Blog Posts

Thankful for a Revolutionary Parent

Wayne Smith, celebrating earning his Ph.D., with daughters Kim (left) and Jennifer (right)

Today would have been my father-in-law’s 87th birthday.  Last October, we celebrated his life and legacy (see my post here). 

This week, Jennifer and I spent a “kidless” week in Amarillo, Texas, hiking in Palo Duro Canyon and enjoying the outdoor musical, Texas!  Jennifer stayed a few extra days with her Mom.  Over the past week, I can’t help but be grateful for my wife and her relationship with Jesus Christ.  As readers of my blog understand well, I am strongly shaped by books—and with “Learner” as one of my signature strengths—I seek to learn from many good authors.

Nearly ten years ago, Jennifer and I looked for a study on parenting and ran across George Barna’s Revolutionary Parenting: Raising Your Kids to Become Spiritual Champions.  I definitely consider Jennifer a “spiritual champion” and credit much of that to her upbringing by her parents.

Click here to learn more about Revolutionary Parenting

Happy National Simplicity Day 2021!

National Simplicity Day honors author and philosopher Henry David Thoreau, who was born on July 12, 1817 (see last year’s post here).  In his book, Walden, he reflected upon simple living in natural surroundings, “In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.”

Today, let’s simplify our lives as leaders and turn to Bill Farrel’s book The 10 Best Decisions a Leader Can Make.

The biblical view of leadership says that your influence is an extension of who you are, not just what you do.

As Jesus put it in Matthew 7:16-17, “By their fruit you will recognize them…every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” Our leadership influence is the evidence of who we have become.

As Howard Hendricks says, “We cannot pass on what we do not possess.”

Click here to learn more from Farrel