Act Like a Man

I got the chance to teach the Man in the Mirror Bible Study a few weeks ago, and the video has now been posted online.

I love this passage of Scripture: "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love." 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NIV). I like the ESV version too, which changes "be courageous":

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

The title of the Bible Study is Act Like a Man. I even gave the guys some hand motions to help them memorize the passage! (Come on, admit it. You remember the children's songs you learned with the hand motions the best.) They were pretty good sports about it, and I think most of them had it memorized by the time they left.

You can watch the video here.

I'm excited to be going to Houston in April to do a men's retreat for Sugarland UMC - taking this topic and expanding on it for the weekend.

Courage is an interesting topic to me. Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the U.S. is credited with this quote:

"One man, with courage, is a majority."

...

30 Things in 30 Months Blog

...
Jake and I have created a blog to track our 30 Things in 30 Months project. Click the pic below to see the list and a chronicle of our adventures.

===

30 Things in 30 Months - A "Bucket List" for My Teenage Son & Me

...

I came to the realization a few weeks ago that my son, halfway through his sophomore year in high school, had about 30 months to go until he graduated. Soon after that, he will be gone - off to college, maybe never to live with us full time again. (A parent can dream, right?)

I was struck by how many places in my life I have good intentions, but I don't always follow through. I don't want to drop my son off at college with a bucketful of regrets - things I wished we had done, experiences I wished we had shared. So I set about to be intentional about mazimizing the time I have left with son living in my home as a teenager.

Another factor that I quickly needed to take into account is how different we are! I could think of something off the top of my head with my daughter, and she would likely say, "I was just thinking of that too!" But my son and I have very different temperaments and personalities. Thankfully, we both love Jesus and want to serve him. We just see the world differently sometimes. I've learned to embrace that - but that is another post for another time.

So, how could I be intentional about getting the most out of my time with my son, do it in a way that had the highest likelihood of actually happening, and do things that HE would really want to do, as opposed to what I think he should like to do!?!?

So here is what I came up with: 30 Things in 30 Months - A "Bucket List" for My Son's Remaining Years in High School. To be honest, I'm pretty sure the movie, The Bucket List and the TV show My Name is Earl influenced me, but who cares?

So I told him about the idea and -- here's the genius --  I put him in charge. I asked him to make a list of 30 things he'd like to do with me before he graduates from high school. In 3 days, he had 25. I'm sure it will go beyond 30, and we'll whittle it down.

Some things I was happy to see on the list - college road trip to Boston (where I grew up) and snowboarding. Some surprises to: he wants to find another father-son duo to read a Christian book together and meet weekly to talk about it.

I'm so grateful God whispered this idea in my ear (He uses all kinds of tools to speak to His kids). And I'm excited that my son pounced on the idea.

Now, my prayer is for follow through, and for finances - the kid's got some expensive ideas. But I am trusting God to provide these opportunities for meaningful experiences that my son (and I) can look back on in the years and decades ahead.

I'll post the list as soon as we have it. Maybe I'll include the things that didn't make the list as well.

With you in the Great Adventure,
Brett

===