Provocative Title...Crucial Message

I just finished Andy Stanley's book Choosing to Cheat. Super easy reads. For me it was one of those books that you start and then you drop off from reading it somewhere along the way, and pick it up six months later. As my wife reminded me this past weekend when I pulled it out of the bag "...didn't you start reading that like 6 months ago?"

Haha, anyway, Here are some great things that I took from the book. Pick it up if you get a chance, it will greatly impact your life whether in school, ministry or the business world.

• "When we cheat, we choose to give up one thing in hopes of gaining something else of greater value."
• "What it boils down to is this: Someone is going to get cheated. Worse yet, somebody is going to feel cheated. Somebody is going to feel as if I am not giving them what they deserve or need. The issue is never "Am I cheating?" The issue is always, "Where am I cheating?"
• "There is just not enough time inyour dat to be all things to all people" - Loved this one, wheh! Big relief!
• "When our attitudes and actions are right, our work is actually very pleasing to God."
• "Contentment is found neither in the marketplace nor the family alone. It is found when we align our priorities with His as it relates ot both areas of responsibility."
• "In the world of relationships we live with the illusion that good intentions - the desire of our hearts - somehow heal the wounds we have created with our absence and misprioritization"
• "...we are never called to violate the principles of God in order to attain or maintain the blessings of God."
• "Happily married couples never attribute their success oto unexpected opportunites, market conditions, luck, or good timing. With family, success is always related to time."
• "Let's face it. One day you will come home from the office for the last time. Nobody retires from his or her family to spend his or her final days in the office."

I encourage you, ask your spouse: "What one thing would you change about my schedule?" You might be surprised at the answer.

The biggest wowspot, I received from reading this book was this: we far to often ask God to 'cover' for us in terms of our family, as we work tirelessly at work to 'finish the task'. Yet there is not one person on this planet that has more responsibility to your spouse or children than you do! Their spiritual growth and maturity is essentially connected to your nurturing and devotion.