I pulled into my driveway not long ago from dropping my kids off at school and I spotted a big black crow eating French fries that had been dropped there the day before.  Knowing what I know about crows, my immediate thought was, where is the mate?  Seconds later the second one showed up on queue and started helping out. I learned years ago that crows are monogamous and stay paired for life. Apparently they’re not aware of any other options but to stay together and work through they’re problems and differences.

The most recent American statistic on divorce is one out of every two marriages and increasing fast.  I’ve observed over the years that we tend to be willing to spend so much time and money on the wedding, but so little time and money on maintaining the marriage.  Who would’ve thought that crow’s could give good marriage advice?  Maybe we can learn a bit from their “never-say-die” or “never-say-divorce” commitment and way of life in terms of marriage.

I challenge you to leverage your stubbornness and use it to stay in that marriage.  Stick around and invest your time and money in an attempt to work it out.  Can we do it is an easy question to answer “Yes” to, but Will we do it is much more difficult to answer with a “Yes”.  No need to answer out loud or raise your hand, just hear and understand and make your plan if you can.

Marriage advice from a couple of crow’s.  Hmmmm.

Let’s continue to Make it Great.

When it comes to parenting and raising solid, respectful kids one of the most important words I’ve learned to say is “Yes”. 

As a father of four beautiful kids I must admit that years ago I used to spell “Love”, W-O-R-K and M-O-N-E-Y.  I used to be quick to say “No” when it came to doing the simplest of things with my kids like playing basketball or curb-ball or rough-housing.  I would justify my answer with the fact that I was “too busy”.  Well, thank God years ago I eventually realized that “too busy” was just a common scapegoat that demonstrates our real priorities in life. 

I’m happy to say that one glorious day I had the good-fortune of overhearing a conversation a couple of my kids were having with my wife and it suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks that the most important thing is not how hard we W-O-R-K or how much M-O-N-E-Y we make, our kids spell “Love”, T-I-M-E. 

No wonder there are countless stories of multi-millionaires and billionaires the world over that have failed to create the proper bond and connection with their kids due to the lack of T-I-M-E invested with them.  The biggest factor in our kid’s lives is not the school teacher or the BFF or the babysitter or the TV or the video game.  The biggest factor in their lives should be YOU and your ability to say “Yes” to the time investment in the simple things that show them that they’re important. 

So, here’s a brief reminder for you today.  In this life we have many, many mistakes to make but we don’t have to make them all ourselves.  I invite you to learn from my mistake and take time to tune-out of the busyness that life can bring us and tune-in to those little ones around us both young and old.  And, remember we only get one time through this “life” thing.  No do-over’s on this one, so let’s get it right the first time through.

Be encouraged this week and be sure to say “Yes” as you choose to invest your T-I-M-E wisely with those who are counting on you to show them how to WIN.  The unfortunate reality is that most people won’t even have time to read this post today, “too busy”.  Hmmmm.  Don’t let it be you.

Let’s make it GREAT!

A little food-4-thought for you today:

Even the best among us have their fair share of ups and downs.  I’ve found that the very definition of life has to incorporate the reality of ups and downs, for if there were no “downs” how would we ever know when we’re “up”.  Hmmmm.

I invite you to consider the following thought today and understand that your current position in life, up or down, is simply just part of the process of life.  The down days can build character and resilience, and the up days can build confidence and self-esteem.

The harsh reality is that he/she who is not experiencing the ups and downs of life is no longer living, they’re dead.  So my good-word for you today friends is to enjoy the ups and embrace the downs, for it all works to our good if we want it to. 

Let’s continue to lean forward this weekend as we attempt to once again Make it GREAT!