A Dating Tip, or Two
The other day, I posted the “Superman Dates” video clip. I got a little bit of feedback on it, and felt like it was important to talk about some other aspects of dating, for both ladies and guys.
Ladies: what I am about to say is always true, in every situation, no matter what. YOU DESERVE NOTHING BUT THE BEST. You do. You deserve a man who respects you, who serves you, who cherishes you, who believes and demonstrates that there is no one more important or special for him and you deserve a man who puts his full energy and attention into your relationship. If he doesn’t, then he’s not good enough for you. Plain and simple. If he doesn’t care enough to do the little things in a dating relationship, why would anyone ever expect him to start caring when you are married? Or when times get tough? Or when you have kids? The little things he does/doesn’t do while dating are foreshadowing his future behavior.
It’s also vitally important that you set you standards high, from the beginning. If you wait until you’re in a relationship to create a list of “must haves” it will be incredibly difficult to see beyond the emotion, history and investment of your current relationship. Once you create your list, don’t stray from it. (Add to it, but don’t stray from it.) If you grow, mature and change as a person, your list can change with you, as long as it’s what best for you and your future.
If all the women in the world increased their standards (and wouldn’t compromise on them) it would force men to change their behavior. Now, I’m not saying that it’s the fault of females that men can be bad in relationships or in society or that they don’t know what it means to be a TrueMan. What I’m saying is that if women were to have a standard and keep it, that men would have to check their crass, immature, childish, destructive behavior at the door and make positive choices to raise themselves up to be worthy of dating a woman. Ladies, you hold the power to make your future bright by choosing a man that deserves you because you know that you deserve the very best.
Guys: I’ll most likely get into our part of the dating world in upcoming posts, but for now, read through the ladies’ section and check yourself. If a woman had a list, would your actions, choices and behavior warrant you being selected as “sufficient”? If not, think about things you can do to change so that when “the one” comes along, you’re ready to treat her like your queen.
Man up!
Don't Forget – *$FR.EE* Catholic Men's Webinar
Don’t forget, on 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!
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!
