Dad’s Secrets to Winning at Home

If it seems that your family is not connecting, think about the following and put together an action plan.

1. Pray about your priorities. Ask God to help you order your life according to His priorities. Companies in this country and workaholic dads need to be reminded about their priorities. Am I suggesting that Christian dads and employees abandon the search for excellence in the workplace? No. But we need to get our priorities in order.

2. Think through your opportunities. Often promotions (or positioning yourself for one) come with a corresponding increase in workload and hours. Is it worth it?

3. Consider changing jobs. No job is worth sacrificing your spouse or children. No career is more important than your relationship with those you love.

4. Stop gift wrapping the garbage – or anything else that drives you to perfection and sacrifices valuable time with your family. Do you want to be remembered for having a beautiful lawn and clean cars or having a wonderful family?

5. Monitor your family’s level of involvement in organized activities. Sports, music, and educational programs are needed for our children to lead balanced lives, but how much is enough?

6. Commit to regular family times together. Schedule regular family nights or family outings. Guard those times as you would any other appointment.

7. Slow down and live. For many of us, the pace of our lives is self-imposed.  Remember that you do have a choice about what you do and the schedule you keep. Do you hurry to go on vacation, hurry to enjoy it, and hurry to drive home, so you can hurry on to something else?

A lack of time may be the most pervasive enemy towards a healthy family.

Take it on a deeper level: Get a group of Dad’s and go through Men’s Fraternity: Winning at Work and at Home. It will change your life.

Top 10 Issues facing today’s family: #9 Balancing Work and Family

More Churches Focusing on the Home

The last few weeks I have had the privilege to meet with several church leaders that are strategically focusing their efforts on the HOME.  Below are a few common themes I’ve picked picked up on.  Take note that none of the ideas listed below are new programs… just connecting the dots with existing ministries.

• Men and Women’s ministry equips individuals to live their faith at HOME.
• Small groups focus on equipping people and holding them accountable for living out their faith in the HOME.
• Your prayer ministry equips every family to pray regularly in their HOMES instead of focusing on a few big prayer events at church.
• Sermons include an emphasis on taking the message HOME and living it out daily.
• Bible Studies equip adults to be like Christ in their HOMES and community.
• Children’s ministry helps equip parents to have faith talks with their children at HOME.
• Student ministry helps parents keep their teenagers engaged in a walk with the Lord through ongoing faith talks at HOME.
• Outreach ministries refocuses what they do to allow families to be involved in outreach.
• Preaching and teaching that provides practical examples and personal challenges for Christ-like living in the HOME.

Churches that value and encourage families have limitless resources and opportunities for impact in the community. Feel free to share your ideas. What is your church doing?

Simple Truths for the Home

Consider these truths for your home.  What would you add? Below are a few.  The list could go on forever.

If your job gets your best energy, your marriage will wither.

Your primary relationship is with your spouse, not your children.

Love isn’t just a feeling; it’s an action that shows our caring.

Expectations set us up for resentment.

Your opinion is not the truth.

Generosity of spirit is the foundation of great relationships.

Forgiveness isn’t a one time event; it’s a process.

There’s a difference between sex and intimacy.

The capacity to feel joy grows in proportion to the capacity to experience pain.

Just keep talking.