtis Chapman & Emily Chapman Richards
Rob Kenney
Kirk Cousins
Jeremy Rosado
Trey Tucker
________________________
Connect with Jesus Calling
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
YouTube
Website
TikTok


*Episode produced by Four Eyes Media*
Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Welcome to this special bonus episode of the Jesus Calling Podcast. We’re talking to men who look at their lives as fathers as one of the most important roles they’ll ever have. Our earthly fathers—or the significant father figures in our lives—cast a profound and lasting shadow on who we become. We carry their wisdom, their lessons, and their support as a foundation for our own lives. Yet, for many, that influence also includes painful memories—moments of absence, criticism, or misunderstanding that leave behind wounds and a deep yearning for unconditional acceptance. No human father is perfect, and the imperfections in our relationships can sometimes make it difficult to grasp the concept of a loving Father in heaven. Through prayer and faith, we can allow God’s perfect love to mend the broken places and provide the strength to honor and navigate our relationship with our human fathers.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Jesus Calling Podcast
Jesus Calling
Jesus Always
Jesus Listens

Steven Curtis Chapman & Emily Chapman Richards
Rob Kenney
Kirk Cousins
Jeremy Rosado
Trey Tucker
________________________
Connect with Jesus Calling
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
YouTube
Website
TikTok

*Episode produced by Four Eyes Media*
Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This week, we hear from comedian Tim Hawkins, who shares what it took to build a career on clean, relatable comedy—and the surprising lesson he learned when nearly two decades of constant road life led to complete burnout.
Later in the episode, we’ll hear from singer-songwriter and pastor Michael Charles Olson, who shares a life influenced by both worship and wounds. Raised in a church where music and faith were woven into everyday life, Michael reflects on how that early sense of sanctuary was later shaken to its core by a church fire that damaged more than just its walls.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Jesus Calling Podcast
Jesus Calling
Jesus Always
Jesus Listens
Past interview: Becky Thompson
Upcoming interview: Jeff Hamilton

Tim Hawkins
Fist Bump - Comedy Special by Tim Hawkins

Michael Charles Olson
Rocketown Records
Daddy Set the Church on Fire: A Journey Toward Restoration - Book by Michael Charles Olson

Interview Quotes:
“I grew up in a very fun family. We laughed a lot. We enjoyed comedy. I didn’t know what it was. I just know it made me feel good, and it was fun to create it and make people laugh.” - Tim Hawkins
“My job is to be funny. People call me a Christian comedian, but I’m a Christian who is a comedian.” - Tim Hawkins
“It’s all about connection. Connection is something that we need—and lack. It’s a need that fulfills something in us.” - Tim Hawkins
“A thing that I needed to learn was to control my brain, to just shut it down.. And being able to just stop that and be quiet and present.” - Tim Hawkins

“Just like that organ was a really, really intricate instrument of praise, my dad was a beautiful soul, deep soul, and through the power of unforgiveness, our home fell apart.” - Michael Charles Olson
“When the heart of the father turns inward on itself through pain, the child is kind of left not knowing what to do because we’re hardwired in the way that we were created in our relationship with God for this openness and vulnerability.” - Michael Charles Olson
“I really feel like my role as a worship leader is to create environments where the fire of God is experienced in the church.” - Michael Charles Olson
“We all go through seasons of brokenness. We all go through seasons where we feel like we’ve let God down. We feel like we let ourselves down. I think I would just say that I’ve had those seasons, and it’s very, very important to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd speaking to you in the midst of your brokenness.” - Michael Charles Olson
“When you’re wounded in the sanctuary, when the thing that you hold most dear burns to the ground, God meets you in a restorative place.” - Michael Charles Olson
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Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel!
Audio Episodes: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7
Bonus Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw
Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C
Peace for Everyday Life: https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj
Peace in Uncertain Times: https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u
What’s Good? https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj
Enneagram: https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY
________________________

Connect with Jesus Calling
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
YouTube
Website
TikTok
Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Welcome to a special scripture-focused bonus episode of the Jesus Calling Podcast, where we contemplate the two hundred plus mornings mentioned in the Bible with author and Bible teacher Jennifer Dukes Lee. Jennifer walks us through notable mornings from Scripture, like God’s first creation on earth when He said “let there be light,” to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, and the tasks God gives people like Abraham, Moses, and Jacob to begin at daybreak. Jennifer reminds us how each sunrise reminds us that God’s mercies are new each and every day, giving us built-in do-overs and a chance to fall in love with life and the role God has for us all over again.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Jesus Calling Podcast
Jesus Calling
Jesus Always
Jesus Listens

Jennifer Dukes Lee
How to Love Your Morning by Jennifer Dukes Lee


Interview Quotes:
“Anytime we look east, we see the sun rising and it reminds me that God’s mercies are new every morning.” - Jennifer Dukes Lee
“God built these do-overs every twenty-four hours into this cycle on earth, and every morning is a new opportunity to wake up and say, ‘Thank you for this day you have given me.’” - Jennifer Dukes Lee
“You study all these mornings in Scripture, and you see it as a really special time for God to set His people out to be obedient to what He has called them to do.” - Jennifer Dukes Lee
“If you chase a sunrise, you stand with your eyes facing east, and you see a little bit of light creeping up over the horizon. And it’s like God saying to you, ‘Welcome to a new day. This is your day to love and enjoy and to be present with Me.’” - Jennifer Dukes Lee
“On the morning when Jesus was crucified… we don’t like to think about Jesus on a cross and how painful that is. But it reminds me that Jesus gets our hard mornings, and some of the most sacred mornings in Scripture don’t start with joy, they start in the dark.” - Jennifer Dukes Lee
“We have this idea that everything will be better in the morning. That doesn’t mean our problems are going to disappear, but it does mean that God could change something in us even if our circumstances don’t change.” - Jennifer Dukes Lee
“It doesn’t matter what time I get up, or how much I can accomplish before 8:00 AM. What matters is that I can bring the hopefulness that God promises at the start of a new day and bring that into my life, beginning with the moment my feet hit the floor.” - Jennifer Dukes Lee
________________________
Connect with Jesus Calling
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Facebook
Twitter
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*Episode produced by Four Eyes Media*
Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.