I’ve always wanted to write a book for my wife Tammie. I wanted it to be very special and truly capture her essence. She loves God, loves me, loves our daughters, loves her family and loves people. To best capture that essence, I chose to use various Bible verses to articulate real lessons that she espouses. Tammie is not perfect, no one is. However, she has a near perfect heart and tries to be Christ-like in everything she does. These are actual lessons she has taught our daughters or me, or that she has addressed with Meaghan and Sophia in everyday life or while doing devotionals with them. Some of these are how I see Tammie or embody what she stands for or aspires to be. I tried to use the expanse of the Bible for these lessons from both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and you’ll see representation from Psalms and from Proverbs. I also tried to use the great women of the Bible to highlight these lessons including Abigail, Deborah, Elizabeth, Esther, Eve, Hannah, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Miriam, Priscilla, Rachel, Ruth, and Sarah. I recommend reading the chapter or surrounding passages around the verse I use to fully appreciate the context of the lesson. This is not a Bible Commentary, and I do not attempt to give the reader the foundation for a Bible Study. These verses have inspired these lessons, even if the lessons seem secular.

I've always wanted to write a book for my wife Tammie. I wanted it to be very special and truly capture her essence. She loves God, loves me, loves our daughters, loves her family and loves people. To best capture that essence, I chose to use various Bible verses to articulate real lessons that she espouses. Tammie is not perfect, no one is. However, she has a near perfect heart and tries to be Christ-like in everything she does. These are actual lessons she has taught our daughters or me, or that she has addressed with Meaghan and Sophia in everyday life or while doing devotionals with them. Some of these are how I see Tammie or embody what she stands for or aspires to be. I tried to use the expanse of the Bible for these lessons from both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and you'll see representation from Psalms and from Proverbs. I also tried to use the great women of the Bible to highlight these lessons including Abigail, Deborah, Elizabeth, Esther, Eve, Hannah, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Miriam, Priscilla, Rachel, Ruth, and Sarah. I recommend reading the chapter or surrounding passages around the verse I use to fully appreciate the context of the lesson. This is not a Bible Commentary, and I do not attempt to give the reader the foundation for a Bible Study. These verses have inspired these lessons, even if the lessons seem secular.

Tammie and Mike are married with three children. Lately Mike has been making the typical moves of a cheater, working late and always hiding his phone. Tammie is suspicious and convinced that Mike's attention is on someone else. That is, until he sweeps her off of her feet with a romantic night that she will never forget. All of her worries are washed away with every touch, kiss, and stroke. Confidence in her man and marriage replaces her previous suspicions. Then as luck would have it, evidence of Mike's infidelity smacks her in the face. It's a hard dose of reality. Yet what hurt much worse is the realization of who the side chick is. After cheating on Tammie off and on for years, Karma finally steps in and Mike meets the side chick from hell. She has fallen in love with him and won't let go. A wicked turn of events reveals his infidelity, and Mike quickly realizes that this is one side chick that will not go away. This story will take you on a wild ride full of hills, dips, and curves filled with romance, pain, betrayal, and lots of drama all intertwined in one emotional roller coaster.

An archangel named Ramiel has come to earth to learn what it is to be a man. All archangels must make this journey. Ramiel becomes infatuated by women and falls in love with them. He falls completely in love with one woman in particulara woman named Tammie, whom he met at a nightclub. Tammie is a carefree soul and lives life without consequences and without regret. She will become the love of his life.

David is one of the most perfect characters on which to do a study of leadership. We can learn a lot from David’s life. We can learn what to do and what not to do. I think both are important. No one is perfect and learning those tough lessons on someone else’s behalf is as important as learning the more positive ones. David was God’s anointed. He started as a shepherd and through God’s leadership, he became a ruler of a nation and a shepherd over His people. David did not set out to be Israel’s king. He did not set out to ‘be a leader.’ He was thrust into circumstances not of his making. He went through his own crucible time and time again. Through each experience he put more tools in his toolbox so to speak. Although not perfect by any measure, his zeal for God and faith in God became the standard that all future kings of Israel would be measured against. We can learn a lot from current and prior leaders, regardless of where we find them. Like the cook making a stew, you choose which ingredients and how much to use, and learn what works and what doesn’t work for you along the way as you perfect your recipe.

Teams, organizations, and institutions rise and fall on leadership. The simplest definition of leadership, and the one I prefer, is leadership is about influence. Most people think they can define leadership – good and bad leadership – but you definitely know it when you see it. Also, most people can easily tell when leadership is absent. In this study of the leadership lessons inspired by the judges, from the book of Judges and 1 Samuel, I will highlight situations when there was good, bad, or no leadership present. The common theme in the book of Judges starts with apostasy, oppression by a foreign antagonist, Israel’s appeal to God, God’s raising up of a ‘deliverer,’ and the peace that follows, and oftentimes the turn back to apostasy. I love the study of leadership, have been in the midst of it my whole adult life, will study it the rest of my life, and believe it is of highest importance regardless of environment.

A man of destiny, Moses was born to lead a nation through impossible situations, despite not starting his primary mission for eighty years. Leaders and leadership are found everywhere, past and present. There are great examples everywhere you look, if you know what to look for. There are differences as well as commonalities in all leaders that we study. Moses is a phenomenal example to learn from. He is one of the most-mentioned characters in the Old and New Testaments. God held Moses in the highest regard, over all other prophets, and he was the only prophet to speak to God face-to-face. Born in the most inauspicious of environments, under a death warrant by Pharaoh, raised as an Egyptian for his first forty years. Then Moses escaped to the furnace of the Midian wilderness where I believe his leadership, character, and humility were honed for his God-given mission that would last the rest of his lifetime. His final forty years was as unquestioned leader of the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage to the precipice of the promised land. Studying the inspired leadership lessons of a man who lived one hundred and twenty years is as formidable as it is thrilling. This journey will be enlightening, exciting, and energizing.