Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Whatever Wednesday Writings - Rewired - My Man of Influence



A couple of weeks ago my main squeeze went to Oklahoma’s Baptist General Convention Men’s Retreat called “Rewired”. He told me they spoke about “being a man of influence” and what that is and what it means. Speaking from my perspective, my man, while he might not be tall in stature is certainly tall in influence. I don’t brag often enough on him (I don’t want him to get the big head), and I know he would tell you that he still has lots of flaws, but as his wife who sees him day in and out, I can testify he truly is a man of Godly influence.

In fact, every man is a man of influence, where the rubber meets the road is what kind of influence are you? At one point, my husband, was a man of bad influence heading down the wrong road with DUIs (driving under the influence) and being controlled by what he wanted in life, but praise be to God, he no longer is a man of bad influence. You can read here, how that radical change came about in his life.

Today, he is one of the most selfless, scripture driven people I know and he is mine! He is most definitely not just a hearer, but a doer. He is a man that loves Jesus first, then his family and others, always putting their needs before his own. I have watched countless men come to him for biblical counseling over our almost 18 years of marriage. He provides them wise, biblical counsel and prays with/for them and they come back often.

He also invests in student lives. First as the student pastor at our church, those male students who are seeking more always flock to hang out with him because of the truth of scripture that he speaks out in to their daily life; not to mention he is just a humorous guy and a big kid himself, which helps too! This past Friday night he took two of our male students to an outdoor concert with Christ honoring music. I’ve learned not to call it Christian music; if you are interested in why, ask and I’ll tell you. They spent about six hours together and he didn’t come home dragging and complaining that it took too long, the music was too loud, or any other type of complaint. It was the opposite, he came home excited about the relationships the students were building together and how he was a part of the work God is doing in their lives.
 
He also devotes time to shepherd students on the baseball field. That still just seems too crazy to even type the word baseball anywhere near my husband’s name. That is how I know all the things the Lord has done in our spiritual is a God thing, because Darryl and baseball just don’t go together, but they do now and only God could make this awkward match. I really need to take the time and capture how God orchestrated this craziness in our lives. It's always fun to go back and see how God takes you through valleys, because what we learned was that God wasn't trying to take something from us but He was leading us to something.

In this News 4 video, the head coach, Mike Hinckley talks about what he and Darryl (as he refers to 'his coach' lol) are working to instill in these young men through the game of baseball. You might not catch my husband in the video because he is in the background and he is close to the same height and skin color of the guys they coach, but he is the one with the solid maroon pullover on. Again, when the students ask, he is there to give Godly guidance, teaching them positive life skills can be learned through playing a game and that life is much more.


But even more, he is our spiritual leader in our home; he spends hours digging in the Word, pouring prayers over our lives and seeking God on behalf of our family. His faithfulness to our triune God has certainly influenced me to seek God more in my life. He will probably hate that I wrote all this about him, but I am one blessed wife! He certainly loves me as Christ loves the church, or at least I feel like he does. He irons my uniform every day for work (we are both looking forward to our retirement). He makes my coffee, starts my car, and loads it every morning before I go to work. He makes sure the oil is changed, my tires are good and that I have gas in my car. He does our laundry every week. He takes care of our home inside and out. I am sure at the point he got his last DUI that landed him in jail he never dreamed that God could use him or the mess of his life, but God specializes in transformation. Now as my husband stood before our church congregation this past Sunday, the Lord enlightened him that he is still “DUI” but this time it is much better, because he is now a “Disciple Under Influence”, which that influence being the Holy Spirit. My main squeeze is most unquestionably a man of influence and I am blessed to call him mine.


 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit” Eph 5:18

No comments:

Post a Comment