There is no title I hold more dearly than “Dad.”

I have been honored to serve the people of Arkansas in the State Senate, and I take that responsibility seriously. But when I walk through my front door at the end of the day, the most important work of my life begins — the work of raising a family. My wife and I are raising three children, and every day we are reminded that this is not just a personal privilege. It is a sacred calling, a patriotic duty, and perhaps the most consequential thing either of us will ever do. Arkansas is a state built on faith, family, and hard work. Those are not just words on a campaign sign - they are the values that hold communities together, that build generations of strong citizens, and that keep this great state anchored in something lasting. I believe fatherhood sits at the very center of that foundation.

Scripture tells us in Proverbs 13:22 that “a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children.” I think about that verse often. The inheritance I want to leave my children - and God willing, my grandchildren - is not merely financial. It is a legacy of character. Of grit. Of resilience. It is the knowledge that life will be hard, that the road will not always be smooth, but that those who fix their eyes on the Lord will not be shaken. My prayer is that when my children face adversity - and they will - they reach for faith before they reach for anything else and put their trust in God above all.

My wife and I are intentional about this. We talk openly with our kids about struggle, about failure, about getting back up. We want to raise children who are not fragile, who do not crumble at the first sign of hardship. We want to raise young men and women of conviction, who serve others before themselves, who understand that a life well-lived is measured by what you give, not what you accumulate.

That is also why I serve in public office. My goal has never been power or recognition. It has been to build a better Arkansas - not just for the people alive today, but for the children who will inherit this state tomorrow. Every vote I cast, every policy I champion, I am thinking about my grandchildren. What kind of Arkansas will they grow up in? What kind of country? That long view shapes everything and strives to be God-honoring and family strengthening.

I also want to say something that too often goes unsaid in our public discourse: fatherhood and motherhood are both irreplaceable. They are different by design, and that difference matters profoundly. A mother nurtures in ways a father cannot fully replicate. A father provides structure, protection, and presence in ways equally unique. Both are essential to the healthy development of a child. When one is absent - for whatever reason - there is a void. And voids do not stay empty. They get filled, often with something unhealthy, something out of balance. Our children deserve both.

In this season of fatherhood, I am grateful - deeply, humbly grateful - for my wife, who is my partner in this great adventure. I am grateful for three children who challenge me to be better every single day. I'm grateful for the men God put in my life including my father, coaches, teachers, pastors, colleagues, and friends that were great Godly men. And I am grateful to live in a state that still believes, at its core, that family is the building block of everything worth preserving.

The future of Arkansas will not be decided in the Senate chamber alone. It will be decided at kitchen tables, in church pews, in basketball gyms, and in bedrooms where fathers kneel to pray with their children before the lights go out.

That is the work that matters most. That is the legacy worth leaving.