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Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intends you to be.

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I'm your host, chris Granger. Let's jump in. All right, guys, fun Friday time, let's get into it, okay? So Scripture of the Week this week has been in the book of Colossians, 3, 13th verse bear with each other and forgive one another. If any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you. So, guys, we took some time to unpack that at length in our spiritual kickoff episode and, as a reminder, we do that Monday through Friday. It's in the Lion Within us, so head over to thelionwithinus, start your subscription today of the daily spiritual kickoff.

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Okay, now, this whole week's been about marriage and strengthening our marriage. Again, this was a, a Bible study that we had put on the Bible app and if you're not connected with us on the Bible app, highly encourage you to do that. We put tons and tons of content out there. I try to write one to two studies a month, okay, so that's kind of the cadence that I strive for. It doesn't always happen, but we have this whole series called I'm just a guy and I'm just really enjoying the writing with that. So you can find all that on the Bible app. It's all free and it's also easy ways to connect with us from that, directly at the line within us. Okay, so just go check that stuff out.

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And for this episode uh, or the last episode rather, we took a lot of time to just talk about, I'm just a guy fighting for my marriage, and marriage can be hard, and the evil one is trying to do all he can to destroy our marriages. Fellas, we just got to recognize that to be true first and foremost. So I tried to give you some practical reflections in that last episode. So go back and listen to it. Hopefully you'll find some good takeaways. It's a super short one, by the way, guys, but it's full of insight, so hopefully you're going to find that encouraging.

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Okay, now for our fun Friday. We do a health, wealth and a self tip. Okay, the health is strengthening our mind and body. Wealth is being better stewards of our finances and our careers. And self is how do we improve as a husband and a father?

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Ok, now, from a health tip, think about mental space before you dive into an issue. Ok, because we talked about conflict a lot in the spiritual kickoff episode too. But with conflict and trying to to resolve stuff, timing matters, ok. So if we try to resolve disagreements, if you're mentally drained or just you're just too emotionally charged up, that rarely is going to give you a good outcome, guys. So maybe you need to step away just briefly, decompress, pray, reflect. Maybe you need to take a walk or hit a workout in you know, or just open your Bible and spend some time in the word. What you're doing is you're allowing your thoughts to settle and your emotions to be processed, and then you're less likely to react, particularly in a defensive manner, the way I usually do and you're more likely to respond thoughtfully. And if you do this, guys, you can pave a way for a healthy or more respective conversation with your spouse. So, whatever that means, whatever that mental space means for you, be aware of it and put it in place. All right, wealth tip Don't let work steal from your marriage.

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Okay, so success at work. We should try to never let that come at the expense of our marriage. And it's easy to justify one thing after the other Just meaning, or this meaning, or this engagement, or this PO, whatever it is, meeting or this meeting, or this engagement, or this PO, whatever it is, but consistently choosing work over her is going to create some distance and at some point maybe even resentment Boundaries. We always we talk about this a lot but notifications and cutting those off and putting your phone to bed and all that stuff, these habits. Really what you're doing is you're communicating love, value and your presence with her is important and your career, it may reward your hustle, but your spouse needs your heart, so protect that time fiercely, guys. Seriously, no job title or business card is worth a neglected relationship and ultimately, a failed marriage. All right Now, self-tip Lead with listening, not lecturing, because when you get into a conflict, man, it's so easy to jump into fix it mode.

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I'm a fix it fiend, this is, this is. I struggle with this the most, but like most of the times, particularly in my marriage, she don't need a solution. She just wants to be heard and if we lead by listening, that's a powerful form of humility and we're showing her love and that means we've got to set aside our point and we may have the answer. We may just camp on that for a while to just understand hers and reflect that listening back say stuff like all right here, what I'm hearing you say is this because you're building trust right there and you're reducing any defensiveness that could come up. And if you listen well, guys, you lead well. This is when your marriage with your kids and it work period everywhere. It's not weakness, guys. This is how you serve and lead in action and your family will notice the difference. So those are your three tips Health create that mental space before you get into discussing issues. Wealth don't let work steal that marriage time. And self lead with listening, not with lecturing.

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Okay, so the book of the week I don't have my copy here, but it's a search on Amazon our Q&A, a day, three-year journal. Okay, what it gives you is a three-year journal and the way it works is you have 365 pages, obviously. Then you have year one, year two, year three, the thoughts are, you reflect, you have his page and her page. You're writing that day together. Then, as you come back around for the next year, you get to go back and read what you wrote. You know the previous year and so forth for three years and when you're done, you have a three year capture of your thoughts and your reflections as a couple. So it's just a fun little exercise to do.

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Okay, all right, now dad joke time. So first dad joke this week is I used to be addicted to soap, but I'm clean now. I like that, that's pretty good, all right. But number two when two vegans get in an argument, is that still called a beef? I'm telling you, those both hit. So let me know which one you like. Number one, number two I used to be addicted to soap but I'm clean now. But when two vegans get in an argument, is it still called a beef? So if you like either one of them, if it gets an eye roll, if it gets one of these should definitely get a reaction from your spouse. Let me know If you have a dad joke that we haven't used that you think we should use support at thelinewithinus. Shoot that over to us. We'll hook you up with some free swag.

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Give you several times is how you typically respond when conflict arises in marriage. You have several different ways, now that we've talked about specifically on the lion this week, to help you if conflict arises not if, rather when. When conflict arises right, it's going to happen. So now you can come at this with a more biblically based thought process to hopefully fight for your marriage. All right, guys, I shared this stuff out with others, particularly this week. If you got guys, buddies, who are married again, the episodes are relatively shorter this week, but it's all packed with information. Hopefully it's going to encourage you, encourage your marriage, and give you some tips and trips and ideas to strengthen it in all these different areas. Okay, so I'm praying for you guys. Head over to the lion withinus again.

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The lion withinus Don't forget the V in the URL and let's connect there. Daily spiritual kickoff, our community, our leadership, masterminds, all the different ways that we're serving guys. Fellows, I'm telling you sign up for the weekly roar. That's our weekly newsletter. It's not a junk thing, fellas, and we literally I'll write this, it's from my heart, just trying to encourage you. So the weekly roar is an easy way to get connected with us. We have a Christian leader assessment. It's free. We have a 30 days to unleash your line within course. It's free. Guys, we got so many ways that we are serving you. It's all found at thelionwithinus. All right, guys, have a great weekend, get after it, keep unleashing the Lion Within. I've got something big to share.

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We're making a major shift because we know the battle was real and it's time more men had access to the support they need.

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For too long, guys have been trying to carry the weight alone pressure at work, tension at home, wounds from the past and a world that demands strength but offers no place to rest. We see it, we've lived it, and that's exactly why we built our community. It's a stronghold, a place where warriors can find rest, truth and a band of brothers standing beside them. And starting now, we're making it easier than ever to step in. We've lowered the barrier to just $15.99 a month. That means, for less than the cost of a drive-thru lunch, you can join a brotherhood that's centered on Christ and built for growth. Inside you'll find access to our daily spiritual kickoffs every Monday through Friday, our Lion Lunches, our Bible Studies, our Friday Forge Gatherings all that and so much more. Every man needs a stronghold, and you don't have to fight alone. If you've been waiting for the right time to jump in, this is it. Go to thelionwithinus and join the community and see for yourself what happens when iron truly sharpens iron.