Coach Gibbs writes in Game Plan for Life about how many commercials, movie previews, and "Thursday night on Fox" announcements appear during a single televised sporting event. And because the makers of all these little clips know exactly who's watching them-you!-they know a little skin can go a long way when it comes to drawing your eye. They know how to sell you a lifestyle that looks and feels a lot better than yours.

We know all the arguments for having a playoff in college football. We know the debate that rages each year when the bowl teams are selected, and only two get a chance to play for the championship. But where college basketball has March Madness-with all its frenzy and excitement-you've got to give college football this much: every game is a big game, all season long.

There's something in men that wants their wife to be beautiful, not just to enjoy a pleasant face across the dinner table, but to impress others with the kind of woman they were able to attract. There's something in fathers that wants their daughters to be the kind the other boys think is pretty, somehow sharing indirectly in their children's popularity.

There were lots of things we once just assumed. When a boy went off to college, we assumed he'd live in a dorm with only boys in it. When a plane took off from the airport, we assumed that all we had to worry about was the condition of the aircraft, not its passengers. And Jesus, speaking to an average crowd of his day, assumed that fathers "know how to give good gifts to [their] children" (Matthew 7:11).

Whether at work or at home or in some other setting, you know what it's like when someone gets mad, gets their feelings hurt, and accuses you of something you didn't do. Instead of coming to find out what really happened or to talk it out calmly, they start right in with the accusations.

Negative and critical words are like a wrecking ball-they tend to tear down and destroy whatever they touch. This is true in any relationship, but it is especially true in our relationship with our spouse. When we use critical words, bit by bit, word by word, we begin to tear our spouse down.

Husbands, how do you think about leadership? In Ephesians 5, the Apostle Paul states, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord" (v. 22). Does that mean the husband gets to be the boss? Hardly! Paul tells husbands what type of leader to be: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (v. 25).

Our moms and dads could be pretty picky about the kinds of friends we hung around with. They understood it doesn't always take much persuasion, even for the best of kids, to turn innocent fun into risky behavior. Being with the right people, they knew, makes peer pressure a good thing.

Note from Randy: In February, I dialogued extensively with those involved in the End of the Spear movie controversy. God has laid it on my heart how easy it is for Christians to believe and disseminate false information. Below is an excerpt from the response article I wrote. This segment of the article applies to far more than that particular controversy.

Gossip and misinformation flow unceasingly in the Christian community. One day, in Heaven, they will be burned to ashes by the consuming holiness of God.

Whether from being left untended or from constant use, things will always be inclined to grow old and wear out. Knees will start to ache and catch. Gaskets will leak. Organization will trend toward chaos. The deodorant stick will shrink smaller and smaller. It's the nature of life. Downhill. Showing age.

Remember when your trophies decorated the room like deer heads in a hunting lodge? From football statues to swimming medals to Pinewood Derby ribbons, you made sure everyone could see your cherished trophies.

Where are they now? Up in the attic in a well-traveled cardboard box? Funny how time can tarnish those things we once held so dear.

Why is it that many of us marry our "soul-mate" and after a few years end up with a "room-mate?" One reason is because over time, many of us stop pursuing intimacy. If a third of marriages end in divorce, what's the percentage of marriages that end in soul satisfying intimacy?

At one point or another every husband or wife utters these words: "I wish I hadn't said that..." So often, we hurt our spouse with our words. Unfortunately, once words are uttered they are hard to take back.

God is very clear that our tongues are capable of much harm. Husbands and wives display maturity when they are careful with their words. They understand that words have a tremendous ability to hurt.

Marriage, many believe, is a "fifty-fifty" relationship. That belief sounds good and seems to make sense. There's just one problem-it doesn't work.

Here's why: Thinking our spouse must do his or her 50 percent leads us to focus on the other person's performance. But once couples start measuring each other's performance, disappointment follows close behind, and a deadly cycle begins: "you do your part" leads to "unmet expectations" leads to "disappointment" leads to "anger or silence" leads to "distance instead of harmony" leads to "increased pressure to perform."

What does the "perfect" marriage look like? Movies suggest it might be sharing breakfast in bed, a walk down a country lane or quiet time spent gazing into each other's eyes. Can you picture it?

Hardly! If your marriage is like most, you spend time wondering how the credit card bill got so high, or blaming your spouse for forgetting to register the car, even arguing on the way to church.