Tag: Men

Taking Advantage of The Time

Great Opportunity is only as good as your preparation to take advantage of it.- Tom Black

 

In times of crises, your character really does speak louder than your words. Are you the type of person that is fighting in the stores, or someone who is trying to help his fellow neighbor? Now more than ever your actions tell on you.

Life Assessment
Morning Routine

Our attitudes determine a lot of how we view the world. It’s amazing how two people can see the same situation differently. Think of all the situations where you and your spouse see the same thing but differently.  

Our attitudes determine our outlook Click To Tweet

How are you viewing this time of COVID-19? Going stir crazy? Are you frustrated with trying to work from home? There is a way that you can make the most out of this time. 

 

  1. Set a Goal

 

Don’t think of this as some concrete, must be done type of thing. Instead, approach this as a motivation for your day. So whether it is work-related, reading a book, starting your side hustle, it doesn’t matter. You want to be able to set something out in front of you for your day. 

Goals are great just as a daily motivation. Most of us are either working from home or we are on temporary leave from work. It helps to ensure that we’re not just laying around in our sweatpants watching Netflix all day. 

 

  1. Encourage Yourself

 

There is something that can just happen to you when you spend all your time in one area. While there may be work to do or plenty of at home work projects, the fact of being contained can take its toll. 

It can be easy to fall into a rut and feel like the world is crashing in on you. This is the feeling that you’re fighting against. 

Encouraging yourself is mandatory during this time. If you’re like me, you took for granted the positive impact that being around other human beings has. Now they are longing for contact and connection with other human beings. 

Without being able to have that person to person contact, there is a greater need for us to find ways to keep ourselves encouraged. 

Have some extra prayer time, find some encouraging music. Laughter is also what will keep your spirit up. Whatever you need to keep yourself encouraged, this is the time to begin to surround yourself with that. 

 

  1. Read, Read, Read

 

So many people do not read books. There are so many different genres out there. Try a couple of different books. Don’t feel bad if you start a book and don’t finish it, just move on to a different genre and see if you like that type. There are plenty of options out there’s enough  if you’re not able to make it to a library. 

 

  • Audio-books – there are plenty of options outside of Audible. Most of them have a free trial period so try different ones and see what you like. 
  • Library Access – you may not be able to physically go to a library, but many of them have electronic services that will  offer eBooks and movies etc.
  • YouTube – don’t binge random videos, try learning a new skill 

 

Discussion Question:

How are you taking advantage of your time?

Opening Your Home

Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others. – Brian Tracy

It’s That Time of Year

It’s that time of year. The time where we get together with our friends and families. There are food, games and holiday movies to be enjoyed by all. While you’re enjoying this upcoming holiday season, I want you to think about the people that may not be as fortunate as you. 

Over the last couple of years, my wife and I have invited people from our church to spend the various holidays with us. To at least come and share a meal with us.

Sometimes it would be friends, but most times it would be someone  new might not have had family in town to spend the holiday with.  

Whether it was a barbecue for the 4th of July, a potluck style meal for Memorial Day or Thanksgiving. The heart behind it was to be able to spend time with people that we care about. 

The last couple of posts that I’ve written have to do with being thankful, and being thankful in our marriages. What we can’t forget is about extending that thankful spirit and inviting people into our circle. 

You may be a fortunate person who has loved ones, friends and people around you that you can enjoy the holidays with. Choose during this holiday season to be the change or be a positive influence on someone around you. This is the perfect time of year  to begin. This is where we can start. 

1. Look At Those That Are Close to Us

An easy place to start is to look at the people and relationships that are close to you. My wife and I started with people in our church, or people in our small groups. Those that as we got to know them, we realized that they might not have aplace to go. 

2. Be Wise and Pray

What I’m not saying is that you invite complete strangers into your home. What I am telling you is to pray and use wisdom. Build relationships with people. That’s part of what makes the various holidays fun. Getting to know people that you may not get to spend a lot time with otherwise. 

Pray about the people that you should have an impact on. You could be the influence that is needed in their life. 

3. Be Comfortable

Being comfortable in your own space is great. You don’t want to lose that. You have to be able to be yourself. You don’t want to bring people into your life,  if you are going to feel like to have to put on an act for them. 

Doing that doesn’t help them and only drains you. What really impacts people is when you are able to be yourself and be comfortable in your own skin. 

Discussion Question:

Have you ever invited someone into your home, or been invited into someone’s home during the holidays? What was the experience like?

A Heart of Thanksgiving

Did you know that being thankful is a lifestyle. We tend to think that it’s just an attitude or an emotion. True thankfulness goes deeper than that. We’ve settled for just saying “Thank You,” and think that is all being thankful is about. 

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” …-William Arthur Ward

Did you know that being thankful is a lifestyle. We tend to think that it’s just an attitude or an emotion. True thankfulness goes deeper than that. We’ve settled for just saying “Thank You,” and think that is all being thankful is about. 

This is the attitude that we bring into our marriages. The other day I was watching one of my newly favorite shows Fresh Off The Boat. I know I’m behind, but hey that’s the benefit of streaming services. I can watch when I want. 

A New But Familiar Scene

Anyway back to the episode that I was watching. It was one where the kids in the family had lice. In a comical way the mother was watching out for the kids and in the process contracted lice. The husband decided to leave the house so he could still work. Through this he learned a lesson about how much his wife does for the family. That was when you saw the light bulb go off and he was thankful for her. 

Too many times we treat being thankful like in the scene that I described above. We’re not truly thankful until something happens and removes something or someone from our life. Once we realize that it’s gone then we’re thankful. 

The scene above also can describe our marriages. Most men aren’t really thankful for their spouses until they are left in a situation where they have to take care of the kids and take on more duties for the family. That shouldn’t be. 

Approaching thankfulness this way makes it situational and too easily to forget. We want to have a heart of thankfulness. It’s better for us and our marriages if we can live a life that is full of thankfulness. It can be done, but it’s a process of growth just like everything else. 

1. Have a Gratitude List Every Day

It can be easy to forget the things we need to be thankful for if they are not at the top of our minds. I’m a big fan of journaling. As a way to bring some perspective to your day and preparing for it. As you journal it’s good to just everyday do a list of things that you are grateful for. 

Making this a practice that you do everyday is great for developing a heart and lifestyle of thankfulness. 

2. Be What You Want to See

Most of us want someone to be thankful for what we bring to the table. Whether it is what we do at our jobs or in our marriages, we want to feel appreciated and have someone be thankful for us. 

If we want to feel gratitude, then we have to give gratitude. The best way to develop a heart of thankfulness is to begin to show thankfulness to others. Your spouse should be the first one in line experience your new thanksgiving. 

3. Expect Nothing in Return

It’s not being truly thankful if you only do things for the response that you get. It won’t be from your heart if you you’re always looking for someone to acknowledge what you did. You’re thankfulness is then selfishness because you like the feeling you get when your act is recognized. 

It’s time to develop a thankful heart. This can take your self development, and your marriage to the next level. 

Discussion Question: 

What do you do to show thankfulness?