Family

I spent some time today thanking God for what He is doing in my life.  He has given me a great wife, amazing kids, and an opportunity to have a front row seat to what He is doing at Freedom Church.  I feel like I am living the dream.  Just when I think life couldn’t get any better, it goes to a whole new level.

Here’s a little challenge for you:  Take 3 minutes and write down as many things as possible that you are grateful for.  You’ll be overwhelmed!

Thank you Jesus for all that you have given to me.  It is an honor to be able to serve the creator of the universe!  Please help me to never take for granted all that you have given to me.

Brayden,

By the time this blog posts, your birthday will have come and gone.

I can’t believe that you are 5!  Since you are 5, you can’t read this, so I guess I am writing for my benefit, not yours:)  However it will be cool for you to be able to read it one day soon.

I was thinking yesterday about how excited I was when I was able to hold you for the very first time.  You have brought tremendous amounts of joy to our lives.  I am extremely blessed to have a son that is as incredible as you are.  God has given me so much more than I deserve.

It is amazing to me the love that you already have for others and for God.  I want you to know that you have no bigger fan than me!  I can’t wait to see what the next 5 years brings!  I love you!!

Dad

I haven’t said this in a while but it’s still true.  I abso-freaking-lutely love my life!!

*I couldn’t ask for a better wife.  She’s amazing… ‘nuf said!

*I couldn’t ask for better kids.  Brayden, Anniston, and Presley bring me truckloads of joy each day.

*I couldn’t ask for a better job.  Being the Executive Pastor at Freedom Church is a dream job for me.  I love what I get to do.  I love the people that I get to experience this journey with.  God has done many incredible things.  Here’s the good news:  The best is yet to come.

Kind of reminds me of this verse.

Every now and then, something happens that really causes you to evaluate your life.  This weekend, I attended the funeral of Dale McDaris.  Dale was 49 year old guy, in seemingly good health until 3 months ago.  At that time, he was diagnosed with brain cancer.  In fact, the same type of cancer that had taken his brother’s life only a few short months before.

Dale’s death has had my head spinning for the past few days.  I think it has hit so close to home because his kids are the same age as my kids.  I can’t imagine what his wife and kids are going through.

This situation has caused me to have to answer several questions.  I want to make sure if something were to happen to me that Joni and my kids are taken care of.  Here are some of the questions that I am thinking through:

1.  Do I have a will in place?  (Yes.  Just did this 2 weeks ago.)

2. Do I have life insurance?  (Yes. )

3.  Am I saving money and preparing, so that if something were to happen, my family would be financially able to make it.  (Doing ok but could do a better job in this area.)

4.  Am I spending quality time with my wife and letting her know she is the most important person in my life?  (I try to do this weekly.)

5.  Am I spending quality time with my kids one-on-one?  (I try to do this at least 1-2 times per month.)

I know that some of these things are morbid to think about, but I want to be prepared.

^{James 4:14}Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

One of the things that has been extremely helpful for us has been opening the lines of communication.  It is amazing how good things can be when communication is good.  It is amazing how bad things can be when communication is bad.

On our date this past weekend, we talked through the following questions (which I ripped off from Perry Noble):

1.  What is the most romantic thing I have ever done for you?

2.  What is something fun that we could do together?

3.  How can I pray for you?

4.  What can I do this week to relieve stress from your life?

5.  What is one thing that you would change about our marriage?

Talking through these questions, gave us both the opportunity to discuss things that could be potential problems.  I have even tried to improve in some areas this week, so that our marriage is better.

The bottom line is that I love Joni and I want to do everything within my power to lead my family well…even if it is a little painful at times!  I’m willing to do all that I can to make that relationship the best it can be!!

Over the next couple of days, I am going to post some things that Joni and I do to keep our marriage red hot.  (Ok, maybe I won’t give every detail)  Marriage, like any relationship, requires a TON of work.

If you’re honest, all of us have been through good and bad seasons in our relationships.  However, I do believe that if you are intentional, you can keep things hot….most of the time.

A long time ago, someone told me that you should:

1.  Call your wife daily – This lets her know she is far more important than anything else on your schedule.  It is especially helpful for my wife to have a few minutes of adult interaction, since she is home with kids all day.

2.  Date her weekly – A lot of people would say that they can’t afford to do this.  I say you can’t afford not do to so.  We manage to do this 3 of 4 weekends per month. My wife and I look forward to this time each week.   Anytime your kids are with you, it does not count as a date!

3.  Get away with her quarterly. To be honest this one is a little tougher.  We still manage to do so 1-2 times per year.  It is great to get away and not have to worry about getting kids to bed, feeding them, etc.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids.  However, I think one of the most important things I can do is to show them how much I love their mom.  To be honest, I want her to be around long after they move out!  If I don’t show her the attention that she deserves, I am pretty sure some other goon will.

This is like any other thing in life, you have to work at it.  It’s a price that I am very willing to pay!

(**Disclaimer – I know I just made myself look like Husband of the Century, but I fail miserably at these things all the time.  The key is to realize the mistake and work hard to make sure it doesn’t happen again!)

Today is Joni’s ??th birthday (You didn’t really think I was that dumb did you?)  She is not only my wife and the mother of my 3 kids, but also my best friend in the entire world.

Here’s a few reasons why I love her:

She has a HUGE heart for people.  There are lots of times when I am ready to give up on someone and she encourages me to go the extra mile with them.

She loves Jesus…a lot.  Like a whole lot!

She’s the biggest servant I know.  I don’t know anyone who thrives off serving others like she does.

She’s the real deal.  What you see is what you get.  I don’t know of a more genuine person.

She’s beautiful, intelligent, and lets me believe that I am right most of the time.

She’s not dramatic.  I don’t do very well with drama.  She is a drama free zone!

___________________  This is the space where I would write about things that I can’t on this blog:)

I know that she has my back, no matter what.  Everyone else in the world could turn on me, but I am confident that she would still be supportive of me.

She’s like superwoman.  I don’t know how a person can do all that she does with 3 kids under the age of 5.  I’ve tried it and I’m not so good at it.

There’s 458 more reasons why I love her but we’ll have to save them for another time.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY JONI!!!  I love you and can’t believe that I get to do life with you!

Anniston,

I know that you cannot read this…yet.  I want to wish you a happy 3rd birthday and let you know how much I love you.  You bring me extreme amounts of joy each day.  I love the way you laugh, I love the way you talk, and I cannot wait to see the lady that you become.

Know that I am praying for you every single day.  I want God’s best for you and I desire to parent you in a way that will help you to achieve that potential.  You will have no bigger fans in your life than your mom and myself.

God has huge plans for you…don’t settle for anything less!  I love you more than you could ever imagine!!