Les Parrott III's Blog, page 9
June 24, 2014
We’re Celebrating 30 Years this Week!
Let the party last all night!
Stand guard over our celebration.
Psalm 5:11
We got married in Chicago on June 30, 1984.
Since then we’ve done our best to celebrate this important anniversary in a variety of ways, sometimes with others but mostly on our own.
But no matter where we are or what we’re doing, the celebration seems to eventually center around food–what can we say, we like to eat!
A few years ago we marked this milestone, as many couples do, with a fancy meal – just the two of us. But this...
June 17, 2014
Does Going to Church Really Matter?
This is the rock on which I will put together my church,
a church so expansive with energy
that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
Matthew 16:9
We spoke in a downtown church in Seattle some time ago that had a sense of humor. How do we know?
Because this was on the sign in their parking lot: “Church parking only. We will not forgive those who trespass against us.”
Every church has it’s own personality. And when you find a church that fits with yours, as a couple, you are blesse...
June 10, 2014
Our Tragic Week at SPU
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5
We’ve been teaching at Seattle Pacific University for the past 25 years – straight out of graduate school.
It’s been our home. Literally. We lived on the campus most of those years. Beyond teaching in classrooms, we’ve hosted numerous student groups in our living room and mentored many others in coffee shops or over a meal in the dining hall. These students are family.
That’s why the unspeakable tragedy of this past w...
June 3, 2014
How Not to Joke with Your Spouse
Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon
is someone who lies to a friend and then says, “I was only joking.”
Proverbs 16:18-19
Leslie and I were in the middle of a joint project and had just resolved a small tiff about me being more patient with her differing work style. She is process-oriented, relational and unruffled, while I am far more task-oriented, sequential and time-conscious in tackling a project.
And because I push myself hard most of the time, I can, admittedly, push oth...
May 27, 2014
We’ve Got a Proposal
Do two people walk hand in hand if they aren’t going to the same place?
Amos 3:3
Some years ago, while living in Los Angeles, we were walking along Santa Monica Beach when we couldn’t believe our eyes.
A man wearing a shiny suit of armor and riding a white horse was galloping along the shore until he spied his girlfriend who was sunbathing with a few girlfriends.
The rider hopped off his horse, knelt on one knee, and asked for her hand in marriage. People on the crowded beach erupted with applaus...
May 20, 2014
The Decision that Will Make or Break Your Marriage
So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free,
and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
Galatians 5:1
We had just finished speaking at a camp in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington when a small plane buzzed over head and landed on a nearby airstrip. A few minutes later the pilot was flying us over the islands of Puget Sound and we were approaching the lights of a local airport.
“The most important thing about landing is the attitude of the plane,” said t...
May 13, 2014
Are You Sabotaging Your Marriage?
Make no mistake: In the end you get what’s coming to you
Real Life for those who work on God’s side,
but to those who insist on getting their own way
and take the path of least resistance, Fire!
Romans 2:8
“You’re going to vacuum before they get here, right?” Leslie asked in an anxious tone as we were pulling into the garage.
“I’ve got it under control,” I murmured.
We jumped out of the car; each grabbed an arm full of groceries and hurried toward the kitchen.
“I’ll take care of these groceries so...
May 5, 2014
Do You Have the World’s Toughest Job?
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
and she always says it kindly.
Proverbs 31:26
Mom never saw it coming.
We were at a church in Phoenix about to give a marriage seminar. A little group of us, including my mom at age 81, were in a room off of the stage.
Our assistant came into the room with excitement: “Your new book arrived just in time.”
She handed me a copy.
“Oh, you have a new book?” mom asked with genuine interest.
I suddenly realized I’d never told mom about this book. She’d...
April 29, 2014
The Fastest Way to Overcome Any Misunderstanding
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Honor one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:10
John, our teenager, was looking forward to a weekend event with his buddies at church. But he never got to go. Why?
Because each of us thought the other had submitted the payment, but neither of us had. And it was too late. All the spots were filled. John wasn’t happy and our marriage was feeling the pain.
“You always take care of that stuff,” Les exclaimed.
“But this was something you and John talked abo...
April 22, 2014
What’s Wrong with ‘Conscious Uncoupling’?
A man leaves father and mother and is firmly bonded to his wife,
becoming one flesh — no longer two bodies but one.
Because God created this organic union of the two sexes,
no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart.
Matthew 19:5-6
Until a few weeks ago, we’d never heard the phrase ‘conscious uncoupling’. But in our line of work we’ve been hearing it more and more.
Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, as you know, used it to describe the end of her ten-year marriage to rock star Chris...
