Confused about biblical gender roles, or unsure how to talk about them at home? Open the Bible together and discuss what it actually says. Scripture, not culture, sets the direction. In these verses, a father teaches his son how to guard his heart: keep your eyes on where you’re going, think before you step, and don’t drift toward the ditches on either side.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to teach Proverbs 4:25–27 to your children, so they know what to focus on, decide how to respond before the moment comes, and turn away from evil before it gets a grip on their hearts.

In this episode:

✅ Guarding your heart starts with where you look

✅ You can only avoid distractions if you know what to focus on

✅ Your eyes are the steering wheel: keep them on Christ

✅ Most people never drive their heart in a direction. Know your destination

✅ Reactive vs. proactive thinking: ponder the path of your feet

✅ Making decisions before the circumstances: siblings sharing, Mom’s requests, what your eyes will look at

✅ The road and the ditches: don’t swerve to the right or the left

✅ Why a little evil creates a desire for more, and how it corrupts the heart

Family discussion questions:

“When you’re riding in the car, what would happen if the driver stopped looking at the road? How is that like following Jesus?”

“What’s one situation you could decide ahead of time how to handle, before it even happens?”

Family challenge: Set up a simple path in the yard or living room with “ditches” on each side. Have each child walk it once while looking straight at Dad at the end, then again while looking around. Talk about verse 25. Then have each child pick one situation this week, like sharing with a sibling, and decide now how they’ll respond.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 34, Heroes Work: Dad, Put On Your Cape with Ben Meyers: lasting fruit comes from equipping dads, family devotions can be simple and fun, and your family is the greatest adventure.

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

🧠 Support your brain health with Previnex, the vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Does your strong, capable wife feel like you’re stepping on her toes when you try to lead? Leading well isn’t about taking over. It’s about serving, honoring her gifts, and guiding the family toward God together. In these verses, a father shows his son where everything starts: the heart. Whatever flows from it reaches everyone downstream, and the mouth reveals what’s really inside.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to teach Proverbs 4:23–24 to your children, so they understand what the heart really is, why it needs constant guarding, and how what they say and take in shapes who they become.

In this episode:

✅ What the heart really is: the invisible soul part of you, not the muscle pumping blood

✅ How to keep your heart, and why it takes vigilance

✅ Springs of life vs. a dead spring: what flows from your heart affects everyone downstream

✅ What crooked speech and devious talk look like today

✅ Why “put away” applies to media, not just people

✅ The mouth is downstream of the heart: discipline what you say and what you take in

✅ You become who you spend time with, so evaluate your circle

✅ You can see the condition of the heart by the condition of the mouth

Family discussion questions:

“If a spring gets polluted, what happens to everything downstream? How is your heart like that?”

“What do the words we say show about what’s going on in our hearts?”

Family challenge: Fill two cups with water and add a few drops of food coloring to one. Talk about how one bad source changes everything it touches. Then have each family member name one show, song, or app to “put away” this week, and one encouraging thing to say to someone every day.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 33, Hall of Fame Football Coach on Leadership with Skip Hall: coach people up not down, choose mentors wisely, and surrender reorders everything.

Resources:

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Is your family distracted by tech? Screens compete for your kids’ attention every day, and the loudest voice usually wins. That isn’t wise. In these verses, a father pleads with his son to lean in, keep wisdom in sight, and guard it in his heart, because God’s Word brings life and healing.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to teach Proverbs 4:20–22 to your children, so they recognize competing voices, cling to God’s wisdom, and let it shape their hearts, not just their heads.

In this episode:

✅ What are your “sayings” as a father? The words your kids will carry for life

✅ Relationship comes before reception: a father’s plea, not just a command

✅ Why the enemy is the author of confusion, and how to spot competing voices

✅ Teaching kids to cling to God’s wisdom, and to Mom and Dad’s voice too

✅ Truth naturally slips away unless you keep it in sight

✅ The heart is your control center, and “keep” means stand guard

✅ Head knowledge alone doesn’t change you. Don’t be a “normal” Christian

✅ God’s rules don’t restrict life, they lead to abundant life

✅ A caution on Proverbs: wisdom for how the world works, not a guarantee

✅ What it really means to be a Christian: letting Christ’s wisdom change your heart daily

Family discussion questions:

“What are some things that try to grab your attention away from God?”

“Why does God care about our hearts and not just what we know?”

Family challenge: Have a tech-free evening this week. Put every phone and screen in a basket, read Proverbs 4:20–22 together, and talk about what you noticed when the distractions were gone. Pick one “saying” from Dad for the family to remember all week.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 32, Raising Boys to Become Godly Men with Mark Hancock, CEO of Trail Life USA: boys need male mentors, purpose gives men their identity back, and leading takes character and courage, not charisma.

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

🧠 Support your brain health with Previnex, the vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Do your older kids seem uninterested in family devotions? Do it anyway. Consistency matters more than enthusiasm, and God’s Word works in hearts even when it doesn’t look like it’s landing. In these verses, a father paints two pictures his kids will never forget: a sunrise that keeps getting brighter, and darkness so deep you can’t see what you’re tripping over.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to teach Proverbs 4:18–19 to your children, so they understand that the righteous path grows brighter over time, recognize why the wicked keep stumbling, and choose wisely who they let influence them.

In this episode:

✅ The God-pleasing life is like a sunrise that makes everything around it brighter

✅ Growth in righteousness is a process: it gets brighter over time

✅ The path’s destination is full day, eternity in the light with God

✅ Why the wicked are blinded to the truth and can’t even see what they’re stumbling over

✅ Why only people walking with God should be shaping your kids

✅ How God’s Word keeps the light on so you stay on the right path

✅ A little growth in understanding, consistently over time, really adds up

✅ Helping others see the light without sacrificing your own path

Family discussion questions:

“Have you ever watched the sun come up? How is that like the life of someone following God?”

“Have you ever seen someone make the same mistake over and over? Why do you think they can’t see it?”

Family challenge: Get up early once this week and watch the sunrise together. Read Proverbs 4:18 out loud as it gets brighter. If a sunrise isn’t possible, try the “dark room walk”: turn out the lights and have the kids carefully cross a room, then do it again with a flashlight, and talk about verse 19.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 31, Heterosexual Awesomeness Month with Mark Fitzpatrick: courage inspires courage, love people without celebrating sin, and get out from behind the screen.

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Is your marriage weaker than you want it to be? It doesn’t have to stay that way. Change is possible, and a strong marriage is one of the most powerful protections your kids will ever have. In these verses, a father warns his son that there are only two paths in life, and some people will actively try to pull him onto the wrong one. Kids need to know that before they face it.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to teach Proverbs 4:14–17 to your children, so they can recognize the wicked path, avoid it before they ever step on, and know they can always come to Mom and Dad for help.

In this episode:

✅ A path is a direction in life, and there are only two: the righteous and the wicked

✅ The lie of a “neutral” third path that’s neither good nor evil

✅ How evil starts with one step onto the path and then grows into participation

✅ Why the best strategy is to avoid situations that could lead to evil

✅ Letting your kids know they can always share anything with you

✅ The great illusion: sin promises freedom but brings slavery

✅ Why the wicked can’t rest unless they bring others down with them

✅ Peer pressure: some people want you to fall

✅ The “bread and wine” of today: media, Halloween, and time with the wrong people

✅ Choosing wholesome bread and pursuing righteousness as a family

Family discussion questions:

“Why do you think some people want others to stumble with them?”

“Are there any areas, like what we watch, listen to, or who we spend time with, where our family could improve?”

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 30, Healed Men Act Differently with Jerrad Lopes: God wants you healed, not just forgiven; spiritual leadership starts with being the first to repent; and build small daily habits that “embrace the suck.”

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Try Brain Health Plus for focus, alertness, and memory, and get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Selfishness quietly pulls every family apart. The answer is getting off ourselves and on purpose, living for something bigger than our own comfort. In these verses, a father shifts from teaching his whole family to speaking to one child: “Hear, my son.” It’s a picture of family discipleship and personal, one-on-one discipleship working together, and a reminder that dads lead with their lives as well as their words.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to teach Proverbs 4:10–13 to your children, so they embrace God’s words, see wisdom lived out in front of them, and hold on to instruction that will keep them from stumbling.

In this episode:

✅ Why this father moves from teaching the whole family to teaching one son

✅ What it really looks like to hear and embrace God’s words

✅ The promise of a long life for those who accept wisdom

✅ Teaching and leading: why kids need both your words and your example

✅ Solomon’s example wasn’t perfect, and neither is ours

✅ Telling your kids your story and sharing an area where you’re still growing

✅ Walking without being hampered and running without stumbling

✅ The ripple effects of every decision you make

✅ Holding on to instruction because it is your life

✅ How listening to Mom and Dad is God’s practice ground for listening to Him

Family discussion questions:

“What does it look like to really embrace God’s words, not just hear them?”

“How can we better hold on to God’s instruction as a family?”

Family challenge: Dads, set up a one-on-one time with each child this week, even 15 minutes. Share one area where you’re still growing, read verse 13 together, and ask, “What’s one thing you’ve learned from Mom and Dad that you never want to let go of?”

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 29, How to Discern What’s Real in a Fake News World: stay informed so you can lead proactively, admit you’re influenceable and use a biblical lens, and think critically while teaching your kids to do the same.

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Ever feel relationally distant from your kids, like you’re living under the same roof but not really connecting? The answer is often a positive disruption: an intentional break from the normal routine that opens the door to real conversation. Gathering your family around God’s Word is one of the best disruptions there is. In these verses, a grandfather’s words passed down through a father make a bold claim: wisdom is worth more than anything else you could chase.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to teach Proverbs 4:5–9 to your children, so they go after wisdom, hold on to it, and understand that a life following God is worth more than any crown this world can offer.

In this episode:

✅ Why “get wisdom” means you have to go after it: wisdom doesn’t just happen to you

✅ The two-step process of losing wisdom: first we forget, then we turn away

✅ How not to forget: repetition, using it, and memorizing it

✅ What isn’t valued as precious ends up being deliberately turned away from

✅ Wisdom pictured as a faithful woman to love (and a preview of the forbidden woman in chapter 5)

✅ The promise: hold on to wisdom, and it protects you from dangers you can’t see ahead

✅ Wisdom starts with desire, so what are young people really chasing?

✅ Prizing wisdom highly means making God most important in your life

✅ Don’t exalt yourself; let God do the lifting

✅ Something more meaningful than being a king or queen of this world: following God with your life

Family discussion questions:

“How has God’s wisdom helped you, or helped our family?”

“If you could be a king or queen, what would you want? What does God say is worth more?”

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 28, The Power of Momentum: Refusing Distraction & Utilizing Momentum to Accelerate Growth: fight for your focus, do the hardest thing first, and build momentum on God’s wisdom, not your own (Proverbs 3:1–8).

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Try Brain Health Plus for focus, alertness, and memory, and get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Wisdom was never meant to stop with you. In Proverbs 4, a father gathers his children and passes down what his own father taught him, building a chain of wisdom across three generations. Whether you’re continuing a godly legacy or starting a brand-new one, you can be the dad who hands your kids God’s wisdom like a treasured gift.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to teach Proverbs 4:1–4 to your children, so they can listen eagerly, hold tightly to God’s wisdom, and be ready for a world that will look very different from the one they’re growing up in.

In this episode:

✅ Why “sons” is plural: a father discipling his whole family together

✅ Instruction is more than information: it’s direction for character and for navigating the world

✅ Being attentive means hearing with an eagerness to put it into practice (yes, even taking notes)

✅ Preparing kids for a fast-changing world full of opportunity, and raising solvers, not complainers

✅ How to receive wisdom like a gift that’s been carefully passed down

✅ A warning for fathers: are you confident in your wisdom, or in God’s?

✅ Why learning wisdom now prepares kids for moments they can’t see coming yet

✅ “I used to be in your shoes”: Solomon remembers learning from David and Bathsheba

✅ Generational impact, facing father wounds, and holding tight to wisdom that leads to true life

✅ Continued legacy or new legacy: where does your family’s story begin?

Family discussion questions:

“What’s something Mom or Dad taught you that you’ll never forget?”

“What’s one thing you want to pass on to your own kids someday?”

Family challenge: Dads, tell your kids a story this week about something you learned from your father, a mentor, or a hard lesson, and how God used it. Then ask each child to share one piece of wisdom they’ve learned and want to keep.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 27, Misapplied Ambition Is Costly, but a Thriving Family Is Priceless: no success is worth sacrificing your faith or family, strong spiritual leadership is simpler than you think, and cherish your wife while guarding your callings.

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Ever feel like you’re not worthy to lead your family spiritually? None of us are. But because of Jesus, we can be. That starts with knowing you’re truly saved and dealing with any secret sin that’s holding you back. In these verses, God sets two paths side by side: the way of the violent and devious, and the way of the upright and humble, and He shows where each one leads.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to teach Proverbs 3:31–35 to your children, so they can resist the pull of bad behavior, understand that character shapes the home, and learn to receive correction with humility.

In this episode:

✅ Why feeling unworthy isn’t the end of the story, and how Jesus makes us worthy

✅ What envy really is: desiring what someone else has, then choosing his ways

✅ Why a bully’s gains through manipulation, dishonesty, and intimidation can look enticing

✅ What “devious” means: a twisted life pattern of deceit and destruction

✅ How the upright are brought into God’s confidence: close friendship and counsel with Him

✅ Why your character sets the culture of your home, inviting blessing or curse

✅ Preparing kids now for the day they’ll lead families of their own

✅ Scorners mock correction, the humble receive it: we get what we put forward

✅ The wise inherit honor, while fools get disgrace

Family discussion questions:

“In what ways have you noticed God blessing our home?”

“Why can it be hard to accept correction sometimes?”

Family challenge: Practice receiving correction well this week. When someone in the family is corrected, the goal is a humble “thank you” instead of an argument, starting with Dad.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 26, Fatherhood in Unprecedented Times with Pastor Josh Branham: give kids real responsibility, remember that dads are the primary disciple-makers, and raise hearts, not rule-followers.

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Ever feel like your kids just don’t listen? Teaching them to listen and obey isn’t about control; it can be the very thing that keeps them safe when danger comes. In these verses, God gives our families practical wisdom for how to treat the people closest to us, from neighbors and friends to the siblings sharing a bedroom.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to teach Proverbs 3:27–30 to your children, so they become people others can trust: generous, faithful to their word, and quick to give grace instead of picking a fight.

In this episode:

✅ Why listening and obeying can protect your kids from real danger

✅ What “do not withhold good” means: giving others the money, honor, respect, and help they’re due

✅ Why we should pay people what they’re worth

✅ How to follow through in a timely manner, from chores to returning what you borrowed

✅ Beating procrastination and letting your word be as good as gold

✅ Simple tools like calendars and to-do lists that help kids keep their promises

✅ Why selfish gain destroys relationships

✅ Trust takes a long time to build and only seconds to ruin, and a vision for siblings who trust each other

✅ How to avoid being contentious: not expecting the worst or assuming you know what others are saying

✅ Becoming a “good finder” instead of a “bad finder”: giving each other a clean slate and looking for progress

Family discussion questions:

“What reputation have we built with each other as a family?”

“Is there a promise you made to someone that you still need to keep?”

Family challenge: Be good finders this week. At dinner each night, have every family member point out one good thing they noticed in a sibling or parent that day.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 25, Having a Strong Wife & Rising to the Challenge to Lead with Will Addison: knowing your calling comes through relationship with God, lead your family whatever your personality or your wife’s strengths, and a poor upbringing is no excuse to lead alone.

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

A lot of us are tired, and not just physically. We’re worn down, restless, and lying awake with something on our minds. The answer isn’t just more rest; it’s a stronger sense of purpose. In these verses, God shows that when we keep His wisdom in sight, we can walk through life with confidence and lie down at night without fear.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to teach Proverbs 3:21–26 to your children, so they can walk securely, sleep sweetly, and face hard times knowing God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear.

In this episode:

✅ Why we need to keep wisdom in sight at all times, and what a drifting boat teaches us about it

✅ How wisdom brings life to the soul and nourishes us on the inside

✅ Why good character shows on the outside, and how sin starts to show too

✅ How seeing wisdom clearly helps us choose good paths and avoid the enemy’s traps

✅ Why most young people veer off course, and how to help your kids stay steady

✅ There’s no rest on a crooked path: how a clear conscience and trusting God lead to sweet sleep

✅ Why we shouldn’t let the sun go down without repenting

✅ Challenges aren’t “if,” they’re “when”: God doesn’t promise to prevent hard times, He promises to be with us in them

✅ God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7)

Family discussion questions:

“Have you ever had trouble sleeping because something was on your mind that you needed to make right?”

“What’s a hard time our family went through, and how did God take care of us?”

Family challenge: Stoke the fire of remembering. Sit down together this week, recall a challenge your family faced, talk about how you responded and how God was faithful, then pray together before bed.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 24, War Vet Forecasts Military Draft, Lessons from Combat & Dangers of Comfort with Wy McGraw: humility is the strongest weapon, ask whether you’d still be about it without your followers, and remember that passivity is avoidance.

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Many of us don't feel like good teachers, but our kids don't need a polished speaker. They need to hear God's Word, and you get to be the conduit. In these verses, the same wisdom God offers our children is revealed as the wisdom that founded the earth, established the heavens, and still holds everything together.

In this episode, you'll learn how to teach Proverbs 3:19–20 to your children, so they see that the God who built the world can build their lives on a firm foundation.

In this episode:

✅ How God's wisdom created everything and still holds it all together

✅ Why the God who holds up the universe can hold up your life for incredible things

✅ What "founded" means: God as the foundation of our lives

✅ What "established" means, and how the distance from the sun to the earth shows God's precise design

✅ God made you just as you are, and He wants to guide you too

✅ The difference between knowledge, understanding, and wisdom

✅ From the deeps of the sea to the dew on the grass: God designed the great big and the small details

✅ Why the daily small things matter, and how to notice what God is doing

Family discussion questions:

"What are some things God made that show how wise He is?"

"What small, everyday ways do you see God taking care of us?"

Family challenge: Go outside together one morning this week, look for the dew, and thank God for one small way He provides for your family.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 23, Rwandan Refugee Becomes Pastor, Entrepreneur, and Success Story of Hope: see a need and take the first step, remember that profit and purpose aren't opposites, and be the church, not just an audience.

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

It's not enough to tell our kids to be wise. They need to know why, and they need to see that wisdom is worth wanting. Leading this in front of your wife and kids can feel hard, but this is you stepping in and reorienting your home around what matters most. In these verses, God paints a picture of wisdom so attractive that it outshines silver, gold, and every treasure we could desire.

In this episode, you'll learn how to teach Proverbs 3:13–18 to your children, so they learn to treasure God's wisdom above everything the world offers.

In this episode:

✅ A teaching tip: delivering words "on a silver platter" to make wisdom attractive

✅ A gold-panning illustration that shows kids why wisdom is worth more than treasure

✅ Why living "the good life" doesn't mean being blessed

✅ What "finds" and "gets" teach us about actively pursuing wisdom

✅ Money isn't bad, but the love of money corrupts the heart, and how we make money matters

✅ Checking our desires: are we sacrificing wisdom for what we want?

✅ Get wisdom first, and God's gifts follow; chase the gifts first, and you may lose both

✅ Why worldliness looks good but leads somewhere terrible, while wisdom's paths lead to peace

✅ Wisdom as a "tree of life," and why finding wisdom ultimately means finding Christ

Family discussion questions:

"Why is it hard to keep God's wisdom first in our minds and hearts?"

"What are ways we can grab onto God's wisdom and keep it?"

Family challenge: Each day this week, name one wise choice you saw someone in the family make.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 22, [Episode title], with Dave Durand of Leading Giants: make decisions with prudence, build a small and wise council, and in dark seasons, trust God and don't bury your talents.

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Every child will be corrected, and every child will choose how to respond: shrug it off, get defensive, or let it shape them. Lack of motivation to lead here often comes from not understanding the spiritual battle happening for our kids' hearts. In these verses, God shows us what kind of Father He is, and what kind of fathers we're called to be.

In this episode, you'll learn how to teach Proverbs 3:11–12 to your children, so they learn to receive correction as a sign of love, not rejection.

In this episode:

✅ Why God teaches about discipline right after promising blessing

✅ What "discipline" really means: training, instruction, and correction for character development

✅ Why despising the Lord's discipline means missing the lesson

✅ What "reproof" is: correction that points us back to the right path

✅ How to help kids get good at receiving correction

✅ God corrects us because He loves and delights in us, and so do we as parents

✅ Why insecure people and prideful people both resist correction, and how it limits their lives

✅ How embracing correction leads to growth, character, and a fruitful life

Family discussion questions:

"Why do moms and dads correct their kids?"

"How does it change things to know God corrects us because He delights in us?"

Family challenge: The next time someone corrects you this week, respond with "Thank you, I'll work on that."

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 21, Fearless Marriage: Ask Your Wife These 3 Questions: ask what's been on her heart lately, ask how you can lead better, and ask how her friendships are going.

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

Our kids are learning every day what to do with what they have: spend it, save it, hold onto it, or honor God with it. Maybe you never saw generosity modeled growing up, but excuses are the nails that build the house of failure. Your family needs you to lead here.

In this episode, you'll learn how to teach Proverbs 3:9–10 to your children, so they learn that trusting God shows up in what we do with our wealth.

In this episode:

✅ How these verses put "Trust in the Lord with all your heart" into practice

✅ Why trust in God is tested when it costs us something

✅ What it means to "honor" the Lord: giving Him weight in our lives, more than money

✅ Why "wealth" means everything we have, not just riches

✅ Firstfruits vs. leftovers, and what each says about our trust in God

✅ How pride ("I earned it, it's mine") leads to the love of money

✅ The promise of full barns, and why this is NOT the prosperity gospel

✅ How giving works in the Tolpin family, and how your family can start

Family discussion questions:

"What has God given our family that we can be thankful for?"

"Why do you think God asks for the first part, not the leftovers?"

Family challenge: Set aside a first portion to give before spending anything this week.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 06, Implementing Your Family Culture: get aligned, then launch it as a family; live it before you lead it; and never stop saying it. Go back to Ep. 05, Crafting Your Family Culture Plan, if you missed it.

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Dads, our kids are learning every day where to put their weight: on their feelings, their friends, their own understanding, or on God. The moments that test them most are the moments that show what they're really leaning on.

In this episode, you'll learn how to teach Proverbs 3:5–8 to your children, so they learn to trust the Lord with all their heart, especially when life gets hard.

In this episode:

✅ A simple chair illustration that shows kids what it means to "lean" on something

✅ Why trusting God is easier said than done when challenges come

✅ Nominal Christianity: when faith is only a title and feelings become the authority

✅ What it means to acknowledge God "in all your ways," not just on Sundays

✅ How pride and the fear of others go hand in hand

✅ Learn from wisdom, or learn from pain

✅ Why surrendering to the Lord brings healing and freedom from fear

Family discussion questions:

"What does trusting God look like when something hard happens?"

"What would you do or say if you weren't afraid of anything in the world?"

Family challenge: Memorize Proverbs 3:5–6 together this week.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 20, The CEO Mentor: Thriving in Unprecedented Times, with Michael, author of The Avodah Principle: live an integrated life of work, worship, and service; pursue excellence instead of comparison; and discover how wisdom brings peace.

Resources:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Courageous Parenting: [Add description and link here]

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Dads, some nights you're tired, and family devotions feel like the first thing to skip. But the way God's truth gets written on our kids' hearts is through consistency, even on the tired nights. So do it anyway.

In this episode, you'll learn how to teach Proverbs 3:1–4 to your children, so they move from simply knowing God's Word in their heads to loving it in their hearts.

In this episode:

✅ Why pushing through when you're tired is part of discipling your kids

✅ The difference between head knowledge (easily forgotten) and heart knowledge (fully embraced)

✅ The promise attached to honoring and obeying parents (Ephesians 6:1–3)

✅ What happens when obedience is only on the outside, but the heart isn't in it

✅ How to "bind" steadfast love and faithfulness around your neck and write them on your heart

✅ Why love and faithfulness earn trust with God and people, without becoming people-pleasers

Family discussion questions:

"Who is someone you trust, and why?" (The answer usually comes back to love and faithfulness.)

"Does anyone have a Bible verse memorized they'd like to share?"

Family challenge: Pick one verse and memorize it together this week. Proverbs 3:3 is a great place to start.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 19, Choose Growth: Two Words That Can Accelerate Progress: growth happens in the small moments, walk in the Spirit and not the flesh, and don't justify mediocrity.

Resources:

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Dads, it's not enough to warn our kids about the wrong path. We need to equip them to walk the right one. And that doesn't come from controlling every step, but from teaching them to love what's good.

In this episode, you'll learn how to teach Proverbs 2:20–22 to your children, so they understand that righteousness isn't a single decision, it's a direction for life.

In this episode:

✅ Why being too controlling backfires, and how to lead with flexibility while teaching

✅ Three ways to get wisdom: believe in Jesus, seek it, and use it

✅ Why life is a path, not a moment, and why who you walk with matters

✅ What "upright" means: no double life, one person at home and another with friends

✅ A simple board illustration that shows kids why integrity holds and treachery breaks under pressure

✅ What helps us walk in righteousness: knowing Jesus, learning more, and prayer

Family discussion question:

"If a board has a weak spot, where will it break? What weak spots could we strengthen in our own lives?"

Try this at home, Dad: Grab a board (or a stick) with a knot or weak spot. Show your kids where it breaks, then talk about how integrity makes us strong all the way through.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 18 with Jeremy Ryan Slate on what the fall of Rome can teach us today: history rhymes, faith and community matter, and real change starts locally.

Resources:

💊 The vitamins of choice for the Tolpin family: Previnex. Get 15% off with code RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

📖 Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: nine principles for being a man in a world that increasingly hates masculinity → https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

Dads, our kids are growing up in a world with more temptation, and more access to it, than any generation before them. Will they recognize the smooth words that lead to destruction? Will they know how to escape?

In this episode, you'll get a simple, faith-filled way to teach Proverbs 2:16–19 to your children, so they learn to guard their hearts, honor God with their bodies, and prepare for a faithful marriage someday.

In this episode:

✅ Why focus is rare in a distracted world, and how it sets your family apart

✅ How wisdom helps kids escape quick decisions that bring long-term destruction

✅ Teaching God's design for marriage: loyalty for life

✅ Why our bodies belong to God, and the lie the world tells kids about it

✅ The hope of God's redemption for anyone who has gone astray

Family discussion question:

"What do you think your future spouse will be like, and how can you become ready for them now?"

Take it home, Dad: Keep it simple. Read the passage, ask one question, and pray together. Consistency matters more than length.

Also in this episode: Tips from Ep. 17 with former NFL receiver Cody Hollister (Patriots, Titans) on fearing God rather than man, earning a hearing through your example, and clinging to Scripture through anxiety.

The Vitamins of Choice for the Tolpin family

Previnex: Get 15% off here using RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

Resolute Manifesto

Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: https://www.resoluteman.com/

🎧 Listen to the Resolute Man podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen

👍 Subscribe, and share this episode with a dad who wants to disciple his kids

It's hard to teach what you don't live. The solution? Live it. In this episode of The Resolute Man Podcast, we walk through Proverbs 2:12-15 and show you, dad, how to teach your family to tell the straight path from the crooked one, and to stay on the right one.

Here's how to teach this passage to your family:

1. Start with the two paths

Before you read, tell your kids there are two paths in life: the straight and the crooked. The crooked path will try to take you out. Then tell them, "Not you, though. That's why we listen to wisdom."

2. Teach them how wisdom delivers them (v. 12)

Read verse 12 out loud together. Discretion and understanding of God's truth deliver us from the way of evil. Explain that disaster usually comes from small, unseen wrong steps that pile up, and that walking with God protects us from taking those steps. Ask your kids: "What's a small wrong step that could lead somewhere bad?"

3. Teach them what the crooked path looks like (v. 13)

People on the crooked path leave the upright way and choose the darkness. They're drawn to pleasure, self, and greed, and it all looks normal in the world. Ask your kids: "What have you noticed about worldliness?"

4. Teach them to see the joy in evil (v. 14)

Normal people rejoice in doing evil, which is happiness in the wrong direction. Then go deeper: they delight in the perverseness of evil, the worst form of it. It's not just the sin, it's the joy people find in it. That's idolatry, whether the idol is money, self, or destruction. Ask: "Why is it worse to enjoy doing wrong than to slip up and feel bad about it?"

5. Prepare them for the mockers (v. 15)

When you walk the righteous path, the crooked will mock it. Sometimes it will feel like a disadvantage while others cheat and seem to get ahead. Tell your kids: "You may lose the moment, but you are winning the battle." Ask: "When has doing the right thing cost you something?"

Bonus: Dad tips from Vince DelMonte (Fitness Pro Quits Testosterone Therapy, Reflections on Marriage Neglect, Ep. 15):

• Success can become a substitute identity. Vince's fitness business became about status, and he went on testosterone out of insecurity rather than medical necessity. He never paused to pray or think it through. He just said, "I'm in."
• Rock bottom can be the start of a real encounter with God. After separating from his wife of 14 years, he cried out to God on his hands and knees and felt a physical, supernatural presence holding him. His earlier prayers had all been "God, help me with my agenda," not real surrender to God's agenda.
• Aim for "better," not "bigger." His business took a massive hit during the separation, and he now measures success by presence and priorities instead of scale.

This week's challenge: Ask yourself, "Am I living what I'm about to teach?" Pick one area where you're on the crooked path and fix it. Then pick one dinner or car ride to read Proverbs 2:12-15 with your kids. It won't be perfect, and that's okay.

🙏 Fathers, let's lead our families to stay on the righteous path.

👍 If this helped you, like, subscribe, and share it with another dad.

The Vitamins of Choice for the Tolpin family

Previnex: Get 15% off here using RM15 → https://www.previnex.com/?sca_ref=12180987.Vq4X6vRGIyn

Resolute Manifesto

Get your FREE Resolute Manifesto: https://www.resoluteman.com/