Month: August 2016

I had breakfast this week with a very close family member who’s having a tough time dealing with the unexpected loss of a former wrestler of his.  If you’ve ever been on a sports team or, maybe more relevant, been a coach or team captain, then you can probably relate to the special bond that forms with the other players.  Many coaches are described as “second fathers” or “the single most influential person” by many of their athletes.  Certainly this weighed heavy on my mind as I sat down for breakfast with our family’s favorite “coach” this week.

This week, we’ll begin a new study on the book “Lead for God’ Sake“.  If you’ve Googled the summary then you’re aware that the plot centers around three main characters:  a coach, a wealthy businessman, and a janitor.  How their lives become intertwined is something we’ll talk about each week.  And, as you can infer from the title, the book is a lesson in leadership in challenging times and from a Christian focus.

We’re meeting at the “treehouse” this week which is becoming a FMMF Charlotte tradition each time we introduce a new study.  I’ll see you “20 feet up” on Friday.  Please gather beginning at 7:30 am, ready to dig into the new study at 7:45 am.

Peace!

We’ve made it to the end of our study of The True Measure of a Man! Congratulations! This Friday, we’ll spend a few minutes discussing what we thought about the book then I’ll share an audio speech from Jerry Leachman, who wrote the book’s forward. Jerry will bring several of the key points “home” as we listen to his speech.

Lastly, we’re choosing our next study as the book, Lead for God’s Sake, written by Todd G. Gongwer. Mike will introduce that next study at the August 26 FMMF.

We will not meet on September 2 as it’s the front-end of Labor Day weekend.

Join us on this Friday starting at 7:30 am for fellowship, followed by our planned discussion at 7:45 am to close out The True Measure of a Man.

Peace!

My wife and I were traveling back from a much needed….and appreciated….vacation last weekend.  As we were several thousand feet above nothing but ocean, I was feeling a little perturbed because the airlines did not offer wi-fi nor was there an in-flight movie available.  But then a little voice whispered in my ear, figuratively speaking, saying “First world problems….”.  Immediately, I changed my attitude, dug down into my carry-on bag to find my book, and began reading this week’s chapter of our current study appropriately titled, “A Life of Contentment“.

Maybe it was the lack of air turbulence or perhaps the fresh peanuts, but I couldn’t put down the book!  This week, we’ll talk about how men are continually feeling the need to look for the “next best thing” rather than be content with our current situation.  Our author explains this as follows:

“Isn’t it just true that we are also at risk of spending too much of our time imagining a brighter future rather than living well in the present?”

Hmmm….noodle on that one for a little bit. Continue reading “What Color is Your Grass?” →

Only three chapters remain from our study of The True Measure of a Man. This week, chapter 6, we learn about “life’s greatest paradox“.  Our author sums up the answer to this very early in the chapter by saying:  “Simply stated, life’s greatest paradox can be summed up in the words, ‘true strength is found in humility’….”. 

Now, if that was the key to the entire chapter then I would have prefaced my statement above with a bold-texted “spoiler alert”!  But, you need to dig into the rest of the chapter to certainly learn much more. There are lots of lessons and examples of gratitude, humility and grace. Remember the line from the beatitudes?  “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”  (Matthew 5:5).  Translated from Greek, “blessed” means “happy”.  And furthermore, “meek” translated refers back to being humble, gentile and kind. Continue reading “Time to Take Inventory: What’s in your box??” →