So I am getting this post up later than I wanted to. But the last couple weeks have been enlightning for me. I am not sharing deep spiritual principles here, just some wisdom and common sense.

A couple weeks ago I spent time away with my one and only (no kids)!  We took some time away to relax and have some fun. Time to enjoy each other’s company and escape the craziness of day-to-day life. If you are married and have not done this in some time, I encourage you to do it. And do it sooner than later. You cannot allow anything to come before your marriage. Your kids, work, your company.. Nothing can come before your marriage if you want it to be the best it can be. The stresses of daily life will eat away at your marriage and family if you let it. Take time to remember why you married this amazing woman. Experience those care-free feelings all over again for a few days.

For the last five years my wife and I have taken time away to work on our marriage because we knew it was something that was good for us. Then a friend mentioned that every year he takes time away with his wife to set goals for the coming year. I thought, yeah, that makes sense. I am going to start doing that with our weekend away. Any good business plan has to be thought out and plan for both successes and challenges, set goals, course correct, etc. Then I heard about what Jimmy Evans from Marriage Today calls the Vision Retreat Journey and realized that this is exactly what we were trying to accomplish without knowing it.

I have noticed that when I am not focused in the things that are most important to me, I end up on auto-pilot and eventually off course. 1 Corinthians 9:6 says “Remember this, Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” So I ask you this.. Are you sowing generously into your marriage? Sowing love, time, affirmation, are you giving it the attention it deserves and requires to thrive?

In an attempt to add balance to the topic, I spent the next Friday hiking Mount Osceola with a group of men. What better way to hang out and push your limits and build relationships than to hike a mountain that is over 4,000 feet in elevation, right?

What a great day it was. We met early, drove a couple hours to the trail head. Had some great conversations and many laughs along the way. Hiked the day away, encountered challenges and beat them together.

I want to emphasize that along with taking time to focus on your family and marriage, there has to be time that you do something for you and recharge your battery. If you do not take time to recharge, you cannot be the best husband and father God called you to be for your family. If you are single, you need to do the same. Recharge so that when you walk back into your day to day life, you do so recharged and focused.

Because of my family situation I focus extensively on my family and tend to put my needs to the side. And I know that many of you do the same. Some of you may even feel guilty about taking time for yourself. This should not be so. But don’t go and take this as a license to neglect your family every weekend for the golf course or the hiking trail. In everything we do there must be balance.

Proverbs 11:1 AMP says “A false balance and dishonest business practices are extremely offensive to the Lord, But an accurate scale is His delight.”

Let’s ask ourselves these questions:

Are we operating with a false sense of balance?

Am I doing what I need to, to be the pointman in critical situations?

Are our marriages and families getting what they need?

How do we achieve that balance?

Be brutally honest with yourself here. I read a quote once that said, “A good man will be honest no matter how painful the truth is. A coward hides behind lies and deceit.”

These are critical questions that we must answer to be successful and achieve the goal of being a great man of God, Father, Husband, Boss. You insert the role here. This applies to all areas of our lives.

Feel free to comment or email me back. You could encourage others with your comments. It is great to know that these simple posts are making a difference!