Kumba-yee-haw!
By Jim Mitchell
I’m gonna say a phrase and you say what comes to mind. Ready?
Road trip with your family.
[pause and think]
Be honest. You instantly thought, “Everyone laughing with joyful hearts,” “nobody fighting,” and “time flying by so fast we all want to do it again soon.” Right?
No?
Crazy. That’s exactly what comes to my mind.
Seriously. Let me share a simple hack to give your road trips (and marriage) a more harmonious tune.
It’s called the shared playlist, and you gotta try it stat!
Ask each person to pick six to eight favorite songs. Have a teenager build you a playlist (it’ll take her four nanoseconds). Then shuffle and play it randomly as you drive.
My family tried it and the mashup was an immediate hit:
- My vibe: oldy-but-groovy … John Mayer meets Andrew Peterson meets U2 meets Zac Brown Band. Feeling me?
- My wife gave us pop Christian with a twang…Carrie Underwood plus Chris Tomlin plus Patsy Cline. Kumba-yee-haw!
- My daughter delivered the cool and current … [insert names I didn’t know but liked]
- And my son dropped the obscure and eclectic … [insert names I didn’t know, didn’t like]
Somehow this shared playlist created a unifying mix of our distinct personalities and tastes. No one loved every song. Everyone felt heard.
And along the way, I saw a metaphor for my marriage.
Yielding a little air time to one another, receiving a little togetherness in return. Knowing, and being known.
It’s no wonder Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)
The Good Stuff: A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22)
Action Points: How can you start singing off a shared playlist in your important relationships?
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