Dad Talk blog

Heart-Turning Spiritual Growth

Heart-Turning

With five kids in the home, he had not thought about spending one-on-one time with any of the kids. Every activity was coordinated as a family for all to participate. The only exceptions were summer gatherings with extended family. But then his wife scheduled he…
Rick Wertz
August 19, 2026
All In or Not Spiritual Growth

All In or Not

Reflect on this past week – your waking hours, not including hours on the job. Tally the time spent in prayer, worship, Scripture and study of God’s word. Divide the number you come up with by 74. This is a way to quantify the status…
Rick Wertz
August 12, 2026
Not Our Home Spiritual GrowthSummertime

Not Our Home

As a young kid, he would spend a part of every summer with his uncle. The boy’s home life was not healthy – there was alcoholism and it was a very low-income household. His mother reached out to her sister and brother-in-law about opening their…
Rick Wertz
July 8, 2026
Father’s Day 2026 FamilyLeadership

Father’s Day 2026

Happy Father's Day to you! On this Father's Day 2026, I encourage you as a dad, adoptive dad or spiritual father, to take inventory of where you are and commit to growing in your role as a father. Our Heavenly Father shares the moniker ‘father’…
Rick Wertz
June 18, 2026
Thank You Dad Family

Thank You Dad

An annual tribute to the dad that raised me in hope that it is an encouragement to you: Born in 1917, four years after his parents immigrated from the south of Russia, he spent his early years growing up in Nebraska. The family continued to…
Rick Wertz
June 11, 2026
Be Serious Uncategorized

Be Serious

“If you would just be serious with your work ethic, you would see results!” Did you ever hear that from your dad or coach? Moms tend to be a bit gentler with, “You have great potential if you would just apply yourself.” Both are admonitions…
Rick Wertz
May 28, 2026
Covenant Relationship Uncategorized

Covenant Relationship

A covenant relationship can be as cold as the agreement made between a home owner and the homeowners’ association to abide by rules and restrictions for the neighborhood. Or it can be as intimate as the commitment made in marriage to a sacred, lifelong promise…
Rick Wertz
May 20, 2026
Pay Attention Uncategorized

Pay Attention

It happened again - A guy in front of me at a stop light was paying attention to his cell phone instead of the light. When the light turned green, I gave him four or five seconds and then tapped the horn a couple of…
Rick Wertz
May 14, 2026
Train and Instruct Uncategorized

Train and Instruct

Some assembly required. These words show up at the most inopportune times. Whether it is Christmas eve or in the middle of a project, something you anticipated being able to pull out of the box and use was not so straight forward. Frustration, even exasperation…
Rick Wertz
May 7, 2026
Keep Perspective Uncategorized

Keep Perspective

What is perspective? It is “a way of thinking about and understanding something” (per Britannica Dictionary), hopefully with a level head. With the hyperbole of the 24/7 news via a variety of platforms, busy-ness at work and craziness on the family calendar, it can be…
Rick Wertz
April 30, 2026
Renewed Uncategorized

Renewed

He and his dad pulled the old truck out of the horse barn. His uncle had told him he could have the truck when he wanted it - a 1957 F-250 with one of the first V8 engines Ford made that stayed together. It was…
Rick Wertz
April 23, 2026
Discern Well Uncategorized

Discern Well

When his buddy told him he could get two candy bars for the price of one if he put the second one in his pocket, it seemed like a good idea. But when the owner of the store asked if he was planning to pay…
Rick Wertz
April 16, 2026