Would You Work There?

Someone once told me about a sign he read on the wall of a business: “We want employees who want to work here, not just for a paycheck.”

That sentiment is similar to a common corporate mission statement that proudly proclaims: “Our employees are our best asset!”

Don’t both of those statements sound good? Wouldn’t you want to work there? Well, maybe yes or maybe no. Doesn’t it depend upon whether management actually makes decisions for the good of the employee consistent with those statements? One question would be: Is the company investing in their employees?

We could say something similar about our homes. A father may desire that each member of the family wants to live in his home, or he might say that his family is his greatest treasure on earth. The question is: What is he doing to make those statements a reality? Is he making decisions for the good of his wife and children? Is he investing in his wife and children?

Have we evicted anger from our lives and ushered in love, gentleness, and patience? Let’s tally how much time we spend with our wife and children each week. Why isn’t it more? Might that fact be the difference between words that sound good and reality?

“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is” (1 Corinthians 3:13).

Let’s make our homes a place of nurturing and love. It begins with a choice. Will we make good choices and then implement them?

Seriously,

Steve

Dirty Diapers and Hard Work

On average a mom will change 2,500 diapers for her newborn baby in just the first year. Do any of us truly believe that Moms’ “why” in changing diapers is that she loves to change diapers? We can be sure she is looking down the road and investing her life in the children because she is raising them to love and serve the Lord.

How seriously do we Dads take our responsibility of discipling our children? Providing a paycheck is the easy part. That is necessary, but the hard part is raising sons and daughters who love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Raising children who love the Lord is a LOT OF HARD WORK. The more we invest, though, the greater the return. I can assure you that the investment is worth it. Was it tough at times? Absolutely! But I delight in my children. People groan when mentioning teenagers. I can’t imagine that. The teen years are when the real “pay-off” is beginning!

One very senior citizen recently told me that she issued an ultimatum to her daughter – at 18 either the daughter would move out or the mom would. Sadly, that attitude is so common today.

It’s very easy to “father” a child. The hard part is to be a father to that child.

What’s our “why?” What sort of fathers are we? What level of effort are we willing to invest?

Steve

Working in a Salt Mine

Tomorrow is another work day. You will head off to work, spend all day, and come home to the family. Then you will begin all over again the next day. The weekend will come yielding a change of pace, and then it begins again on Monday.

Many years ago I had a hamster. He would run in an exercise wheel for hours. He never went anywhere or accomplished anything. It was a whirl of activity, but that little hamster had nothing to show for it. Can you relate to that?

Our joy in work comes down to “why” we are doing what we are doing. We must be looking beyond the immediate activity and seeing the whole picture. Why are we working?

One dad is bringing home a paycheck to feed his family. Another dad is working because it is expected of him. He goes to work; Mom stays home. Another dad views his job as a means to raising God’s heritage. His family members are his best friends, and his delight is raising his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17).

“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: … Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Psalms 127:1,3).

What’s your “why?”

Steve Maxwell

Welcome to Seriously Dad

Seriously Dad is for dads who want to grow spiritually, personally, and relationally. It doesn’t matter where you are starting from, The question is: Do you want to grow? If you know another dad who is serious about being challenged and moving forward, send this on to him.

Frequent doses of spiritual, vocational, and family relationship “vitamins” for dads are coming your way beginning March 20th.  Won’t you join me?

Your Brother in Christ Jesus,

Steve

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. Psalm 68:19

Working in a Salt Mine?

Seriously E-mail

Tomorrow is another work day. You will head off to work, spend all day, and come home to the family. Then you will begin all over again the next day. The weekend will come yielding a change of pace, and then it begins again on Monday.

Many years ago I had a hamster. He would run in an exercise wheel for hours. He never went anywhere or accomplished anything. It was a whirl of activity, but that little hamster had nothing to show for it. Can you relate to that?

Our joy in work comes down to “why” we are doing what we are doing. We must be looking beyond the immediate activity and seeing the whole picture. Why are we working?

One dad is bringing home a paycheck to feed his family. Another dad is working because it is expected of him. He goes to work; Mom stays home. Another dad views his job as a means to raising God’s heritage. His family members are his best friends, and his delight is raising his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17).

“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: … Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Psalms 127:1,3).

What’s your “why?”

Steve Maxwell

Posted in: Dad's Corner

Exercise for the Busy Mommy

What mommy with a busy household full of little ones and perhaps homeschooling as well has time to exercise? Even if she has time, when could she get off by herself and go to the gym? Maybe she could take an early morning run before her husband leaves for work, but with safety concerns these days, that isn’t advisable either. Are there any exercise solutions available?

We think there are viable exercise options that can be done at home without any specialized equipment in a minimal amount of time and space! I had two e-mails this week asking questions about how my girls and I exercise so I expect there are others who are interested in this information. In the past few years, we have been learning about the benefits of intense exercise that is done for short periods of time. This has meant that we can have a good workout in 20 to 30 minutes a day or even every other day.

Most of us know that exercise is important for a healthy body, and we want to make exercise part of our daily schedule. Even Scripture tells us that there is some value in exercise although the most important part of our lives is godliness. “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).

Steve and I are able to walk together for exercise. If you have older children who are mature enough to watch younger children, walking is an ideal exercise for a husband and wife. Not only are you getting exercise time in, but you are also able to have uninterrupted communication. Our morning walks are a highlight for both Steve and me each day, and we know it is part of what has kept our bodies healthy and our relationship close. We also do about 15 minutes of the exercising we are describing in this Mom’s Corner every other day. Our girls also do this kind of exercise most days, and their exercise routine is what I want to share with you. When Steve is sick or has an injury, I exercise with the girls so I have had some experience participating in their routines.

Here is an overview of what is possible without much time, without any equipment, and without having to leave home. It can even be done with children participating, or if they are little, with them playing nearby.

Our girls usually do 20 to 30 minute workouts in the mornings right after personal Bible time before starting their days. This is the most stable time of day for us. We have some equipment like free weights in our basement where we workout, but the girls don’t always use them in their exercising. When we are on the road, the girls’ workout uses body weight. The exercises in the demonstration in the link following require no equipment.

The girls plan exercise routines that vary every day. Here is a link to some exercises like the girls would use.

They pick 6 to 8 exercises and write them down so they know the order they are going to use. When they started exercising like this, they did the first exercise for 30 seconds and then rested for 15 or 20 seconds. Then they did the second exercise for 30 seconds and then rested for 15 or 20 seconds. When they finished all the exercises, they would start over doing two rounds and working up to three rounds or whatever fit into their time frame.

As they got stronger and built more endurance, they did the exercises for 45 seconds each. Then they advanced to a full minute for the exercises with only a 10 to 15 second break between exercises. You can learn exercises by watching the video. Having proper technique is necessary to avoid injury. Then pick six or eight of the exercises for your first exercise routine and write them down. Take another six or eight and make a second list for the next day’s routine. If you did that and saved each routine on your computer, you could reuse them and not have to make up so many new ones. As you get the hang of exercising this way, you could hunt for more exercises on the Internet to add to your list of available exercises.

We pace ourselves as we exercise. If we need to rest in the middle of an exercise, we rest. Sometimes when I am exercising, I can’t make the full 30 seconds. I will take a little break and then start again to finish the interval. As you get stronger and in better shape, you can scale the exercising up to whatever you are able to do by increasing the time of the intervals or performing the exercise faster.

Do you have a smart phone? If so, there are apps that you can get for timing your intervals and even listing the exercises. The one Steve and I use is called UltraTrainer. It is a little harder to program than Anna’s timer. Anna has one called Seconds (the free version). In Seconds’ free version, you can’t save your timers, but if you purchase it, you can. Anna uses Round Timer and quickly enters her number of rounds, plus interval and break duration. You can set up intervals for exercise, for rest, and for how many exercises you want to do. The program does the timing for you, giving you auditory clues for starting each exercise, ending it, and resting. If you set your phone in the right place, you can watch the seconds count down to the beep. Sometimes when you are really tired, it helps to look at the timer and discover you only have five seconds left.

When programming the timing app, if you want to go all out, you can name each exercise within the routine. The girls don’t do that because they put so much variety into their routines, and they are different every day. They write out their routine and simply use the timer for their intervals. Steve and I tend to get a routine going and do it for quite a while before changing it up so we enter the names of the exercises. In reality because we do the same routine so frequently, we soon memorize it.

Busy mommies need to take care of their bodies. They have to have strength and energy to keep up with their young crew, to stay healthy, and to accomplish all that the Lord has given them to do. I encourage you to try this way of exercising and see if it will allow you to do what you didn’t think you could do–exercise!