Fifteen Important Questions – #11

as we wind down our final few days of 2008, so also will our questions.  here’s your question for today:

what one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

there is no question that we all have so much to learn…so much to experience…so much wisdom to gain, when it comes to prayer.  it is the oxygen of our god experience and the fuel of our relationship.  don’t you think it’s time to make it a priority?

Fifteen Important Questions – #6

here’s today’s question:

who do you most want to encourage this year?

our lives are full of relationships.  some are closer than others.  we all have some that god has uniquely positioned us in to make a difference.  who is that one person who needs to hear more of your wisdom…more of your challenge…more of your positive reinforcement…more of your forgiveness…more of your support?

Money…off limits

i know i’ve talked about this before, but i think i’m going to revisit it today…

in the midst of really healthy, bro to bro, deep, committed, godly friendships, there are still some subjects that are almost completely off limits in our conversations.  even when we know that a couple is struggling in their marriage, we have a “don’t ask, don’t tell” relationship.  it is not socially, or even spiritually, acceptable to ask, “hey, how’s your sex life?” or “are you being sexually satisfied?”.  are you kidding me?!  we’d rather watch a couple go down in flames before we bring that subject up!!  but real friends aren’t afraid to wade out into deeper waters.

we also stay away from ever offering our help or suggestions to parents, even if we see mistakes being made.  we con ourselves into believing that it’s none of our business, because we don’t want anybody evaluating our parenting, either.  so the fear of risking our friendship paralyzes us and we sit by and say nothing.

that brings me to the money issue.  other than sex and parenting, there isn’t another topic that causes believers to wig out more than talking about money.  it makes grown men and women shrink in fear and otherwise spiritually mature followers of christ react with defensiveness, self-consciousness, or even some form of retaliation against the church or church leadership.

so why is this?