Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

BHC Meeting Summary - April 2016

Gentlemen,

In order to err on the side of caution, I will BCC attendees, interested individuals, and others invited with updates. This way, any incidental replies can just go to me and when it's relevant to the group, I can draft an update. I don't expect to send more than once or twice a week to keep this ball rolling.

Not interested?

Just a quick message to let me know is all that's necessary--I'll remove you from the list.

Group Overview

Regular gatherings of family men (possibly monthly?) to discuss the trials and triumphs of our state. Not a place for venting, blaming, or anything negative, but a frank discussion to try to identify and overcome challenges in our lives, probably ones many of us share. We are looking to find ways to make improvements in our marriages, relationships, and our own attitudes and performances, in particular.

Locations will typically be in town to avoid losing an hour in drive time.

New Invitees
Please feel free to share this with others. Ask them to respond to me with their interest.

April Gathering Summary

We had four in attendance at my house from about 6:30p - 9:30p.

Topics Discussed

• Knowing our spouse and ourselves, particularly our temperaments, well enough to improve our handling of conflict
• The preternatural gifts and the loss thereof, the effect on communication between spouses, and how to communicate more effectively
• The pitfalls of allowing bad past experiences negatively affect our decision-making
• Internet filters and accountability partners

Video

We watched It's Not About the Nail, a clever short film on YouTube by Jason Headly.

Books Discussed - (I've checked out several books in the last few months and shared my brief thoughts on each.)

• Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus by John Gray - Insightful exploration on the differences between men and women, how we think, and what motivates us.
• The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman - Great book showing the fundamental problem of speaking the wrong "love language." This YouTube video gives a good overview.
• Courtship After Marriage by Zig Ziglar - Life-experience writing that highlights the importance of continuing your courtship even after you're married and how to actually do it.
• Spousonomics by Jenny Andersen - An application of economic principles to married life and out to use them to solve problems.
  
  I'll include a couple titles that are on my skip list:
  
• Why Men Don't Have a Clue and Women Always Need More Shoes
• You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up!

Next Gathering

All attendees expressed interest in continuing, so we'll tentatively shoot for a month out. Mother's Day is May 8, so does that make a Saturday night before a bad idea or a good idea? We could meet either that or the following Saturday.

Possible Discussion Topics

• I think the accountability partner concept deserves a little more exploration. Is it better to have a close friend act as an accountability partner or would a trustworthy acquaintance have its benefits? What technology is available? How effective is it? What are the weaknesses? Should a wife be an accountability partner?
• RESPOND WITH SUGGESTIONS

Closing

If you got this far, thank you for your time and I hope to see you in discussions and in person.