Play The Man - Mark Batterson

If you look up sockdolager in the dictionary, it means"'knockout blow." And that's exactly what the rapid felt like - a 48 degree punch in the face. As we approached the rapid, my adrenaline was pumping like pregame warm-ups. We white-knuckled the handles of the raft and held on for dear life. Breaking through the rapid reminded me of running through the human-sized Hula-Hoop signs our cheerleaders used to make for our basketball team in high school. As we broke through the rapid, Josiah yelled at the top of his mid-puberty voice, "We are men! We are men!"
That will forever rank as one of the greatest moments of my life.

I've long been inspired by Mark Batterson and National Community Church, probably for the better part of ten years now at least. His philosophy of ministry, the values and mantras of NCC, his perspective on innovation, risk and creativity have all impacted what SPACE and The Ember Cast has done about discipleship, leadership and global missions. Being a suburb of DC, we feel the impact a place like NCC has - it seems both far away and close enough and they set the bar high for gathering and scattering people willing to sacrifice for a world in need. Close enough too to feel the impact of some good friends who are or who have been on staff. But for all of that, I'm most inspired by Pastor Mark to be a good dad. Read about his Discipleship Covenant with each of his kids.
Play the Man might seem like one of those manly men books. I hate those. No one needs one more sports analogy [and not only in books but in Sunday sermons as well.] Although Play the Man is certainly most applicable for men, it's a great read about seven virtues of manhood, described as only Pastor Mark can with facts from a variety of subjects, stories about his family and challenges to the way we live our lives.

Also, right around that time, I read a book by Andy Stanley titled Choosing to Cheat. One statement I read in the book totally changed my perspective: "To say yes to one thing is to say no to the other." I decided to say no to a lot more opportunities so I could say yes to my top priorities - my wife and children.
At the end of the day, I want to be famous in my home.

Disclosure: I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes.