Focusing on My Primary Ministry (from the extra chapter, “Not the End”)

Above all, I just need to be the best minister I can in my home. It’s about putting my wife and boys first.

I really resist the sarcastic streak in me, but I have bad days. I have trouble with being absent-mindedness and inattentiveness. I strive to deal with these deficiencies more than my kids and wife know.

I also cry out loud and deep in my heart at the heinous things of the world that my kids inevitably come across – so many killings, drugs, drivel, mindless TV shows and giant parades of extramarital sex (men and women characterized as nothing more than play objects for our eyes).

For example, is Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion popularized on TV really a bastion of joy and ecstasy or a despicable castle of depravity and disease surrounded by a mote of sin that leaks inside and out?

I help my family lead our fight against worldly things like excessively gory movies, nasty song lyrics, inappropriate displays of sexuality in films and on TV, trash-talking, judgmental attitudes, abusing someone’s dignity, etc.

I also need to strike a balance while integrating my faith into all aspects of my life (segmenting it isn’t as productive).

Another problem for Christians like me, especially new ones, is that I can be (as they say) be so heavenly minded that I do no earthly good in the home. I can lose focus on the essentials on this side of heaven.

It’s still nice when my wife and boys see the Lord working in me.

In 2004, Eric, 8 years old at the time, asked me, “Does God love Jesus more than me?” I didn’t have a suitable answer for an awkward moment. I think God helped me with the reply, “He loves you through Jesus.”

How much did you spend on Christmas last year or the year before? What’s your budget this year? Could you cut it by 25% or half and give the money to people or organizations that serve the poor?

Know anyone out of work? Would those you love really love you less if you gave them fewer presents?

It’s a challenge for me. After all, I want to give good gifts to my wife and children.

The notion of cutting back is being championed by the Advent Conspiracy. Check out the bold message.

How can you love those closest to you as well as strangers this holiday season?