What do you do when you feel like your life is just one big mess?
Here are some thoughts from this episode:
In this episode Mark and Adena tell a story about a miscommunication they had recently.
A great marriage is not one that is void of disagreements. To build a strong marriage both people must be able to engage in conflict without putting up walls that shut the person out.
Mark and Adena have a candid conversation with each other about their relationship. They look back to how they could have destroyed each other in the early years.
To summarize, Adena was threatened to be a person that had to have a perfect life. This could have caused her to reject Mark since he was a very flawed man.
Mark was threatened to be a person that would never admit failure. This could have caused him to bring Adena so much pain as he hid his weaknesses.
In this episode Mark sits down for an episode with Steve Katsis. They have a conversation about how we as men struggle to feel qualified.
1. What causes a man to live life with the goal of not being disqualified?
2. What keeps a man stuck in this mindset?
3. How does a man get over this mindset.
Every man needs to know his purpose and find his people.
Living in the perfect will of God sounds like a great target. But it also sounds overwhelming and impossible. In the episode, Mark talks about principles of God's will that can help up live boldly.
We build a wall between us and someone else in order to protect ourself from being hurt. But that wall has big implications on our entire life.
1. That wall impacts many of our relationships.
2. The wall you put up changes you.
3. The wall blocks out love from others.
4. At some point we have to take down that wall by being vulnerable.
5. Behind that wall, it is critical to see your own faults.
6. Realize that life without the wall will be messy while you learn to live without it.
In this episode Mark tells some stories about his most recent visit to a prison.
He asked the inmates this question: “What is the most difficult to overcome? The ghost of Christmas past, the ghost of Christmas present, or the ghost of Christmas future?”
The ghost of Christmas past is overcome through forgiveness.
The ghost of Christmas present is overcome through learning to trust.
The ghost of Christmas future is overcome through surrendering what we cannot control.
All of us are a gift to others, but it doesn't always feel that way. How do I unwrap the gift of me?
1. See the gifts of others first. Let them use their gift in your life. Take an opportunity this week to complement someone on a gift that you see in them.
2. Face your fears. One of the most common fears that we have is the fear of admitting a weakness. But when we hide our weakness, we also hide our gift.
3. Know your purpose. It is hard to boldly show up in your life when you do not know your purpose.
If you want to work with us email mark here: mark@markdelaney.me, or email Adena here: Adena@markdelaney.me.
You can also visit our website: https://markdelaney.com/
We learned how to play pickle-ball recently. In joining this group of players we found ourselves noticing the interesting relationship dynamics.
How we interact with people will determine if they want to keep coming back!
What are the common areas of struggle for a man?
1. Void of Purpose
2. Lack of Camaraderie
3. Frustration in love
How should a man think about his struggles?
1. They are normal
2. His problem is not his identity
3. Problems are opportunities
What can a man do with struggles?
1. Talk openly with a trusted friend
2. Share the pain or confusion of your heart
3. Love someone in spite of your struggle