Summer Time Spirituality
Since many of TrueManhood’s readers are in college, I think it’s important to take some time to talk about a spiritual life during the summer months. Many of you have a strong faith community and spiritual support system while on campus and many of you are heading home (or at least away from your group) for the summer; how do you keep a strong spiritual life going? Well, it’s easy to get back into old, bad habits when you go back into an old environment. Some of those old, bad habits might be as simple as forgetting to pray everyday. They might be more serious (with lasting effects on the rest of your life) like excessive drinking and promiscuous sexual activity. That said, here are a few suggestions of how to keep your spiritual life going – and growing!
- Pray daily. Take time (whichever part of the day is best for you) to make this a priority. As with any relationship, it requires that you speak and listen to the other person. God, in this regard, is no different. Talk to Him.
- Make Sunday Mass a priority, and get to daily Mass as much as possible. The grace received from the Eucharist will help you fight temptations toward old, bad habits.
- Stay in touch with your friends from campus. (Your good friends – NOT your nasty friends.) A support/accountability/prayer connection helps a person significantly. We are relational beings – created to be with one another. Your friends want to help you, so talk to them. It’ll probably end up helping them too.
- Do spiritual reading. Find one or more (good/orthodox) Catholic spiritual books and read. This might also include taking notes, journaling about what you read and/or about how it applies to your life or talking about it with someone else.
- Do your best to keep Christ first and foremost. I listed this last, but it’s not the least priority, but yet the highest priority. I write about Christ last so that you remember that it’s all about Him. Keep Him #1.
Man up!
Saving Money in Big and Small Ways
Piggybacking on my previous post, I wanted to give a few suggestions of how someone can save money, on just about everything. Please note… these ideas/suggestions/options are merely things that I do, with my wife, to make good, sound financial decisions with the situation we have. We do not have an abundance of extra funds that allow us to purchase whatever we want, whenever we want. We don’t mind off-brands, no-names or generics, which automatically saves us money. So take this advice or leave it if it doesn’t apply to you.
First off, we never pay full price for anything. When it comes to food, we shop the sales and use coupons. Since we have young children, we like to switch up the selections of fruits and vegetables that they get. In order to do this in a thrifty fashion, we wait until the weekly circular comes out (every Tuesday) and shop where ever the best produce deals are. We also do this with milk, meat and other various staple items. We never pay more than $2/gallon of milk. When it comes to clothing, we shop the clearance racks, with coupons and special sales. I typically find dress shirts, pants, jeans and sweaters for well under $10. The last two pair of jeans were both $7 each. The last pair was even lined for winter! Beat that! My last pair of running shoes was $22.50 – originally a great pair of Nike’s that were probably around $80 full price. Why pay $80? When it comes to vehicles, a big purchase, we always buy used. Buying new, to me, isn’t practical. So, I always research what I want, what it’s selling for, what it’s listed at and I go in to the dealership know what I’m willing to spend. I set a price that I’m walking out on, if it goes below, great. If not, then it’s not the vehicle for me. I go in informed and educated and always come out on top because I dictate the situation, not the salesperson or the dealership. For instance, I purchased my last vehicle, an ’07 Buick LaCrosse CXS, for about $5K below book value. Why pay full price?
Another thing that we do is we use our credit card to pay for everything that we can. We receive points towards cash back or plane tickets or other things. We always pay off the credit card before it accrues any interest, so we’re always getting a great deal on top of our great deals. We’re using our latest collection of points to pay for two round-trip tickets to Florida!
Again today, you may ask why I’m writing about this? It’s simple, really. A man should be thrifty. A man should be a good steward with his money. A man should influence his family to make smart decisions with their money. Think about it… I often push the idea that if men would lead the way they are supposed to, the world would be different. The topic of finances is no different.
Man up!
Financial Decisions
Something that has been facing our family over the past few weeks and will continue to be a “hot topic” with us is our finances. We’ve made certain decisions that have and will lead to certain other decisions which have certain consequences, and so on. (Being vague… a graduate degree, family vacations over the summer, working part-time, daycare, etc.). For us, when it comes to finances, we always look at the big picture. The big picture shows us where we really are and what we really have… therefore, we know what we can really afford.
If I, as the husband and father, had a compulsive spending habit or made rash and/or imprudent decisions with money, I would be taking away from the welfare of the family. If this happened, I’d be setting the precedent for my wife and children, telling them that overspending, quick-spending, unnecessary spending, etc. is acceptable. “If Daddy does it, it must be okay.” It’s an important role to play in the family, playing the role of the CFO. The way that I stay sane and “with it” on our finances is that I discuss all purchases, decisions, investments, savings and future plans with my wife. She and I make up a great team that balances the budget, spends wisely, never has a deficit and has a sizable surplus. We shop sales, use coupons and use techniques of bargaining to get the best prices possible. My next post will be about how to save money in big and little ways.
I know many people that have big-time struggles with their finances and honestly, I believe it comes down to one of three things. Either, they are 1. Ignorant about Money and don’t understand how it works for/against them or 2. they are lying to themselves about what they can afford or eventually pay off or possibly 3. They have an unhealthy idea of what life is about (vanity usually comes in play here). If you have struggles with money, make today the last day that you make bad choices. You hold the power. Get some financial help from a professional until you are capable of making good decisions on your own again. Make a budget, stick to the budget. Make a plan for the future, make it happen. Take charge of your life, don’t let money rule you.
One belief that I hold very strongly is the belief that “if you give, God will repay you many times over”. The idea of generosity is becoming so foreign to our culture – where most people in society are simply out for themselves. I strongly believe that if people were more generous with their spoils, God would be more generous with them and in the end, they’d have more spoils and overall, a happier, more fulfilling life (because of giving and being blessed, not because they have money or “stuff”). For us, we make serious decisions about who we donate to. In just about every case, it’s to a Catholic-based organization, parish or group. Want some ideas of who to donate to? Check out FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) out of Denver, CO, VirtueMedia out of Arizona, your local parish and/or your local diocese. If you’re feeling really generous and want to help pay for my master’s, I’d be delighted to accept it!
Man up!
Starting a Master's Program
It’s official, I’m starting a master’s program. I’ll be “attending” the distance ed. program (online-ish) from the Augustine Institute in Denver, CO. I’m on the 2 year track, so graduation will be end of summer, 2011! Please pray for my studies.
The Master’s will be in Theological Studies (another way to say it is Catechesis & Evangelization). The Augustine Institute is a relatively new school that is focused primarily on the New Evangelization that Pope John Paul II called us to. The instructors are amazing and the content will really stretch my brain. I’m not looking forward to tests and papers, but I’m really excited about the material and the knowledge that I’ll be gaining.
Why do you all care about this? Well, it’s an example of how I’m trying to better myself. We should all do this – men and women. I’ve realized that I’m maxed out on information from my bachelor’s degrees and I need more knowledge if I’m going to succeed in ministry, this site and my speaking career – not to mention succeeding in teaching my children the faith. I’m getting this degree for many reasons; knowledge, greater responsibility within the Church, to help my family, etc. I’m also getting this degree because I hear a call to get it. God expects great things from me and I will succeed in those endeavors.
In your own life, think about areas that need improvements, areas where more knowledge would benefit you, and then do something about it. This could be a degree, a financial class, a cooking class. It could be a gym membership or a diet routine. It could be gardening or car maintenance. The point is that if we remain stagnant, we become stale. Once we are stale, we’ve got little or nothing to offer. A TrueMan offers his very best, every time.
Man up!
"Life: Imagine the Possibilities"
Check out this video from CatholicVote.com. Grassroots Films does a great job with these videos. It gets a great message out and does it through uncompromising, yet non-aggressive tactics. This is an example for all of us who support and are part of the pro-life movement. Check it out.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIBZ-kJ6XAc]
Man up!
Just Because He Can
I took my wife out for dessert on Mother’s Day. While talking with her, I noticed (through a window) a male shuffling around his Hummer H2. He entered the vehicle and proceeded to pull forward. Sounds pretty normal, right? Well, in front of his vehicle was not open pavemen, but a grassy curbed area of the parking lot, for which he had complete disregard. I noticed him doing this, quickly told Catherine to turn around and look and was genuinely frustrated at what I just witnessed. She said, “There’s tomorrow’s post.”
I wanted to write about how this wanna-be alpha male acted this way just because he can. He knows that he most likely won’t be confronted. He knows that his truck is going to have no problem driving over a wimpy 8 inch sloped curb. In my head, I’m thinking to myself that this guy, if confronted about his actions, would say something like “But I drive a H2, and I can drive over anything I want to.” He probably thinks that “because he can”, he should.
First off, he’s selfish. He doesn’t think about anyone but himself. Secondly, he has total disregard and zero respect for others and their property. He didn’t care that the curb may have cracked, or that the grass might have been destroyed or any other possibility (regardless of how far-reaching they might be). He was selfish, thinking only about himself and his H2. Thirdly, he wasn’t interested in the example he was setting. He very well might have had children in the vehicle with him and because of his selfishness, the children now believe that it’s acceptable to act this way. Fourthly, he probably never contemplates the consequences of his actions, but believes that if he wants to do something, he should. What’s the problem with a guy like this, besides his lack of respect for others? He wants people to spoon feed him things, to come behind him and clean up after him and he expects that he’ll never be responsible for anything, because he’s a “dude”.
I understand the desire to drive over stuff in a 4×4, I do it regularly… but not private property. I thoroughly enjoy off-roading in my Avalanche… but I do it respectfully. That’s not the point. My point is that being selfish is not manly. My point is that total disregard for others and their property is not manly. My point is that being a societal leach is detrimental to others. Be a TrueMan, respect others, be accountable to yourself for what you do, and know that others are watching you.
Man up!
The Hunt for Gollum
For all the Lord of the Rings lovers out there, here is an independent film trailer made on a budget of merely $3,000 and shot by amateur film makers. “By fans for fans”. I think they did a really good job. The film is about 40 minutes long in total. Go to www.thehuntforgollum.com to view the entire movie.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnMHgwG9aAo]
