What women want… to know

March 8, 2010 in Faith, Kingdom, Marriage, Ministry | Leave a comment

Last week I was invited to attend a MOPS meeting. For those that are unfamiliar, MOPS stands for Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers. MOPS programs are faith-based gatherings of Moms “who all share a similar desire to be the very best moms they can be!” You can learn more about them here: MOPS.

While I do still have one not yet in school, I am not (nor have I ever been) a Mother! Why was I invited you ask, because these women had questions and they wanted answers. I know what you’re thinking and no I didn’t do anything to them or their gathering.

I and three other men were invited to answer questions about being Christian husbands, fathers and grandfathers. Answering these questions was much more difficult than I expected. It forced me to examine my all of my relationships; wife, kids, other husbands and wives – even my ministry.

A room of 30-40 wives and mothers were seeking answers to very specific questions!

I have listed the questions below for you.

How would you answer them?

How are we doing as preachers and teachers at addressing questions like these within our ministries?

  • What would your advice be for a wife/mother whose husband is not saved?
  • How do you and your spouse work as a team to balance work & family life?
  • How would your life be different if you switched roles with your spouse?
  • What do you do to de-stress after you walk through the door after work? How can we as wives help with the transition from work to home?
  • What do you enjoy most about being a dad?
  • How can we be more supportive to our husbands?
  • Love & Respect…….What ways can we encourage our husbands and show respect?
  • What pressures do you feel as a husband?
  • What makes you feel loved?
  • What would make you feel more comfortable as a dad?
  • What do you want your wife to know?
  • How has life changed after becoming a grandpa?
  • How can wives (with small children especially) put their husbands before the children?
  • In what ways do you stay connected to your grandchildren, whether they live close or far away?
  • How do you and your wife handle differences in opinions that may arise when it comes to growing the family with more children?
  • As dads and grandpa, how do you keep Christ at the center of your family? What recommendations would you give to other fathers that are struggling with this? What recommendations would you give to wives that desire this for their families?

Drowning?

February 22, 2009 in Faith, Reflecting | 1 comment

I had lunch with a new friend this week. As I was driving him back to his car he pointed out that we had something in common.

We both have made a similar choice in our lives that forces us into complete dependence on our creator. I believe my friend made his choice knowing what that he would be relying on God. After five years of living in my choice, I am still finding ways that I have been relying on God.

At work I tend to put my iPod on shuffle and just let it play in one ear throughout the day. One song has begun to standout. It is by Lifehouse.

I don’t know much about them and only have a cd of theirs because I fell in love with this video: Everything (the first minute seemed a little weird but I HIGHLY recommend that you push through it).

So after watching that video a million times, I bought a Lifehouse CD and listened to it once – almost two years ago.

Suddenly in the past few weeks a song catches my attention on my iPod, so I spent some time in the car with it playing loudly and just soaking in the lyrics.

Verse 1 begins:

“How long have I been in this storm
so overwhelmed by the ocean’s shapeless form
water’s getting harder to tread
with these waves crashing over my head”

Then the music comes in on the chorus:

“If I could just see you
everything will be alright
if I’d see you
the storminess will turn to light
and I will walk on water
and you will catch me if I fall
and I will get lost into your eyes
and everything will be alright
and everything will be alright”

Verse 2 begins with the line that moves me:

“I know you didn’t bring me out here to drown
so why am I 10 feet under and upside down
barely surviving has become my purpose
cause I’m so used to living underneath the surface”

God doesn’t bring us into shapeless forms of life to let us drown, but to learn to rely on Him.

We need to ask ourselves:   Are we drowning or just learning to walk on water?

May God continue to help me see Him, bless my friend as he leans on Him, and bless you when you feel ten feet under and upside-down.

14 Observations for the New Year

January 1, 2009 in Faith, Kingdom, Personal, Random, Reflecting | 1 comment


  1. Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~Hal Borland
  2. Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. ~Oprah Winfrey
  3. Ring out the old, ring in the new,
    Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
    The year is going, let him go;
    Ring out the false, ring in the true.
    ~Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850
  4. Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever. ~Mark Twain
  5. People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas. ~Author Unknown
  6. Glory to God in highest heaven,
    Who unto man His Son hath given;
    While angels sing with tender mirth,
    A glad new year to all the earth.
    ~Martin Luther
  7. We meet today
    To thank Thee for the era done,
    And Thee for the opening one.
    ~John Greenleaf Whittier
  8. One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things. ~John Burroughs
  9. A happy New Year! Grant that I
    May bring no tear to any eye
    When this New Year in time shall end
    Let it be said I’ve played the friend,
    Have lived and loved and labored here,
    And made of it a happy year.
    ~Edgar Guest
  10. We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws, but for potential. ~Ellen Goodman
  11. May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions. ~Joey Adams
  12. I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the year’s. ~Henry Moore
  13. Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~Benjamin Franklin

This year I am trying something different. Leonard Sweet tweeted the idea, I am just borrowing it. 

“Less resolutions and more resolve”

 

 

 More resolve to seek His kingdom first…

More resolve to listen to only His voice…

More resolve to give my all to God…

More resolve to be kinder to myself…

 

 

 

What about you? What best describes your approach to the new year?

Happy 2009!!

Welcome to this blog

A few decades back I discovered a song title, Curious Intentions. I have always thought of those words as a metaphor for my personality – I am insanely curious and try hard to be intentional in everything. This blog is a place to explore the thoughts, trials and experiences of being a Divine Dirt Clod.

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