For most of his Navy SEAL career, Neil Dyer thought meek meant weak, and he wanted nothing to do with it. Then God grabbed his heart through the adoption of his nephew, and he had to pull the trident off his chest and burn the idol of his career to take up the higher calling of being a father. In this episode, Neil shares what the war horse teaches us about strength under control, why your home is a battlefield where the armor of God never comes off, and how foundation, structure, and clear limits give your kids exactly what they are hungry for. Key Takeaways Meek does not mean weak. The Greek word describes a war horse: full strength, under the control of the rider. Strength under control is what your sons need to see in you and what your daughters need to marry into. Comfort is the crisis. The first step toward meekness is doing something outside your comfort zone, and it is nearly impossible alone. Find your battle buddies and do hard things together. Bleed, sweat, cry, and laugh with the same men and you get a brotherhood that lasts. Your family needs a foundation, a structure, and left and right limits. The word no gets used often in Neil's home, and his kids know where the lines are. As they get older, give them controlled failure points. Treat them like men and women who are just a lot shorter, because lions don't grow up to be bunnies. The armor of God never comes off. The spiritual battle raging at home is the same battle you face at work, so lead your family with a warrior's mindset, delivered with grace and love. Be present, not just well intended. Keep a phone room instead of a phone in your pocket, get rid of the TVs, and clean the house together on Fridays before movie night. Quality time is a myth. It is just time, and your kids need it. GUEST Neil Dyer served about two decades in the Navy SEAL teams, with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and finished his career as a first phase BUD/S instructor. After the loss of his brother, Neil and his wife adopted his eight month old nephew, and Neil gave his life to Christ shortly after. Today he leads Warriors Rise, a ministry he and his family started two years ago to pour into the next generation of young men and women with a how to think, not what to think approach. Neil and his wife live in northern Idaho with their six kids and a seventh on the way. Key Quotes "I had to pull that trident off my chest and throw it in the fire. I had to burn that idol of my life and realize the higher calling of my life. And it wasn't the job. It wasn't the glamour, the glory. It's being a father." (Neil Dyer, 0:39) "Meekness is just strength under control. That's it. Power under control. It's a war horse." (Neil Dyer, 6:00) "We are the example of what our young men are to grow into and what our daughters are to marry into. We are the first example of what a man is." (Neil Dyer, 7:34) "I treat my kids like they are adults. Because lions don't grow up to be bunnies. They're men and women. They're just a lot shorter." (Neil Dyer, 20:00) "Help us to be kicking in the gates of hell instead of sandbagging our homes and our own kingdoms, Lord. It's all yours." (Neil Dyer, closing prayer, 30:12) LINKS Leave a VOICEMAIL: https://www.speakpipe.com/DadAwesome Join Team Awesomeness (monthly support team) at any level from $7/month to $1000/month... We have 41 families committed to fueling the ministry DadAwesome as we head toward celebrating 9 years of AWESOMENESS this coming winter: https://www.dadawesome.org/give Join the DadAwesome Prayer Team: Text "pray" to (651) 370-8618 Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 7-Day Video Series: dadawesome.org/book Free Chapter + Intro Video Series: dadawesome.org/book The DADAWESOME book Warriors Rise (Neil Dyer's ministry): https://www.warriorsrise.org/ Show notes: https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/457
