White Flags Part 4: Control
This Week’s Quick Hits:
Tomorrow (14th) is “Dress Up Your Pet Day” - if you do it, send us pics!
If your birthday is in January you join this group of other famous people: Paul Revere, Nicholas Cage, FDR, Frank Sinatra, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Danica McKellar. Who is Danica McKeller? That’s your trivia question today! (Answer below)
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others.” - Martin Luther King, Jr. from his 1963 book, Strength to Love.
“The Annual Check In Counseling Appointment”
Read:
“New Morning Mercies” by Paul David Tripp
My good friend Dave Lopez left a copy of the book New Morning Mercies in my mailbox on New Year’s Day. In this “daily Gospel devotional,” author Paul David Tripp doesn’t give us another feel good devotional. (I’m not knocking those - I’ve read many and loved them all!) This devotional is different in that it gives us a daily encounter with the living God. The better we know Him, the easier it is to trust in His goodness, rely on His grace, and live for His glory each and every day.
Listen:
The Dr. Kim and Colby Leadership Podcast takes a look at leading as a man, a husband, and a dad. What does this role look like and how do we excel in this role day after day, year after year? This month’s podcast focuses on mental health; specifically mental health for men. It’s a topic most men avoid. Join me and Colby as we unpack this critical issue.
Watch:
“We were married five years when our son, Grant, was born. Julie came almost three years later. They truly became our world, but we knew that world had to include our marriage. I wish I could give you the formula for how we made it happen, but I cannot. It was never a checklist. I think it eventually became a lifestyle.” - Dr. Kim
How do you balance kids and marriage? In this week’s vlog, I look at ways to handle those crossroads!
Insights:
Control and The White Flag
To me it is funny how God uses some of the simple everyday things in life to teach me incredible lessons. He amazes me over and over.
Recently Nancy and I were watching TV on a Sunday afternoon. There were some great football games on and I was flipping back and forth to keep up with all of them. I think that I am a remote control genius.
As often happens though, I took a bathroom break. When I returned, I could not believe what I found. Nancy not only had the remote in her hand but she was actually punching buttons. What was she doing? I just knew she had my channel sequence out of whack. How could she do this? Did she not know that I was in control of the remote today?
There it was right in my face: CONTROL. If I was honest with myself, it was not just the remote that I wanted control of. I wanted control of my life and of my marriage. Did she not know that I was the one who knew how to use the remote best? Didn't she know that she would probably mess it up? Didn't she know that I was the one who best knew how to live my life? Didn't she not know that I was the one who best knew how to run our marriage? I just knew that I needed to be in control!
When I took time to take an honest look inside myself, the problem with my thinking was pretty simple. It's not my job to be in control. Not today or tomorrow. My job is to give control over to God. Think about it. Who better to run my life and my marriage? I am the one who messes things up when I venture out on my own. God does not. He has the perfect plan for me and my marriage and He needs to always have the “remote” of my life.
Every day I need to give my desire to control things at His feet and I need to leave it there. Another “White Flag” is laid down. When I do that, everything is better!
A Next Step:
What about you? Do you struggle with control?
How is it affecting your marriage?
Are you ready to give control over to God?
What step do you need to take today?
Birthday Trivia Answer:
There is the current TV version of “The Wonder Years” but the original version made its debut on March 15, 1986. Danica McKellar played Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper, the main love interest of Kevin Arnold (played by Fred Savage) on the show. Her first kiss was with Fred Savage in an episode of The Wonder Years. She later said, "My first kiss was a pretty nerve-wracking experience! But we never kissed off screen, and pretty quickly our feelings turned into brother/sister, and stayed that way."
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