Leadership and The Cafeteria Rebellion
This Week’s Quick Hits:
Awesome Marriage Online Men’s Retreat
Guys, do not miss this: Faithfull, our first Online Men’s Retreat. One of the great things about this retreat is that you can watch the sessions on your own time whenever it works best for you. There are 10 amazing speakers that will challenge you, teach you, and equip you to take the next steps to becoming who God created you to be. It all begins on June 15th, but registration is open now. See you there!
The Fourth Industrial Revolution
According to a recent World Economic Forum report, by 2025 nearly a third of the most important skill sets will be technology skills that are not currently considered imperative. This includes biometric technology, advanced robotics, virtual and augmented reality and much more. The term “The Great Resignation” is a part of post-pandemic culture. It began with people quitting their jobs and just doing nothing. The shift now seems to be people quitting their jobs to accept better positions and enter new areas of expertise. It looks like those who are willing to develop some of these new skill sets will have a bright future for themselves and their families.
Interesting True Facts:
No other month in the year begins on the same day of the week as June.
June has both the longest and the shortest days of the year, depending on where you’re standing! If you live in the northern hemisphere, June 21st is the longest day of the year, while if you live in the southern hemisphere, it is the shortest.
June has several food-related holidays: June 2nd is National Rocky Road Day, June 3rd is National Chocolate Macaroon Day, June 7th is Chocolate Ice Cream Day.
One Tough Trivia Question:
Which bone are babies born without? (Answer below)
This Week’s Quote:
During his career, Theodore Seuss Geisel published over 60 books, which spawned numerous adaptations including 11 television specials, five feature films, a Broadway musical, and four television series.
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." -Dr. Seuss
“Money Mistakes Couples Make”
Awesome Marriage This Week:
AM Podcast: “Sex: Embracing the Differences”
As Lindsay and I continue our break to plan future podcast episodes, we continue with some of our best and most popular podcasts from the past. What are the main differences between men and women regarding sex? How can we embrace those in a way that gives us a healthy sex life in our marriage? Join us for this episode!
AM YouTube Channel: “Money Spent”
I have never talked to a couple who regretted creating and following a budget. In fact, they say it is one of the best decisions they made as a couple. Why do so many couples refuse to take that step? Join me on the AM YouTube Channel for this week’s video!
AM YouVersion Plan: “Praying Over Your Home”
What is the best thing you can do for your marriage? Prayer. God is the only one who can ultimately change your hearts and your marriage for the better. Inviting Him to do those things is the best thing you can do for your marriage. In this plan, we will pray over five areas of your home, inviting God’s presence into those places.
Dr. Kim’s Insights:
Leadership and The Cafeteria Rebellion
This morning during my workout I listened to my friend Carey Nieuwhof’s interview with Mark Miller, vice president of High Performance Leadership at Chick-fil-A. Carey asked Mark when he first realized he was a leader. Mark responded with a story. Here’s my paraphrase of his response.
“When I was 10 my baseball coach told me I was going to be the catcher. I knew nothing about being a catcher so I went to the school library and checked out a book by one of the greatest catchers of all time, Johnny Bench. In the book, I learned that the catcher had to be a leader. He was the only one who could see the whole field. It’s up to him to lead the other players.” That is exactly what Mark went on to do.
“If Carey aked me the same question,” I wondered, “how would I answer?” One story came to my mind. My elementary school included kindergarten through sixth grade. By my sixth grade year, I had earned many privileges. I had earned a gold badge; the top honor of the Junior Police at our school. I earned the right to be one of only two people in the entire school besides the principal to operate the school projector. (A great perk since it also got me out of class numerous times.) As the oldest grade in the school, we were constantly told that we were to be good examples for the younger students.
Yet, my greatest accomplishment was not something that everyone celebrated. In my sixth grade year we had a new cafeteria lady. The previous cafeteria lady had retired. We all loved her and her food was amazing. The new lady not so much. As students we grumbled among ourselves. We talked to the principal. We circulated a petition expressing our displeasure with the food. All of this work and nothing changed.
After we returned from Christmas break and were still being served mostly, in my opinion, inedible food, I had a brilliant idea. I was going to organize a strike against the cafeteria! My plan was to quietly spread the word that on Friday every student would bring their lunch and no one would eat the cafeteria food. Brilliant. Right? I was amazed at how the idea spread among the students like a wildfire. The sixth graders were all in as were the fourth and fifth graders. By Thursday all the students seemed to know the plan. There were even kindergarten kids jumping on the bandwagon. The amazing thing was that everyone kept it a secret from the teachers and school administrators. The other amazing thing is that not one parent stepped up to squelch the rebellion.
Finally, Friday came and I stood outside the school that morning wearing my gold Junior Police badge and watching student after student walk into school with a lunchbox or a brown paper bag containing their lunch for that day. It took about an hour for our Principal to figure out who organized the strike and I soon found myself in his office. I knew he really liked me and usually encouraged me, but I had no idea what today would hold.
I relayed the progression of events through the year and told him since no one was paying attention to us, we decided to strike. As a consequence for leading the rebellion, the Principal banned me from recess for a week and had me turn in my hard earned gold badge. (Years later, he admitted that he was amazed that I could start this movement and that the other kids quickly jumped on board!)
Today, it is an honor to lead Awesome Marriage. I can look back over my life and see how God gave me opportunities to lead and then equipped me to do all he set in front of me. He prepared me my entire life for the role He has me in today. As you look back through your life so far, what has God been preparing you for? I believe God has a purpose for each of us and uses our life experiences to grow us and prepare us for the roles He has for us. I challenge you to spend some time in reflection and prayer. Ask God what purpose He has for you at this stage of your life and thank Him for how He has prepared you for what He wants you to do.
Next Steps:
Prayerfully look at your life and all God has done and is doing to prepare you for the role He had for you.
Seek God’s wisdom and guidance in carrying out your role.
One Tough Trivia Question Answer:
The kneecap