Providence and the Shackleton expedition

"South: The Story of Shackleton's 1914-1917 Expedition" is an amazing tale of leadership. As noted on p. 116 of the book, though, Shackleton had a leader of his own:

When I look back at those days I have no doubt that Providence guided us, not only across those snowfields, but across the storm-white sea that separated Elephant Island from our landing place on South Georgia.

I know that during that long and racking march of 36 hours over the unnamed mountains and glaciers of South Georgia it seemed to me often that we were four, not three. I said nothing to my companions on the point, but afterwards Worsley said to me, 'Boss, I had a curious feeling on the march that there was another person with us.' Crean confessed to the same idea. One feels 'the dearth of human words, the roughness of mortal speech' in trying to describe things intangible, but a record of our journeys would be incomplete without a reference to a subject very near to our hearts.

If we follow, God will guide us through all the trials of our lives.

Fight for your woman

In "Wild at Heart," John Eldredge writes that women need to know that they are worth fighting for. He shares some insight into his marriage to Stasi on p. 184:

Stasi married a frightened, driven man who had an affair with his work because he wouldn't risk engaging a woman he sensed he wasn't enough for. I wasn't mean, I wasn't evil. I was nice. And let me tell you, a hesitant man is the last thing in the world a woman needs. She needs a lover and a warrior, not a Really Nice Guy. Her worst fear was realized -- I will never really be loved, never really be fought for. And so she hid some more.

Years into our marriage I found myself blindsided by it all. Where is the beauty I once saw? What happened to the woman I fell in love with? I didn't really expect an answer to my question; it was more a shout of rage than a desperate plea. But Jesus answered me anyway. She's still in there, but she's captive. Are you willing to go in after her? I realized that I had -- like so many men -- married for safety. I married a woman I thought would never challenge me as a man. Stasi adored me; what more did I need to do? I wanted to look like the knight, but I didn't want to bleed like one. I was deeply mistaken about the whole arrangement. I didn't know about the tower, or the dragon, or what my strength was for. The number one problem between men and their women is that we men, when asked to truly fight for her. . .hesitate. We are still seeking to save ourselves; we have forgotten the deep pleasure of spilling our life for another.

As the holidays are upon us, remember men that you might have to stick up for your wife in front of your family of origin. I know that I will.

Love your neighbor

In the Bible, we are told to love our neighbor. How does that play out in real life, though? Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon explain how to do that in their book "The Art of Neighboring: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside Your Door."

In this passage from the book, the authors explain that being a good neighbor is easier than we expect:

We all assume someone else is the expert. But when it comes to loving our neighbors, every situation is different. Every neighbor is different, and every person who is trying to love others has a variety of gifts to offer. We all have various strengths and weaknesses. But if we allow ourselves to get involved in the lives of others, miracles can happen. God can intervene and do amazing things.

Many years ago our friend David took over a struggling church that had become fairly stagnant and uninspiring. Most of the people in the church weren't relating with anyone outside the church, and they didn't really have any kind of connection to their city. David knew that something had to be done; he just didn't know what. So he attended conferences at other successful churches. He started reading every popular book he could get his hands on about church growth and health. It was after learning about many different options that he began to ask God which one should be the path for his church. In prayer he started laying out all the possibilities, hoping God would lead him toward the best road. That's when he heard God say something to him, and it wasn't what he expected to hear. He heard clearly from God, Just do something.

God just wants us to make some effort at being neighborly. We were built to connect with others.