Husbands, You Create Culture

Do you like to make an entrance?

Do you imagine being a Late Night Show host with a band that blares out an entrance song as you walk through opening curtains to applause.

No, really, thank YOU!

I've got to admit I've watched baseball players stroll to the plate with a hand-picked entrance song blaring and thought, I want to walk into a meeting that way.

Here I am.  Your day = made.

Sometimes I think that's what should happen when I get home after a long day.  Hugs, kisses, the smell of food, a break, and a happy family.  And, by God's grace, some days that's what happens.  But not every day is like that.  More often I walk into a home with ongoing discipline issues, children expressing needs, an exhausted wife, and I think you get the picture.  I walk into life.

Here's where you come in, husbands.  Right into the middle of life.  This is your chance to make an entrance.  You have the incredible power of being able to create the culture of your home.  You have the power to shape attitudes and cultivate connection.  You have the opportunity to set the tone from the moment you walk in.

Making a great entrance is not easy.  In fact, most days I don't make a great entrance.  That's because most days I'm not thinking about creating culture.  I'm thinking about me.  How tired I am.  What I want.  What's bothering me.  So my entrance creates a culture of distraction, disconnection, and discouragement.  Is that what you want to come home to?

So here are three suggestions for making a great entrance today, and they all revolve around this revolutionary idea: Your entrance is not about you.

1. Prepare for coming home.  On my drive to work, I'm usually thinking about what needs to get done, prioritizing tasks, and praying for wisdom.  But on the drive home, I would check out.  One day I made a commitment to pray for my family as I drove home.  It was hard - a major shift for me.  But it made a huge difference.  Get yourself in the right mindset for serving your family the moment you walk in.

2. Find out how everyone else is doing.  Start with your wife.  How does she feel about her day?  Was it productive?  Was it exhausting?  Was it fulfilling?  Was it boring?  Is she looking forward to the evening?  Dreading it?  Listen.  It may help you discern the best way to help her.

3. Within five minutes, do something to help your wife.  Does she need help setting the table?  Changing the baby?  A chance to sit down?  A few minutes to shower?  Someone to listen to her?  A conversation with someone her age?

Now, one good entrance might not make any noticeable difference.  But keep at it.  Eventually, you will find that if you are someone who makes your home a better place to be, the people you live with will start seeing you being home as a welcomed event.

Try making an entrance today and let me know how it goes!