DA391 | Why Your Family is a Garden Not a Machine, The Power of Weakness in Parenting, and Creating Sacred Space (Dave Brickey)

✅ Why weakness connects you deeper with your kids than strength ever could

✅ How to transform your dinner table into sacred space

✅ Ancient practices that can revolutionize your modern family

✅ The power of prayer retreats for busy dads

 

SUMMARY

What if your family isn't broken and doesn't need fixing—but is actually a garden that needs nurturing? In this episode, Dave Brickey shares how shifting from a mechanical mindset to an agricultural approach transforms fatherhood. You'll discover why your weaknesses connect you deeper with your kids than your strengths ever could, and how simple practices like prayer retreats and sacred family meals can become life-changing rhythms. Plus, Dave opens up about his wife's miraculous healing and how walking through valleys as a family creates unbreakable bonds.

Top 5 Quotes:

1. "My strength points my kids to me as their savior, but my weakness points them to who my savior is."
2. "Our families aren't broken and need fixing—they are gardens in need of nurturing."
3. "The beauty of parenting is marked more by weakness than strength. No one has a bird's eye view into the messiness of someone's life other than a spouse and children—they see it all."
4. "You can change behavior through control, but you cannot change a heart."
5. "Isolation puts a magnifying glass on pain, and us guys—some of us are professional isolators."

Key Takeaways:

• The depth of relationship you experience with teenagers was built during their childhood years through consistent presence and creating a safe space
• An agricultural approach to family life focuses on long-term nurturing rather than quick fixes and immediate results
• Ancient practices like prayer retreats, sacred meals, and singing together can transform modern family life
• Weakness and vulnerability in parenting creates deeper connection than always being the strong hero
• Spiritual family—mentors, spiritual grandparents, and community—multiplies the impact of seeing, knowing, and celebrating your children
• Isolation magnifies pain, while community provides perspective and hope during difficult seasons

GUEST

Dave Brickey is a lead pastor in the Northwest suburbs of Minnesota and father of four children in the graduation phase. He and his wife Stephanie describe their family life as a "beautiful mess." Dave is passionate about helping families shift from mechanical thinking to agricultural approaches in parenting and faith. He advocates for ancient practices like prayer retreats, sacred family meals, and building spiritual community as essential elements of thriving family life.

Links:

• Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome
• Apply to join the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort
•  [e-mail]
• Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to [phone]
• Pacem in Terrace Prayer Retreat Center https://www.paceminterris.org/
• Wilderness Fellowship Prayer Center https://www.wildernessfellowship.com/
• Dave Brickey's "Machines to Gardens" message (church resource) -  (start at 45 minutes)