Every now and then you read an article that says it right. This Guardian article is one such article and describes boys as follows:

“A lazy youth becomes a burden to those parents, whom he ought to comfort, if not support. But you can no more rouse them, with all of their fine arguments, than you can a log. There they lie, completely enchained by indolence… Business tires him; reading fatigues him; the public service interferes with his pleasures. Ask him what he has done with his morning – he cannot tell you; for he has lived without reflection, and almost without knowing whether he has lived at all!”

Surprisingly that quote comes from 1831 but it could be written about many man-boys today. The writer goes on to quote a modern author who says:

“For most young working boys their role models are what their fathers and their fathers’ friends are doing . . . and if they perceive their fathers lives to be worthless or coming apart it is not some psychological defect in the kid that makes him lose motivation, but just the fact they don’t have an adult who they can be like…“

While the modern celebrity culture perverts this, the truth is we all (and men especially) need to have role models to look up to and desire to emulate. Of course, while distant heroes can be of some help, I am convinced that what we really need is a man that we respect who invests time in us as individuals. When I recently reflected on the people who had been most influential in my life, it suddenly struck me that there was one thing that they all had in common: they all had eaten meals with me, and hence made me feel accepted enough for them to where necessary then rebuke me! As I get older, I realize more and more that where I have benefited so much from men that have gone before (and continue to do so) I also need to increasingly find other men that I can pour myself into. If you are a young man looking for wisdom and guidance, I urge you to find someone to follow in this way and bleed them dry for advice, wisdom, encouragement and support.

This is the last day of Mrs. W. as Adrian is back tonight. I recently read the book, Shopping For Time (by Carolyn Mahaney, Nicole Whitacre, Kristin Chesemore, and Janelle Bradshaw). They are also the authors of girltalk, a blog for Christian women. It is written by a mother and her grown-up daughters about “How to do it all and not be overwhelmed.” As a mother of five young children, you can imagine I thought this was worth a read!

The book is very easy to read and fairly short. It is centered around five tips to help get your life in order, and is directed at women of all ages and stages of life. The five tips are as follows:

1. Rise early. Having implemented this tip in varying degrees since having read the book, I can certainly vouch for its effectiveness. It is possible to get up and spend time with God without any interruptions, and having done this, to plan the day and get some jobs done early.

2. Sit still. This is about spending time at Jesus’ feet, and how vital this is, before beginning the activities of the day.
3. Sit and plan. I have implemented this and have bought a diary instead of relying on my calendar. So after sitting at Jesus’ feet, then I can sit with my diary and plan how to most effectively use the time available.
4. Consider people. This tip was about the importance of evaluating who you are spending time with, and in what proportions. It talks about who you can be influenced by, who you are influencing, and the benefits of planning and thinking about this carefully and deliberately.
5. Plan to depend. We should not be seeking to complete our ‘to do list’ more than glorifying our Saviour, and he is the one on whom we depend for help. I am still learning, but this book has provided me with a lot to think about and practical encouragement.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book; it is highly practical and firmly grounded in biblical truth. It is an easy read, with personal stories and humor, but packed full of things to think about, pray about, and apply in our own lives. It is available from Crossway Books.

Just finished a great two day management course. The course came up with the following gems-

To lead is to serve (where have I heard that before…..?)

The appropriate way to give feedback can be described by the acronym BOOST-

Ballance

Observed (behaviour nor personality)

Ownership (ie what can I do to help?)

Specific (factual)

Time- (at an approrpriate time)

and High performance teams can be defined as those with-

Shared vision or goal

Results driven

Sense of team identity

Competent team members

Mutual trust and respect

Interdependance among team members

Together Everyone Acheives More