Sixteen thoughts on 16 years of marriage.

1. We've aged, and I still think my wife is the most beautiful woman on the planet Earth.

2. My wife and I are open with our problems we have. We're not trying to present a photoshopped perfect marriage to the people that know us. However, we are both wise enough to settle those differences in private. Never on social media.

3. You don't get married and stop dating. You get married so you can date forever. #NoteToSelf

4. A wise man once said, "Marriage isn't 50/50. It's 100/100."

5. Only humility will get you out of what pride got you into.

6.  Being a husband (along with being a father) is the hardest and most important thing I've ever done. This Art Azurdia quote explains why.

"A husband's life is to be characterized by a predetermined committment to always act in the highest interest and greatest good of his wife.... this love is to be an ongoing performance that could never be interrupted by any imperfection on her part." 

7.  The importance of the phrase "Will you forgive me?" can't be overstated in a marriage.


8.  We live modestly, and as a family of seven try to make dollars stretch. It's crazy that Emily and I got to spend the week leading up to our anniversary in the Bahamas, but that's what happened. How it happened could (and may be) another blog in itself, but we are extremely grateful.

9.  If we are too busy to invest in our marriage, we're too busy.

10. Why is marriage important? Because it shows two people love each other enough to commit to loving a person in the future and not just in the present. For better or for worse. In sickness and in health. On August 4, 2001, I made a commitment to love the present and future version of Emily Lassiter. It's a promise that both of us, by God's grace, plan on honoring until we die.

11. We've received so much wise counsel from sitting down with others. There's no way to put a price tag on how valuable sitting with wise people has been for our marriage. We all can benefit from having people invested in seeing us grow in the important areas in life.

12. Evidently, I've had my fair share of second dinner helpings over the last 16 years.

13.  The church has been wrestling through unique marriage questions for the past decade. Pastor Bryan Loritts presents the most balanced, biblical teaching I've heard regarding some of these questions in a four-part series entitled The Gospel and My Gay Neighbor. Definitely worth a listen.

14. It may be another 16 years before we master the art of compromising on dinner plans.

15. We both brought a lot of brokenness and wrong thinking about relationships into our marriage, but God in His grace has seen us through!

16. I  have good friends whose marriages didn't make it. I hurt for them, but they are by no means second-class citizens to Christ. The gospel is that all who put their hope in Christ alone - whether single, married, divorced, widowed, etc. - are fully loved by God and have his smile.

Chris Lassiter is a Christ-follower, a husband to Emily (read her blog here), a father to five kids and a freelance writer for Young Life Relationships, HipHopDX.com, JamTheHype.com and other publications. His second book, Grits and the Grimels, can be purchased here. 

Why We're Hoping to Open Our Home This Summer

I was 22-years-old. I had accomplished everything on my life's to-do list. 

Play college basketball. Check! Graduate college. Check! Get a job revolving around sports. Check! Get a car. Check! Get an apartment. Check! Get every color of retro Bo Jackson Nike Cross Trainers. Check! 

 And I knew there had to be more than life. I felt empty. 

Thankfully, I had a cousin Pede. He and his wife April  opened their home to me and others. For me, the timing of that group could haven't been better! It came during a season of my life when I was really trying to figure out the meaning of life. I wasn't ready to head back into the church - I hadn't been connected to one for the four years I was in college - but I wanted to talk about spiritual stuff. 

So, week after week, I was in my cousin Pede's home. With a great group of people. I laughed - and got laughed at - and I learned. God really used my time in my cousin's living room to help me understand who Jesus was and what He was all about. 

It changed my life. 

For July and August, my wife and I have prayed and dreamed about doing the same thing: opening our home for people who would be interested in having similar conversations in a home among friends. 

We were thinking about Sunday nights at 8 p.m. We want to hear from anyone who would be interested in coming, and we also need to know any needs you would have. For instance, if you'd like to come but you need babysitting, let us know. 

We'd love to hear from anyone interested in coming. 

Chris Lassiter is a Christ-follower, a husband to Emily (read her blog here), a father to five crazy kids and an author of the book You're Grounded, which you can read about here. 

Why We're taking our own kids to Young Life Camp Overseas

My youngest daughter, bottom right, is upset because she doesn't think her shirt matches her outfit!

In 2012, my wife and I went to Hawaii. 

In 2013, my wife and I went to Bermuda. 

In 2014, my wife and I are going to the Bahamas. With the kids. All five of them! 

Young Life Commonwealth Region asked me if I would go to the Bahamas this summer to work at a Young Life camp for the students on an island in the Bahamas. 

After praying for a month, my wife and I said yes ... if the kids can come, too!!! 

Here's why! 

1.  We want our kids to have a bigger view of education. Not all education occurs in the classroom, as so eloquently stated by Propaganda in the song Bored of Education. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our kids to get an experiential education on cuisine, culture, geography, ministry, travel and other things. 

2. We want our kids to have a bigger view of family. In the midst of my career switch to nTelos (on Twitter at @nTelosLass), my summer is much more structured. In bringing our kids along, I wanted them to see that family is so important that we would jump through all these extra financial and logistical hoops so that we can be together. 

3. We want our kids to have a bigger view of the world. I believe it was Mark Twain who once said, "I've never met a well-traveled racist." 

4. We want our kids to have a bigger view of service. With our Young Life kids at Lee, we always talk about servant leadership being described as "taking initiative for the benefit of others." Although this trip will likely have some vacation-like aspects for our kids, they will asked to serve, too! 

5. We want our kids to have a bigger view of the gospel. At the camp, I will have the privilege of sharing the greatest story ever told with the kids on the island. I want my kids to be part of seeing that story change lives just as it changed mine and prayerfully changes their own lives one day. 

So here is are two things you can do to help us. Share this blog by e-mail or by social media with friends. 

Help us raise the $7,000 it will take to get to the Bahamas. Young Life is picking up the expenses for Emily and me. We are picking up the expenses for our kids. The trip does cost some money, but we believe it's worth every penny. And, speaking of pennies, every one counts. We need donations great and small, and you can give a tax-deductible gift online by clicking here. 

Chris Lassiter is a Christ-follower, a husband to Emily (read her blog here), and dad to these five crazy kids we see pictured above. His first book You're Grounded was released by Moody Publications in July of 2013. You can read about it here. 

Help!!!!!! Our Podcast Needs a Name!!!!!

Now you can catch me name-dropping like The Game, but I only came in the game to drop one name (Jesus) - Phanatik.

My main man Jeremy Hartman (peep his blog here) and I have dreamed about covering sports and culture since we were basketball teammates at Shenandoah University back in the day. 

The only problem is when we dreamed, we didn't dream up a name. Now that we've successfully recorded our pilot podcast (which you can listen to here) , we need to pick a name for the podcast. Fortunately, we have some creative friends who either sent us great options or things so hilarious that I was literally on the ground laughing. 

Here's what we need from you. If you like one of the name options 0r you have your own, let us know. Write your favorite on the JamTheHype.com link right here. We also want to know which of our friends you think is the funniest, so at the bottom of this page let us know which name you think is the funniest.


I will start with the funny names: 

• BYOB - Bring Your Own Bible (I got superweak when I read this one) 
• Turnover City (J Hart and I had a few turnovers in the SU backcourt)
• Church Party 3 (a hysterical parody of the movie House Party 3, nice)
• A Righteous Turnover (I see what you did there Melz)
• Spiritual Guidance from Staunton's own Kid-N-Play (speaks for itself) 
• Wisdom from Point guards who pass and point guards who don't (let's just say one of us may or may not be a SHOOTING guard trapped in a point guard's body.) 

Here are the names we we would actually consider for our faith, sports and culture podcast: 

• Real Talk (We talk about real stuff ... it's a possibility)
• Gaining Ground (has potential)
• Get Lifted (well played with the spiritual double entendre)
• Small Talk (We're both a tad shy of 6-foot and it's a podcast)
• On Point (two former point guards)
• The Crossover (has a spiritual and an athletic meaning)
• Pardon The Introduction (you see what he did there)
• Podcast With No Name (the name of the pilot podcast)
• That's What's Up (Somebody gave us a shot out, but it kinda had a ring to it.) 
    

Now that's you've seen the options - or if you have your own - help us decide!

 

Chris Lassiter is a Christ-follower, a husband to Emily (read her blog here), a father to five crazy and fun kids, a Young Life leader in his hometown of Staunton, VA. He has written for JamTheHype.com, Rapzilla.com, VIBE, HipHopDX.com and other sites. 

Moody Publishers recently published his first book, You're Grounded, which you can read about here. The Cross Promotion gets updated twice a week. Please consider subscribing by e-mail or joining the blog at the bottom of the page where it says "Join This Site."