For the past two days I have been a proverbial “bachelor” while my family has been in Wyoming visiting my wife’s parents. I know it sounds great…house to myself…schedule free to do anything I want…yada yada yada.
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:
- A Real Man Knows and Walks with God
- A Real Man Lives by Biblical Standards «We have a list of 12, but that’s another post
- A Real Man Works for Something Bigger than Himself
- 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”…
Related Posts: The Bachelor | Life Is Too Short | A Dangerous Walk |
This weekend is our First Annual Guy’s Camping Trip. Paul Foster and I (an maybe one other guy) are taking our boys camping. There is a specific purpose behind this annual trip though. The goal is to start the process of making men out of our boys…to begin the journey of manhood with them. I am a firm believer that this is our primary role as fathers for our sons–to guide and direct them into manhood, to teach them what it means to be a man and help them become a man.
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):
- A Real Man Rejects Passivity
- A Real Man Accepts Responsibility
- A Real Man Leads Courageously
- 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):
- A Real Man Knows and Walks with God
- A Real Man Stands for Truth and Accepts Responsibility
- A Real Man is a Servant Leader
- A Real Man Lives for Something Bigger Than Himself
- 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! 
Related Posts: No related posts |
