Even so, the words I read this morning are a good reminder. I’m in the portion of 1 Kings where the author is running through all of the kings that lead Judah and Israel after King Solomon’s death. It’s a long list…primarily because each one of them did “evil in the Lord’s sight”. As a result He wiped them off the planet (you’d have thought the later kings would have put two and two together).

What caused these men to go so far off the rails? Here’s the cause for almost every one of them (with King Asa being the main exception). This is just one example out of many that say the same thing in one form or another…

“[Nadab] did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his father…” (1 Kings 15:26, NLT)

What a reminder for all of use dads. Generations of Israelites had to put up with bad kings who led them down the wrong path all because these men did what came naturally to them…they followed their father’s example. Reminds me of the sappy Philips, Craig, and Dean song…only because it’s true…

First, if you don’t already know, Craigslist is awesome! You can find just about anything you could ever dream of buying, wanting, needing and it doesn’t cost you or the seller a dime (well, until you purchase something at least). And it’s all local. Ok, enough of that little soapbox since everyone already knows and loves them!

Since this was a surprise for the boys you can imagine the look on their faces when I walked back to the car holding this in my hand! I still don’t think Logan believes it’s ours yet (and Kyle asked me twice if we got to keep it). Logan must have told me he loves me 20 times on the way home. I let them hold it across their laps and they both were VERY excited. It’s fun to do something that brings your kids so much happiness (and me too).

Logan once again proclaimed that he wants to make swords for a living and that he just couldn’t “believe I’m holding a real sword”. And yes, it’s very real. For the price I expected it to be kind of flimsy and have a dull edge…wrong! It’s heavy, made of steel, and sharp.

I must admit, it is very cool! If you don’t have one already you must go and purchase one immediately (there are about 50 on Denver’s Craiglist right now…well 49 now). We are using this as part of the rite of passage ritual this weekend with the boys and I can tell you already that they are even more excited for the trip knowing the sword is going with us. I am really looking forward to it too…I think it’s going to be something special!

One last thought…every sword needs a name (doesn’t it?). Any ideas for this one? I will of course get the boy’s opinion on the matter, but planting an idea or two never hurts. If you have an idea, please share via comments. Now I’m off to play with my sword. And yes, I know how that sounded.

But it just ain’t so. It S-U-C-K-E-D! First, my lifeis plenty busy that I didn’t exactly get to do anything overly exciting (unless you count homework and boring TV exciting). And I flat out miss my family. They are a part of me and I love being with them. I have the greatest wife on the planet and I missed being with her and sharing my day with her. I have great kids and truly enjoy hanging out with them…they are just fun to be with (most of the time).

And to top it all off, I couldn’t sleep worth a &%^$#! It has been a long time since my work-travel days when I got used to sleeping alone. It doesn’t feel right and I couldn’t get used to it.

The good news? They are all home again! Life is back to “normal” (whatever that means). We are back together again…it feel right!

PS: After some more thought and discussion, here is the list of Manhood Principles we settled on:

1. A Real Man Knows and Walks with God
2. A Real Man Lives by Biblical Standards «We have a list of 12, but that’s another post
3. A Real Man Works for Something Bigger than Himself
4. A Real Man Loves and Protects His Wife and Family

Would still love your feedback and thoughts before it becomes “set in stone” this weekend”…

This is no easy task, and we have done a lot of homework in preparing for this journey already. We have prayed. We have talked. We have studied. One of the best books on this subject is Raising a Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis. In the book Lewis talks about defining manhood and instilling this definition in your son(s). He also talks about using ceremonies in your son’s life to initiate him along the pathway to manhood (a rite of passage that is missing in our society). Lewis details four principles of manhood in his book (chapter 4):

1. A Real Man Rejects Passivity
2. A Real Man Accepts Responsibility
3. A Real Man Leads Courageously
4. A Real Man Expects the Greater Reward

I can’t argue with any of that (especially when you get into the details), but I think there is something missing. I sat down last night and prayed about this, asking God to help me define manhood for my sons. What is it I want my sons to know about manhood? How do I define manhood? What does it mean to be a man?

Here is my modified list (in its current form anyway, and yes some are from Lewis’ list):

1. A Real Man Knows and Walks with God
2. A Real Man Stands for Truth and Accepts Responsibility
3. A Real Man is a Servant Leader
4. A Real Man Lives for Something Bigger Than Himself
5. A Real Man Loves and Fights for the Woman in His Life

So here’s the question of the day…and I really to covet your thoughts, evaluations, and responses…are we missing anything? How do you answer this question: What Does it Mean to Be a Man? This is too important for me to think I have it all figured out (I’m working towards the goal…which is part of the lesson for the boys…this is a lifetime journey). Any thoughts, reactions, modifications, or additions are willingly accepted.

And please be praying for us this weekend as we start this journey. And if you know anyone who can loan us a sword for the weekend…do tell, we need on to initiate our boys as Pages!