Traveling is hard. When I was younger (it’s scary I even wrote that phrase) I always dreamed of being able to travel and see the world! Well, God gave me my wish and while I appreciate the travel, it has proven to be really challenging. As of writing this post I just crossed 90,000 air miles for the year and I still have six major trips left.

As I consider how I’ve survived this year, I’ve been surprised to find that there are seasons where I feel like I am incredibly productive. Then, there are seasons where I am surprised I can even keep up and remember to jump on a flight. After evaluating my productive seasons, I found the following principles crucial in my ability to accomplish everything I need to with excellence.

Rest and Reward:

Get the right amount of rest that your body needs. Train yourself to sleep at the right time so that when you have to wake up, you do so refreshed. For me, I’ve found that I need at least 8 hours of sleep. I’ve also found that TV, iPad, and my computer are serious distractions to getting the rest that I need. My iPad may be the biggest culprit. I love reading on it, but it’s only a click of a button to get to my ESPN Fantasy team or start researching on food places for the next trip I have, or get to that last email quickly. I didn’t want to give up reading, and I didn’t want a print book, so instead I was able to pick up the Amazon Voyager. Its amazing and has a simple function, to let you read. The benefit of rest is priceless. It allows your mind to be sharp and for you to be more effective in thought process.

Be Smart With Technology:

As I mentioned earlier, technology can’t always be assumed as helpful. However, when used thoughtfully and with intention it can be a game changer in how productive you are. There are so many apps, tools, and resources that I use, but the ones that I always go to are:

• Evernote – Its the best. If your not using it, your missing out. It serves as my digital brain and stores everything I need. Recently I purchased the premium version and I love it!
• Wunderlist – Its a simple task list app that syncs across all your devices. Its not overly complicated and works seamlessly across all my devices.
• All Apple – I drank the Koolade, and I love it. Seriously, all my devices are apple. My wife even got me an apple watch and I have grown found of it. However, if you are on the other side, seriously consider the devices that you have. Do they all play well together? Do the research and ensure that they do, its a world of difference
• Kindle Voyager – For distraction free reading, its amazing. I have found that I can actually read longer staring at the screen and I don’t get a headache.

Dig Deeper Into The Word:

This is honestly one of the most overlooked disciplines in my life.

My passionate pursuit of the Word of God sets the stage for everything else in life @Muddamalle
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Have Fun:

Seriously, have fun. Make sure you carve out time to enjoy life. Whether that’s playing sports, watching a movie, or taking a walk; do it. Life gets busy and we have a lot to do but neglecting what makes us happy and refreshes us is a huge mistake!

The post 4 Ways To Stay Productive While Traveling appeared first on Joel's Travels.

I was on a flight from Virginia back home to Seattle recently and the person next to me asked me what time it was. I went to my phone and told them the time. They looked at me puzzled and said, “why look at your phone when you are wearing a watch?”.

My watch being the wrong time when I travel is the best thing for me because it helps me keep my priorities. So why don’t I change my watch when I land in a different state? It’s pretty simple. I always want to know what time it is at home. My watch is a simple and easy reminder that what is most important to me is in a different state. Every time I look at my watch I am reminded to think about and pray for my wife and kids. When people ask me why my watch is wrong and I don’t change it, I can tell them about my family and whats most important to me.

On a practical note, it allows me to be aware of my families schedule. When I travel I am usually caught up in the conference schedule. But having my watch I am able to tell when my kids are getting ready to go down for a nap or when they are getting ready to go to bed. I can catch them before meals or join them via FaceTime for breakfast. I found early on that if I didn’t have these types of built in reminders the day could get away from me. The business of travel and conferences combined with my families own schedule often had us at odd’s for touching base and talking. This simple method keeps me connected to my family.

Why is it important to stay connected?

1. The traveling life has the ability to sap you of your time and energy quickly.

While it was fun traveling to different states early on, the cost on my family began to show itself. Like everything in life that is important, we need to put checks and balances into place to keep them important. I’ve had the opportunity to sit next to some executives of large companies. Most of these people are world travelers and like me, feel like they live on the road. Interestingly, many of them have broken families and all of them at some point in the conversation tell me to keep tabs on the work, travel, family balance.

2. It sets a precedent for my kids.

When they get older and start their own careers they will be influenced heavily by what they see in me and their mom. Everyone of our actions affects our kids. The way we dress, talk, interact with others, and our work habits. By making my family a priority and putting these practices into place my kids will grow up understanding that this is important for their own work and family life.

3. It reminds me of what is important.

I do my work for a variety of reasons. But most important is to provide for my family. If I slip away and begin to get disconnected from my family because of work, that seems a bit counterproductive. Staying connected and putting these practices into place keeps a healthy balance and sets the priorities in my life.

Regardless of if you travel across the world for work or have a 30 minute commute into the office make sure you do everything in your power to keep your family as a priority.

The post How My Watch Keeps My Priorities Straight appeared first on Joel's Travels.

No. We are not having another baby.

However, there is a big change for us. My wife (Brittany) and I are excited to share that we are making a big move in the next 4 weeks. We will be moving to Chicago, more specifically, the suburbs south of Chicago where I grew up. Before anyone panics, this is NOT a job change. I’ll still be working for Faithlife as a National Conference Speaker. This move actually has a lot to do with my job. Why uproot and move my family after 3 years in Bellingham, WA? Well, it really boils down to these two reasons.

1. Travel

It’s hard to have a job where you spend most of your time in an airplane and have to fly from the pacific northwest. The time change, connections, and location all add up to days away from my family. By making a move to become more central, I will instantly cut down on travel days and be able to spend more time with my wife and kids. I’ve always been a strong believer in putting your family ahead of any ministry. I believe this is also the same for vocation. This move places my family as a priority.

2. Indian Culture

Brittany and I have always wanted to raise our kids with an immersion into Indian culture. Realistically, the best way that can happen is to be around it. While we have absolutely loved our time in California and Washington, we are excited to expose our three boys to more of the Indian side of of their heritage. I have an extensive Indian community in Chicago that I grew up in. I’m excited for my boys to be near their “uncles” and “aunties” and experience some awesome Indian weddings, prayer meetings, and parties. Even better, my immediate family will be about 2-4 hours away. We are really excited to be close to everyone!

Bonus:

Deep dish pizza. Enough said.

This is just from my perspective. Get my wife’s thoughts on this on her blog. She gives more details into the family and culture side of things.

We plan on making the move in mid June. I have lots of conferences in the summer so adding a move into the mix is a bit challenging. If you guys are thinking about our family, I would love your prayers! If you are in the Chicagoland area, shoot me an email or like my Facebook page and comment. I’d love to connect!

The post Big Changes For The Muddamalle Family appeared first on Joel's Travels.

Kids came fast for Brittany and I. We had a plan but God seems to reign sovereign in all areas. I was finishing up graduate school and still had about year left when we found out we were pregnant with Liam. Fast forward three and a half years and we have Liam, Levi, and a brand new baby boy Lucas.

People have some great advice as new additions join the family. Probably my favorite and most common goes something likes this.

When you have one kid it’s great. You can both tag team the child. With two kids things get a little tricky, you transition to a man to man defense. When you have your third everything falls apart as you maintain a zone defense.

I began to think about this analogy and realized that after the first child parents at time switch from offensive play to a posture of defense. But why? Why are we reactive towards our kids and not pro active? Why are we responding to their actions and not informing how they think and make decisions?

Parents, its time to go on the offensive.

I don’t think this is intentional. For most of us, we are just trying to figure things out. As we attempt to figure things out we land in this defensive posture. However, maintaining doesn’t produce growth or progress. It eventually leaves us in a stagnant place.

Our kids not only require our best offensive pursuit but they deserve it. @Muddamalle
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I realized now as an adult the majority of how I perceive the world and come to judgements and decisions is a direct result of how I was raised. Values, system, and beliefs, were instilled into me as a child and affect every thought and decision. We have the great opportunity to create the framework that our kids will rely on as adults. While we all wish that we will always be around to give our kids advice, we don’t know what the future holds. Therefore, being intentional now will be a benefit in the future.

Here are a few areas that require parents to be active in the lives of their children:

1. Discipline – Your kids need it. There is time for friendship later in life, first, be their parent.
2. Friendships – Be involved in the life of your kids. What kind of friends do they have? Do they have challenges with any friends or peers. Be a listening ear and offer advice and support when you can
3. Church – Be active and set the example for the importance of being apart of the local church. We don’t question if kids need to go to school do we? So why make it optional for them to go to church? Set priorities and lead by example
4. Family time – Set aside time to be together as a family. My kids are still young but I am already panicking over how big they are getting and how fast time is passing us by. If you are intentional about spending time together as a family early on, it wont be a question later on.

More posts from the Traveling Dad Series:

The Challenge of Discipline

Will I Mess Up My Kids?

The Pursuit of Consistency

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The post The Traveling Dad: Parents, Go On The Offensive appeared first on Joel's Travels.

As a kid I hated consistency. Actually, the more I think about it, I still hate it. But I know it’s good for me. It’s even more important for my kids. Traveling threw the concept of consistency for a spin for our family. There are times when Dad is not home for dinner or breakfast. There are times when he is. The night time routine can get changed, which can become a big deal for our kids. I learned quickly that I don’t read stories like momma.

We quickly began to see the toll that inconsistency had for our kids. The boys became anxious and began to question everything. Liam is the king of “but why dadda?”. At first I just got mad, then I realized that this was a symptom of inconsistency in his life. So why is consistency important for kids?

1. It builds a framework for them that they can rely on:

As much my kids fight the routine they need it. In many ways consistency serves as a safety blanket that they can rely on. Without this framework there isn’t anything that is anchoring them down. This creates a perfect scenario for them to start spinning out of control.

In fact, my inconsistency creates the opportunity for chaos in my kids life. @Muddamalle
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Kids need boundaries, they need guidelines and rules. Possibly the biggest challenge I came across as a youth pastor was the epidemic of parents that wanted to be friends with their kids and not their parents. Here’s a little secret that I found out. Friendship with your kids will come as they get older. If you focus on building a strong framework for your kids to rely on it will only result in a better friendship and further trust as they become adults. My mom never fooled around with me as a kid. There was never question if she was my parent or friend. Today, I enjoy a friendship with my mom, which is a blessing. Don’t worry, she still knows how to throw down on me if I need it!

2. It creates discipline:

Our pursuit of consistency results in much needed discipline for kids. This discipline is crucial for them as they develop into adulthood. As we focus on creating disciplined children not only will our kids thank as they become adults, but their spouses, kids, and bosses will owe us one!

While I was in New York I had a great conversation with the Hillsong NYC pastoral team. An observation that we both have seen is the expectation that teenagers and young adults have for instant gratification. They want what they want, now! Possibly a big part of the challenge is a lack of discipline and patience during their childhood. The best part of this is sitting back and watching our kids become responsible adults.

3. It facilitates an opportunity to make significant accomplishments:

I am constantly amazed at how much Liam (almost 4) and Levi (2) are absorbing. My wife Brittany recently decided to start working through a easy “teach your kids to read” book. She simply decided to consistently work through a page or two in the book each night. Now, when I’m home Liam reminds me that he has to do his “work” like dadda does work. So every night he grabs his book and sits with me and momma to practice his reading. Oh, and my 3.5 year old can legitimately read 15-20 words. Is it purely because he’s a genius? Well, yes. But more importantly is because of a consistent pattern each night.

Our kids have the ability to absorb, learn, and accomplish a lot. As parents we have the great opportunity to focus in on specific areas. This can look different for everyone. For some it may be reading, for others it could working on brushing teeth or cleaning up toys. Regardless, you can accomplish a lot simply by being consistent.

Finally, grace.

Give yourself grace. Please don’t take this post to mean that we have to be perfect. Inconsistency is part of life. Things happen, routines change, and life goes on. Give yourself grace, and remember to give your parent friends grace also!

More posts from the Traveling Dad Series:

The Challenge of Discipline

Will I Mess Up My Kids?

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The post The Traveling Dad: The Pursuit of Consistency appeared first on Joel's Travels.

When Brittany first told me that she was pregnant I quickly went through the following emotions.

Shock – Excitement – Panic – Oh Crap.

You may have read previously that I am not necessarily a fan of kids. Now I found myself responsible for the life of this little human being. Not only that but I instantly fell in love. All of a sudden I had these intense affections for this gift of God. Then, I had the “Oh Crap” moment. The conversation in my mind went something like this.

Will I be a good dad? Am I ready to be a dad? Does being a dad mean I can’t play air-soft or Modern Warfare 2? Crap…what if I mess up this kid?

The fear of messing up my kids skyrocketed as I realized I did not have the luxury of working a eight to five job and home every afternoon. Being a traveling dad threw our entire household into a tailspin for a bit as we adjusted to this new dynamic. I typically found myself up late at night at hotel rooms thinking about my kids (its hard for me to sleep when I’m on the road). Sometimes my thoughts revolve around the future. What type of men will by boys grow up to be? What type of lady will they marry and bring into the family? How will they interact with their kids and wives? All of these thoughts hinge on the questions, did we do enough raising them?

Both Brittany and I realized a couple things quickly:

1. We have to be intentional with our kids – When people say your kids grow up in a blink of an eye they are being serious. I’ve tried to be intentional with my boy’s in a variety of ways. I’m intentional about commenting to my boys how beautiful their momma looks. This creates a standard for them as they get married.

In many ways my intentionality with my boys is an investment into their future outcome. @Muddamalle
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We intentionally talk about the goodness of God and why we love Jesus. I want my boys to always remember a love and affection for Christ. The greatest gift I could give my boys is a childhood filled with affection, wonder, and awe of Jesus.

2. Our kids foundation has to be the Word of God – If I am really honest with myself, my own wisdom, insight, and intellect is not good enough. It never will be. The best thing we can do for our Children is saturate them in the Word of God. I love Proverbs 1:8-19. Many parents and pastors love using this verse to point out the importance that kids listen to and obey their mother and father. I read this verse and am reminded that kids can only listen and obey when parents are faithful in instructing and teaching their children in the way of the Lord.

3. Praying is essential – Ultimately, our hope for our kids can’t be in our ability or skills. If this is the case we are all in trouble. As we realize that we don’t have everything under control we are left with our only hope being in the Holy Spirit. As a result, it is essential that we spend time in prayer for our kids. My mom spent countless hours praying for me, and I firmly believe that her prayers made a difference. In fact, as we turn to God we can place our hope in the creator of the universe who spoke all things into being. 1 Thess 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing and Hebrews 5:7 points us to the example of Christ to prayed and was heard because of his reverence. Our prayers makes a difference and we can take hope in the fact that our God is good.   I love that God is faithful and a good father. The scriptures are filled with this reality.

 Will I Mess Up My Kids?

Yea, most likely to some extent, but I’m thankful that Brittany and I can turn to God who gives us direction and a hope not only for our future but for our children also.

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Don’t forget to read the first post of the series that covers discipline!

Helpful Resources:

These two books have been game changers for us as we jumped into this crazy life parenting 3 little boys!

• Give Them Grace
• Shepherding a Childs Heart

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The post The Traveling Dad: Will I Mess Up My Kids? appeared first on Joel's Travels.

I was on an airplane with Brittany, Liam, Levi, and Lucas heading to Houston. Liam turned to me suddenly and said:

“Ohh…Dadda…so this is where you live!?”…

Never saw that one coming.

I realized quickly that traveling threw a couple wrenches into parenting. It was much more difficult being a traveling Dad than I anticipated. Some of you may be thinking:

“How does this apply to me?”

Whether or not you travel, it is impossible to be with your kids 24 hours a day. In that case, you may experience some of the challenges that I have in a different context. Most of what I write about will serve as principles that you can apply to your context. In fact, I’d love to hear about how you do that! Let me know in the comments section.

I’d encourage you to do 3 things as we kick off this series:

1. Share this post (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+) – It’s my hope and prayer that this will be helpful to seasoned parents, new parents, new couples, and even people who are just thinking about the implications of marriage and parenthood. We all have people in one or all of those categories, so hopefully these posts will help them!
2. Subscribe to the email news letter – Don’t miss a post. When you subscribe you will get each post delivered directly to your in box! I’m also working on devotional e-book and the only way to get it will be to sign up!
3. Check out the first post – This first post covers one of my first challenges, discipline!

The post Introducing: The Traveling Dad Series appeared first on Joel's Travels.

When Brittany and I first got married we always wondered who would be the tough parent and the easy parent. I quickly stated that I would be tough.

Moment of honesty:

I don’t like kids. It’s actually true. I’ve never been a kid person. That’s why I’ve always gravitated towards youth ministry and working with high school and college age students rather than little kids.

Hubris:

This experience lead me to believe that I would be immune to the charm, whinny voice, and utter smooth moves from these little creatures we call kids. Then I became a dad. Quickly it became evident that I was not the stoic father that was immune to childish charm. In fact, when it came to my first born, Liam, I fell pray to his wide eyed smile, cry, and whine almost every time. Brittany became the tough “cant get anything past me” mom. Then my second son Levi came. He has a different kind of charm. The kind where he does something incredibly naughty, looks at you in the face, smiles, and in a raspy voice says, love you daddy da. It gets me every time. My third son Lucas is only 4 months old. He already has the half smile with dimple smile down.

Traveling Life:

Then our lives took a twist. I transitioned into a new role at work where I spend a considerable more time traveling across the US and sometimes the world to present, speak, and teach workshops at conferences. One side affect I never considered would be how this impacted my desire to discipline my boys. I found myself on the road for 2-4 days at a time. When I came home my first thoughts were not about consistency in parenting or the 3-4 things Brittany had been working on the boys with. It was hugging, kissing, and playing with my boys. Even further, the simple thought of disciplining the boys was hard enough, I couldn’t really bring myself to do it. I became the dad who gave the “last warnings” and “second and ONLY chances”.

I quickly realized (Brittany helped a lot with this!) that my travel schedule was not an excuse for me not being present or active in the discipline of our children. In fact, my sons need discipline from their father. Proverbs 23 has it right, children should listen to their fathers instructions. The only way children can listen to their fathers instructions are if fathers are actually giving instruction!

Ways to be present in the discipline of my kids:

Here are a few ways I have tried to provide some course correction:

• Stay in the loop while I am away – Its easy to talk about surface level things with Brittany and the boys while I’m away. The best thing I can do is be intentional about what is happening in the lives of my kids and asking my wife how things are going with them. My wife serves as the window into everyday life when I’m gone. Our ability to communicate well is incredibly helpful as I stay in the loop on the wins and challenges at home.
• Engage in conversation with kids – While I’m away I want to discuss and talk about what has been going one during that day. I want to talk about what happened when Liam got in trouble for hitting his brother. Even though I am in a different state I want my sons to know that daddy is still present and cares about what they are doing. This type of daily recap and recollection is not only helpful for me, but also for my kids to consider the events of the day.
• Take your kids on dates – I give myself the freedom to have either a fun day. Basically, daddy takes the kids out to have fun. Typically, this just means we order pizza, have sword fights, throw the football around, or go to the park. Being able to just have fun with the kids gives me a release and is helpful as I step back into day to day dad living.

My kids need me to be their dad in all areas of their lives. @Muddamalle
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I’ve seen the disaster of parents that are physically or emotionally unavailable. It creates lasting challenges for their kids. The benefits of being godly and attentive parents are countless, and we will see those benefits played out as our kids become spouses and parents themselves one day.

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Related Posts:

• Four Ways To Stay Married With a Crazy Travel Schedule
•  Staying Dad While Traveling
• Being Road Sick

The post The Traveling Dad: The Challenge of Discipline appeared first on Joel's Travels.

As beautiful as the view was, it wasn’t enough. I woke up at 5am with my friend Jason so we could hike up Hanauma Bay Ridge in Hawaii. We wanted to see the sunrise before we left Hawaii after the conference we just attended. By the time I got to the top and watched the sunrise I was stunned. It was breathtaking. The warm orange glow began to burn through the dark clouds. In an instant it burned right through and lit up the bay in front of me. And then I had the realization. As powerful as this view was, it was not enough. This view in and of itself did not proclaim the Gospel to me. I began to consider how many people have hiked up to this very same point, surveyed the beauty in front of them, and then walked down without ever hearing the beautiful proclamation of the gospel. That God not only created all this but Christ  conquered sin and death that he might restore us in our relationship with God.

What Does Creation Do?

It causes us to ask questions. How did something so beautiful come into existence. Who crafted such beauty? John Calvin is correct when discussing creation he states, “The clarity of God’s self disclosure strips us of every excuse”. The excuse he describes is the acknowledgment that there is in fact something greater than us. We must consider and come to the realization of our finite stature in the midst of this creator. However, in regards to our ability to take the next leap in knowing God, Calvin rightly states, ”

“But although the Lord represents both himself and his everlasting Kingdom in the mirror of his works with very great clarity, such is our stupidity that we grow increasingly dull toward so manifest testimonies and they flow away without profiting us” – John Calvin

I fell trap to this stupidity. Almost immediately as I walked down away from the sunrise and the view, I began focus on everything except that which would profit me. As soon as I realized this was happening, I came to the conclusion that the scenic beauty was not enough.

What Creation Does Not Do:

• Proclaim who Jesus is
• Declare that God created all things simply by speaking it into existence
• Identify our great sin and need for rescue
• Proclaim the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ

Creation does not Proclaim the Gospel to us, but when we know the Gospel; creation becomes so much more impressive.

As we understand the Gospel and the goodness of God we tend to grow in our appreciation for all created things. Not only do we value creation but we are lead down a road where we realize that God values us even more than creation. Unlike creation, in Genesis 1 he blesses man and gives man dominion over created things.

Clear and Bold Proclamation of the Gospel is Necessary:

If creation is not enough, than the responsibility falls on Christians to clearly communicate the goodness of the Gospel.

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It’s not ok to wait and hope that someone else will share the gospel. – @Muddamalle
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Or that creation itself can do the work of gospel proclamation. That is our job. We declare the goodness of the gospel and then rely on the Holy Spirit to do the work of conviction, restoration, and sanctification.

Enjoy the goodness of Gods creation. And allow the next sunrise or sunset you see to remind you of the opportunities that you have to share the gospel.

The post The View Never Saved Anyone appeared first on Joel's Travels.

I’m always on the look out for new tools and tips to make my travel life easier. I never realized how important it would be to make travel efficient until I started traveling for a living. Here are three travel tips/tricks that will help you regardless if you are a frequent traveler or travel by necessity to visit family, friends, or vacation.

1. Trip It – This app has become a lifesaver for me. Simply create an account and store all your travel details hear. When you get confirmation emails for flight, hotel, and rental car, forward them to your trip it email. The trip it app automatically creates your itinerary and keeps all your travel info in a central location. I love the fact that I can quickly see what hotel I’m at when I land and launch the directions to get there directly from the Trip it app.
2. Flight Track – This app has saved me from some close calls. I first got it when it was the free app of the week at Starbucks. Simply type in your flight number and Flight Track will get you all the info you need about your flight from gate information to travel time and probability of a delay or cancelation. This app becomes priceless when I’m delayed and land with a short connect time. In some cases the gate changes for the connecting flight. Instead of wasting valuable minutes staring at a blue screen looking for the right gate, the flight track app lets you know what gate you arrived and updates to the minute the gate that you leave for your connecting flight, leaving you more minutes to run terminal to terminal.
3. Cam Scanner – My favorite scanning app. I tend to pile up receipts. Cam Scanner lets you create a document or folder where you can add multiple scanned images. Perfect for keeping all my documents, receipts, and information categorized by the conference or event I’m at. Even better, it allows you to upload that folder to your Evernote app. Brilliant!

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Related Posts:

• Being Road Sick
• Staying Dad While Traveling
• 4 Ways To Stay Married With A Crazy Travel Schedule

The post 3 Ways To Make Travel Easy appeared first on Joel's Travels.