Well what do you do when you just got back in town and haven’t seen a bunch of loved ones in a while? You invite them all to the demolition derby of course!  What is not to love about crazy people like us, willing to work on their vehicles just to race them then smash them or their boats to pieces.  

This first picture of my son and his girlfriend is always comical to see what face he’ll be making when the shutter finally clicks.  I have the burst setting on in hopes that there will be one that is not as outrageous as some of the others.  This time I think there were about 12 of us so we filled a row up and took turns changing spots to visit with everyone.

Some longtime investor friends of ours are in the second picture, whom we always enjoy getting together with as we have so much in common, not just in business but in life, family and marriage.  We can not only share stories about our kids who are similar in age, but talk through struggles in our businesses, things that are working, things that are not, and touch base on each other’s spiritual walks as well.

Having accountability partners or friends whom you allow to hold you accountable is so important in this life.  As business owners, it takes so much more energy each day than someone who just shows up to punch a timecard.  So we have to be even more vigilant about planning intentional family time and fun time as well as personal restoration time.  When we get out of balance even sometimes for just a season, it can quickly spiral into something it was not intended to be.  

Touching base with our kids and our friends and accountability partners helps to keep us in check.  Sure no one likes to hear that we are off track, but I would certainly rather hear it when the correction is much more simple and less painful than when I feel it is too late.  

I have also learned that the people who truly love you, don’t stay silent and let you go 100 mph in the wrong direction.  They reach out and try to get you to stop and think.  Sure they may not always do it the way you want, but if they didn’t care they wouldn’t even waste their time.  This is evidence of love.  Accountability is a good thing and a helpful tool in our lives and a way for others to show us love, pretty much the opposite of what the world says.  

Well no surprise there, the world says 1 thing and when we get it, we realize how wrong and unsatisfying it truly is, because the God who designed us knows us best and wants the best for us, even if we don’t want to hear it.