DA456 | What Your Kids Will Remember: One Weekend a Year, Bedtime Prayers, and a Dad Who Kept Showing Up (The Blum Boys)

What will your kids actually remember about you? In this episode, three brothers in their twenties, Matt, Mike and Tommy Blum, sit down separately and describe the same dad: a man who prayed at their beds every night, read a devotional every morning, chose the hard path on purpose, and never missed the yearly canoe trip to the Boundary Waters. Nothing they remember cost much money, but every bit of it took a dad who kept showing up. KELLER, TX DadAwesome Dessert Gathering (Sunday, Oct 18th, 2026) - RSVP Form Key Takeaways Your kids remember the small things you repeat. A short prayer at the bedside every night and a three minute devotional every morning shaped three sons more than any big event. Choose the hard path on purpose. Saturday work days, chopping firewood, and wet cold weekends in a canoe taught these boys that discomfort is where growth happens. Protect one trip a year. The Blum family sacrificed sports, money and convenience to make the Boundary Waters trip every year, and that one weekend gave the boys a hidden place to connect with their dad away from distractions. Keep praying and keep inviting during the years they pull away. Each brother describes a season in middle school or high school when he hid from his dad, and each one says his dad stayed consistent and kept the door open anyway. Faith was invited, not forced. The brothers say they never felt Jesus was pushed on them. They knew they had their parents' love no matter what, and that made the invitation safe to accept. GUESTS Matt, Mike and Tommy Blum are three brothers in their twenties who grew up in the Twin Cities area under the roof of their dad, Chris Blum. Matt is the oldest and a new dad to a baby daughter. Mike is the middle brother, and Tommy is the youngest. All three follow Jesus and credit their dad's steady prayer, playful presence, and love of hard work with shaping who they are today. For close to two decades the Blum family has made an annual trip to the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota, and that trip is where Matt gave his life to Christ at age eleven. Key Quotes "There was a rock that was immovable and grounded, one that would pray with us every night no matter the season or turmoil he was going through." (Tommy Blum, reading his letter to his dad, 30:57) "It's such a simple thing that he's done, but that's what I think makes him the best. He shows up." (Matt Blum, 33:00) "It was a difficult game of volleyball, lots of balls in our court that we just left sitting on the ground. But he was steadfast with us and intentional despite our bad return rate." (Mike Blum, 21:48) "When I picture myself with Jesus, I picture myself in the bow of a canoe and Jesus is right behind me. He's the one steering the boat." (Matt Blum, 14:46) "I didn't feel like following Jesus was pushed on us. It was an invitation. And we knew we had our parents' love regardless." (Matt Blum, 21:06) 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 Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (northern Minnesota): https://www.fs.usda.gov/superior The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones Show notes: https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/456