Grace, Grit, and the 4:30 AM Wake-Up Call

The house is silent. At 4:30 AM, there are no "where are my cleats or have you seen my glove?" shouts of "Hey Dad, can I…. Or did you hear about Bo Nix!!, when you are on a Teams call trying to solve corporate financial problems?" It's just me, the LORD, and a moment of fellowship in the Word. It is a moment that Grace meets me and I meet with Grace.

Between a 20-year corporate career with the same company and serving as a full-time pastor, my days can feel like a marathon. I have children ranging from 31 down to 10. That's three decades of schedules, milestones, and needs overlapping all at once. People often ask me, "How do you do it all?"

My answer is always the same: 1 Corinthians 15:10.

"By the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

If God's Grace isn't the engine, the car doesn't move. It's His Grace that gives us the power to love our wives well, to shepherd our children's hearts, and to show up for our families of faith. Circumstance happens everyday and some days do feel heavier than others. But lets be honest the circumstance does not dictate to the Grace, the Grace transforms the circumstance to moments of victory.

The Stewardship of Time

As dads, we want to be present. We want to be the ones cheering at the soccer game and the ones leading family prayer. But it's hard to lead when you're constantly reacting to scheduling fires, corporate deadlines, and people expectations. Sometimes I feel like the DMV, calling out the next number in line. There is no way to do this without The Way. The Way is a person and His name is Jesus Christ. Our God is a God of order and His Grace that was bestowed upon me was not in vain.

I've lived the life of schedule conflicts and priorities out of sequence. I've missed seeing my son run the opening kick off back in pee wee football because I was stuck in a conference on the other side of the country. Or watching my oldest son hit his first home run and Glynda not being there to see it because she was stuck in an operating recovery room caring for a post-op heart patient. There may be moments that we have to be somewhere else and we feel divided. And though we labor abundantly, that labor shouldn't be spent in a state of chaos.

Putting Grace on Display

I built HomeCalendar because I believe our homes should be places of peace, not mission control centers in crisis.

When you can see everyone's schedule — the piano lessons, hitting practice, the date nights — in one view, the communication is improved and the family vision is written. When your kitchen has a digital command center that stays in sync with your phone, your laptop, or any device you use, order is an outcome.

Using a tool to organize your life isn't about "efficiency" for the sake of a bottom line. It's about stewardship. It's about clearing the clutter from your mind so you have more room for the hearts of your wife and children.

A Resource for the Journey

If you're drowning in the chaos of a 6-person schedule, I want to encourage you: You were called to this, Dad. You have the grace for this. And sometimes, that grace looks like order that puts everyone on the same page.

With HomeCalendar, you get:

• One View — See every Google Calendar in the house at a glance.
• No More Guesswork — Color-coded events so you know who is where, instantly.
• Conflict Detection — Catch double-bookings before they become frustrations.

It is 4:40 AM, I have been up since 3:30 this morning with this thought on my mind to share with you.

Let's honor Him by being present for the moments that matter most.

Let's move better together.

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Ready to bring order to your family's schedule? Try HomeCalendar free for 14 days and see what peace looks like when everyone is on the same page.