All Shepherds Lutheran Church

On January 17, Ben Blankenship led a discussion on the topic of Communicating Within Families. He reviewed some communication basics and provided a checklist that helped us asses how well we communicate within our family and where we could stand to improve.

Ben also introduced us to the "Faith 5" concept. The essence of it is that we take 5 minutes out of each day before bedtime to drop what we’re doing, turn off the television, put down the newspaper or homework, set the cell phone on silence and gather together. Then each person takes turns going through these five steps:

1. SHARE highs & lows of the day

2. READ and highlight a verse of Scripture in your Bible

3. TALK about how the verse relates to your highs & lows

4. PRAY for your highs & lows, for your family, and for the world

5. BLESS one another

You want a great relationship with your kids? You want openness, honesty, caring and sharing in your family? You want to raise a child to be a strong, thoughtful, empathetic, positive, healthy adult out in the world some day? You can’t buy that. You have to invest in it. And the investment is the most expensive currency you own – your TIME – aimed at that most precious young person in your life. Ben shared that this has been a great way to bring his family closer together. He even does it with his parents and grandmother via a 3-way call every day! If you want to learn more, visit http://www.faiththink.com/.

Men of Valor Conference on February 13, from 8:30 to 4

The sexualization of our culture has a profound impact on men, women, children, marriages, families and all relationships. We are all exposed to sexual images and messages through the media that can take a spiritual toll over time and lead to sexual temptation and destructive decisions by even the strongest of Christians.

As men, we owe it to ourselves, our wives or girlfriends, and our children to maintain sexual integrity and to do all we can to protect them from the potential harmful effects of our sex-filled culture. A conference to help will be held in Dublin on February 13 (from 8:30 to 4) - Men of Valor, Pursuing A Life of Sexual Integrity. The conference will cover other topics geared towards men related to winning the heart of your wife, prayer life, raising kids, financial planning and more. To learn more, see the posters in the fellowship area of the church or visit www.nationalcoalition.org/columbus.asp. This conference is for men in all seasons of life, Junior High School and older. If you would like to attend the conference at a discounted group rate or $39 (a $6 savings), please contact me at 740-548-4651 or doug.bierl@gmail.com by January 25.

Our next Journeymen gathering will be on January 31 from 5:00 to 6:30 pm. We are going to do something different and share songs that have inspired, touched or spoke to us in some way. So, bring your favorite CD or CDs or lyrics to share! All men are welcome to join us for an inspiring gathering.

On January 3, David Ross provided some interesting information for us to consider on the topic of Telling Each Other the Truth in Love, based on a book of that title by Dr. William Backus. My take on it is that most of us are reluctant to tell someone how we truly feel in certain situations, so we don't...we lie to avoid confrontation. By doing so, we aren't truthful to ourselves and we become resentful, angry or bitter towards the other person or situation.

One of the points David made from the book related to how we become defensive when someone criticizes us. An eye-opening statistic based on the author's research was that 90% of criticism is correct to a large extent. I guess when I think about it, there is some truth to every criticism, so even though it seems high, if taken in that vain, maybe it's not. The author provided a recipe for being truthful when faced with criticism:

1. Truthfully agree to the person's criticism

2. Truthfully add your own criticism to it

3. Ask for more criticism

4. When criticism is vague or generalized, ask for more detail in a kind manner and then follow steps 1-3

I guess if you take that approach, you'll get everything on the table and you can make some real progress. The key seems to be accepting it as truth and avoiding becoming defensive. Not an easy task!

Our next gathering is on January 17 from 5 to 6:30 pm at the church, and the topic will be Communicating Within Our Families. All men are invited to attend!

At the Journeymen gathering on December 6, Doug Bierl shared information from the book "Power of A Praying Husband" by Stormie Omartian. Here are a few highlights:

·        Our wives (and other women in our lives) want and need us to pray for them. However, we must first pray for ourselves, that our heart is right with God and that we are the man, husband, and boyfriend that God desires. Doug shared a prayer from the book that we can each use to make sure our heart is right before we offer prayers for our wives.

·        We discussed the top three priorities for prayers identified in a survey that the author conducted with hundreds of women - her spirit, her emotions and her motherhood. Again, Doug provided copies of prayers for each of these from the book.

·        The other prayer needs for women include: her moods, marriage, submission, relationships, priorities, beauty, sexuality, fears, purpose, trust, protection, desires, work, deliverance, obedience, and future.

Men, I encourage each of you to pray daily for the women in your life. One of the things suggested in the book was that we ask our wives what they would like us to pray about for them. Try it and see how they respond!