Purpose is what you’re called to do; passion, what you’re compelled to do. A mother’s love. There’s nothing like it. Don’t mess with momma bear and her cubs because her bond is undeniable. It’s unending. Unwavering. Unbreakable. A mother’s love is zealous. She’ll do anything, give anything, and forgive anything for her kids. It’s what [...]
The secret to aging gracefully is having the wisdom of the aged and the youthfulness of the ageless. I have a confession . . . I’m just as boring as I appear. When I said that to my wife, she said, “I love boring.” I assumed she meant, “And boring is sexy.” Yep, that’s my [...]
Kids rarely rise above their parents’ level of exceptionalism . . . or mediocrity. In a world of participation trophies and tenth-place ribbons, extraordinary people are increasingly rare. It’s not due to a lack of knowledge. We’re more knowledgeable than ever. It’s also not due to education. More people are educated too. So why is [...]
Make it your mission . . . to make it your kids’ mission . . . to hear, “Well done!” MLK had a dream – that his kids would be judged by the content of their character. I too have a dream – a defining mission. It’s so vivid, so enrapturing, so consuming because, like [...]
What is vision really? Vision – the ability to turn what is into what can be – is what separates godly families from godly legacies. If vision is so crucial, though, why is it so hard to understand and even harder to pass down? And if companies can have a vision, why can’t families? Why [...]
Humility is a prize pursued, not a prize possessed. “Yea, me!” My toddler daughter loved shouting those two words. Incredibly cute for toddlers, but not so cute for adults. As adults, self-absorption and selfishness don’t get better; they just get subtler. We may not say, “Yea, me,” but we act like it. We demand rights, [...]
Your ability to change well determines your opportunity to live well. Is change good or is it bad? It depends. Proverbs 24:21 says, “Do not associate with those who are given to change.” But Romans 12:2 says to keep on being “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” So how can both be true? The [...]
Servants inspire you to want to be faithful. Leaders help you to want what you need to be faithful. So if you want a legacy of faithful kids and grandkids, be a servant-leader. Which of your kids do you love most? What a ridiculous question. I love both of my sons with equal fervor, albeit [...]
Your kids are like you on steroids. For good and bad, they take your character to extremes. If you described your kids in five words, how would you describe them? When Anna and I did this, we came up with eight qualities (because two words were shared): Integrity, Authentic, Passionate, Purposeful, Undaunted, Creative, Musical, Relational [...]
The ultimate test of your character qualities is the quality of your kids’ character. Uncle Louie was one tough hombre. The Viet Cong army had a bounty on the man they called “lớn màu đỏ” (or “Big Red”) because Louie was such a savage soldier. As a kid, a tractor ran over Louie’s stomach, but [...]
