Next Friday, one week from today, the movie Courageous opens in theaters across the USA.

I was invited to a pre-screening earlier this summer, and I can tell you it was a very emotionally “moving” experience for me to watch this movie.

Go see this movie. Seriously.

Take your wife, or go with a buddy or two. (But I don’t recommend bringing your children. With a law enforcement storyline, it includes violence and themes inappropriate for them.)

Without giving too much of the storyline away, the movie is about the lives of five dads, four of whom work together as police officers. Each dad comes from a different background and upbringing, which impacts their roles as fathers and how they handle issues of faith and family in the movie.

The movie is very fast-paced, full of action, and “what’s-gonna-happen-next?” moments.

You can watch the opening scene and trailer here–
http://www.courageousthemovie.com

To find a theater showing Courageous near you, go to http://www.courageousthemovie.com/theaterlist

Mark your calender. September 30. Go see this movie.

And let me know how it impacts you.

Blessings to you and your family,
Joey Watkins
a fellow Family Dad

PS – I’d like to send you a resource called Courageous Living which includes inspiring quotes from the movie and excellent devotional messages for men on faith and family. We will mail it to you (in the US or Canada) with a donation of any amount to FamilyDads during the month of September.

PPS – Please contact FamilyDads if you recently signed up through the FamilyDads link for the training group I recommend called Inner Circle with Ryan Lee. I’d really like to help you implement this training and develop more time for your family.

The events in Japan over the past week have been absolutely tragic. You’ve no doubt seen many of the tsunami videos showing the utter devastation from the massive waves of ocean water destroying everything in their path.

And now the threat of nuclear meltdown causes an even graver threat to these people, their country, and their economy.

Did you know that Tokyo, Japan, just 230 miles south of the epicenter of the earthquake, has over 32 million people and is by far the largest metro area in the entire world?

We can certainly pray with our families for the half-million displaced Japanese people and all those who lost loved ones from the floods, and we can look for ways to help, but we also need to learn an urgent lesson from this massive earthquake:

We each need to prepare our family for the possibility of a natural or man-made disaster nearby.

“The prudent man foresees calamity and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” -Prov 27:12

A prominent geologist with an accurate track record has predicted an upcoming earthquake in the USA in the days ahead based on patterns of recent earthquakes in Chile, New Zealand, Japan, the upcoming moon position, and the mass deaths of wild animals in recent weeks.

Several days before watching this video, I felt strongly impressed to research earthquake information in the USA.  There are two major fault lines — the San Andreas fault along the West Coast, and the New Madrid faultline along the Mississippi River.

Here are some pages you might want to bookmark:
Largest earthquakes in past 7 days
Map of Nuclear Reactors across the USA
Current Radiation Levels across the USA
Disaster Preparedness Checklist

This is not meant to sound “alarmist” or fear-mongering, but rather, as scripture says… to be “prudent.” In a nation that has become completely dependent on electricity, cell phones, and the Internet, we would be “prudent” to prepare for a situation in which we might be without these for an extended period of time.

Having witnessed the destruction in Japan, let us each take careful measures to be ready for what may come our way next.

Please pass this info along.

With all the news and media frenzy surrounding the untimely death of pop star Michael Jackson at the age of 50, this article takes a look at Michael’s life from a different angle… the role his father Joseph Jackson played in his life.

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When he was 12, his parents separated. He moved to Oakland CA with his father until the age of 18.

Then he moved to Chicago to be near his mother.

He was briefly married, then ended that marriage and married another woman.

He was a crane operator for a steel company, played guitar in a band with his brother, and later returned to his “day job” when the band failed to get a record deal while his wife “tended to the children.”

He discovered his children had musical talent and began to manage their budding careers. As their success increased, he reportedly required his children to call him “Joseph” instead of “father” or “dad.”

Over the years, his children told stories to the media of their dad’s physical and emotional abusiveness to them.

Holding them upside down, tripping them, pushing them into walls, screaming, shouting, and frightening them are just some of the stories they relayed about their father.

One of his sons, Michael,  shared that he often cried from loneliness and would sometimes get sick or start to vomit upon seeing his father.

He recalled that his dad sat in a chair with a belt in his hand when he and his siblings rehearsed and that “if you didn’t do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you.”

Who was this dad? He was Joseph Jackson, the father of the late pop music icon Michael Joseph Jackson.

As millions around the world have followed the recent story of Michael’s death in the news and media, it’s worth reflecting on how Michael’s life, behavior, and tragic death were impacted by the violent, abusive, wounded relationship he had with his father, again reminding us of the power of influence we fathers have in the lives of our children.

According to childhood friend Brooke Shields, Michael Jackson’s favorite song (not one of his own, by the way) was called “Smile” and included a line that said… ”Smile though your heart is aching.”

Life is short. Find healing from your own paternal past. Ask forgiveness where you’ve blown it with your children and spouse. And make the most of your influence in your family for good. Because, fellow dad, only you have “father power.”

Bio Source:

http://www.information.is-the-coolest.com/x/Joseph_Jackson.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Jackson

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Joey Watkins is a husband, father of four children, and founder of FamilyDads, a dad-founded and dad-focused organization committed to helping dads prioritize and lead their family. In a culture that minimizes fatherhood, dads need to know the tremendous influence they have in their sons’ and daughters’ lives and destinies, and they need encouragement from other dads as they lead their family. Sign up for the FamilyDads eNewsletter at http://www.FamilyDads.com

We have been enjoying the Dad Summit in the live webinar sessions this week.

Norm Wakefield and Todd Wilson have given us very helpful messages on identity, turning our hearts toward our children, our “father power”, and how to love our wives and live with them in an understanding way.

The recordings have turned out great and should be available for access on Wednesday to those who have registered for the Dad Summit.

Tonight we will have another special guest.

Craig Hill is the Founder of Family Foundations Intl. His passion is helping God’s people discover and walk in God’s very best for our lives.

One of the primary areas is finances and money.

Craig teaches on this topic in a very unique way, especially on Jesus’ admonition about serving God vs. mammon and seeking first God’s Kingdom.

This is a VERY positive message and life-changing.

Craig’s little book, Living On The Third River, absolutely revolutionized my thinking about money in a way no other book on money and finances has.

I have shared this book with others and it has transformed their thinking and perspective about money, mammon, blessing, and abundance, and raised their trust in God to a new level.

Craig will be with us tonight at 9pm and 10pm Eastern.

If you get this email in time, it’s not too late to join us at the live Dad Summit webinar sessions tonight with Craig.

You can register at this link and also get access to the recordings of all the other sessions too–

http://www.dadresources.com/Dad-Summit_c_36.html

Hope to see you tonight!

Blessings,

Joey Watkins, Founder of FamilyDads.com

PS – We will also be emailing instructions for  accessing the recordings of the Dad Summit sessions. (Recordings are included with registration.)

In the spirit of true manhood (or more likely just for fun), we have decided to hold a contest!

There will be five winners. Each winner will receive a resource from one of our Dad Summit speakers, shown below. To enter the contest, simply register for the Dad Summit by the contest deadline, which is this Friday, June 12 at Midnight Eastern time zone. We will randomly select five winners who will each receive a free resource, compliments of FamilyDads.

The five resources are:

Equipping Men  12-CD Audio Set by Norm Wakefield $35 Value Learn More

Porn Nation: Conquering  America’s #1 Addiction by Michael Leahy $19 Value Learn More

Disciple Like Jesus:  For Parents by Alan Melton $16 Value Learn More

Father Power by Todd Wilson $10 Value Learn More

Living On The 3rd River by Craig Hill $6 Value Learn More

Each of these resources is excellent and very practical for dads. I highly recommend them all!

Your chances of winning will depend on how many Dad Summit registrations are in by June 12. Already, dads have registered from GA, CA, FL, TN, IN, NC, NJ, AZ, KY, AR, TX, MD, Germany, and Canada.

Here’s how the contest will work:

Every Dad Summit registration received by Friday, June 12 at midnight (Eastern time zone) will be placed in a hat (including those who already registered), from which my son Andrew will draw out
five winners.

If your name is drawn, we will email you and let you know which resource you won.

The Dad Summit will truly be an opportunity to be encouraged, challenged, and equipped in your role as a husband and father. We will look at core issues for men — issues of the heart — including a man’s identity, father power, practical marriage tips, discipling your children, money matters, temptation, and more.

To review session details, speaker bios, and registration info about the Dad Summit, which starts on Sunday night June 21, go to– http://www.DadSummit.com

If you’ve already seen all the info and are ready to register, just go straight to the registration page.

Even if you can’t participate all five nights of the Dad Summit, you can still access all 10 session recordings by registering.

Hope to have you with us at the first-ever Dad Summit!