Superman Dates
I came across this video from BlueFishTV… funny stuff.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efI-spY4vZ0]
This lighthearted approach to making a few jokes about dating brings up some good points:
1. Dating is difficult – I’m married and boy, am I glad I don’t have to date any more. The pressure, the games, the awkwardness. Yuck. Everyone is looking for love, which is a good thing. Just know that it’s hard for both parties.
2. The success/failure of the date is typically based on the behavior of the male – Ladies, a man should be out to find you, win you over and have you fall in love with him. It’s a quest for men, so let them do it. This does NOT mean that you should lower your standards. If some guy “blew your head right off…”, you better walk away a little faster than she did.
3. Just because you’re “super” doesn’t mean that you’re good at dating – don’t expect miracles just because some guy is popular, handsome or powerful (in one way or another). Being super doesn’t make you a good match or a good boyfriend and it won’t make you a good spouse either.
Man up!
Well said, Fr Frank
I like Fr Frank’s approach here. He definitely Man’s up!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJzJRhoLtUk]
Earth Day
I bet most of you are surprised to see that I’m writing about Earth Day today. Now, I’m no tree hugger, or granola- cruncher, but I think there’s something to be said about protecting the environment. How does a TrueMan do that?
I recommend that we look at the Book of Genesis to get a foundation for this. Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.” To cultivate and to care for it – in Hebrew, to SHAMAR (guard). Everything in the garden (creation) was given to Adam to protect and defend it. Yes, this included the woman (Eve) and the animals, but it also included the land and plants. See, God wanted Adam to take responsibility for his surroundings. Ask any farmer, and they’ll tell you that the land produces more bounty if you take care of it. Adam’s job was to see to it that the land produced a large bounty.
The same goes for us now. God expects that we shamar our gardens (our families, our land, our life, our Church). He expects that we protect and defend all that is around us, therefore, we must protect our earth. Personally, I’m not going to stop driving my eight cylinder Chevy truck, but what I will do is continue to use cloth diapers and homemade bio-degradable baby wipes. I’ll continue to throw away my trash in a can instead of littering the side of the highways. I will instill in my children how to respect the earth. When I camp, I protect the fire from spreading. When I see trash, I pick it up. I’ve recently started using CFL bulbs around the house and just bought a bunch of new ones for the remaining lights. It’s the little things that add up and really count.
Think about how you can protect the earth in your own little way. If we all do it just a little bit, it’ll add up to some big changes.
Man up!
FREE Catholic Men's Webinar
This Sunday, Joe McClane from The Catholic Hack! (www.catholichack.com) will be hosting a FREE Catholic Men’s Webinar. Please check out this webinar on Sunday, April 26th, 2009 @ 5 pm central at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/catholichack. This online men’s conference will include Fr Phillip Chavez and Joshua LeBlanc (from Catholic Underground). Please take advantage of this great opportunity.
Check out more details on Joe’s website, www.catholichack.com, or by clicking HERE.
Man up!
Being Great At What You Do
My father-in-law is great at what he does. He loves what he does. He eats, sleeps, breaths and talks about what he does. In his case, what he does and who he is really equal up. (That’s not usually the case in people.) I want to take a few words and honor his dedication to what he does and to how faithfully, fervently and excitedly he does it.
My father-in-law, Gary, is the Director of Catholic Music at the Air Force Academy. I have the privilege of working with him on the Catholic staff at the Academy and I know, firsthand, that he is incredibly dedicated to his portion of our ministry. See, what Gary does is he puts his passion to work for the Lord and he doesn’t hold anything back. Sunday was a great example of that when he showed his mastery of fine choral music with a concert by the Catholic Cadet Choir, Men in Blaque (a men’s vocal group from the Univ of California, Irvine), In the Stairwell (a men’s a capella group from USAFA) and the Cadet Orchestra. The concert was a resounding success and Gary is at the heart of that success. Yes, the voices and instruments make it, but he put his heart and soul into the logistics, planning, timing, musicianship and professionalism of the concert. To that, a job well done Gary!
My point with this today is that we should all be putting our passion to work for the Lord. Find what it is that God created you to do and do it, fervently and with joy! For Him! If more men would live out their passions in life, we’d all be better off.
Man up!
Evangelization Linebacker Follow-Up…
Yesterday I posted a hilarious video, the “Evangelization Linebacker”; check out the post so you know what I’m referencing today. So, for some folks, in your face evangelization-tactics work. For most, it pushes others away. Therefore, you can’t be “blowin’ people up” and expecting them to “come with you” on the journey. It’s imperative that you create a relationship with the other person and allow them time to gain trust in you. Once trust is gained, respect usually falls in place and then you gain moral authority with them; moral authority allows you to speak the Truth to open and willing ears. If you don’t have trust, respect or authority, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle. [Always remember, respect is received ONLY AFTER respect has been given.]
Gaining the trust comes from meeting people where they are. If it’s young people, you have to get in their lives and meet them in their element. For me, with the cadets, I spend as much time with them doing fun, social stuff as possible so they can see that I’m normal and easy to talk to. Once they come to fun stuff, they’re more likely to join us for religious education stuff and then to start joining us for Mass regularly. Once that happens, they are willing and capable of listening to the Truth of Jesus. We can’t expect people to immediately change their ways and “get it”. It takes time, and usually, some pushing, challenging and proding.
Most of the time, it’s scary for a person to step out and evangelize, but the Linebacker’s got it right… we’ve got to share our faith. You need to do it the specific/unique way God created you to do it. And always, without fail, you must back up your words with your actions. I’ve written about this a lot, but it requires LOVE and LOVE is a verb. Go and live Love!
Something, besides fear, that holds people back is their lack of knowledge and/or readiness. Lots of people think that they aren’t ready because they don’t have enough knowledge, experience or time as a Christ-follower. You’ve got to start somewhere, so today’s the day. Go out and, even in little ways, be an example of Christ to the world.
Wanna know more? Email me at proveritasspeakers@gmail.com.
Man up!
Evangelism Linebacker
Maybe tomorrow I’ll blog about a few ways that you can evangelize without “blowin’ people up!”. But today, check this out…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvYFvhx1dcY]
Man up!
