Hi Guys:
I realize I don’t usually write just for the fellas but I had a couple of things I wanted to share.
First of all, thank you. Thank you for being the man. There’s so much pressure to provide and support and care and manage. There are deadlines at work and complex schedules at home. Everyone wants a piece of you 24/7. And at the end of a long workday, you still need to be emotionally present for your family. That’s a lot. For doing those things and still trying to look and live like Jesus, I’m impressed. And so, thank you.
Secondly, I came across this unbelievable podcast recently that I just had to share with you guys. It’s wise. It’s funny. It’s challenging and inspiring. It’s a great resource for you to kind of sort through what it means to be a great husband and a father. I know that’s what you want. This podcast can help.
Listen to: The Intentional Family on Spotify. By Jon Tyson and Jefferson Bethke.
Here’s just one little snippet:
According to Richard Rohr’s work, Adam’s Return: The Five Promises of Male Initiation
There’s five universal rules of manhood.
- Life is hard.
- You are not important.
- Your life is not about you.
- You are not in control.
- You are going to die.
Sounds super uplifting, right? But imagine deluding your child with the opposite. Life will be easy. You are the center of the world. Your life is all about you and you’re in complete control. And you’re going to live forever. As Jon Tyson says in the podcast, “That’s Peter Pan.”
There’s this whole wonderful episode of the podcast where Jon Tyson describes how he turned those 5 rules into 5 shifts every boy needs to make on his journey to authentic manhood.
For example, number 1 “Life is hard.” The shift in becoming a man is, “…from ease to difficulty. Boys want things to be easy, men embrace hardship.”
I love the way he puts language around a concept that we all want to teach our kids. Life is hard. It’s not going to serve you well if you’re lazy and easily daunted. As you grow toward adulthood, what are some difficulties that we can face and embrace together?
- Train for a 5K.
- Memorize bible verses.
- Do yard work.
- Do household chores.
- Complete a challenging _________ (jigsaw puzzle, domino maze…whatever)
- Build something with your own hands.
- DIY a household project.
- Change the oil.
- Face a fear.
I’m praying for you dads. You are doing the Lord’s work. I hope you find this podcast to be not only encouraging to you as you lead your family, but also a source of great ideas and motivation for you to persist in doing good.
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (I Corinthians 15:58).
