Today @ The Gathering Paula and I made a special announcement; something we’ve been thinking, praying, and working toward for a long time.
Here it is. On April 30th we’ll be presenting a live event, which will be entitled, “Making Marriage Fun Again.”
This Thursday, Paula and I will be married 38 years. That, I consider to be my highest achievement: the ability to woo, wow, and win a woman’s heart, and spend the rest of my life making sure she never regrets it.
As we’ve worked on our marriage, we’ve helped thousands work on theirs and we’ve come to this conclusion: that America is in trouble because her marriages are in trouble.
That may sound simplistic to some of you, but it really isn’t. It’s the truth. Our economic woes are not our problem; it’s our marriages. They are falling apart; both in and outside the church. Both men and women of faith, and those who just choose to go it on their own aren’t able to deliver on the promise of a happy life.
It’s not because people are bad. It’s just because they don’t possess the skills it takes in order to be married over a lifetime; not just surviving, but thriving, and having fun. Here’s my conviction: no one marries a boring person not having fun, but most people end up that way sooner or later.
On April 30th, somewhere in the Franklin/Cool Springs/Nashville area we’re going to be having a night when we’ll focus on what we call the Seven Super Keys of an Amazing Marriage: the seven over-arching skill sets that you must possess in order to be happily married over a lifetime.
In America, the quickest way to poverty is to get a divorce. Also the fastest way to enduring wealth is to marry early, stay married over a lifetime, and build wealth that leads to a legacy.
There will be more forthcoming on this announcement along with a web site where you can find out more details and sign up to attend our first-ever live event.
Today we also launched into a brand new series entitled “Accept No Mediocre Life” based on my book by the same title. Everyone who came today received a free book, and I think just about everyone who got a free book wanted to have it signed. It was overwhelming to see the long lines of people, and exciting to be able to hear the stories of how God’s grace has revolutionized the life of these men and women.
I am a pastor doing what I love, where I want to be, with the people I love being with. Nothing can be better than that.
Today we talked about the definition of excellence. There are four simple ideas involved:
- I will excel at being who I am.
- I will excel at being where I am.
- I will excel with what is available to me at the time.
- I will excel in the time allotted to me.
These first three weeks are going to be dealing with the first section of that four-part definition; I will excel at being who I am. Today we talked about embracing our uniqueness, understanding that I am not who you think I am, I am not even who I think I am. I am not who the labels and libels of those around me try to define me to be. But here are my three affirmations based on God’s love:
- I am who God says I am.
- I have what God says I have.
- I can do what God says I can do.
What an amazing day, to see the lives of hundreds and hundreds of people who have been changed by this hope, who have been set free and liberated from a small, beige, boring life! If you haven’t been set free by this message of hope, you can be. Go to the podcast and download either the audio or video, and let this teaching set you free, as it has me and so many others.