by Carmen Kamrath
Frantic—a word in the working world that often describes the sense of urgency when you’re trying to meet deadlines, fit in too many meetings, or prep for that sermon that you’ve had no time to prepare for—and it’s Friday afternoon. So, home and family time is where we retreat when we want to find peace and rest, right?
Let’s be real: If you observe families today, their lives are frantic to the core. Getting kids to school or daycare, trying to work or manage a house on the in-between time; then that school bell rings for dismissal and it’s off to baseball practice, piano lessons, a quick pass through the drive-through window for dinner, then off to another activity before heading home to try to squeeze homework in and get the kids to bed at a decent hour. Oh yeah, and Johnny needs his baseball uniform washed before tomorrow—he has a scrimmage. So, it’s off to do laundry, at 10 p.m. Peaceful? Restful? Sounds a bit more like frantic.
This month, we’re going to take a look at best-selling author of business books, Patrick Lencioni’s insightful book for parents living in survival mode. The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family unpacks key business-savvy principles that can be applied at home. After all, if we can’t personally relate to feeling overwhelmed at home, we certainly know families in our ministry who live a frantic life—day after day.
As we walk through life with the fictional Theresa and Jude Cousins, take a look at your own family life and the lives of the families you work with each week. This book will hit “home” if you want to improve your family life and the lives of the families you serve.
The Orange Connection
Strategy—at Orange, we emphasize strategy by combining the influences of ministry leaders and loving parents to work together in order to have a greater impact on the children and students in our ministries. Author Patrick Lencioni lays out strategic principles to help families think through decisions that will impact and improve family life.
Think On This
What makes life “frantic” for the families you serve in ministry? How would you describe your own family life? In what areas of your family life do you feel successful? Where do you feel inadequate? When it comes to “family,” what is your top priority, right now?
