Les Parrott III's Blog, page 6

This Could Change Everything

Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing. Ecclesiastes 7:11

Years ago we began using the term “Marriage Mentors” in relationship to a program we developed called Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts.

Through a seminar we launched in Seattle, we were beginning to help hundreds of newlyweds get started on the right foot. But soon we began to wonder whether the information we were teaching was actually sticking.

We began to wonder how we could build in some accountability for these couples tha...

How to Save Time in Your Marriage

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

We’ve got a clock in nearly every room in our home. We’re guessing you do, too. Oh, and then we look to our wrist or our phone to measure time, too.

Time seems to rule our days – and our nights!

The first mechanical clock, made by a blacksmith somewhere in Italy, was an alarm clock for a monk who had to wake his fellow monks in a monastery to start the day’s worship sequence. From this sprang the monst...

In God We Trust?

And now, Master God, being the God you are, speaking sure words as you do, and having just said this wonderful thing to me, please, just one more thing: Bless my family; keep your eye on them always. You’ve already as much as said that you would, Master God! Oh, may your blessing be on my family permanently!
2 Samuel 7:28-29

In his book Ruthless Trust, Brennan Manning tells a poignant story about the brilliant ethicist John Kavanaugh when he went to work for three months at “the house of the d...

Guarantee a Better Marriage in 2015

There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.
Proverbs 23:18

We live in Seattle – a city known for Amazon, Microsoft, Costco, and coffee. Lot’s of coffee. I can name half dozen coffee shops within a 3-minute walk from our door. I (Leslie) love coffee. Les, not so much. He says I drink enough for both of us. And he may be right. The largest cup, “venti,” is my got-to order. And if you want to see what Les thinks of how much coffee I drink, check out the photo on our...

O Christmas Tree

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Matthew 1:25

Mike Royko was a popular newspaper columnist in Chicago for more than thirty years. Like many columnists, Royko created fictitious mouthpieces with whom he could “converse,” the most famous being Slats Grobnik, the epitome of the working class Polish-Chicagoan.

In one column, Royko tells the story of how every December, Slats Grobnik would sell Christmas trees in Chicago. And on...

The Christmas Story

As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus.” Matthew 1:20-21

We must have forty or fifty Bibles. They are of all sizes and colors and in all kinds of versions—the King James, the New King James, the Good News, the New American Standard, the Amplified, the Living Bible,...

When Not to Talk

Say only what will help to build others up and meet their needs. Then what you say will help those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

The monks at a remote monastery deep in the woods followed a rigid vow of silence. Their vow could only be broken once a year—on Christmas—by one monk. That monk could speak only one sentence.

One Christmas, Brother Thomas had his turn to speak and said, “I love the delightful mashed potatoes we have every year with the Christmas roast!” Then he sat down.

Silence ensued f...

How to Strike Gold in Your Marriage

Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, you will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. Psalm 68:13

At one time Andrew Carnegie was the wealthiest man in America.

He came to America from his native Scotland when he was a small boy, did a variety of odd jobs, and eventually ended up as the largest steel manufacturer in the United States.

At one time he had forty-three millionaires working for him. In those days a millionaire was a rare person. Conse...

Home for the Holidays?

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving. Colossians 4:2

An elderly man in Phoenix calls his son in New York and says, “I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing—45 years of misery is enough.”

“Pop, what are you talking about?” the son asks.

“We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer,” the old man says. “We’re sick of each other, and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her.”

Frantic, the...

What’s Making You Busy?

Be careful then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:15-17

Larry Dossey, a physician, coined the term “time sickness” in 1982 to describe the obsessive belief that “time is getting away, that there isn’t enough of it, and that you must pedal faster and faster to keep up.”

By that definition, we’re almost all time sick. Who among us isn’t busy and...