This document discusses managing family, thinking, and commitment. It provides biblical examples of Lot and Solomon to illustrate priorities and thinking. It discusses different kinds of thinking and provides tips for managing family, thinking, and commitment as disciplines. Key points are establishing family as a priority, setting aside daily time for disciplined thinking, and expecting commitment to be a struggle but focusing on choices over conditions. Noah is discussed as an example of commitment in building the ark despite ridicule and lacking evidence of a flood.

1. Managing My Family, Thinking and CommitmentLesson 3

2. I Timothy 3:5“If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church “

3. I Timothy 4:15-16 15Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. 16Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shall both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

4. RememberDecisions help us start in the right direction. Discipline helps us finish.

5. Our Family : My Family Today Gives Me Stability

6. What percentage of your waking hours do you give to your family?Do you manage your student life better or your family better?If you listed one regret you have about your family, what would it be?

7. Biblical Case Study: Lot ( Genesis 13, 19)He placed emphasis on financial prosperity ( 13:8-11)He assumed his family could live in Sodom and not be affected.He thought he could change society without taking a stand. ( 19:1-11)

8. Biblical Case Study: Lot ( Genesis 13, 19)He felt his family would accept his words instead of his lifestyle ( 19:12-14)He didn’t realize how much the world had ensnared them ( 19:12-26)

9. Lot could have benefited from making these 3 decisions.Establish Family as a PriorityDevelop a Problem-Solving StrategyEstablish a strong Value Base

10. Managing the Disciplines of FamilyPut your family on your calendar first.Create and maintain family traditions.Find ways to spend time together.Keep your marriage healthy.Express appreciation for each other.Resolve conflict as quickly as possible.

11. For Thought or DiscussionChoose two actions from the list above and list or share how you’ll practice them.

12. Our Thinking : Today’s Thinking Gives Me an Advantage

13. One author said“What is important are ideas. If you have ideas, you have the main asset you need and there isn’t any limit to what you can do with your business and your life”

14. Effective leaders develop their minds.They become good thinkers over time and they think differently than followers do.

15. Dr. J. Robert Clinton“ The primary difference between followers and leaders is perspective. The primary difference between leaders and effective leaders is better perspective”

16. Assess your present thought life:Do you set aside time for disciplined thinking about certain issues? When do you take time to think? When is your best time?What prevents you from the discipline of a strong and healthy thought life?

17. Biblical Case Study : Solomon’s Priorities ( I Kings 3:4-15)His agenda was not his own, but a grateful response to God’s goodness ( v. 6)His incentive revolved around his God-given leadership responsibility ( v. 7)His request was for wisdom that would match his large task ( v. 8)His perspective recognized that the people he led were not his people, but God’s people. ( v.9)

18. Biblical Case Study : Solomon’s Priorities ( I Kings 3:4-15)His thinking was rewarded with more than he expected ( v.10-13)

19. Different Kinds of ThinkingBig-picture ThinkingThe ability to think beyond yourself and your world in order to be more objective.Focused ThinkingThe ability to think with clarity by removing distractions from your mind.Different Kinds of ThinkingCreative ThinkingThe ability to break out of your box of limitations and explore totally new ideas.4. Realistic ThinkingThe ability to build a solid foundation on facts in order to think with certainty5. Strategic Thinking.The ability to implement plans that give directions and increase your potential6. Possibility ThinkingThe ability to unleash your enthusiasm and hope to find solutions for the impossible.Reflective Thinking The ability to revisit the past in order to gain perspective and understanding for the future.8. Critical Thinking The ability to reject the limitations of popular thought to gain compound results.Shared Thinking The ability to include the ideas of others in order to gain compound results.10. Unselfish Thinking The ability to consider others and their journey in order to achieve collaboration11. Bottom Line Thinking The ability to focus on maximum results to reap your thought’s fullest potential

20. DiscussionWhich kind of thinking is your strongest?Which kind of thinking would you like to improve the most?

21. Managing the Discipline of ThinkingFind a place to think.Set aside time every day to think.Find a process or system that works for you.Capture your thoughts and record them.Put your thoughts into actions quickly.Try to improve your thinking every day.

22. Our Commitment : Today’s Commitment Gives Me TenacityCommitment can change your life.Commitment helps you overcome many of life’s obstacles.Your commitment will be tested every day.

23. Biblical Case Study : Noah and Flood ( Gen 6-8)Society was corrupt , so Noah had no outside friends to encourage his decision.Noah was instructed to build an ark, something he’d never done before.It had never before rained on earth, so the possibility of a flood seemed illogical.With no evidence of water , he gathered every kind of animal to board the ark.

24. Biblical Case Study : Noah and Flood ( Gen 6-8)The ark took several decades to build and Noah was likely ridiculed.

25. So What Enabled Noah to Keep His Commitment? Obedience to God.Protecting his family.A vision bigger than himself : future generations

26. Managing the Discipline of CommitmentExpect commitment to be a struggle.Don’t rely on talent alone.Focus on choices , not conditions.Be single-mindedDo what’s right even when you don’t feel like it.Finish what you start.