HopeForYourFamily

I have been blessed with good friends throughout my entire life, although there has been a natural ebb and flow as to which friends have been closest along the way.  New friends come along.  Some old friends stay close, while others somehow fade away.  Facebook comes along, allowing me to rekindle friendships with the brothers of week-long friends from VBS at my grandparents’ church when I was in pre-kindergarten, if I so desire.

Okay, not all “friends” are created equal, especially in the techno-communication world in which we live today.  But real friends – those brothers with whom I can share the good, the bad, and the ugly of our lives – make a profound difference in my journey.  Whether our primary point of connection comes from church, work, Men’s Fraternity, neighborhood, or other fellowship, these are the guys who help me live up to my best.  And I really want to live up to my best.

Just a few months ago, a friend of mine sent me a G-mail instant message that sparked a dialogue that simply couldn’t be resolved via such an impersonal format.  (I believe the topic was, “What is the nature of the Trinity?”  Light stuff, right?)  We decided Raising Cane’s (home of the best chicken fingers and dipping sauce on the planet – sorry Guthrie’s lovers from Tuscaloosa) was a much better place of enlightenment.  As we left, we talked about how much we enjoy sharing meaningful conversation, and that we should get together more often.  He half-jokingly said we could start getting together every week at the same time for coffee and someday be like the old men who have clearly been sharing a weekly coffee fellowship for decades.

Thankfully, his comment stayed with both of us, and within a couple weeks we had decided on a time for coffee that we thought could become regular.  A couple of months later, we are now part of the regular Friday morning crowd at our favorite caffeine-ery, and have now added a third member to our fellowship.  The “new guy” is actually the friend who connected the other two of us in the first place.

I share all of this to simply say this.  There really is nothing quite like knowing I have a true brother or two that I will be seeing each week, with no agenda, but the simple freedom to be my self and share what is on my mind, be it serious, silly, exciting, or mundane.  Have a drink or two, share some laughs, wrestle with a few matters of faith and family, witness a bit of light mayhem in the establishment, whatever.  Once upon a time, I remember a song along these lines that became more than a little popular…

How have your most meaningful friendships been built?  How are you a different person because of your friendships?

Tags: coffee, facebook, friends, manhood, social networking

I can remember my mother singing “Que Sera, Sera” to me when I was a little boy, and it has always been a positive memory for me.  Not until I was in Spanish class my senior year in high school did it occur to me that “Que sera, sera”  literally means “What will be, will be,” even though those were the repetitive lyrics.  Sometimes we just don’t connect the obvious dots in life.

At thirty five years of age, I am still coming to appreciate the rich and profound wisdom of this simple saying.  The truth is, what will be… will be.  While this truth may seem so obvious as to be worth no further consideration or discussion, here is why I am coming to value its wisdom as so important in my life:

I can really invest emotional time and energy on thoughts of what may happen.  Unrealized dramas that are sure to unfold.  Terrible injustices that I just know are set to take place.  Heights of glory that I will certainly attain.  And so forth and so on.

I don’t know about you, but when I spend considerable time and energy on what has yet to happen, it leaves me with less available focus and energy to engage well in the moment that is actually before me now.  As my old friend Master Oogway says, “Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow is a mystery.  But today is a gift.  That is why it is called the present.”  Man, would I love to hear him sing “Que Sera, Sera!”

May you (mind, body, and spirit) live well in the present as you grow to trust that what will be, will be – and that God will richly supply you with everything you need to respond well to whatever will be.

Tags: family, freedom, movies, oogway, the journey

For those of you in Louisiana who have not heard, there will be a weekend of “sales tax holiday” for purchases of hurricane preparedness supplies on Saturday and Sunday, May 30 and 31, 2009.  According to the email from Representative Steve Carter’s office the following items will be exempt from sales tax on these two dates:

- self-powered light sources such as flashlights and candles

- portable self-powered radios, two-way radios, and weather band radios

- tarpaulins or other flexible waterproof sheeting

- ground anchor systems or tie-down kits

- gas or diesel fuel tanks

- AAA-cell, AA-cell, C-cell, D-cell, 6-volt, or 9-volt batteries – automobile and boat batteries are excluded

- cellular phone batteries and chargers

- non-electric food storage coolers

- portable generators used to provide light or communications or preserve food in the event of a power outage

- storm shutter devices, which are defined as materials and products manufactured, rated, and marketed specificially for the purposes of preventing window damage from storms

- carbon monoxide detectors

- blue ice products

I hope this is helpful as you make reasonable and prudent preparations for the upcoming “hurricane season.”  And I don’t really know what “blue ice products” means.  Maybe the self-contained re-freezable gel packs of various kinds?

Tags: community

I hope to be back into a regular blogging rhythm again any day now. In the meantime, check out this New York Times article on the impact of texting on the lives and health of teens today.

Tags: adolescence, culture, media, teens, texting

Well, I haven’t been posting as much during the last couple of weeks.  Basically because I have had other things to do.  That’s the way life goes.

I am offering this brief post to begin building enthusiasm for an incredible opportunity available to all men in the Baton Rouge area, beginning in September.  (Actually, it is available to many of you in many other areas, as well.)

I have recently been asked by the men who have been leading Men’s Fraternity at our church, The Chapel, to step up and take leadership of this ministry.  I guess they decided to put me to the test on two of the key traits of authentic manhood, “Reject Passivity” and “Lead Courageously!”  I will be writing much more about this throughout the summer and early fall.

I wish words on a blog could adequately tell you how profoundly my participation in Men’s Fraternity impacted my life over the past year.  In the coming weeks and months, I will attempt to do just that.  Men, I’m telling you, Men’s Fraternity will change your life!  For now, I will share with you the words of one our pastors, who was also my excellent small group leader:

Tags: manhood

I haven’t yet read this book, but I hope to do so very soon.  Thanks to John Dobbs for sharing this book review and bringing the book to my attention. The book – “The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University” by Kevin Roose.

Tags: books, culture