Childhood flashback
This weekend I have been asked to be a part of the worship team at my church’s 6th graders spring retreat. I’ve been excited for quite a while as this was one of the main reasons I started playing guitar in the first place. When I first had the idea I wanted to play guitar, I wanted to be like the people who played at our retreats and in our youth group on Sunday morning. This is an awesome opportunity to fulfill that goal!
After I played the first set (Friday night), I was blown away by the energy level of these kids! Man, I used to be like this! Everyone runs to the front, they want to meet the band (especially weird now!), and they just show so much desire to be loved and accepted. I had a good time thinking back to the camp experiences I had, and how great they were. I remember watching the musicians and wanting to talk to them, to be close to them, just to see how they lived – as if they were some huge rock stars that I had the awesome opportunity to be near. Now that I’m on the other side of this I have a good laugh to myself, smile big, and just thank God for the opportunity to see things from the other side.
First Anniversary
Yesterday was my one-year anniversary. I love my wife, more than I did on the day I married her, and I can’t imagine my life without her. I wanted to write about something I learned. I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I learned it – and it’s been arguably one of the best nuggets a guy can grasp regarding a woman.
I had a lot of questions this past month surrounding “what are you going to do for Valentine’s day, your anniversary, etc.”. Of course I like to do fun things for Katy, and I try to do them often. What she shared with me (it’s not just my assumptions here!) was quite encouraging, to say the least. She told me that it’s not about doing stuff on those certain important days – her birthday, V-Day, anniversary, etc. – it’s about what I do for her constantly throughout the year. Now I’m not trying to toot my own horn here, but that made me feel really good! So guys, if you’re curious, I think this will help avoid some confusion and frustration regarding what makes her happy.
Don’t wait for a special occasion to do something special. Do something special often, unexpected, and with a genuine feeling of ‘what can I do for her?’? Surprise her with breakfast one random weekday morning, some message on the mirror, some cute little way of showing that you have been thinking about her. This would be in contrast to nothing for months, then some big ordeal surrounding flowers/expensive dinner/chocolate/earrings (substitute your stereotype here). Don’t get me wrong, that might be great – but if that’s your plan those 4-5 times a year, and you really don’t think about ways to show her you cherish the year-round relationship you have with her, you’ll find yourself scratching your head at her luke-warm reaction to what you thought should buy you more time.
Perspective
I walked in to my office today and found a gift from my sales team. This was the first time in over three years that anyone had done anything like that out of their own pocket for me.. it absolutely blew me away. I was convicted of a couple things:
1. A gift, no matter how small, means a tremendous amount to the recipient.
2. Years of good intentions are worthless. They always sound great, much better than some puny little gift, but in the end they are worthless. Just worthless.
Thanks to my sales team for giving something small, but very humbly and graciously received.