DA450 | Running 24 Hours for Freedom, Writing Birthday Letters, and Why Family Mission Beats Solo Missions (Brent Silkey)

SUMMARY Your words become your child's inner voice, for better or for worse. In this episode, Brent Silkey shares the practice he's kept without missing a single year — a handwritten letter to each of his four kids on every birthday, so that by graduation they'll hold an 18-year catalog of God's faithfulness over their life. Recorded in the pouring rain during Brent's 24-hour run for freedom, this conversation will challenge you to speak life over your family, stop settling for comfort, and take the next step you already know you need to take. TAKEAWAYS You can do hard things, or you can have hard things happen to you. Dads who train themselves — physically, spiritually, emotionally — build a reservoir their whole family draws from. Your words are the foundation blocks of your family's culture. Brent has written and read a letter to each of his four kids on every birthday, so by graduation they'll hold an 18-year catalog of God's faithfulness over their life. Big vision belongs to the whole family, not just to dad. Bike rides became park days, marathons became bake sales and jewelry stands, and the kids caught the heart without ever being told to. Freedom from pornography is one of the greatest gifts a dad can give. Shame keeps men isolated; rootedness in a real community — not a la carte Christianity — is where the healing starts. You'll never regret investing more in your family. You'll know your kids as adults far longer than you knew them as kids, so when they say "up," pick them up. QUOTES "By the time they graduate high school, they'll have a catalog of God's faithfulness over 18 years in these letters." "You can either do hard things or you can have hard things happen to you." "Do something you've never done to reach someone that's not yet been reached." "This is a family thing, not a Brent thing." "The most life-changing question outside of the gospel being shared was, What's my next obedience step?" "We can be people who speak life over our families, life over our kids. It really goes a long way." GUEST Brent Silkey is the founder of 30 for Freedom, a ministry mobilizing runners to rescue girls out of trafficking. He's completed 71+ marathons and ultras — including seven marathons on seven continents in seven days — and has helped raise more than $4.3 million for freedom. Brent also directs Chi Alpha at the University of St. Thomas and runs with UNRL. Adopted from South Korea as a baby, he and his wife live in Minnesota with their four kids: two daughters, 14 and 11, and two sons, 8 and 5. This fall he's taking on 40 for Freedom — running 40 miles for his 40th birthday and inviting 40 leaders to multiply the vision toward $300,000 raised in a single day. LINKS Spartan Team DadAwesome, Dallas, Texas, October 17 https://givebutter.com/DallasSpartan 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 Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text "Dad" to (651) 370-8618 The DadAwesome book (search "dadawesome" on Amazon) 30 for Freedom: https://www.instagram.com/30forfreedom/ Brent Silkey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brentsilkey/ Brent Silkey's 40 for Freedom Challenge Chi Alpha at University of St. Thomas: https://www.instagram.com/ust_xa/ UNRL: https://www.instagram.com/unrlco/ The Great World Race Episode page will be: https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/450