Category Archives for "love"

ADVENTure Day 8

On the second Sunday of Advent, many churches will be focusing on love.

Last week, we focused our ADVENTure series on hope, and this week we’ll move more towards love.

Love is an interesting thing. There are different kinds of love.

There’s brotherly love – where we get the word Philadelphia. This is a love for your fellow-man – not in a homosexual way, but in a friendly way. I would equate this kind of love to the love that David had with Jonathan (King Saul’s son).

There’s erotic love which carries a more physical and sexual based focus.

There’s storge love. This is the love between family members. I love my kids. I love my brothers. I love my parents.

There’s agape love. This is an unconditional, sacrificial love. This is the love that Christ showed us when He died on the cross for our sins. This is the best love – the love we are called to pursue.

As we head into this second week of ADVENTure, it’s important to remember Christmas is all about this agape love God has for you and me.

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13

ADVENTure Activity: Talk with someone about love. Make a list of the things and people you love. What kind of love do you have for this thing/person?

ADVENTure Question: What do you love about Christmas?

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5 Ways to Keep Your Love Life Going Strong

On Monday night, Leanne and I were out for our weekly date night. (Last week, I shared 7 Ways To Help Your Marriage Today. #3 on the list was “practice a regular date night.” I’m so thankful we’ve made this a priority. I know we’re sometimes tired at the end of a busy day, but it helps to keep us connected.) We stopped at a local corner restaurant where we enjoyed dessert and great conversation. We were the only couple there when we first walked in to the seating area. Then two other couples sat down at separate tables.

As Leanne and I were talking, one of the men stood up and turned to face the rest of us in the restaurant. He asked for our attention and proceeded to tell everyone the following: “My wife and I have been together for 13 years today. Our kids are up the street with the sitter, and we’re out to celebrate.”

I think he shared a couple of other words I don’t quite remember. I don’t know what his wife thought of his speech, but it was obvious he was still head over heels for his wife.

We congratulated them and challenged them to stay strong and in love. Then we proceeded to our own conversation and delicious dessert.

It would be easy to let this moment pass by without record. After all, it was a few short seconds in the middle of our date. But I think it’s important to remember this experience. It stretched me in a good way.

Leanne and I have been married for 17 1/2 years. We are very comfortable with each other. And sometimes, I think we get to comfortable. I want my wife to know I’m just as head over heels for her now as I was the day we first met. I want her to know how much I love her even if it means being a little goofy and sappy from time to time.

5 Ways to Keep Your Love Life Going Strong

A simple gift goes a long way. I’ll confess I’ve become too relaxed in this department. I used to send Leanne flowers all the time. This is something I need to do more often. For Leanne, flowers show her I care. Find out what gift has this impact on your spouse.
Go above and beyond in helping around the house. Again, I could work on this. It’s easy to come home exhausted after a busy day of work. I don’t need to finish the basement every night or paint a room every night, but there are plenty of little things I could tackle that would make a difference and show her how much I care.
Keep hugs and kisses going. Physical intimacy doesn’t have to end after the initial years of marriage. Hugs and kisses when departing and when arriving home and in-between are part of staying close and connected.
Encourage your spouse with your words. I’ve seen too many couples who bash each other in private and in front of other people. Television only amplifies and encourages this type of behavior. We need to become our spouses biggest fan. Words shared verbally and in writing can be the life blood of a thriving marriage. Leanne does a great job in this department!
Just spend time together. It seems so simple, yet we live in a busy world. We are running from one thing to the next. I’m taking Isaac to one activity while Leanne takes Hannah to another activity. Our weekly date night is one way we intentionally spend time together.

If any of these ideas sound helpful, I’d recommend you check out The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts by Gary Chapman. This book provides practical encouragement for keeping your love life going strong.

How do you keep your love life going strong?

(Please note: There are affiliate links in this post. Should you purchase The 5 Love Languages by clicking one of these links, I receive a small percentage of the purchase. These funds are used to support The Stretched Blog and to extend ministry and missions to Guatemala. Thank you!)

Lessons From The Weed-Whacking Incident

Friday night, I decided that it was a good time to get the weed-whacker out of the shed. I like cutting the grass and working in the yard, but there’s one thing that I don’t like about yard work. I can’t stand weed-whacking! With my kids growing up and becoming more responsible, they have taken over the bulk of the lawn mowing job. For some reason though, the weed-whacking is almost always left for me.

Everyone knows that it’s important to wear long pants, gloves, and eye protection when operating the weed-whacker. Right? You’d think I would have learned by now. For some reason, I did not put safety glasses on when I started weed-whacking. I did a great job avoiding the flying debris that was kicked up by the rapidly rotating trim line. I was making great progress when I ventured over to a small “flower bed” that is home to three forsythia bushes. As I was weed-whacking around the bushes, I suddenly poked myself in the eye with one of branches from a forsythia bush. It was so quick and painful. I was convinced I had done major damage to my eye.

I gently turned the weed-whacker off and put it down. After standing around in hopes that it would feel better after a few minutes, I decided I should try to make my way into the house to clean out my eye. I washed it out over and over again, but it still felt awful. I could see, but my vision was pretty blurry. What was I thinking? Needless to say, I was frustrated by my lack of precaution, and I was concerned that I may have caused permanent damage to my eyesight.

Saturday morning, my vision was still blurry and my eye was still pretty sore. As the day progressed, my vision and my eye seemed to be getting better. Sunday was much better, and I’m happy to say that I’m okay now a few days later.

My Friday night run in with the forsythia bush reminded me of the need for safety, and it also got me thinking about a verse from the book of Matthew:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:3-5

You see, I’m the one who usually gives my kids (and others) advice on being safe. And in the rest of life, I’m quick to judge others for the faults and failings. We live in a world today where so many people are quick to blame others and to point out the problems that others have.

Perhaps, we owe ourselves and others a better response. Here are a couple of ideas:

We need to look in the mirror. Before we start playing the blame game, we need to deal with our own failings. I’m not talking about beating ourselves up. I’m simply suggesting we tackle our own issues before we go pointing out the errors of others.
Respond with love. Instead of being judgmental, let’s find ways to be helpful. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul reminds us that “love keeps no record of wrongs.” Instead, it hopes and endures.
Look to Christ. I know it’s cliche to say, “What would Jesus do?”, but this gets back to my previous point. When we follow Christ, we treat others in the way we wish to be treated. We sacrifice our own interests for the interests of others. Plus, I think He’ll help us deal with our own failings.

I’m thankful for the lessons from my weed-whacking incident. And you can bet that I’ll be wearing safety glasses the next time around.

What lessons have you learned from working around your house?

The Truth About Unconditional Love (Catherine Lee Daugherty)

Today, I’m honored to present guest blogger, Catherine Lee Daugherty. In her post, she shares a story that will give us all a glimpse into the unconditional love that our Father has for each one of us. You can find the link to Catherine’s blog at the end of her post. Thank you, Carol, for sharing your stretch story with The Stretched Community while I am on vacation this week.

The Truth About Unconditional Love

Image by Vinoth Chandar (via Flickr – Creative Commons)

Can anything good come from divorce? With divorce rates between 40% to 50% nearly everyone in the United States has been touched by divorce either directly or indirectly. When I was an 18 year-old, know-it-all, woman of the world, I got married. Fourteen years and two children later, I got a divorce. Still thinking I knew it all, this just made sense. After all, surely God wanted me happy, didn’t He?

Through many events where the devil held my hand while raining down fire in my life, my Heavenly Father never gave up on me. He must have seen some hope for me to make better choices while pruning and shaping my heart and my soul.

There are many casualties in a divorce. The children are the obvious ones, but the pain goes beyond to the parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends, cousins, and in my case, my mother-in-law.

My mother-in-law was 73 years old when her son and I divorced. It is hard to know how to handle this part of the split. Am I no longer her daughter-in-law? Does she loath the ground I walk on? What about my boys, her grandchildren? What do we do with the love we shared?

My sweet mother-in-law, Mom Anderson is now 98 years old. In the 25 years that have passed she never quit praying for me. She never said one harsh word to me. She sent Christmas cards and thinking of you cards. She would quietly say to me “You are the mother of my grandchildren, I will always love you. I am praying for you.”

Wow, where did she learn that kind of unconditional love? I know she has read her Bible more times than the number of years I have been alive. But to be the recipient of God’s love put into practice is more humbling than I can even explain.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” Isaiah 49:15-16 ESV

On a recent trip to visit her, I asked her, “Mom, what do you attribute your long life to?” She didn’t pause for even a moment before she said, “Never stop serving the Lord.”

At 98 years old she is such an inspiration to me. She shows me undeserving, unmerited love and forgiveness. I thank God for her life!

If I knew how to work Photoshop better, I would have replaced this striped shirt and thinned down my thighs. But Mom Anderson had fallen the night before and sported a couple black eyes and she wasn’t bothered in the least when I wanted a picture. She is still teaching me what is truly important in life.

Who is the one in your life offering you undeserved love and grace?

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

P.S. Thank you Jon for allowing me the privilege of sharing with your readers. My usual blogging is done at www.praycookblog.com. Since my website is about food for the soul and the body, I think it is only fair I share the potato soup recipe Mom Anderson taught me how to make during my first year of marriage, some 39 years ago. I still think of her every time I make potato soup. I have tweaked the recipe through the years but she is the one who taught me to make it first!

http://praycookblog.com/2012/01/12/my-favorite-two-cheese-potato-soup/

Love Works Wednesday Link Up Conclusion

Today marks the conclusion of the Wednesday series based on Love Works by Joel Manby. Some of you maybe happy; some sad; and some just plain indifferent. In today’s post, Bill Grandi (The Cycleguy) and I wrap up this 10 week discussion. I hope you’ve learned something along the way and been challenged as well. Check out Bill’s take by clicking here.

To help you recap, here are the posts from the series:

What did I learn from this series? Ten weeks go by pretty quickly. It has been a real pleasure to link up with Bill on a regular basis like this, and it’s been very interesting to get your input into the discussion each week through the conversation in the comments. Bill’s posts tended to focus on leadership from a ministry perspective, and my posts leaned more towards corporate leadership. I think it has been reaffirming to see that love based leadership can apply to various locations of leadership – the church, the office, the home, and elsewhere. Though I had read the book before, I was reminded that you and I can make a difference when we choose to lead with love.

Now it’s your turn. What is one thing you learned through this series? What principle stretched you the most? How has your leadership been transformed by Love Works?

Love Works Wednesday Link Up Week 5 – Unselfish

Today, we continue the Wednesday series based on Love Works by Joel Manby. In today’s post, Bill Grandi (The Cycleguy) and I are discussing the six chapter (Unselfish: Think Of Yourself Less). Check out Bill’s take by clicking here.

As a reminder, Manby’s premise is that leadership is best when it comes from a position of agape love based on I Corinthians 13 (“…[love] is not self-seeking”). Since I already read the book, I thought it would be interesting to highlight some of the sentences I underlined when I read the book initially:

“Being unselfish doesn’t mean thinking less of yourself – it means thinking of yourself less.” (p. 88)

“If we are unable to be selfless in our personal life, we are unlikely to be unselfish as a leader, and unselfishness is a key component of leading with love.” (p. 93)

“The crazy thing about giving is this: when we give, we never know what might happen. Often giving provides the giver with unexpected blessings – as well as making the world a better place.” (p. 95)

“Being unselfish isn’t just for individuals – it’s for organizations too. As leaders we’ve been blessed with resources, and part of our responsibility is to pass it on or “share it forward.” The gift of leadership brings with it the awesome responsibility of giving properly of our time and resources but also of being a steward of giving for the organization.” (p. 98)

“Giving time and talent to develop internal leaders is another important reflection of being unselfish in an organization.” (p. 100)

“If we become numb to the needs of our employees, their performance and ability to satisfy our customers will diminish over time, compromising the very “numbers” we were obsessed with.” (p. 101)

“’Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.'” (p. 102)

“Unselfishness sometimes means letting others lead.” (p. 106)

This is a tough one. I don’t know many people who aren’t at least a little self-centered. We live in a “look at me” culture. Most of us have tunnel vision on what is best for ourselves.

We don’t put others first. It takes focus and discipline to look past our own desires to the needs of others.

And it doesn’t take long to see this in the world around us. Sports stars on the field or on the court pound their chests after a play as if to say “Look at me; I’m the man.” Most politicians are looking out for their own interests instead of finding ways to compromise for the betterment of society as a whole. And in the business world, it’s a dog eat dog world where people climb over one another to get to the top even if it means stepping on someone or even ruining someone’s career.

I probably shouldn’t state this as a blanket statement as I have met tremendous people who clearly have the interest of others in mind, but this doesn’t seem to be the norm.

I’m guilty of being selfish, and I bet if you’re honest with yourself, you’re guilty of selfishness as well. I don’t want to be this way. I want to be known for thinking of others first. I want to treat others the way I would want to be treated. So how do we do this? Instead of coming up with a seven step process for becoming unselfish, I think it really comes down to one thing:

Follow Jesus.

That’s it. You see he was a servant. He put others first. He put the interests of others ahead of his interests. He was unselfish.

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:1-11

And this is how we should lead and live our lives. If we follow Jesus in selfless living, we will change our homes, our schools, our places of employment. And we will change the world.

Over the next four weeks, Bill and I will continue to explore love based leadership. I hope you’ll read along, jump into the comments, and maybe even change the way you lead. Until then, consider getting a copy of Love Works for yourself, and see how this book might change you and your leadership.

What is one thing you can do differently this week to become a more unselfish leader? How have you been led with selfless, love-based leadership?

Love Works Wednesday Link Up Week 3 – Kind

Last week, I continued a Wednesday series based on Love Works by Joel Manby. (Click here to read my first post in this series, and click here to read last week’s post based on Patient Leadership). A blogging friend of mine, Bill Grandi (The Cycleguy), recently challenged readers to consider linking up with him for several weeks with posts related to this excellent leadership book. To read Bill’s introductory post for this series, click here. And to read his post from last week, click here.

For today, Bill and I (and anyone else who’s linking up with us) will be posting about the fourth chapter (Kind: Show Encouragement and Enthusiasm). Check out Bill’s take by clicking here.

If you recall from last week, Manby’s premise is that leadership is best when it comes from a position of agape love based on I Corinthians 13. Since I already read the book, I thought it would be interesting to highlight some of the sentences I underlined when I read the book initially:

“Kindness doesn’t mean being nice all the time; leaders must hold people accountable. However, kindness does mean that encouraging and leading are two sides of the same coin and that words of affirmation and support can be infectiously effective.” (p. 52)

“Making someone’s day better is contagious and increases the energy, effectiveness, and productivity in any organization. Even when leaders feel concern for what lies ahead, we must give off positive impressions and encouragement if we want our teams to thrive.” (p. 55)

“’Loyalty today is no longer a function of rote or duty, but rather passion. You must do things so astonishingly well that customers become not merely loyalists, but rather outright apostles.'” Skip LeFauve – CEO of Saturn (p. 58)

“’Treat the customer as if it was your own mother buying'” Skip LeFauve (p. 58)

“Make their day better – not because you have a mushy need to be liked or to be softhearted, but because it works!” (p. 59)

“The enthusiasm of the guest experience can never rise any higher than the enthusiasm of your own employees.” (p. 60)

“Kindness is about intentionally creating and maintaining the right environment in your organization so that frontline employees can deliver an enthusiastic guest experience. Management is kind to employees, employees are kind to customers, and customers are loyal and enthusiastic.” (p. 60)

“Kindness isn’t an add-on – it’s a critical component of any well-run organization.” (p. 61)

“Money can never buy contentment at home; nor can it buy passion at your job. Working with an enthusiastic team and being supported by kind, loving coworkers is priceless.” (p. 64)

“Spend part of ever day actively encouraging behavior you want to reinforce!” (p. 66)

“Kindness in the context of leading with love begins with you – encouragement and enthusiasm start at the top whether you run the local PTA or a Fortune 500 company.” (p. 67)

“Being kind starts with you and is a key attribute of leading with love.” (p. 67)

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to be treated with kindness. Yet, there are so many unkind words and actions exchanged by leaders, co-workers, colleagues, and even customers. Wouldn’t it be much better if we all practiced the golden rule? Treating other people the way we would like to be treated is such a simple idea, but it often seems to be forgotten. Maybe it’s the hustle and bustle of the busy schedules we all keep. Maybe it’s the scars left by wounds of the past. Maybe it’s a complete numbness to the reality around us.

Whatever the reason, kindness isn’t put into practice as often as it should. We run over each other on the way to the next meeting or on our way to the next rung of the corporate ladder. When will it stop?

Here’s an idea: It can start TODAY with you and me. That’s right, whether you hold a leader position or not, you can decide today to be kind to those around you – in your workplace, in your church, or in your home. Don’t wait for others to be kind first. It may never happen. Instead, take a step of kindness today, and watch what happens. Kindness is contagious. Be the start of something amazing!

Over the next six weeks, Bill and I will continue to explore love based leadership. I hope you’ll read along, jump into the comments, and maybe even change the way you lead. Until then, consider getting a copy of Love Works for yourself, and see how this book might change you and your leadership.

What is one thing you can do differently this week to lead people with more kindness and love than before? How have you been led with kindness and love-based leadership?

Love Works Wednesday Link Up Week 2 – Patient

Last week, I kicked off a series of posts based on Love Works by Joel Manby. (Click here to read my first post in this series). A blogging friend of mine, Bill Grandi (The Cycleguy), recently challenged readers to consider linking up with him for several weeks with posts related to this excellent leadership book. To read Bill’s introductory post for this series, click here.

For today, Bill and I (and anyone else who’s linking up with us) will be posting about the third chapters (Patient: Have Self-Control In Difficult Situations). Check out Bill’s take by clicking here.

If you recall from last week, Manby’s premise is that leadership is best when it comes from a position of agape love. As the book unfolds, he uses I Corinthians 13 as the springboard to talk about love-based leadership.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Since I already read the book, I thought it would be interesting to highlight some of the sentences I underlined when I read the book initially:

“Embracing patience is not about ignoring poor performance.” (p. 36)
“The principle of patience means behaving with self-control in difficult situations.” (p. 36)
“I determined never to publicly admonish people in a way that would diminish their dignity.” (p. 39)
“Whenever possible a reprimand should be given in private, and it should be given in a way that maintains a person’s dignity. When we admonish our employees in private and in a patient, respectful manner, we go a long way toward ensuring our employees remain motivated and continue to grow.” (p. 39)
“We must always admonish with patience and respect. Our goal isn’t simply performance; it’s to protect the dignity of the people on our team. Whether we correct and train our employees in public or in private, our goal is always to do so with respect and love. After all, that’s exactly how we want to be treated.” (p. 41)
“For praise to be effective, it needs to be delivered by a leader who is patient enough to observe what his or her team has actually been doing and waits for the right moment to deliver that assessment.” (p. 42)
“It takes patience to praise with specifics, and praise without specifics can be worse than no praise at all.” (p. 43)
“To be truly effective, praise must be legitimate and pointed.” (p. 46)
“Admonish in private whenever possible; be stern but avoid malice; be specific; get people “back on the horse” with pointed praise; move on without a grudge.” (p. 49)

Bill’s post focuses on utilizing self-control/patience when reprimanding someone. This chapter in Love Works clearly gives some great insight and advice for addressing poor performance. Another side of the patience spectrum mentioned in this chapter is how we choose to praise someone for a job well done. Have you ever received a compliment that seemed vague and unspecific? It kind of seems like you’re being coddled – that someone is just trying to suck up to you. Manby reminds us that we need to be thoughtful and specific in complimenting someone. This takes self-control and patience to deliver a message that is meaningful and deserved.

I have been learning how to apply this type of praise as I’ve joined and participated in Matt McWilliams‘ Thank You Thursday Revolution. In Matt’s initial post about the revolution, he encourages leaders to write handwritten Thank You Notes to deserving team members. He charges readers and Thank You Thursday Revolutionaries to be specific in reasons for providing appreciation. As leaders, we obviously need to reprimand, but we must not forget to praise our team members. There’s amazing power in simple and specific gratitude and it starts with us!

As we continue with Love Works Wednesday, I want to challenge you to think about your leadership from a whole new perspective. Whether you lead in the business world, the church world, or in another pocket of the world, try leading with love. Not love the feeling, but with love the action. Lead in a way that puts other first. Lead in a way that represents how you’d honestly like to be treated by others. Lead in a way that preserves the dignity of others. Over the next seven weeks, Bill and I will continue to explore love based leadership. I hope you’ll read along, jump into the comments, and maybe even change the way you lead. Until then, consider getting a copy of Love Works for yourself, and see how this book might change you and your leadership.

What is one thing you can do differently this week to lead people with more patience and love than before? How have you been led with patient and love-based leadership?

Love Works Wednesday Link Up Week 1

“Love isn’t a feeling but an action, an action by which leaders and entire organizations can experience almost unimaginable success and personal fulfillment.”

Joel Manby – Love Works

A couple of months ago, I read and reviewed Love Works by Joel Manby. (Click here to read my overall review). A blogging friend of mine, Bill Grandi (The Cycleguy), recently challenged readers to consider linking up with him for several weeks with posts related to this excellent leadership book. I thought I would give it a try. To read Bill’s introductory post regarding this series, click here.

For today, Bill and I (and anyone else who’s linking up with us) will be posting about the first two chapters (A Hard Day’s Night and The Jedi Masters). Check out Bill’s take by clicking here.

Since I already read the book, I thought it would be interesting to highlight some of the sentences I underlined when I read the book initially:

“I wanted, in short, to be the same person all the time: at work, with my family, at my church, and when I was alone.” (p. 21)
“Love isn’t a feeling, but an action, an action by which leaders and entire organizations can experience almost unimaginable success and personal fulfillment.” (p.22)
“Profits are a product of doing the right thing – over and over again.” (p. 22)
“Leadership is about the bottom line AND…and loving the people you work with. and making your community a better place. and feeling a sense of satisfaction at the end of every day. and leading employees who can’t imagine working anywhere else…. The bottom line is best served when leaders lead with love.” (p. 23,24)
“It’s not okay to achieve profit growth and destroy our culture as a ‘great place to work for great people.’ It is also not okay to focus on being a ‘great place to work’ without achieving our financial objectives.” (p. 29)
“For the culture to survive, it must be defined AND adhered to or the organization could lose its way.” (p. 29)
“Treating someone with love regardless of how you feel about that person is a very powerful principle.” (p. 31)
“Agape love is the foundation for the best and noblest relationships that humans are capable of. It is deliberate and unconditional love that is the result of choices and behaviors rather than feelings and emotions.” (p. 32)

I am a leader. I’m definitely in a leadership position in my company as an operations manager. My team members include project managers, engineers, technicians, union pipe fitters, and miscellaneous support staff. I’m in various leadership roles in my church. I’m a youth leader, I co-lead a small group with my wife, and I lead a Foundations class once or twice a year. I’m in a leadership position at home. As a parent, my wife and I have the responsibility to lead our children.

Leadership is an interesting thing. It takes energy, thought, and action. When you hear the word leadership, what comes to your mind? Power? Fame? Notoriety? Influence? Wisdom? Many words probably come to mind, but love is not the word we usually think of when we hear the word leadership. However, when you see how Joel Manby frames love and leadership in the first two chapters and in the quotes above, you get the sense that love is essential in order for leadership to be truly successful.

As we kick-off Love Works Wednesday, I want to challenge you to think about your leadership from a whole new perspective. Whether you lead in the business world, the church world, or in another pocket of the world, try leading with love. Not love the feeling, but with love the action. Lead in a way that puts other first. Lead in a way that represents how you’d honestly like to be treated by others. Over the next eight weeks, Bill and I will continue to explore love based leadership. I hope you’ll read along, jump into the comments, and maybe even change the way you lead. Until then, consider getting a copy of Love Works for yourself, and see how this book might change you and your leadership.

What is one thing you can do differently this week to lead people with more love than before? How you have you been led with leadership by others?

The Second Sunday of Advent: Love

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

John 15:13

I shared a similar picture last week, but it fits so well with today’s post that I had to share this one this week.

If you come from a more traditional church background, you probably will be lighting the second candle on the church’s advent wreath. Today, is the second Sunday of Advent. Many people around the world will be talking about love. Today’s verse above expresses an extreme love. Christmas is way more than presents and a baby in a manger. Christmas is about a God who loves us so much that He would send His Son to pay the penalty for us on the cross. May you know God’s love this season in a deeper way.

As we go through this time of preparing for Christmas, may we also share God’s love with those around us.

How have you experienced God’s love this week?

Today, I’m hooking up with The Sunday Community and Fresh Brewed Sundays. Hop on over here and here to see what I’m talking about.

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