Air Force Officers
I’d like to congratulate all of the young men that I know who were commissioned as Officers last night and who graduated today from the Air Force Academy. Many of you have been incredibly inspirational in my life over the past four years. I’ve learned many things from you… and for that I’m grateful. Here are a couple of the reasons why I honor you, your service to our country and your manliness.
- You are men of faith. Your faith is what governs your lives and it is the compass by which you make your decisions. That is incredibly admirable and inspirational to many around you. Keep it up.
- You are hard working. A man is, by nature, a worker. You have embraced the tasks in your lives and completed them with excitement, fervor and excellence. Never lose your work ethic.
- You have ordered your lives towards service to God and Country. You do the unthinkable, and give of yourselves (some of you will give the ultimate sacrifice of your lives) for others who you do not know, will never meet and who might hate you. You are heroes to me.
- You have embraced God’s expectations of you to “shamar” your garden. Unlike Adam, the first man, you have made the conscious decision to actively and aggressively protect and defend yourselves, your families & friends and the Church. May God bless you for your humble service.
It’s easy to honor men who are deserving of honor. I am proud to know you. I am proud to call you my friends. May God be with you on your newest chapter in life.
Man up!
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!
All or None
Christ requires that we are all or none. There’s no middle ground when you are a follower of Christ – a Christian. I recently heard it put like this… if life was a game of Texas Hold’em, Christ would ask us to go “all in” – that’s the only bet allowed. Why is it so hard for some people to “go all in”? Why is it so hard to let go of control and simply let God? I’ve been blessed, in regards to this situation, to have a trusting disposition. I rely fully on and I know, wholeheartedly, that He will provide all that I need and more.
Trust is a huge piece that goes into following Christ. And trust, although seemingly insignificant at times, plays a vital role in pushing all our chips into the center of the table. The Catechism tells us that Adam, the first man, lost trust in God his creator, thus, the first sin. What sort of trust level do you have in God your creator?
I know that some things are uncertain and some things are scary, but relying on God to get you through them is a vital part in following Him. We’re given amazing examples in Scripture of men who trusted – namely, Abraham. His level of trust, obedience and faith is incredible. Read his story in the Scripture and you’ll see what I mean. When it comes down to it, he chose trust over everything else and God rewarded him for it.
Man up!
7 Days of Virtue; Day 6 – Hope.
Think of virtues like your muscles. You work your muscles out so that they can perform for you when needed. Virtue is the same way. You practice, work on the virtue and then, when the time comes, the virtue is there and ready.
Day 6 of the 7 Day Journey through the Virtues: DAY 6 – HOPE.
Hope – the virtue by which we desire the kingdom of Heaven as our happiness. Because of hope, we trust in God’s promise to help us. Hope is the bridge between faith and love. Hope allows us to keep our eyes on our goal of Heaven. Hope keeps us going, especially when times are tough, because of the promise of Heaven.
Despair is the opposing vice to hope. Despair is the belief that God will not forgive me for my sins. It is, simply put, giving up. When you give up (on God or on yourself) you believe that God can’t really help you. There’s also something that can appear to be hope, which we call a counterfeit vice, called presumption. When we presume, we believe that we’ll get to our goal without God’s help. This is not depending on God and not seeing the need to.
Hope is the unending desire to see God, to know God and to be with God. Never lose hope, never give up, never give in. Living a good life, striving for excellence, serving our neighbor… that is living a hopeful life. You have the power to pass on hope to those around you who are in despair. More than ever, people are despairing because they lose the belief that God cares about them. When you go it alone, you will despair. Stay strong, our hope is in the Lord!
Man up!
Lenten Devotion – A Prayerful Man
Often times, society tells us that prayer is for women, young children and hermit-type religious folks. Not true. In order for all of us to know God, we must converse with Him. It simply wouldn’t work to not speak to my wife for weeks-on-end and expect things to be okay between us. The same goes for us and God. We MUST stay in constant conversation with God. It’s like any other relationship, it takes bothparties to be in relation with one another. God has proved to remain faithful (He has made many covenants with us, His people), we are the ones that must change our behavior and devote time to Him in prayer.
Men, be careful to not fall into the modern idea that prayer/spirituality is a feminine characteristic. Females have a beautiful spirituality, but that doesn’t usually work for us. (There’s a reason why most of the Mystics of the Church are women.) For me, my prayer life reflects my demeanor, my personality and my outlook; it’s rugged, straightforward and unwaveringly positive. Most of my prayer reflects my need for Christ as a fallen, sinful man working at changing for the better. It also reflects knowledge that our faith is the Truth and the fullness of it. It’s important that your prayer life and spirituality reflect who you are, because like in any relationship, both parties need to honest, open and real. It won’t work if you try to have someone else’s spirituality. The great news here is that there’s at least one Saint who you can emulate, one Saint that was like you. Find that Saint and follow them to Christ.
Man up!
