Speaker 1: 0:53

Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intends you to be. I'm your host, chris Granger. Let's jump in. All right, guys, this is your fun Friday episode. Let's get right into it.

Speaker 1: 1:04

Okay, scripture of the week. This week has been the book of Proverbs, the 29th one, as a matter of fact, the 18th verse. Okay, it says Well, there is no vision, the people perish. But he that keepeth the law happy is he. Because I love that verse. I've used that verse a lot in my life, particularly in leadership roles where I've been leading groups. I've been leading, you know, meetings or different types of agendas or just acquisitions and things like that, and it's such a salient verse and I really try to take some time to unpack it for you in our Spiritual Kickoff episode. So if you go back, you should pop back to in your podcast feed. You'll find it there and I love to hear from you like that verse. When you hear about when there's no vision, the people perish, what comes to hear from you like that verse, when you hear about when there is no vision, the people perish, what comes to mind from you? Ok, so, and if you like the spiritual kickoff episodes and apparently you guys do. We see the stats and it's pretty awesome. We do it Monday through Friday in our Lion Within us community. We offer it completely for free. So you can get started with that at thelionwithinus. Scroll right down to the daily spiritual kickoff. Get started today for free. It's an easy way to get connected with us.

Speaker 1: 2:21

Ok, we really enjoyed our last conversation, also with Dave Jones, or Super Dave as he likes to be called, fun conversation around vision marketing ministry. What does it all mean coming together? He has an acronym that he uses that was so salient. He calls it FLAP Fear, lust, Anger and Pride and he recognizes if one of those four items starts to manifest in his own life that that's not from God, it's just not. That's usually a trap from the evil one and he's now, just by being attuned and being aware and looking for that, is able to redirect and course correct and start changing his position and his posture and his behavior to combat those attacks. So fellows really enjoy that conversation with Dave, former hockey player as well. Definitely, if I play one hockey in my life, that'd be the one I played. Right, I've never played hockey, but I can appreciate everything that he brought to the conversation and hopefully you enjoy listening to him.

Speaker 1: 3:29

Okay, so for our regular fun Friday listeners, you know what's coming. But if you're new to the Lion Within, first of all I just want to say thank you for listening. But what we do on our Fun Fridays is we break down three tips, okay, and these? We're not trying to tell you how to live, we're just trying to give you some insights. So how can you live to honor and glorify God? So we break it down by three categories that are health, wealth and self. Okay, health is your mind and your body, like how do we strengthen that to do what God's called us to do? Wealth is around stewardship. You know how do we be better stewards of our finances, our careers and other things that God blesses us with? And self-tip is how do we improve incrementally as husbands and fathers? Guys, we've been called to a major task, so if we can give you a little tip just to help you along the way, we're going to do it, okay.

Speaker 1: 4:19

So for the health tip, this week I read this somewhere, I can't even remember where, but it was like yeah, that's pretty dope and it's very simple Find rooms where you're the dumbest guy and gyms where you are the least fit. Okay, because you are going to work out harder and you're going to push yourself more when you have to rise up. If you're the smartest guy in the room, you're in the wrong room, but you just got to get out. Find another room. And I equate this to like kids I was having a conversation with someone about this the other day around playing up like never play down man, always play up. You may be, and that you know playing up. You may be at a little bit of a disadvantage because of your current skill set, but you're going to grow by leaps and bounds, just by the people that you're surrounding yourself with.

Speaker 1: 5:10

And I see this in in in youth sports. Just this past year with my, with my oldest girl, uh, for our 16 U League, they let so many of the girls play down to the 12 youth and I'm telling you it's hurting these girls, it's a major hurdle for them. They could have grown so much more this year had they played up versus just playing down, because you play to your competition. I mean, I've just seen this in teams after teams that I've coached or been a part of. You know you play to where you're at, man, and I'm telling you, if you're looking for a way to grow as a Christian leader, as a man in general, find the right rooms, bro, find the right gym. If you're not being pushed, if you're not getting that extra little oomph every day, maybe you're in the wrong gym. Maybe you need to find a place that's going to push you out of your comfort zone, because that's where the truth, growth happens. I think we can all attest to that. Right, all right.

Speaker 1: 6:14

Now the wealth tip this week. Simply commit to your calling man Like your job isn't just a paycheck. This is your opportunity. This is your platform, if you will, to do what God's called you to do, and we have to approach that with extreme excellence and intentionality. So you could be leading a major sales team or you could just be changing tires. Hey, I've done both. Okay, but diligence requires reflects, rather, your character.

Speaker 1: 6:44

So I'm telling you, when I was working as a mechanic, the work I did, as I showed up every day, mattered and I treated it as it mattered and doggone it, it made an impact. The work I'm doing today at the lion matters and I treat it like it matters. You don't think I pray over every piece of content that goes out, over everything that I write, over every conversation that we have. There's masses, massive amounts of prayer and, quite frankly, pressure to glorify God with it. But I'm telling you, when we start thinking about our work like it's worship, you start shifting things. That job turns into a calling and that calling can be used to bless others. So wherever God has you placed right now, don't think just because you're not working at a church, you're not doing his work. I'm telling you that is such a lie from the pits of hell. No, you have a calling. Get out there and do it. All right, self-tip this week.

Speaker 1: 7:39

Dad jokes build connection. Okay, that's very simple. Don't underestimate the power of having a little bit of fun. Think about how laughter can build some memories, particularly if you got some milk squirting at your nose or something right. But it also opens doors for deeper connection, because humor is often a gateway to our kids' hearts. Fellas, let's just be real. So it's okay to be corny, it's okay Tell the dad jokes, make them groan, roll their eyes, because love is not always serious, bro. It has to be something that we share together all the time. So at the dinner table tonight. Pull out some dad jokes. You know we give you two every week on the Line Within Us, but just use that. Let your kids see that fun side of you.

Speaker 1: 8:32

This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I was just talking to my wife about this today at lunch before this podcast recording. I was like you know what I don't want my kids to only think dad is this angry guy who is always correcting them. Now, that's my job. I have to correct them. I'm not saying we're going to let our kids run wild. I don't want them to think about me as just an angry guy. I want them to think of their dad as a fun guy. He can make us laugh right, and when he laughs a lot of times when I laugh, tears come to my eye. I want them to see that. I want them to see their dad just fully embracing the moment, every moment, and remember some moments it's okay to laugh, all right.

Speaker 1: 9:10

So here are your three tips, fellas, very simple this week Health, wealth and self. Find those rooms where you're the dumbest and the gyms where you're the least fit. Okay, that's the easy one. Well, tip is commit to that calling whatever God's called you to do and self tip is remember those dad jokes, build connection. So our book of the week this week, fellows, we talked with Dave about this, but his book is called Vision Wins Seven Strategies for Mental Toughness in Life and Sports. I encourage you guys to go check that out. Dave's doing some wonderful things out there, so we just thank him for him, for sending us his copy, as well.

Speaker 1: 9:43

For our dad jokes this week, we've got two good ones for you. The first one is I once got fired from a canned juice company. Okay, apparently, man, I just couldn't concentrate. That's pretty good, I must admit. There you go, that's number one. Number two did you hear about the kidnapping at school? It's okay, he woke up. I don't know. I got to think about that one. Number one. Number two I once got fired from a canned juice company. Apparently, I couldn't concentrate. Or number two did you hear about the kidnapping at school? It's okay, he woke up. So let me know which one you like best.

Speaker 1: 10:18

Fellas, remember to use those dad jokes. If you get an eye roll, if you get a sigh, it it's okay. You get a little smirk, you know you hit a home run on that one. Okay, boys, and look if you have a dad joke that we haven't used, that you want us to use on the show, send it to us. Support at the lion withinus. That's an email address. Just drop us a note with the dad joke that you have. We'll give you a shout out on our show and if you help us, it's to say thank you for supporting and playing along. How about that?

Speaker 1: 10:46

So the question of the week we talked about it all week is what areas of life feels most directionless right now? Okay, we all have these areas, whatever it may be, whether it's your career or your health, or your marriage, or your parenting finances. We got it, I know I've been in all of those. Right, so, whatever that area is, do something about it. Right, don't just hem and haw like we talked about in conversation with Dave, but it takes action. So, course correct.

Speaker 1: 11:19

And if you need support on that, head over to thelionwithinus, let's chat. Let's talk about it. Okay, connect with us in our daily spiritual kickoff. That's free. Join our community, sign up for the weekly roar. Whatever you do, I'm going to reach out to you. That's my commitment. I'm going to reach out. And if you want to have a conversation, I would absolutely love to do that, okay.

Speaker 1: 11:37

So, guys, share this stuff out with others. The lion withinus is where you find our resources. Open the Bible app as well. Search for the Lion Within Us on your Bible app. Follow us there. We have plans coming out on the Bible app very consistently. We try to be consistent with that. So, other than that, guys, it's an honor, thank you. Thank you, thank you for taking the time to listen and I hope you have a great weekend. All right, get out there and keep unleashing the lion within. I've got something big to share.

Speaker 1: 12:08

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.

Speaker 1: 12:15

For too long, guys have been trying to carry the weight alone pressure at work, tension at home, wounds from the past, in 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.