Great Dates Take a Plan

Every man likes going on a well planned date. If something is well thought out and works to perfection, it is sort of like winning a competition. Men are competitive, and when they can please their wife and fill her with joy, that is the ultimate victory!

I don’t know about you, but I love to make my wife happy and see her really enjoy herself. Taking her out on a thoughtful date is one way I can make her feel valued, and special. She puts in so much work throughout the week, keeping our families’ schedule organized, chauffeuring kids here and there, making meals that I can come home to, as well as the majority of the household chores. So, when I can rally back with an extra fun activity that gets the two of us out and in a position of full engagement with one another, that is a real win!

However, even though I truly enjoy being creative for my wife and it’s something I like to do, I don’t often make the time to do it. So, when I came upon this great resource, Six Great Dates, I was intrigued and fired up! Each date is set up with a template/planning guide that you simply follow. Just fill in the places you would like to go, and provide the good conversation! These ideas are very creative, and you men really need to dive on this opportunity. 

As you test it out, please respond with your opinions or success stories! We’d love to hear them. Thanks!  Trent Anderson – WBL Grace Pastor

http://marriedlifeonline.com/greatdate_np.jsp

Questions for a Frantic Family

 

 

“If my clients ran their companies the way we run this family, they’d be out of business.”

I couldn’t resist this one. Patrick Lencioni is one of my favorite authors and speakers. He’s been featured at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit and has written some great books like “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” and “Silos, Politics and Turf Wars.” To see him tackle the organizational challenges of today’s busy families is awesome and worth passing on to you. So, instead of giving you it all in one big lump, I’ll be going though it so you can digest things in better bite-sized pieces.

As he takes us through a fable of a frantic family and their frustration with schedules and pace of life, Lencioni poses six questions that a consultant would ask a company to help clarify who they are:

!.  What is your ultimate reason you’re in business? (core purpose)

2.  What are the essential characteristics that are inherent in your organization and that you would never knowingly violate?  (core values)

3.  What specifically does your organization do and for whom?  (organizational definition)

4.  How do you go about doing what you do that differentiates you from your competitors and gives you an advantage?  (strategy)

5.  What is your biggest priority and what do you need to accomplish it?  (goals)

6.  Who has to do what to achieve your goals?  (roles and responsibilities)

Now, take these questions and begin to apply them to your organization – your family.  What are the answers you come up with? 

 

 

Not Without You – Part 2 – Salt & Light

I love Mexican food. I could eat Mexican food at every meal, including breakfast. I love the flavors of green chilies, cilantro and fresh onion. I love salty tortilla chips and home-made salsa. I’m getting hungry right now as I write.

One day, I thought I’d try some low sodium products, thinking it would be a healthy alternative.  It may be healthier, but it was so bland, boring and flavorless—that I threw it away.   

One of my favorite passages is Matthew 5:13-16, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world. Like a city on the hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

I think Jesus said this because he really desires and calls each and every follower of his to be salt to those around us. Salt gives flavor, it preserves and it creates thirst. Light exposes reality and shows us the path to follow. So, as a family or married couple—are you salt and light to those around you? Do people see Christ in you, in your marriage and in your family? Are you creating a thirst for Christ among those in your neighborhood?