A view about manhood

 Introducing Joe with a Bro!  1 in 3 men have no close friends. At Man In The Mirror, we want to help change this on March 14. We’re challenging men everywhere to be intentional about friendship—invite a bro out for a cup of joe,  and connect over a focused spiritual conversation. This is a great way to invest in brotherhood that  matters. Joe with a Bro is all about strengthening male friendships and fostering deeper spiritual connections. On  March 14, we’re encouraging men to take intentional time to connect with a friend over a cup of coffee and we need your help to spread the word and make this movement as impactful as possible. Join the movement! Sign up today: https://maninthemirror.org/joewithabro/

    When I first saw this slide, (below) I was surprised by the numbers. I thought the older you got, the more lonely you would become. But when I think about the survey, I can see how the numbers could be accurate. First off, the survey is based on feelings. I'm at the bottom end of this list (64), and my expectation is that I won't be around other people in my future years. With that expectation in mind, I won't feel as lonely as often because I'm prepared for those feelings.      Thinking back to my younger years, when I was the youngest group, my expectations were that my life wouldn't change, so I'd always be surrounded by people. So I get why that next group would be the "loneliest" group. The point of my life when I was the loneliest would be when I turned 30. I lived alone, almost all my friends were married and moved on in life.     Most people entering their 30s are consumed with the changes of life. Our work, marriages, raising kids takes up...

Following is something I wrote 6 years ago after my mom had passed from this life. I thought I would share this today.     I learned many things from my mom over the years. My mom gave me one great piece of advice about the time I got married. A great piece of knowledge I’ll carry with me the rest of my life. It was simply- don’t go to bed angry. Ephesians 4:26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, She taught me to never hold on to my anger. Anger is something that can tear a person up from the inside out, letting that anger go is the best thing you can do for yourself. I originally didn’t plan on bringing up cancer, as I wanted to focus on the good in mom’s life. But there is a cancer that she never let overtake her. That is the cancer of selfishness. Selfishness is the cancer that destroys relationships. If you have a relationship in which one or both parties exhibit selfish attitudes that relationship will struggle and ultimately fail. My parent...

  The following is the text from my dad's funeral 6 years ago this week. He had asked me to speak (along with my brothers and sisters) but didn't give much direction beyond that. I had no idea of anything else that would be said that day but wanted to make sure that those in attendance would understand where my hope is. My focus would also be on the last part of his life as I would be speaking after the others. I would like to focus this time on the last 8 months. It has been a year of physical challenges for my family. A time filled with stress partly because it seemed every minute has been filled with something to do and partly the unknown future. In late January mom had brain surgery to remove a tumor. This had a great effect on mom’s health but the rest of the family as well- including dad. Both mom and dad have been in and out of hospitals this year. At one time I figured someone from our immediate family had been in the hospital this year more days than not. And with that...

 This time of year in Kansas, driving on the roads can be an adventure. We can have wet, icy or snow covered roads. These conditions can hide imperfections in the road. As I was driving yesterday, the roads for the most part were dry and clear. That doesn't mean that you don't pay attention to the details in the road. The road I was on was in good shape and the ride was pretty smooth. At the time I didn’t notice how smooth the ride was. But (yes there is a but), then I came to a 5 mile or so stretch that I took notice of the road. The road had been patched (or needed a patch) and you could feel and hear each one as you went over it. I even slowed to under the speed limit to make it less noticeable. This lead me to a thought. My first thought was why didn’t they just tear out the old road and replace it? It would have cost more (probably) but the road would have been much smoother. From this thought I went further. Isn’t this how we handle the problems of our lives and the world...

       I have been reminded over the course of the last couple of days how important my role as a husband is. It is important to me, it is important to God, and it is important to my wife. The job description as a husband is somewhat simple yet complex and difficult to carry out. I'm not here to make excuses for we husbands that fail in this role. We all fall short but need to improve as we move forward in our lives. I been reminded because people near to me are struggling in their marriages and these people have to make difficult decisions concerning their lives. Decisions that effect not only the couples, but the children God has entrusted to them, the extended families around them, their close friends and even casual friends. My heart aches for these people.      I'm also aware of the fact that I fail in my own marriage and need to remember that part of this job description is to lead. I do fail because I'm not sure of where I'm going part of the ti...