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49 pages

English

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Do you struggle with the expectations placed on you as a man? What is the measure of a true man and how can you successfully meet that benchmark?

"4th and Four" was written specifically to help men understand the power source that is available to them if they will seek out and then plug into these dynamic resources. Being surrounded by men of wisdom, integrity, character, and grit is vital for men in today's world, where we are witnessing the deterioration of the family. Too many men are opting out of this game called life, leaving behind their families because "the game" has become too difficult to play.

With lighthearted humor, "4th and Four" will take you through one man's journey, from growing up in a dysfunctional family, to meeting the love of his life, and then battling and overcoming cancer two times. All of this, while accomplishing more than he had ever dreamed possible. This book will inspire you to tap into your full potential and become the man God intended for you to be—a man after His own heart.

Sujets

Religion

Christianisme

Santé et bien-être

Développement personnel

développement personnel

Self-help

Personal Growth

Informations

Publié par	eBookIt.com
Date de parution	19 février 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781939748942
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0250€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Copyright © 2014 by Jim Phillips

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form whatsoever — including electronic, photocopy, recording — without prior written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Website

First Edition

ISBN: 978-1-939748-94-2

Published by

P.O. Box 2839, Apopka, FL 32704

Printed in the United States of America

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this book are solely
those of the authors and other contributors. These views and opinions
do not necessarily represent those of Certa Publishing.

Foreword
No, this is not a book about football, but it is a book about seeking out and finding a few special guys in your life that will “huddle up” with you when it’s 4 th and Four in the game of life!
You see, I am what you would call a Baby Boomer, and I have lived a very interesting life. During my lifetime, I have had several experiences that have molded and shaped who I am and how I have lived my life. I’ve known the joy of truly being in love. I have experienced the sting of death in losing a loved one. I’ve lived in fear as cancer took away a vital part of my life as a young man, and I’ve wiped away tears of joy as I walked three daughters down the aisle of marriage. These experiences have given me the wisdom and inspiration to write this book.
I have realized the importance of developing special relationships with friends you can always count on. These are the friendships that withstand the test of time, especially, when the going gets tough. These are the guys you want in the huddle with you when it’s 4th and Four and the game is on the line. I’ve been fortunate to have these kinds of relationships throughout my lifetime. In fact, I’ve had four that have stood the test of time. My relationship with each of these four guys, along with some of my life’s experiences, is what inspired me to write this book.
When I began thinking about writing this book, I asked myself, “Who was my first real 4 th and Four buddy?” Well, I didn’t have to think very long before Eddie Wilson popped into my head, my good old pal, Eddie. I remember those early summer mornings growing up on Lombardy Drive in South Bend, Indiana. I guess I must have been about 10 at the time. Each morning, I would wake up around 7:30 and rise from my bed to look out my window. There he’d be, sitting on his bike with his kickstand down, just waiting for me to come out and play. He was always there when I needed a real pal. We could talk about baseball, football and yes, even girls. I could share anything with my pal Eddie and he would listen and always offer support. Like I said, Eddie was my first real 4 th and Four pal. Even though I didn’t see him again after we moved away, I always wondered what happened to good old Eddie Wilson.
4 th and Four! A tough position to be in if your team is behind and time is running out. That’s the time to call the play that decides the outcome of the entire game or, in the case of this book, change the outcome of your entire life!
Before you dive into reading, I challenge you to ask yourself this question: If it was 4 th and Four in the game of life and you were trapped in a foxhole with life’s bullets flying by and the enemy was fast approaching, do you have guys in your life that would jump into that foxhole and help you deal with the challenges of this game called life?
Don’t answer immediately. I want you to really think about the question. Do you have a special relationship with one or more fellas that would have your back, regardless of the situation? Would they be there, not only to help you, but also to give you wise counsel and point you in the right direction if you needed it?
In the first few chapters of this book, I hope you will discover the importance of having special guys such as these in your life. If they are already there, then you are truly blessed. But if they’re not, I challenge you to take the first step towards finding and adding these guys to your inner circle of friends. Friendships with men of integrity, character, wisdom and grit can change the way you approach and live the rest of your life.
So, it’s 4th down and 4 yards to go. The clock is running and there are no timeouts left in this game we call “life.” You are down to your last play and you need all the help you can get from your team or, in this case, your inner circle of buddies, in order to win. It has come down to this last attempt to save your marriage, your family, your business or your home. Maybe you’re head-over-heels in debt. Maybe, your marriage is on the rocks because of infidelity, alcohol or substance abuse (you fill in the reason), and you’re just not sure what has happened to your life or how you ever got to this moment in the first place. You think to yourself, “Oh, if I could only re-wind the play clock and change some of the choices I have made in my life!”
My friend, that is one of the reasons I wrote this book, to give you a “playbook” for a happier, more fulfilling life. Hopefully, some of the things I share will move you to add these important guys to your life. Remember, these should be special guys that will encourage you, motivate you, inspire you and, yes, maybe at times even protect you from yourself when it’s crunch time, when its 4 th and Four and you need to make exactly the right call! A great friend is someone who will not merely tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to hear. Then and only then is he a special 4 th and Four friend!
Later on in this book, you will have the opportunity to meet my 4 th and Four special friends that have helped me in both my private and business lives over the last 25 years. These are the guys that inspired me to write this book in which I will cover the four Fs that can shape who you are and how you will live the rest of your life: Family, Faith, Forgiveness and Finances.

July 2014
Jim Phillips
FAMILY

Chapter 1
1957
It was 1957. We lived in a small farmhouse in Bridgman, Michigan. At the time, it was just my mom and dad, my little sister and me. My dad worked hard for the local foundry and my mom was a housewife. We lived directly across the street from a small golf course that was surrounded by tall trees. I remember one of the coolest things for me as a kid was to walk the perimeter of the course and look for stray golf balls. A once-hit Titleist without a blemish would bring about 25 cents from Mr. Germaine who owned the golf course. I can remember on a good day taking in about a dozen balls. That haul brought in around three bucks and in 1957 that was a lot of money for an 8-year-old kid!
It would be several years before I would actually pick up the game of golf and today, a score in the low 90s is a good day for me. In fact, the lowest score I ever shot in my life was an 85. I sometimes look back to those days in 1957 and think, man, I wish I’d had someone take the time to introduce me to this great game early on in my life. I mean, I lived right across the street from this nice little course. Heck, I could have taken 10 to 15 strokes off my game today, and who knows where that would have led!
My little sister, Pammy, and I were very close and still are to this day. In 1957, and the years to follow we would get into some real brother-sister adventures. One that I remember clearly did not turn out so well, especially for her. We were down in our basement playing around with the washing machine. It was called a “wringer washer,” which meant you had to manually run a piece of clothing through the wringer to get the excess water out. You had to be very careful, because if you didn’t let go, you could be injured. I had challenged my little sister that day on who could hold onto a piece of clothing the longest before letting it go into the wringer. I must say I was pretty good at this game. Well, Pammy tried to hold on just a little too long and, yep, you guessed it. Her right hand went directly into the wringer and it traveled all the way up to her elbow. Pammy was screaming, I was screaming and, finally, mom came running down the stairs and turned off the machine. I got a spanking, which I thought was unfair, but I guess I came out much better than my little sister. Although she healed up just fine, from that day forward, she was a southpaw!
When I look back on my life, I would have to say that 1957 and 1958 were years that I will remember forever. Little did I know that those early years of innocence were about to disappear and be gone forever. I had no idea just how fast this 8-year-old boy would have to grow up in order to survive what was coming at him in life.
Although this book stresses the importance of having a support group of 4th and Four buddies around when the going gets tough, it is also important to discuss and explain your relationship with your own family. Remember the days when dad would come home from work and mom would have dinner on the table and the kids would come in from playing or doing chores and then wash up for dinner? The entire family would sit down together and enjoy a great meal while discussing the events of each member’s day. Well, now it’s time for me to snap my fingers and wake up, because that’s the way it was in Beaver Cleaver Land, but certainly not the way it was in my family when I was growing up.
God’s Word tells us about the importance of family.
Exodus 20:12 says, “Honor your Father and Mother that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God has given you.”
Titus 2:4 says, “And so train the young women to love their husbands and chi