35KaDay

When your child says, “Dad, come look,” they may not just be asking you to see the Lego tower, the drawing, the bike trick, the bug, or the robot mopping the floor at QT. They may be asking: Will you enter my world for a minute? In this episode of 35KaDay / REBUILT, MD talks to fathers about presence, childhood, regret, fun, and the ordinary moments that become lifelong memories. There will come a...

Ever watched someone who hurt you keep winning and quietly wondered, “God, why do they get to win?” In this episode of 35KaDay / REBUILT, we talk about Psalm 73, resentment, envy, betrayal, bitterness, faith, and trusting God when life feels unfair.

Your past can explain you without defining you. In this episode of 35KaDay / REBUILT, we talk about the labels men carry, the old stories that still influence their decisions, and the younger versions of themselves that may still be running parts of their lives. A lot of men don’t realize how much of their current life is still being shaped by something that happened ten, twenty, or even thirty ye...

What will your kids actually remember about you when they're grown? A few days ago, I helped my 18-year-old daughter, Kiera, move into her college dorm. As I prepared to leave, she handed me a handwritten letter that answered a question I've quietly carried through much of fatherhood: Did I do enough? Was I enough? For years, I sometimes measured myself as a dad by what I could provide. The vacati...

What does a teenage daughter really need from her dad, and how does a father's presence shape the woman she eventually becomes? Two nights before I take my 18-year-old daughter, Kiera, to college, we sat down for one of the most honest conversations we've ever had about fatherhood, father-daughter relationships, teenage mental health, faith, divorce, trust, emotional safety, and preparing our kids...

What do children actually remember about their dad? Is it the vacations? The birthday gifts? The house? The money? The achievements? Or is it something much deeper? In this deeply personal episode of REBUILT, Michael-David shares an ordinary weekend that unexpectedly became one of the most meaningful moments of his life. As his daughter prepared to leave for college, her lifelong best friend stopp...

Can a father who has made mistakes still have the right to give his children advice? It's a question many dads quietly wrestle with. When you've experienced divorce, financial struggles, failed relationships, regret, or seasons where you simply weren't the man you wanted to be, it's easy to wonder whether you're being hypocritical by encouraging your children to make better choices than you did. I...

There are seasons in a man's life when nothing is technically falling apart... but something still feels heavy. You're still showing up. Still going to work. Still paying bills. Still taking care of your family. Still carrying responsibilities. But beneath the surface, you're wrestling with questions you can't quite explain. In this deeply personal episode of REBUILT, Michael-David opens up about...

Why does graduation hit dads so hard? In this episode of 35KaDay / REBUILT, I open up about what it feels like to watch my daughter Kiera graduate high school and step into adulthood. It’s one of the proudest moments of my life, but it’s also brought a kind of grief I didn’t expect. Not grief because something bad is happening. Grief because something beautiful mattered deeply. For a lot of father...

In this powerful episode of REBUILT, Michael-David dives into the invisible labels that shape how our kids see themselves, and the ones many dads are still carrying in silence. After witnessing a moving example of a young girl labeled as “unwanted,” “unlovable,” and “not enough,” Michael-David reflects on the impact of a parent’s presence and voice, and how quickly those labels began to fall off w...

In this episode of REBUILT, Michael-David shares a powerful reflection on brotherhood, connection, and what it truly means to show up as a man for other men. After attending a high-level leadership summit surrounded by CEOs, founders, and high-performing leaders, a simple but meaningful moment stood out, a genuine, brotherly embrace from another man who didn’t need anything … but simply saw him. T...

In this episode of REBUILT, Michael-David speaks directly to dads who feel like their kids are pulling away and/or feeling a change in their relationship. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Did I do something wrong?”… well, you’re not alone. After seeing a post from a father struggling with his 13-year-old daughter becoming more distant, Michael-David shares his own experience navigating these transi...

In this episode of REBUILT, Michael-David shares a deeply personal reflection on fatherhood, patience, and the quiet ways children are shaped - not by what we say, but by what they see. After witnessing his daughter confidently share her testimony at church, and his young son stand up for the first time to sing and raise his hands simply by watching his sister, a powerful truth became clear: Kids...

In this deeply personal episode of REBUILT, Michael-David opens up about the guilt many divorced fathers quietly carry. If you’ve ever driven to pick up your kids and wondered, “Am I enough?”… this conversation is for you. From the weight of custody transitions to the fear of being blamed for a broken home, this episode explores the emotional reality many dads don’t talk about. Michael-David share...

In this one-on-one conversation, I sit down with Liz Townsend, a senior partner at a global management consulting firm, Gallup-certified strengths coach, former VP of 24 Hour Fitness, former COO of MyFitFoods, and current board member of Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas. Liz has spent decades inside high-growth, high-pressure organizations, from small teams to billion-dollar brands helping le...

Most men are carrying more than they ever say out loud. Pressure to provide. Expectations to stay strong. Questions they don’t feel safe asking. Doubts they keep buried because they learned early that honesty can cost you respect. In this episode of REBUILT, we talk about something simple — and quietly life-changing: what happens when men finally talk. Not therapy. Not fixing. Not unloading everyt...

If you’ve ever wondered, “Is it too late to be the dad my kids need?” this episode is for you. So many men carry quiet regret about their parenting. Missed games. Short tempers. Long work hours. Seasons where survival mode took over and presence slipped. And most dads assume the window closed … that the past defines the relationship forever. It doesn’t. In this episode of REBUILT, we talk honestly...

Most dads don’t feel like they’re failing, they feel unsure. Unsure if they’re doing this right. Unsure why their kids melt down at home. Unsure why transitions feel so hard. Unsure if they’re giving their kids what they actually need emotionally, not just practically. In this episode of REBUILT, we talk about what kids are really asking for from their dad not through words, but through behavior....

If you’ve been doing everything you were told would work—grinding, pushing, staying disciplined, trying to stay faithful—and yet you still feel tired, scattered, or stuck… this episode is for you. This conversation is not about quitting effort or ignoring responsibility. It’s about the quiet truth many men are afraid to admit: forcing life out of fear will drain you, even when you’re doing “the ri...

Many men feel trapped in a constant tug-of-war. On one side: hustle harder, push more, don’t slow down, don’t fall behind. On the other: trust God, let go, have faith, stop striving. And somewhere in the middle… anxiety, exhaustion, confusion, and guilt. In this episode of REBUILT, Michael-David speaks directly to the man who feels stuck between grinding and trusting God. The man who works hard, c...

The pressure to perform is breaking men, and most don’t even realize it. This episode is for the man who feels like no matter how hard he works, it never feels like enough. The man who can’t fully rest without guilt. The man whose mind never shuts off because deep down, he believes if he doesn’t push harder, everything will fall apart. In this conversation, we unpack the quiet tension so many men...

Betrayal doesn’t just hurt ... it changes how a man thinks. When trust is broken by someone you let close, the damage isn’t limited to the relationship. It gets into your head. It shapes your expectations. It rewires how you read people, situations, and even yourself. In this final episode of the betrayal series, we talk about what happens after the initial pain, when betrayal quietly turns into t...

Most men don’t struggle because they’re weak. They struggle because they’ve been carrying too much ... alone ... for too long. In this episode of REBUILT, Michael-David speaks directly to the silent weight so many men carry but rarely name. From childhood conditioning to unspoken expectations of strength, this conversation unpacks how men learn to suppress emotion, isolate, and believe that suffer...

Most men don’t stay silent about their mental health because they don’t feel anything. They stay silent because they were taught that feeling was unsafe. From a young age, many men learn that emotions are something to suppress, hide, or “handle on their own.” Over time, that silence becomes a habit, one that follows men into adulthood, relationships, leadership, and fatherhood. In this episode of...

Betrayal changes a man. Not just how he trusts others — but how safe he feels inside himself. After betrayal, many men don’t explode. They withdraw. They isolate. They pull back to protect what’s left. In this final episode of the REBUILT betrayal series, Michael-David walks men through what comes after the silence — how to rebuild trust without becoming hardened, guarded, or alone. This conversat...