Lessons From the Brooks Family

The Brooks Kids are in the HOUSE! Actually, they played to a packed "house" - I assume we all showed up to hear gossip about Pastor Gerald and Mrs. Geni. That didn't happen, but...Wendi, Kayci, and Cody did share what they've learned from their parents about marriage.

In a round-robin fashion, the "kids" all took turns explaining Biblical virtues of marriage and how they've seen this in action while observing "mom n dad."

There was a vast list, but this is what I was able to scribble during the presentation:

• Modeling Christ's love
• Honoring each other in words and actions
• Be a generous giver
• Consistency is key
• Pray together
• Share purpose
• Compromise

When I first thought about this post, I had started to think back on some of what I learned from my parents. I was going to write out a list and 1-liners, then I thought, "what are my kids going to say about Nelly and me?"

Nelly is quick-witted and I'm generally ridiculous - this is perfect because we love to laugh. That's the piece of us that the world sees. We connect at a much deeper level. We are Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. Lancelot and Guinevere. Paris and Helen. Wait a minute! Those are all "adulterous" relationships!  Better said: I'm Rocky and Nelly is my Adrian. I pray that my children understand how very much in love we are and that with God first, all things are possible.

One of the lessons that Kayci mentioned was "going the extra mile," or the way that Mrs. Geni likes to say, "putting an umbrella in it." This is a simple yet powerful way of showing your spouse how much you truly care. It's easy to get your honey a glass of water, but putting a little umbrella in there shows that you care to make them feel special.

Check this out:

Now...Did Kayci have to get me this can-o-lays? No. Does she know that BBQ are my favorite flavor? No. Did she have to write me a sweet note and add an umbrella? Absolutely not! And she didn't...this is a pic that I got from young pastor Jessie. He sent it to 1-up me.

Kayci is putting into action what her parents modeled. We'd like to hear stories or see pics of how you "put an umbrella in it" for your spouse or how he/she did that for you. We'd also like to hear any general thoughts/comments on this class.

Let's keep the discussion going.