I am not certain when it started (maybe three or four years ago), but it has become an annual tradition for the Williams family. Every year, on the kids’ last day of school, my boys and I ride our bikes to their school. It’s not a long ride, but it is a meaningful one to them and to me. We ride and talk and talk and ride. We speed up and we slow down. The early morning cool air hits our faces as we speed down Eastern Avenue, talking and riding and riding and talking. We can barely hear each other because of traffic and the wind, but we understand each other. It’s not a long ride, but it’s a meaningful one to them and to me.

Today was special because Mikayla, my sweetie, joined the tradition. The last couple years she couldn’t ride with us because she was still riding with training wheels. The boys thought she would simply slow us down. They were right. But, this morning, I tell you, she held her own. She rocked it out! I am so proud of her. As long as they are never too old or tired of the tradition, I won’t be too busy to continue it. It’s a short ride, but one that I hope is creating long memories.

What “last day of school” traditions does your family have? What “last day of school” tradition can you start that will be meaningful to you and your children? Leave your comments.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Next month, July 7-14, my beautiful bride and I will be going here to celebrate our 16th year anniversary. When I went through the second year of Men’s Fraternity, led by Robert Lewis, he encouraged us to have a weekly escape, a monthly experience and a yearly extravaganza. So, this year our yearly extravaganza will take us to Costa Rica. Last year, our yearly extravaganza was here, and we had an absolutely wonderful time. Here are some pics from our time in Aruba.

As a married couple, we deal with all kinds of stresses, but these kinds of intentional of times and experiences help our marriage to breathe and be rejuvenated from week to week, month to month and year to year. We are still learning.

How do you and your spouse keep your marriage alive and breathing the wonderful oxygen of unity and intimacy? Do you have a weekly escape, monthly experience or a yearly extravaganza with your spouse? What do those times look like?

Popularity: 13% [?]

I believe my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and I should glorify God with my body. I should not make my body an idol and neither should I treat it like it doesn’t matter at all. Part of my ministry coaching process is to create a vision for several key areas of my life – faith, priorities, health, finance, family, friends, and service. As a part of accomplishing my vision for my physical health account, here is my vision for my health:

By God’s grace, I am understanding and committing to what it means for Jesus to own my body, and to present it to him as an act of worship. Each day, I am committing to choose foods and activities of life rather than making choices of death. I am committing to living an exemplary life, spiritually, emotionally, relationally, and physically, through Spirit-led and Spirit-empowered self-control and discipline. This is for the purpose of glorifying God and experiencing an “optimal state of well-being. My prayer is that this is resulting in energy and strength.”

This account is especially important to me because I am always interfacing with the public and I want to be my best self, and because of the health history of my family – diabetes and hypertension. Here is my meal and workout schedule:

Sunday – Cheat Day with Density Training
Monday – Fast Day with High Intensity and Lactic Acid Training
Tuesday – Shake Day with light Cardio workout
Wednesday – Moderate Carb Day with High intensity and Density Training
Thursday – Shake Day (Rest)
Friday – Moderate Carb Day with High Impact and Density Training
Saturday – Depletion Day (Meat and Veggies only) with heavy Cardio workout

I will switch this schedule up in about five weeks and implement a different one. Do you have a plan for creating optimal physical health? What does that plan look like?

Popularity: 9% [?]

A while ago I had a conversation with an 8 year old child that simply broke and melted my heart. It was a conversation about her not feeling wanted and loved by her dad. She thought she was the seeming unimportant pawn in the chess match of her mother and father’s divorce and animosity toward each other. For whatever reason, her dad refuses to spend time with her (Can someone please help me with this? I simply don’t understand).

I tried to assure her that no dad would intentionally not spend time with his children, especially his daughter. She didn’t seem to buy what I was selling. Shoot! I didn’t even buy what I was selling because I have witnessed plenty of deadbeat dads simply refuse to spend time with their children, and then turn around and say that they love their kids. In my mind, the two cannot be reconciled, plain and simple. I can only surmise that either they don’t love their kids or they love themselves more than they love their kids. Either one is an abdication of their responsibility as a father and devastating for the child.

Anyway, I asked her if she was angry with her dad. She assured me that she was not. “All I want is to see and spend time with my dad.” she whimpered. It took everything in me to keep it together. At that moment I realized something: little girls need and want their daddies. Even if the super hero cape has been marred by broken promises and unintentional or intentional negligence, little girls need and want their daddies. Little girls need and want their daddies to be fully present with them, to hold their hands as they cross the street, to tuck them in at night, to study spelling words with them, to wipe their tears away, to protect them from danger (especially knucklehead boys), to buy them ice cream and take them to the bookstore, to listen intently to their repeated ramblings about their day, to be honest and ask forgiveness, to assure them that God is big and strong, to remind them that God listens to their whimpers and can interpret their tears, to buy them what they need and surprise them with what they want, to model what a godly man is and should be, and to one day, with confidence, give their hand to a man who will take as much care to love them as we have. I wrote this last paragraph with tears streaming down my face. Why? Because I have a little girl, and when we walk down the street together, holding hands, or when she sits in my lap or asks me to give her a horseback ride to her bed, I know that my little girl needs and wants her daddy.

What do you think of this post? What are some of your initial reactions?

Popularity: 15% [?]

In John 3, the followers of John the Baptist tried to get him to drink the heart-numbing elixir of jealousy and envy when they said, “the one who you said is the Messiah is baptizing people, too.” They must have been living the thug life because they asked John: “Do you want us to put in some work and stop him?” In other words, they wanted to somehow stop Jesus’ success. John told them to slow their roll. Now, he could have been dragged into the numbers and success game, but John didn’t drink the cancerous libation. He responded with a line that is unnatural for me, but it is a principle that I need to rehearse and learn daily: “I am filled with joy at his success.”(NLT) Let’s be honest; It’s not easy being filled with joy for someone else whose . . .

ministry is larger than yours
budget is bigger than yours
popularity is greater than yours
books outpace yours
blog gets more traffic than yours
songs get played more than yours
networks are stronger than yours
living the life that should be yours
marriage is happier than yours
job pays more money than yours
body looks better than yours
enjoying the success and blessing that should be yours
checks have more zeros than yours

And the list goes on, doesn’t it?

I hear people saying all the time: “I work just as hard and spend just as many hours as they do, working on my craft, honing my skills, and being faithful to God and my family, but I don’t experience the same success.” Sometimes, it just doesn’t seem fair, does it?. Yet, John said: I am filled with joy at his (Jesus) success. So, how can I be filled with joy at the messianic status and success of others? Here is what I’m learning:

1. God gives each different gifts and niches in ministry.
2. I have to be faithful to and thankful for what God has given me.
3. We’re on the same team and playing for the same generous Coach.
4. Celebrate the success of others every chance I get.
5. Jealousy and envy are sins that prevent me from being fully present where I am.

Have you ever been tempted to drink the elixir of jealousy and envy? How difficult is it for you to be filled with joy at someone else success? What lessons are you learning?

Popularity: 14% [?]

Here is a picture (Yes! I was the photographer.) of our new digs in Haslett, Michigan. God is really gracious toward his children.

Yesterday morning, around 10:20, Tonia and I began signing a 2 inch stack of papers to close on our new house in Haslett,  Michigan. By 11:30, we had carpal tunnel (At least it felt like it), a bunch of brand new keys, a few gifts from the realtor, a lot of handshakes and congratulations, utilities transferred over to my name, and a stack of signed papers reminding us of our long term relationship with the bank (we will certainly try to shorten that relationship through some wise stewardship practices). We are humbled that God would provide for us the way he has. We thank him for his gracious provision to us and all those who journeyed with us in prayer and encouragement through this long and sometimes frustrating process.

PRAISALLEUIA! The commute is almost over! (I had to throw that in there).

The big move date is scheduled for Monday June 28th. Why on a Monday? Tonia looked at our schedule – kids at Spring Hill Camp, Tonia starting class, me doing everything under the sun – and determined that was one of the only free days for us to get it done. Plus, we want to get our tenant into the house as quickly as possible. Tonia has been right so many times in the past. So, I trust her judgment. I will forward more details of the move in the next few days.

Rejoice with us as God has proven once again that he is faithful. Again, thanks for your prayers, encouragement and support.

Popularity: 20% [?]