Don’t Give Up
This week in the Dispatch:
Fantasy football and Apple in “Quick Hits”
“Outliers” in Books
“Confiding in Friendships of the Opposite Sex” on the AM podcast
Insights: Don’t Give Up
A Challenge to act on
A final thought that can change your marriage
This Week’s Quick Hits:
So I am 1-1 in my Fantasy Football League. I’ve made some rookie mistakes like having CD Lamb on my bench in week two. Who knew he would be Dak Prescott’s favorite target?
It’s been a couple of weeks since Apple’s latest rollout. Their presentations are always done so well and they continue to give us the must-have products we had no idea we needed!
Let’s do our own “Best of Awards.” Here is the premise: vote for “The Best Entertainment of COVID-19.” I will pick a number of categories and you nominate your favorite in each category. We will have weekly votes until we have a winner, which I’ll announce in a future “Dispatch.” Here is Survey #1!
Book:
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
In statistics, an outlier is a data point that differs significantly from others. An outlier can cause serious problems in statistical analysis. Outliers, another great book by Malcolm Gladwell, was written in 2008. This time he takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers" - the best and the brightest, the most famous and most successful, and asks the question: what makes high achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band of all time. The book is very entertaining and certainly informative. It’s full of things most of us never think to think about!
Podcast:
Awesome Marriage Podcast
We all know that there are more ways to connect with others today than ever before. What we do not seem to know is how to handle all of these ways. Who do we choose to connect with? Who do we confide in? When does a conversation cross a line? What about how we communicate with the opposite sex? In this week’s podcast Christina and I discuss “Confiding in Friendships of the Opposite Sex.” You won’t want to miss this one!
Insights:
When I began writing the weekly Dispatch and Insights, I wanted to do something a little bit different. I didn’t want every week to be about marriage. People get enough on marriage from me with podcasts, One Thing emails and texts, YouVersion Reading Plans, and a lot more. The last Insights I wrote on marriage was June 6th. That’s almost four months ago. I wanted the Dispatch to be informative and fun, and to deal with different issues. For example this week is our first Reader’s Poll as we vote for the “Best Entertainment Of COVID-19” from March through September. I can’t wait to see your responses. Now, with all that said, I’m going to talk a little about marriage!
2020 has given us more challenges than any year in my lifetime. Our resilience has been tested over and over. Overall, I think people have done remarkably well. If someone told me in December 2019 that in 2020 thousands of people would lose their jobs; our favorite stores and restaurants would close temporarily or permanently; we would be quarantined to our homes, run out of toilet paper, wear masks almost everywhere, watch sports with no fans or a few fans, and run when someone coughed or sneezed, I would have thought that person was a little off. Yet, here we are in October and all of those have come to pass. On top of all that we are dealing with wildfires, hurricanes, how to truly make Black Lives Matter, kids learning from home, and flu season is here.
Now, here is the marriage talk. Don’t give up. A close attorney friend of mine said she has never in her career seen so many people filing for divorce. I know we have all been stressed by all the things I listed above and more. I know that marriage takes effort and work and COVID-19 ramps it up a little more. COVID-19 will eventually end, but your marriage does not have to. Neither does your brother’s or sister’s or friend’s, or cousin’s marriage. Persevering through hardship together as a husband and a wife can build a marriage stronger than you could ever imagine. Here are some steps for you to consider:
If your marriage is struggling, get help. Make that call today.
If you separated during COVID, take the first step toward reconciliation today.
Commit to weather this storm as a TEAM.
Get back in church.
Get in a couples small group.
Read a YouVersion plan together. And then another and another.
Pray together every day.
Just don’t give up.
Challenge:
Rate your marriage on a one to 10 scale. If it is not a 10, what is your first step in moving it forward?
Final Thought
No matter where your marriage is today, please consider these two things. First, take divorce off of the table and commit to leave it off. Second, commit to doing whatever it takes to make your marriage an Awesome Marriage.
*Some links are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Every dollar made goes directly to the ministry of Awesome Marriage to help couples build awesome marriages. We only promote products we truly recommend.