Do this one thing - trust me (please follow the instructions just this one time)

This past Monday, I received an email from a good friend who had copied me in this ultimate chain of emails.  Here is the thing, I am going to ask all of our readers to do this and in return see how God blesses you in the course of weeks to come through His living word.  All I ask is that you following these instructions:===

We're starting a collective, constructive, and hopefully uplifting Bible verse exchange. It's a one-time thing and we hope you will participate. We have picked those we think would be faithful, and make it fun. Please send an encouraging Bible verse to the person whose name is in position 1 below (even if you don't know him or her). It should be a favorite verse that has lifted you when you were experiencing challenging times. Don't agonize over it--it is one you reach for when you need it or the one that you always turn to.

1. Lance (lance@legacydad.com)
2. Dante (dante@legacydad.com)

After you've sent the verse to the person in position 1, and only that person, copy this letter into a new email, move my name to position 1 and put your name in position 2. Only my name and your name should show when you email. Send to 20 friends BCC (blind copy). If you cannot do this in five days, let us know so it will be fair to those participating. It's fun to see where they come from. Seldom does anyone drop out because we all need new ideas and inspiration. The turnaround is fast, as there are only two names on the list, and you only have to do it once.

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Try this and see what the Word of God does in your life.  For me, some timely verse have come from the oddest places - even with people that I do not personally know.  The Word of God is living and active and able to separate bone from marrow - try it and let's see where this goes.

Hope this blesses you as much as it has blessed me in the course of just 5 business days - Wow God!  You are awesome!!!

Blessings,

Dante

Dads, you don't need a manual, rather, you need Immanuel

Dad's, Men of Faith, Countrymen (those of us who are adopted sons of God)....I may have referenced an old TV show called the Greatest American Hero.  It had two men that were walking thru life together, one was a government employee while the other found the suit.  They both lost the manual that explained how to use the suit to be a superhero, so they had to have trials and tribulations along the way to use the suit.  Some times I feel like we try to do that in our spiritual lives along with our everyday work lives.  That is, we are trying to figure out the secret to life and to be the best dad, the best husband, the best men that the world has.  The trying is clearly altruistic, but the way we get there is flawed.  What I mean to say is that we have to change our trajectory.  We have to re-set our sights in order to be the marksmen that God calls us to be.  WE have to set our targets on the One whom all blessings flow - Jesus Christ.Dads, we don't need a manual, rather, we need Immanuel.  Matthew 1:22-23, (ESV) "²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,     and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us)."  For those of us that profess Jesus Christ as Lord, then we have Immanuel - God is with us!  His Holy Spirit is in us!  What more could we ask for.  He gave us his Word, The Bible.  If we set our sights on Him and we focus on His words for our lives then we can reclaim that which God gives us - his storehouse of blessings and love beyond belief.

This afternoon I had coffee with a great friend of mine, who is also an Elder with me at our church.  A lot of times we just share and talk about life and its pings and pangs along the way.  He holds me accountable (along with a few others in my life).  I like that.  Today, he told me that he was worried about me last week and that he was waiting to ask me what was going on.  I love that.  I love that he noticed something about me and wasn't going to let me go at it alone.  That is why God calls us to go 2x2 in ministry.  Not to do this alone, as Lance so eloquently put it in this past post.  God has a plan for us.  A plan not to harm us, but to prosper us.  Please note that I am not talking about riches and wealth in worldly terms (as some might do), rather, I am talking about the abundant life that he promises to those who love and obey him.

I think a lot of problems that we, as Christians have, is that we forget Immanuel and try to make up our own manual.  Thereby making our lives and our agenda our gods (small "g").  We need to give up these scrawny manuals and give in to God's Immanuel for each and every one of our lives.

Where can you start:

1.  Read his word EVERYDAY (commit to it today)

2. Join a bible believing, Holy Spirit filled Church and Serve

3. Get involved in a men's group and/or Mini-Church

4.  Give up your manual and accept God's Immanuel

5.  _______________________  (what are some of your places to start and work through?)

Blessings,

Dante

Lone Ranger Syndrome

Like most men, I love games, movies and stories of the lone hero.  The Lone Survivor, The Lone Ranger, The Game Winner.1 second left on the clock, the game is tied and the opposing team is trying to kick a field goal from 56 yards away to win the game and seal their victory run to the Championships.  You're in the end zone waiting and watching.  The ball is snapped, the kick is up and it's short of the uprights.  You catch the ball and run...

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The problem with my image is that behind every Lone Survivor and every Game Winner is usually a team or squad of men and women who support us, encourage us and often push us beyond our comfort zones.  Although, they are often not seen when we reach the winners circle.

I grew up watching John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Arnold and Stallone.  They'd HALO jump behind enemy lines or ride into town all by themselves and then take on the Mongol Hordes single-handed without ever reloading their guns!!  It makes for great Hollywood.

The problem lays when we take this Hollywood image and try to apply it to our lives, especially our spiritual walks.

Dante has been giving you a great synopsis of our time at the recent Act Like Men Conference in Indianapolis. We met some great men, many Legacy Dad supporters and heard some powerful talks from some of today's leading Pastors. But I came home depressed, frustrated and feeling isolated.  That weekend, I sat side by side with 12,600 men who were passionate about leading our lives for Christ and being the spiritual leaders of our homes, churches and communities.  But when I came home, my Band of Brothers was gone and I was back to being a Lone Ranger.

One of my biggest failures in recent years is that I have not had an active group of men to walk in life and faith with.

I've had surrogate brothers and distance mentors but my home church lacked a strong Men's Ministry and therefore most of us men were going about life alone. No brothers in arms. No mentors. No Accountability. No one challenging me spiritually.

I could blame the church for not providing this resource or blame myself for not seeking a group but the real issue at hand is that men need other men to walk in Christ with.  We need a team, a squad, a coach and a Ranger Buddy - someone who always is with you and has your back.

Why We Need Other Men.

Accountability offers men the opportunity to discuss with other men our setbacks, failings and problems. Admitting that you were wrong about something is rarely an easy task, but doing it with other men shows courage.  99% of the time, some other men have in the past or our currently having the same issues as you.  Bringing our issues into the open allows healing, mentorship and course correction and by holding each other accountable for your actions, you and your fellow-men will be able to overcome together the trials that you may have difficulty overcoming alone.  A sign of maturity is a man willing to admit his mistakes and ask for help.

Discipleship offers men the chance to discuss the Bible, our walks with Christ and most important - Life Application of the Word.  Discipleship allows you to learn and walk with Christ through the stories, struggles and experiences of others.  Reading and meditating on the Word alone is good practice but it is also good practice to discuss the Word with different people, especially those of different genders, ages, backgrounds and life experiences.  However, we must always remember that true discipleship and spiritual maturity does not come from exhaustive head knowledge or simple academic study.  True discipleship and spiritual maturity comes from taking ACTION in our lives and ultimately creating greater trust and faith in God and His plan.

Mentorship. Pick up any biography of anyone who was ever anything and you will most likely find a mentor in that person's life. There are some life lessons, advice and bits wisdom that only a man can impart to another man.  It used to be that this wisdom was handed from father to son or from other influential men.  But many men today never had that experience early in life. Therefore, men need to seek other men for guidance on how to navigate life.  I've had both positive and negative mentors in my life; some taught me to chase money, success and personal fame.  Others taught me to be humble, courageous and self-sacrificing.  I believe we need multiple mentors in our life: Spiritual, Professional, Relational and Emotional and at least one Sage.  While mentors can come in all ages and flavors based on life experience, the Sage is the grey hair, silver back with years of wear and tear and experience in his tool belt.  GT was our Sage here at Legacy Dad.

TBL - (The Bottom Line) While Hollywood glorifies the Lone Ranger and there certainly are times in life when we will have to walk alone, men running in packs is far more effective (insert your Hangover Movie joke here).  My realization is that while I can walk the earth alone like David Carradine in Kung Fu, ultimately this is detrimental to my personal growth, walk with Christ and spiritual discipleship.  I can move much farther, faster by harnessing the power of an accountable group of men. Men who can challenge me, men who can mentor me, men who keep me accountable and men to walk through life and faith with.  Besides, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.

Frozen - Movie Review by Legacy Dad

Tonight, after my wife, middle daughter and my mother-in-law safely returned from Black Friday shopping and helped a little (very very little) with the National Debt (just kidding - wish I wasn't) we went to see the latest Hollywood Blockbuster called Frozen.As of late, I have been very disturbed by movie executives that think it is okay to release family movies that have evil and bad story lines or dark implications of evil.  When will Hollywood learn that we crave healthy, enjoyable and entertaining.

Frozen delivered hands down.  If you are looking for a fun and great movie to take the wife and kids - Frozen is your movie.

On a scale of 1 thru 5 (1 being throw it in the dumpster and 5 being - "don't wait - go see it" - Frozen is a "5".

Let me know what you think?

D

A commitment...

This past Saturday afternoon after lunch my wife went out with our middle daughter and I was home updating some work emails and filing some papers.  My son, to my surprise, asked if he could watch a video.  The Video that he chose was not that of a superhero variety nor of an action move, rather, it was a copy of our wedding video.  I was amazed at his endurance in watching this video.  I was also very surprised and emotional as I heard various parts of it while finishing up filing and working and blogging.   Looking at my bride in her beautiful dress and the men that were standing up with me and the vows being taken really caught me in an emotional place.  I looked back at the video and realized how clueless I was about my role and responsibility as man, husband and ultimately spiritual leader of my household.One part of the video that inspired me to write this post, was when the pastor asked, "who gives this woman to be married to this man?"  My father-in-law stated, "Because of the love and respect that my wife and I have for our daughter's choice, her mother and I do."  I have heard this video before and watched some of the highlights over the last 11 years of marriage.  I always enjoyed looking back to such a great day in November.  I was married in November, I became and Christian in November and I am blogging this post in November - God must really be telling me to be thankful for what he has done for me in this life (and I am).

Steps that I have taken, am taking and will take to ensure this:

1) Read the Word daily

2) Pray daily

3) Spend quiet time with the Lord (this is a work in progress for me as I have been struggling with my early morning routine)

4) Live by 1 Peter 3:7 and Ephesians 5

5) Use my reference guide as needed (refer to #1) Romans 12 and Colossians 3 as field guides for my life.

My father-in-law is a very smart and wealthy man in God's eyes because he knows the importance of family and the importance of keeping the love of his wife.  They are a role model to me in marriage and it is clearly evident in their 3 daughters with their husbands (my wife included in this).  They understand the value of family and the importance of putting God in the center and family next.  His role is to be the Spiritual leader of his house.  Does he get it all perfect?  Absolutely not, he is a man like the rest of us.  But when it is said and done and he has breathed his last breath in this life his legacy will be that of a man who loved God and family and enjoyed the joy that he received from the Lord.

Some of you may be reading this and wondering why life has not handed you this avenue.  Some of you may be dealing with the loss of a spouse through death and/or divorce while others may be longing for a wife and really desire that companionship that comes with it.  I don't have the answers for you, but I can confidently point you to someone who does.  Read lists 1-5 above and commit these things to you life.  If your marriage is broken or it is lost, it is not impossible for God to fix it.  Nothing is impossible when we put our trust in God.  If it is lost (spouse has died) you can put your comfort and trust in God and His son Jesus Christ.

What I do know is that God loves us so much that He gave his only Son for us to die for our sins and to pay the cost of sin that we could not pay.  I don't understand what some of you may be going through because I have not lived that life.  I can assure you that I do know some who have experienced that has experienced this loss.  They tell me daily that the church, and men's group and the Lord have been their family through this trying times.  The church and its members have been their community in getting them through those difficult times and some still are processing and grieving.

So what are some of the  steps can you take if you are in either empty or loss mode:

1) Trust

2) Get in community

3) Get professional counseling

4) Wait on the Lord and ask for Him to be your portion through these difficult times.

In all you do, Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart,  and do not lean on your own understanding. ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,  and he will make straight your paths."

Blessings,

D

A bored man in the house is a very dangerous thing...

Are you bored?  Does your life have purpose?  Are you being a good steward with your time, talent and treasures?  Or do you find yourself bored with Life, Work and your Existence?As I continue to process and reflect on the recent ActLikeMen conference that they had in Indianapolis, IN,  one statement that was made by one of Speakers was, "A bored man at home is a very dangerous thing."  This is true on so many levels that I decided to do some searching through Scripture on this:  2 Timothy 2:22  ESV “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”  2 Timothy 2:15  ESV “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

Some Causes of Boredom:

1) Over stimulated (television, computers, social media, travel-clubs, activities that take us away from fellowship and community with God)

2) Avoidance - (we disconnect and avoid being committed to a relationship, to a job and to friends)

3) Under Committed (we do not follow through with our relationships with 1) God 2) Our Spouse 3) Our Children 4) Our Church 5) Our careers 6) Our neighbors)

4) Too Busy

5) Lack of Conviction

6) No Contentment

7) No identity

When I think about this statement I came to the realization that I am a father of three young children ranging from 6 to 10 years of age.  As an active man, I find myself being very active in work, church and community (between being a husband, father, elder, men's ministry leader, friend, partner so many more facets in my life).  I used to feel really guilty about being tired and feeling like I cannot keep up with the daily jaunts of this life, however, at the conference, I find that it is good for a man (spiritual leader) to be the tired.  That means that we are doing our job as long as we can:  1) Put God first 2) We read his Word daily 3) We pray 4) we have accountability 5) We engage our family 6) We continue to pursue  our  wives and children.  Does this mean that we always get these priorities straight?  What if we are just beginning this journey to turn it around?

Do not be discouraged no matter what.  Your identity is no longer in yourself (if you profess the name of the Lord Jesus), rather, you are a son of God.  We are all adopted and engrafted into his family.  Do not buy the lies of society.  Read and learn and memorize the word of God.  Our hope is not in the things of this world.  Our hope is in our God.  So if you read this and you find yourself bored then take action.  Get off the couch and stop just being (settling), instead realize that God has a purpose for each of us.

STARTING POINT:

1) Check your attitude at the door (we are not here to serve ourselves and our wants and our treasure, we are hear to use of gifts of time, talent and treasure to honor God and to serve Jesus)

2) Change your attitude

• Say goodbye to the ideology that you can't
• Say goodbye to the ideology that you are too tired
• Say hello to the word "yes" with your wife and kids
• Say hello to spending more and more time with your wife and kids instead of doing what you want to do
• Say hello to your second shift (serve your wife and family - be the spiritual leader that God calls us to be)

3) Live each day like it is your last

4) Be thankful for the gifts that God has given us as men (borrowed from the move The Ultimate Gift)

• Gift of Work
• Gift of Money
• Gift of Friends
• Gift of Learning
• Gift of Problems
• Gift of Family
• Gift of Laughter
• Gift of Dreams
• Gift of Giving
• Gift of Gratitude
• Gift of a day
• Gift of Love

5) Be passionate

• About God
• About Jesus
• About The Spirit
• About your wife
• About your kids
• About your church
• About your work
• About your friends
• About your neighbors
• About your community

6) Persevere

• James 1 (ESV) Greeting 1 James, a servant^[a] of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

  Testing of Your Faith ² Count it all joy, my brothers,^[b] when you meet trials of various kinds, ³ for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴ And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

  ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

  ⁹ Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, ¹⁰ and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass^[c] he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

  ¹² Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. ¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵ Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

  ¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.^{[d] 18} Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

7) Live by these words:

• Ecclesiastes 9:10 (ESV) ¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might,^[a]for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going."  
• Colossians 3:17 (ESV) ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

8) Finish Well - live life so that when you die you will hear our Savior say, "well done thou good and faith servant!"

What are some of your thoughts on this?

Let us know,

D

1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

I was Youtube-ing various episodes on lions and the way that they attack.  There was this one hunting group that was tracking a lion to hunt and kill and soon these hunters become the hunted, that is the lion crossed their tracks and started hunting them.  As they were walking through the thick brush they didn't see the ensuing lion barely 25 yards in front of them waiting.  In my opinion, if these hunters weren't together in a pack of men (call this accountability) I would highly doubt that the hunter would have gotten off the fatal shot that prevented him from being fatally wounded.

The Actlikemen conference really used a few catch words that grabbed my attention: 1) references to lion (sin in our lives and in our houses) and 2) legacy.  Both of these phrases really inspired me to post on a few pointed topics through the conference.

This lead me to think about life as a man.  So many of us want to prove things in our lives:  Are we man enough?  Can we be the provider?  Do are wives look up to us?  Am I the Man?  Am I better then them?  Have a made enough money? These would be things that are secular and worldly but still creep into the church today (old self vs new self).  Then there is the Spiritual search:  Am I doing what God wants me to do?  How do I know what God wants me to do?  Am I the Spiritual Leader that God called me to be?  How can I keep sinning if I am a born-again Christian?

Let's take a look at two references to the Lion in our life:

Step 1:  The devil prowls around like a roaring lion waiting to devour someone.  (1 Peter 5:8).  This lion reference is against a fallen angel of God.  One who Jesus refers to the liar of all liars.  He would want nothing more then to see us isolated and weak and caught in sin (or sin's snare) so he could devour us.  Ephesians 6:12 says, "12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

• Put on the Armor of God daily - Ephesians 6.  Don't take this lightly.  Spiritual warfare is real and is ongoing 24/7.  The devil and his minions do not rest.
• Believe in Jesus's work on the cross - Jesus was born of a virgin, died on a cross, rose again in three days and now sits at the right hand of the Father.  Romans 10:9 says that if we believe this and confess our sins and call upon the name of the Lord - we will be saved.  This means that our sins are forgiven!  Our sins of the past, the present and the future.
• Do not do this alone - Galatians 6 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load."  God does not want us to do this alone.  God wants us to walk in community.  Our brothers and sisters in Christ in our local church is family.  Get involved!  Join a men's group (if you are a woman reading this - join a womens group) and/or join a mini-church.
• Read Scripture Daily
• Pray Daily
• Repent of your sins when you slide - confess to your brother and allow true accountability in your life

Reference 2:  When we have that lion in our house and we think that we can keep this "pet sin" a safe little lie in our house, from our friends, from our wives or work or friends or community - we are kidding ourselves.  God sees everything.  There is no hiding from Him.  Steps to take removing this lion from our lives (this pet sin):

• Identify the sin (the stronghold in our life) - is it a computer?  A website(s)?  Our imagination?  Drugs?  Alcohol? Improper and unhealthy flirtatious friendships?  Anger? Fill in your blank _________
• Deal with it - Read Romans 12 and Colossians 3.
• Drag it out of your house (your body is a temple) Put a proverbial bullet in its head - Kill that proverbial lion (end the friendship or improper relationship)  Throw the computer out or put accountability software that does not allow you to manipulate the passwords.  Deal with your Anger/Alcohol/Fill in the Blank _____.  Get help, get counseling, join Celebrate Recovery.  Confess it to your brother and to God.

What are some things that you have to do?  Or would add to this post?

Blessings,

D

An unguarded strength is a double weakness...

There are things that I really like about men's conferences, leadership conferences, and so on.  Things that give us fresh insight and/or things that we want to do different or augment in our lives.  Things that we are going to change.  And if we are all honest, for those of us that go to these conferences, we find ourselves for the first week (few weeks, months or slightly thereafter) doing these things that we say we are going to do and THEN life steps back in and we lose our focus and our way.  Whether we are too busy at work or too busy at home or too busy at church or just plain too busy in all jaunts of life, we just set back into our old ways.  Our old self nature - it's just too easy, like sin in our lives.For some of us, though, things are different.  Something connected our spirit to our hearts and minds.  Something poked a chord and or a nerve in our lives and we realized that, "yes I have been lax", and/or, "yes, I need to change the way that I do that."  This past weekend was like that for me.  Greg Laurie spoke on Friday night and used this phrase, "an unguarded strength is a double weakness."  So often in life, if I reflect and look back on my journal(s), I can be brutally honest and say that this does happen to me, more so than not if I really want to be honest.  This doesn't make me a bad dad or poor husband or whatever conclusion society could draw, rather, it makes me ineffective as a spiritual leader.   It makes me neutralized as dad and as an effective husband.

Before you condemn me reading this post, realize that I am condemning myself.   At the ActLikeMen conference Matt Chandler said something very poignant in that when we get home from our days jobs (whatever shift you work) that we still have shift 2 and shift 3 to handle and to engage and to finish.  That is, to serve our wives and our children if God has blessed us with them.  We need to start acting like men.  Now before I totally throw myself under the bus, I want to say that there are things that my wife will say that I do really good:  1) I help clean (kitchen, etc.,) 2) I help with Laundry, 3) I help with the bedtime and homework and the like, BUT if I am really honest I can do so much more for my family.  For instance,  I could do the following:

Set the Pace - Honestly I am blown away at the pace at which culture/society tells us to travel.  Let's be honest, if work was given full access to our lives some of us could work 70, 80 and over 100 hours and still have "to-do lists".  Travel Sports (don't get me going on this one) Hobbies and Park District activities and for some families (if they have time for other things) - Youth Group.  I can Set the Pace by being intentional on how I pray, how I read God's word and apply it to my daily life and I can create a healthy balance for my family between chores, homework and fun times with Mom & Dad & Friends and Family.

Time Management - The Hebrew day (back before electricity) was 6am to 6pm and then goodnight.  If we are modern family and our kids go to school then your morning looks like this:  Mom and Dad wakes up, Kids wake up, Eat Breakfast, Change clothes, wash up (teeth brushed), Drive to School, Kids at school all day and mom and dad work from home (or at work) and so on.  There are only 24 hours in a day (and God likes us to be orderly and good stewards with our time, talent and treasure), that being said, we only have so much time in a day.  Teach our kids the gift of time.  I can do this by being an example not a sloth at home.

Give them Stewardship - I have to teach my family the value of God's time, talent and treasure that he has given me through His promise of giving us His Spirit.  That is, each one of us that has professed the name of Jesus Christ as Savior has been given fruit of the Spirit (Spiritual Gifts) to honor God.  I have to set the priorities that are so important in this order:  God, Family, Church, Work, Friends and Other.   I have to put God first in everything and as Spiritual leader I have to put my wife and family next.  The more that my family sees Jesus in me and how I serve with the gifts that he has entrusted in me, the better I serve my wife and kids, the better they inherit this stewardship and the better my lot will go at the Judgement Seat of Christ (goal = to hear our Redeemer say, "well done thou good and faithful servant.").  Teach them the value of money (to tithe, to save and how much to spend.  Live it, let them know that you practice what you preach - this is true accountability.

Be Bold - Act like men in showing your kids the strength of Jesus when you serve them.  No matter what life brings me (through trial and tribulation) show them your love and grace and mercy.  Show them that it is okay to hurt, to cry and to struggle, but show them also your unwavering faith.  Be Bold in love.  Be bold in truth and Be bold in serving.

Arm Them - The word of God is bold and effective and able to separate bone from marrow.  It is a double-edge sword.  It is truth.  Own the truth, know the word and work on memory with your children.  The more that they own the more that they will carry with them into adulthood.  Teach them to pray.  Teach them to pray for the Armor of God (Read Ephesians 6).

What are some of your lists?

As for me, this past weekend taught me an extremely valuable lesson, not only to guard my 6 (with brothers that I call men of Faith and Lance) also to doubly guard my strengths.  I can do this by daily reading of the Bible, Praying continually.  Seeking that quiet time with God (listening for his voice).  To have accountability in my life (not just from my wife, but from brothers who will be brutal and honest in love).

Blessings,

D