Manhood Matters

2011-08-31T07:46:00.001-07:00

Manhood Matter's is tonight at 7PM

Manhood Matrix- Self Assesment

2011-08-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a questionaire that presents a number of questions to process with yourself. This isn't the totality of all life's slices but it's a general overview and helps get a birds eye view of potential tasks, traps and trails to face.

Make a Man out of You....

2011-08-03T15:19:00.001-07:00

Lord of the Rings & Mullan Mash-Up...

Beehive Lake Backpacking Trip

2011-08-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

Overnight backbacking trip to Beehive Lake, ID. August 12-13 (Fri-Sat). We will leave in the morning on Friday and return Saturday afternoon. If you are interested in going please confirm with me. This will be a “Difficult”(2000ft of elevation gain over 4.5 miles, from 4500 feet to 6500 feet) level trek, so be aware that this will require hiking and packing in gear and food.

2011-07-26T16:46:00.001-07:00

“Sometimes our flame goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being.”
— Albert Schweitzer

The Buddy Boggie

2011-07-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

The Manhood Matters dance...if you want to learn it, ask Bill Beck.

Flyfishing Clinic @ Manhood Matter's Skills Class

2011-07-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

Next Wednesday at 6-7PM, Flyfishing Clinic hosted by Roy & Gareth Olstad. Come and learn about the basics of flyfishing from two men who have the fish photos to prove their skills. Tackle, Rods, Flies, Clothing, Tricks and Tips.

Guys & Guns Skill Class

2011-07-21T10:16:00.001-07:00

Check out the pics from the gun table.

Maybe an Ancient butt-whipping Skills class?

2011-07-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

THE CONFESSIONS OF A CAGE FIGHTER....

2011-07-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

"THE CONFESSIONS OF A CAGE FIGHTER: MASCULINITY, MISOGYNY, AND THE FEAR OF LOSING CONTROL"
Provocative article on MMA, Violence, Mark Driscoll and in the comments theres some really good debate about biblical masculinity.

I had mixed feelings about the article, I think he misses the point of Driscoll's comments on a number of issues. It feels like he is trying to strain a camel and swallow a gnat. And I think the below comments reflect and reveal more about his political and maybe sexual politics than biblical teaching.

“I think MMA has picked up on something good with its insistence on embodied masculinity, its description of intimate masculinity that borders on homoeroticism”

and

"Faced with the growing popularity of the Christian MMA movement, the church must return to its source of life and proclaim a masculinity rooted in the self-giving and Other-receiving perichoresis of the Trinity and revealed in the flesh and blood of the God-Man whose strength is made perfect in kenotic weakness. Only here, I believe, can the church’s men find courage to resist therapeutic misogyny and church-growth schemes; only here can we begin to become true disciples who, with Augustine, joyfully proclaim, “You touched me, and I burned for your peace."

and

"Biblical masculinity....embodiment, intimacy, and surrendered living."

I also get tired of confusing Christian explanations of the path of manhood, when people use hyper-theological terms like "Perichoresis & Kenotic"...I get the point but it's this kind of topshelf cookie placement that is unreachable to many guys. Just come out of the library and talk like someone who can drink a can of PBR.

I really doubt that if a church promoted a ministry that presented it's core posture as 'embodiment, intimacy, and surrendered living' to the congregation that it would draw more men than women. A point that I think Driscoll has been trying to make for a very long time...maybe he's been overthetop and swung to far to one side...but the issue is a valid one, in my pastoral and personal life.

I do think that the whole MMA, William Wallace masculinity movement, men don't like church thing is a road full of dangerous potholes...but making the attempt to engage men, is a noble desire. Many times it is easy to tear down someone trying to do something than build something oneself. Throwing stones is always easier than building a structure. I hope the naysayers can show the way and provide examples of ministry to men that is fruitful, Christ forming and connects with a wide number of types of men.

I think men often poke at forms of masculinity that they are envious of or struggle relating too. Sometimes the issues we preach against or shout about the loudest are our deepest insecurities masking in the form of our activism.

Men will forever be required to enter the proverbial labyrinth and fight the Minotaur. Facing our deepest enemy...the man beast within all of us. Some hide, some run, some toy, some fight...some pontificate about the process...but all face it, some way, someday, somehow.

I applaude those men and ministries that are trying.

Rocky Balboa on life hitting you hard...

2011-07-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place... and I don´t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently, if you let it. You, me or nobody, is gonna hit as hard as life. But ain't about how hard you hit... It's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward... how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That´s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you worth, go out and get what you worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers saying: You ain´t what you wanna be because of him or her or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain´t you! You´re better than that!" -Rocky Balboa

2011-07-13T09:40:00.001-07:00

Do you yearn...? (link)

Why Manhood Matters...

2011-07-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

A music video that captures the some of the motivation behind Manhood Matters: here

The Most Effeminate Anatomically Male…?

2011-07-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

Mark Driscoll, of Seattle’s Marshill Church has ignited yet another firestorm of online debate, criticism, flaming, anti-bullying activism from his recent Facebook update.

In light of our ‘Manhood Matters’ group starting tonight, I find the subject very timely. The whole subject can be a landmine…no matter which way you step, you’ll probably set off something. I have found that the subject of manhood gets into quicksand when people start associating activites or certain cultural interests into explaining what is male or masculine. I have no interest in diagramming the modern male, I think that become pointless and distracting. Manhood can be expressed in the garden or the gym, on the stage or on the field. One can be a ‘man’ when single or married, poor or rich, with a degree of paper or a degree of dirt and hardwork. (Read More...)

2011-07-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

“The man who is dissatisfied with himself, what can he do?” -Henry David Thoreau

Join us Wednesday at Jacob's Well on 5th Ave at 7PM for our Manhood Matters, a 12 week jouney for men. 3016 E. 5th ave, Spokane, WA, more info at www.jacobswellspokane.com

Manhood Matters

2011-06-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

I will be hijacking this blog to focus on my 'Manhood Matters' mens group for the summer. So the content here will be primarily geared at facilitating the work being done in the group, but I am sure most of it will be of interest and helpful for those of you who can't be present but want to follow along to some degree.

Grizzly Adams...the Genesis warrior

2010-02-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

"God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Genesis 1:28

I was asked:
"What is your stance on the idea that men are warriors, that they have an innate need to fight and wrestle?

My response would be that I believe that man is genetically equipped to fulfill the mandate given in the above verse in Genesis. The challenges of mankind rising, creating, producing, taming, fashioning and harnessing the wilds of the world is wrapped up in that word "subduing".

I see "fighting and wrestling" to be a natural God given drive to fulfill the role He has given man to do. If that 'impulse' is held and expressed within the God determined boundaries, it is a powerful force for provision, civilizing and the common good. But, like sexuality, if it is expressed outside the boundaries God determines, it can become a source of pain, suffering and destruction and ultimately even, death.

Human nature isn't pure...it must wrestle with sin...and sin seeks to pervert the creation and express it's nature to kill, steal and destroy.

For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. -Jesus (John 8:44)

But, I don't see the act of killing animals in the same light as killing human beings. Mankind is created in God's image, animals are creation of God but do not bear the image of God...just the breath of life from God. So, even the Lord killed animals and showed the proper use of them, and even directed mankind in the issues of consumption of animals in the OT, especially Leviticus.

And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. Genesis 3:21

That said...the bible also speaks a lot about the care of animals too. I don't espouse an unbridled, unrestrained devouring of the earth in a consumeristic manner. We are called to rule with compassion and justice and to be good stewards of the earth...both in manner of ethics and economy as it relates to consumption.

When violence is turned towards those who are image bearers...the Bible starts getting very serious, even in the OT. Once we get to the NT...the ultimate vision of God's kingdom begins to dawn and dominate in the person and teaching of Christ...who by the way, caught and ate fish too. So a kingdom vision of the lion laying down with the lamb is a unfolding one that starts in the changed human heart and is outworked in wisdom and God given boundaries in this age.

The spilling of blood is very serious to God.

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper? "The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. -Genesis 4:8-11

Ultimately, though I recognize and support the bearing of weapons in relationship to subduing nature and protecting humans from the wild...I find the killing of image bearers to be an act that Jesus forbids. So warriors are needed but the expression of the warring nature can be turned to evil or good. I know many would say that "self-defense" is an expression of that good...each will have to figure out how to outwork that as a principle for life. But for someone to point to the warrior 'impulse' as evidence of God's blessing of war....I would say that's a misuse of that power and responsibility.

For me....the best image I have in my mind...is Grizzly Adams...man in relationship to the wild, living off the land but doing so in a realistic but relational way...both with man and animals.
That's a vision of the my Father's world that was represented in His greatest Image bearer...Jesus Christ; and It's a vision of life, that I pray and work towards.

(Painting by Frank Frazetta)

Tough....Guise

2010-01-03T19:28:00.001-08:00

2009-12-31T11:48:00.001-08:00

Most men die at 27, we just bury them at 72 ~ Mark Twain

Men of a Certain Age...

2009-12-31T11:43:00.000-08:00

I've been watching the new TV series called "Men of a Certain Age". If you are a man and you are not watching this show...start. I am not saying its a Focus on the Family show...it's not...but its the first show on men's lives that I actually think is wrestling with a lot of truth. I am thinking about using it for a men's group. Watch the show...and then talk. I think this weeks show about marriage, cheating, failure and faithfulness was some of the most enlightening tv I've seen in a real long time. These are the conversations men should be having.

Get a job....

2009-10-26T08:23:00.001-07:00

Smell like popcorn...?

2009-09-23T18:49:00.001-07:00

Ultimate Fighter: Heavy-Weights

2009-09-17T07:33:00.001-07:00

This is why God created DVR....won't miss one episode. I got to see some of the premiere last night...i'll watch the rest tonight...fantastic line up...this season is going to be a riot.

SPIKE - The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights - Awesome video clips here

RUDY....

2009-09-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

So I am sitting in the ER at our local Sacred Heart Hospital waiting for some tests results concerning my wife who is laying in the bed and I hear something mechanical sounding coming down the hall. I turn and look out the door and there roaming the halls is Rudy. I was almost overwhelmed with a rush of 1977 giddiness. I snapped this picture to forever memorialize the moment when I first saw a real life robot at work in my day to day life. My inner sci-fi Twig was gushing with an overwhlming sense of history being made.

Sure it wasn't:
...but it was a Robot nonetheless...I have offically lived to an era that I lived only within my early child fantasies.

Now if I could only get ahold of a M41a Pulse Rifle....

Arrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!!

2009-09-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

slam dunk...

2009-09-14T09:45:00.001-07:00

Band of Brothers: Why We fight...episode

2009-09-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

This episode in the Band of Brothers series, hit me like an emotional ton of bricks. I think it was more powerful than Schindlers List for me. I found myself truly getting angry at various points during the episode. The scene in the Cheese and Bread shop after the Allied Forces discovered the concentration camp was most visceral to me. Knowing that many of those German towns people knew of the atrocities outside their city got me wanting that solider to pull the trigger on the baker who was throwing a fit because the soldiers were taking food for the victims. I also felt the anger of the soldier cussing out the captured SS soldiers that were being marched down the highway. I felt the horror of new recruits discovering the houses of dying and dead in the camp...over and over, it was a emotional ride. What a hard hitting series, I dont think anything compares to it.

On a negative note...I was disappointed by the sex scene that came out of nowhere in this episode, no chance to edit or turn...just in your face...that was over the top. I understand the desire to explore the complex relationships between the conquered and the conquering and the ecstatic liberated people, the divorcing homeland spouses and the soldiers loneliness and the abuse of it all...but this scene was tackless. Other than that and the rough language throughout the film...I give this series 5 stars, two thumbs up etc..etc...it is the best war movie/series that I have seen.

And "The Pacific" looks like its going to be an excellent follow up to Band of Brothers, I cant wait to see it.

Is Sigourney Weaver a babe...?

2009-09-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

So Austin, my 13 year old son wanted to watch the Alien series of movies, so him, Destiny my 15 year old daughter and Tlyer her boyfriend and Christian my 17 year old son and I watched the first one last night. The 3 younger all gave it an OK...me and my eldest give it two thumbs up. The naysayers felt it was too slow and didn't give them enough beastie on screen. They squirmed at a few parts; the tv version of the director's cut was edited, a bit too much I think...but they still got caught up in the suspense. Overall I loved it...especially the added few scenes...the one of the Alien looking down from the dark, wet chains, was awesome!

But then came the Ripley underwear scene....every action flick has got to have a heroine fighting the monster in her skivvies right...it makes perfect sense...well, at least to the money makers. But I digress...that scene unleashed a whole discussion afterwards about the beauty or lack of it, of Sigourney Weaver. You see, Christian has been pretty vocal over the years about his Sigourney crush. So the kids got a up close look at her in this film and all of them were giving him a hard time. Austin was going on and on about her grandma looks etc...Christian defended his ground, even though he admitted that she had a butt that was about as attractive as a sheet of plywood.
For the love of Zeus's Beard, lady, eat a few Big-Macs and give those underwear something to hold on too! Oh and wash them in cold water, then they wont shrink so much! So in the end (no pun intended), we were all divided on whether she was worthy of babe status or not...Christin and I were in the yes camp and the other three were in the "no" zone. Not sure what that all means..but it was a funny discussion.

Interesting note: The director originally wanted a darker ending. He wanted the alien to bite Ripley's head off in the escape shuttle then sit in her chair and start speaking with her voice in a message to Earth. Apparently, 20th Century Fox wasn’t down with that.

One of the best fight scenes ever...Matrix Reloaded

2009-08-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

A Band of Brothers books....

2009-08-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

Here are some resources that should be part of every man's journey of manhood. Not all books espouse all Christian doctrine or practice (the first two) but all of them speak to issues where men live. Some secular books speak better than some of the christian books do in my opinion. That said, they all have something worth hearing, depending on where one is at in their lives. That's where the leading of the Holy Spirit comes in.

Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man

Iron John: A Book About Men

Seizing Your Divine Moment: Dare to Live a Life of Adventure

Samson and the Pirate Monks: Calling Men to Authentic Brotherhood

All John Elderidge books

One other note: Re: the danger of men's books:

"There is a tragic irony to Bly's book which perhaps he himself has not fully considered. Unlike the meetings he has held around the country, where his own forceful presence brings emotion to the surface, the book is read and experienced in isolation. Bly identifies the need for direct, man to man acknowledgment of grief and loss. He makes a compassionate plea that older men take up the challenge of helping younger men by giving them personal recognition of their struggle. But his book merely describes such nourishment; it cannot provide it. In fact, as Bly well knows (since he has obviously sampled Gurdjieff Work and Jungian analytic practice, using an inconsistent hodgepodge of their techniques himself) all esoteric ideas depend for their efficacy upon personal transmission from the mouth of the teacher to the ear of the student. His book reads like an edited transcript of a face to face meeting, but it is impersonal and inert on the page. It is easy to picture thousands of men reading his book alone in their rooms, nodding in agreement, but unable to do anything on their own to ease their sadness or change the nature of their predicament. To acknowledge inner problems, but do nothing towards a cure, may even be counterproductive, as ideas powerful in the air become vulgarized and dated on the page." From a review of Robert Bly's book Iron John

Sooooo...grab a book, invite a brother to read it with you, gather, discuss and include others...

beards of Iron and wine....

2009-08-12T22:12:00.000-07:00

Iron and Wine
Now THAT...is a manly beard!

Bruce and Chuck...come on!!!

2009-07-25T13:08:00.001-07:00

Muffin Top...

2009-07-06T13:33:00.001-07:00

Camping....

2009-07-03T10:18:00.001-07:00

Are you a cool guy?

2009-07-01T15:12:00.001-07:00

Manhood: in need of an Archetype...

2009-06-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

"A man must go on a quest,
to discover the sacred fire,
in the sanctuary of his own belly,
to ignite the flame in his heart,
to fuel the blaze in the hearth,
to rekindle his ardor for the earth.
-Sam Keen

This is a early shot of a painting I am working on that embodies the imagery of Ezekiel 10:1-22, the four faced (man, ox, lion, eagle) beings. I am using this as an archetype image for some men's stuff I am working on and some Youth to Teen to Manhood rites of passage material I am writing. It's an attempt to formulate some rites of passage events and material to help the process of maturity in my own sons lives, and in our faith community. I desire to see the fathering/eldering role strengthened in our community. Having values, traditions and a meaningful passage process for developing young men and men who carry the passion for authentic manhood to be passed on. I know this area is fit with psychological and sociological pitfalls, theological overemphasis and down right bizarre chest beating, testosterone worship. But I also see a cultural drift that is at play that is producing more and more identity confusion, role ambiguity and life skill underdevelopment among young men.

I see more and more insecurity, fear, trepidation, inability to make life decisions, submerged masculinity, laziness, lack of creativity, meaningless goals, lack of life vision and the internal fire to create new realities. The glazed over disinterest, blah like yawn, the tv daze, the internet gaming escapism and all the vicarious entertainment self medicating that is going on.

There is a monotonous monogamy that is plaguing men and the languishing lusting that is replacing it is undermining marriages and its becoming more and more viral. Men are in a quagmire of numbing banalities that have softened the wall of manhood into a penetrable and porous familial gate. Manhood no longer stands erect as a cultural barrier to the erosion and corrosion of the image of God in man. Many men are clueless about where to go, how to get there and why they should even wake from their trojan stupor. Fatherlessness is rampant as men drift without a compass or purpose...and the encroaching pointlessness of manhood is excruciating....especially in the church.

As our leaders continue to parade an example of infidelity, corruption, deception, greed, power hungry self service and abusive disregard for life, the world and the future...the situation is ripe for a return to the ancient wisdom of generational passage.

In this work, we need images, stories, examples, patterns, guides, voices, lights and willing sages that will engage the hard work of soul formation. Men who will hold to their dependance on God, His word, cultural wisdom, life experiences, naked faith and the ever moving work of the Spirit. We need images that remind us, awaken us, move and haunt us. We need Bards and Poets to recapture the art of storytelling for transformation.

I'm using the Ox, Eagle, Lion and the Man, to form a literary archetype for the passing of wisdom. This becomes a trellis to build upon as we engage consciously and unconsciously in the act of raising sons to become men and helping men discover the purpose of manhood.

Archetype: noun
1. the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.
2. (in Jungian psychology) a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches.

"Life is a storm. You will bask in the sunlight one moment - and be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when the storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout, 'Do your worst, for I will do mine!' Then the fates will know you as we know you - A MAN!"
- The Count of Monte Cristo

The problem with mens books....

2009-06-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

"In the midway of this our life, I found me in a gloomy wood, astray" -Dante's Inferno

Walking the path of manhood is often a lonely path. Even though we are surrounded by people in almost every sphere of life, we can discover that internally we are wandering in the proverbial woods. Our culture has increasingly disconnected us from face to face relationships, traditions are forgotten, rite and rituals that used to add meaning to moments and seasons of life are increasingly being erased. We are more like ships without rudders, at the mercy of life, the winds and our own directionless living.

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." Thoreau

Like, Dante who awoke to find himself at midlife in a dark wood, not knowing where he was or where he was going. We like Dante, soon discover, it was (and will not be our) "Beatrice" who helped him to find himself and reintegrate his fragmented being, but his mentor, Virgil. But his reunion with Beatrice did come...after the long journey (as should ours)

That long journey, doesn't have to be a complete solo trek...in fact, it shouldn't because at some point you will discover, and bewail:

"Quaestio mihi factus sum" (I have become a question to myself) -St. Augustine, Confessions

You will need brothers, elders and sons....

"There is a tragic irony to Bly's book which perhaps he himself has not fully considered. Unlike the meetings he has held around the country, where his own forceful presence brings emotion to the surface, the book is read and experienced in isolation. Bly identifies the need for direct, man to man acknowledgment of grief and loss. He makes a compassionate plea that older men take up the challenge of helping younger men by giving them personal recognition of their struggle. But his book merely describes such nourishment; it cannot provide it. In fact, as Bly well knows (since he has obviously sampled Gurdjieff Work and Jungian analytic practice, using an inconsistent hodgepodge of their techniques himself) all esoteric ideas depend for their efficacy upon personal transmission from the mouth of the teacher to the ear of the student. His book reads like an edited transcript of a face to face meeting, but it is impersonal and inert on the page. It is easy to picture thousands of men reading his book alone in their rooms, nodding in agreement, but unable to do anything on their own to ease their sadness or change the nature of their predicament. To acknowledge inner problems, but do nothing towards a cure, may even be counterproductive, as ideas powerful in the air become vulgarized and dated on the page." From a review of Robert Bly's book Iron John

So true...

Yet, men are so difficult to provoke out of their women's all encompassing embrace, their career castles and their techno-shells. Finding a meaningful path & plan for doing life together, that doesn't rely on scheduling or programing and doesn't descend into some male version of constructing iron chastity belts, whipping posts for poor fathering and another unending spiritual honey-do-list...is tough.

We often quote such bible verse as:

Though one person may be overpowered by another, two people can resist one opponent. A triple-braided rope is not easily broken. - Ecclesiastes 4:12

But how often do we truly reach out for support, encouragement or help?

I challenge you to take steps beyond the books...form, gather, assemble, quest, journey, fight, meet, share, pray, weep, confess, sing......share life, war, brotherhood and wisdom.

There is a path through the wood...but it can't be travelled alone.

Geckos and science....

2009-06-20T07:48:00.000-07:00

Failing Fathers...the hope of the future

2009-06-16T11:07:00.000-07:00

"I remember that I was 50 years old at least before I could talk to men in a way they felt was a true way. When I was 35, it didn't matter what I said. They didn't trust me. There was a certain moment when I realized men, and to a certain extent women, trusted me when I talked." -Robert Bly

I'm formulating the path of my Father's Day message and its been deep work. I am working with the title "A Failing Father: the only hope for the future" based out of the story of Manoah, the father of Samson. I am meandering through various fields of thought on the subject of fathers, parenting, initiation and the mythopoetic idea present in greek mythology of the father eating the son. It's been a decent into places of the soul where caged demons and angels dwell.

Here is one of Robert Bly's poem's to stir the emotional waters: My Father's Wedding

Therefore, fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; for I will execute judgments on you and scatter all your remnant to every wind. -Ezekiel 5:10

The Father/Son relationship can be a volatile one, as the biblical stories honestly reveal and the tales of mythology or literature expound. The outworking of independence, ascension of youth and descending of age, the discovery of sexual fire and the attempts to learn the art of carrying the sacred ember in the rites of marriage are all woven together in this drama of parenting, family and fathering.

Reducing Father's Day to a nice little moment to celebrate the dads...is a horrid truncation of all that this epic journey thrusts upon manhood. The true life realities found in most homes are far more explosive than most preachers dare to share...we've not been wide-eyed oracles of apocalyptic dawns...but sentimental story tellers of dusk like sleepiness.

Becoming a father should scare the hell out of you...and awaken in your breast, the dreams of God.

Any intelligent, contrary thoughts....?

2009-06-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

Beer....

2009-06-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" -Benjamin Franklin

Watch this little video on American beer history...I found it interesting
Beer—An American Revolution

MEN....!!!!

2009-06-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

If you didn't see this episode, you missed a great show...but some of the funny lines are in this clip. I love Will and Bear...so the combo was perfect.

"Out here...just me and Bear Grylls..in the wild, urinating together." -Will Ferrell

On tattoo's...

2009-05-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

"...this tattooing, had been the work of a departed prophet and seer of his island, who, by those hieroglyphic marks, had written out on his body a complete theory of the heavens and earth, and a mystical treatise on the art of attaining truth; so that Queequeg in his own proper person was a riddle to unfold; a wonderous work in one volume; but whose mysteries not even he himself could read, though his own live heart beat against them; and these mysteries were therefore destined in the end to moulder away with the living parchment whereon they were inscribed, and so be unresolved to the last. And this thought it must have been which suggested to Ahab that wild exclamation of his, when one morning turning away from surveying poor Queequeg - "Oh, devilish tantalization of the gods!"
-Moby Dick

Helpless

2009-05-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

Helpless from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

I dig....

2009-05-01T22:18:00.001-07:00

G.I. JOE trailer in HD

Deadliest Warrior

2009-04-27T17:32:00.000-07:00

Deadliest Warrior Sneak Peek | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

My new fave....

Impressive...

2009-04-23T17:19:00.001-07:00

Kids Band Recess Play Journey's "Seperate Ways" - Click here for more amazing videos

Tru Lub.......

2009-04-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

I saw this display of daring affection today and had to snap a picture...Im not sure, but it appears "Billy" would have to have hung over the side somehow to manage this artistic act of urban vandalism. Kinda impressive...

Beards are so Super....

2009-04-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

I noticed as I was getting ready to take Micah to school that he was watching "Justice League" on the tv and low and behold good ol' Aquaman was sporting a mean looking beast beard...not a metrosexual, neatly trimmed whisker shadow, but a burley, hide the swallow and eggs...neck nest!

I had to get online and discover what kind of testosterone inducing, life transformation took place to take him from slick to Sasquatch?

"In 2001, the animated Aquaman would get a bit of an update on Cartoon Network's "Justice League." Though "JL" shares a continuity with "Superman The Animated Series," the producers decided that Aquaman should by now have developed his beard-and-long-hair look that he had in the comics. The show even created their own interpretation of how he wound up with that hook... with his hand trapped under a rock after a landslide and his infant son in mortal danger, Aquaman cuts off his own hand in order to save his child's life."

I should of known such an act would be accomplished by only a wild mountain (or ocean man)...hosting a Chin Chandelier of such manly proportions.

Them Dang Toilet Talkers...

2009-04-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

In light of our conversation at the Spokane Gentleman's Society Breakfast about proper bathroom etiquette and the toilet talkers...I give you this gem.

He...brews...

2009-03-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

21 Big Lessons You Can Learn from Little Kids

2009-03-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

1. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Even when there's not a prize in the bottom of the box.

2. Sometimes it's best to be completely blunt with people, as you used to be with relatives who wanted you to do something embarrassing or tedious for a shiny quarter.

3. Asking questions is how you figure things out. Lots and lots of questions.

4. An older, wiser Gordie Lachance says in Stand By Me, "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12." Lachance is right. The trick is to try to be the friend you were when you were 12: fun-loving and loyal, with no strings attached.

5. Playing is work. Approach your downtime with all the seriousness of a 5-year-old with a secret treasure map.

6. Real guys don't dip their toes in the water. They jump right in.

7. Girls have cooties. Well, the ones you meet in certain bars do, anyway.

8. You hated it when a grown-up told you, "We'll see." It's still unacceptable. Don't say it yourself.

9. The only way to know how something works is to completely disassemble it. (This is still good advice when tackling a complex problem. Your plasma TV? Not so much).

10. There's a reason they don't give credit cards to 8-year-olds. You're supposed to save up money before you buy a new toy.

11. Your body was designed for throwing baseballs, shooting hoops, and jumping off diving boards and stuff. In the secret language of children, the word "fitness" doesn't exist. It's called "having fun."

12. Your world can be half-real and half-imaginary.

13. Homework blows. Bring work home with you and it'll ruin your night. And your marriage. And your family. And your life.

14. Too much of anything will give you a tummy ache. Like, say, bourbon.

15. If there's even the slightest doubt, hit the potty before you leave.

16. The coolest adults were the ones who took the time to listen to you. You still want to grow up to be a cool adult, right?

17.Treasure Island, Dracula: The best books are consumed after dark with a flashlight.

18. Use adrenaline as your drug of choice. You don't need beer, pot, or cigarettes to have a good time.

19. Kissing a girl on the cheek is a big deal. Kissing her lips is an even bigger deal. Seeing her naked for the first time is a major, life-altering event.

20. Going after a target in the urinal makes the time whiz by.

21. Seeing a thunderstorm roll in is better than watching HDTV. And rain isn't something to curse, but to enjoy. Hurry up, before it clears.

-From Men's Health Guy Wisdom Lists

if you have ever had these...you know the pain.

2009-03-23T15:20:00.000-07:00

Double trouble...

2009-03-23T15:16:00.000-07:00

Tim Hawkins - Cletus Take the Reel

2009-03-18T17:56:00.001-07:00

I want one or two...

2009-03-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

Marriage counseling...

2009-03-10T09:10:00.000-07:00

This made me chuckle (which is kind of a weird word) when I saw it. After I came home from my trip, Kona, our Black lab was so excited, if she had been a Cocker Spaniel she would of peed all over the floor. LeeElla said she was sulky the whole weekend...ah, make a man feel loved.

Hummmmm...

2009-03-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

The man hug....

2009-03-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

Amazing...

2009-02-28T19:08:00.001-08:00

Dancing Bears...

Khoda

2009-02-27T16:27:00.001-08:00

Khoda from Reza Dolatabadi on Vimeo.“What if you watch a film and whenever you pause it, you face a painting?” This question was the inspiration for Khoda, a film by Reza Dolatabadi. Consisting of 6000 paintings and taking over two years to complete.

Fail...

2009-02-18T19:07:00.000-08:00

saaaaaweeeeeet.

2009-02-18T19:03:00.001-08:00

Everyone needs one.

2009-02-11T19:33:00.000-08:00

I want one of these for my car. (from Bigfatcars)

Schwarz Zu Blau

2009-02-11T19:30:00.000-08:00

The newest single from German pop musician Peter Fox. I've read the lyrics, they are basically about Berlin at night....whatever, the animation is flat out, boss.

The Craftsman and Dare-devil...

2009-02-11T19:19:00.000-08:00

This is really amazing footage of various flying inventions, dare devil acts...the ingenuity, stupidity, courage or stark raving madness...whatever it is...it is sublime, in all its craftiness.

Sweet Thing....

2009-02-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

Sweet Thing
All I could see or really focus on in this video is that dang sweet...Mustang!

Are you tough enough....?

2009-02-03T17:03:00.001-08:00

2009 Tough Guy Challenge

The Enchantments

2009-02-03T10:28:00.000-08:00

This is a shot of a place called "The Enchantments" up above Leavenworth WA. I've been getting info on this spot for a Summer or late fall backpacking trip. The pictures I've seen from these mountain high lakes is other world like...the basalt, crystal green/blue glacier fed lakes, the trout, mountain goats and the spectacular views have got my outdoors blood percolating. It's about a 16 mile hike total. If I can get my fitness level up in the next few months, this is a for sure point of destination. Any wilderness area that has a mountain valley called 'Asgard pass' has got to be experienced by any Inland Northwest wildman.I feel more Norse like with every view of that Valhalla like stone and maninizing rugged terrain.

You are not Christian enough...

2009-02-02T14:52:00.001-08:00

Obviously the content of this blog would lead some to offer rebukes of being "unspiritual" "carnal" and "worldly". That I do not spend enough time expounding on the sublime deeper truths of the inner sanctums of churchianity.

That as a "pastor" I shouldn't talk about the subjects, or be interested in the things I write about. That a truly "spiritual man" is softer, gentler, has more refined tastes, has had the sexual appetites expunged from his spiritually refined head and mind. That he shouldn't be excited by the sound of a really big motor, a glistening double barrel shotgun or his naked wife.

I know some might be happier if I quoted scripture more and Seinfeld less. That in light of all the wickedness, injustice and deconstruction of the American dream...we should be having prayer meetings instead of talking about Cylons.

But one of the reasons I started this blog, was to dispel some of the myths that religious pastors continue to promote....that we often seem less like men and more like kingdom eunuchs...devoid of passion, temptations, struggles. That we have no other interests than bibles, buildings and budgets.

The facade that is often perpetuated is more the result of religious peer pressure, unidentified insecurity, group think and unbiblical dualism that is more gnostic than Christian.

So forgive me if this blog is a kaleidoscope of this earthly journey...kind of like spirit wrapped in flesh....both are present, intermingled, co-existent and a perfectly imperfect tribute to God's creation.I am at peace with being a redeemed, son of Adam....weaknesses and all.

A civilized wildman...& a punch to the chin beauty

2009-02-02T14:20:00.000-08:00

Admiral William Adama...a great leading male character on Battlestar Galactica right now, in my opinion. In an age when most men in popular culture are demeaned, poked fun at, portrayed as buffoons who need the women around them to keep them from devolving into complete idiots...its refreshing to see a good old fashioned man again. Not perfect, not stereotypical but not a caricature either.

This season is picking up and since I am a fan of tragedy in story telling...this last episode's got me jacked up. When Ms. Starbuck pulled out a couple pistols in the midst of gun fire, rebellion, imminent death and then slapped a big kiss on Lee Adama and grunted out something about "Feeling fully alive again"....i'm giving Two "Emprie Strikes Back" tumbs up baby!!!I'm a fan of all things feminine but there something about a lady that can take you, that's appealing (I married one). Kara Starbuck Thrace embodies that tough as steel feline pissiness that makes her character annoying and interesting all at the same time. Sometimes I want her to get slapped and other times I want her to put a few slugs into another dude in a rush of feminine butt kicking!

Not sure how "spiritual" that is...but hey, its good entertainment!

Bear Grylls gets smashed up....

2009-02-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

Bear got smashed up while filming in Antarctica during a kite-skiing shot. You can see the break in the x-ray...oh, so brutal! You can read more about it on his blog: here.

Terminator Salvation

2009-01-31T13:39:00.000-08:00

I'll be taking this ride for sure....

Doggone good TV....

2009-01-28T17:52:00.000-08:00

One Way Out: This clip was crazy!
Battlestar Galactica
Man Vs. Wild: This clip is high on the gag-o-meter.
24
Wreckreation Nation
The Big Bang Theory
The Sarah Conner Chronicles
George Lopez
Fringe
Oh and Mythbusters and WhaleWars
Oh, and you got to DVR it baby...that way you watch it when you want too.

Sly

2009-01-25T16:26:00.000-08:00

Looking tough at 62!

Hilarious....

2009-01-25T16:24:00.001-08:00

How I found out about girls....

2009-01-23T14:34:00.001-08:00

An unfortunate...yet accurate tale of most boys emerging experience with those..."girls".

Street Aquarium

2009-01-22T19:28:00.000-08:00

Trouble...

2009-01-19T18:15:00.000-08:00

Now I know this neighborhood is bad....

I need a vacation from myself....

2009-01-19T18:04:00.000-08:00

4 boys...vs...2 girls...you do the math.

2009-01-12T16:02:00.000-08:00

Sucks to be a lady in our home...Kona our female lab doesn't count, she pees outside.

Say What...I protest!!!

2009-01-09T12:08:00.000-08:00

"Western Christianity has become part of the feminine world from which men feel they must distance themselves to attain masculinity. That is why men stay away from church, especially when they see that the men involved in church tend to be less masculine…Psychological studies have detected a connection between femininity in men and interest in religion. There may even be a physical difference. Among men, football players and movie actors have the highest testosterone level, ministers, the lowest" -Podles article excerpt.

Face huggers....

2009-01-09T12:04:00.000-08:00

You are superman....

2009-01-09T12:03:00.001-08:00

metal beasts, dinos and android women...

2009-01-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

WW2 Pictures you never saw....

2009-01-05T10:20:00.001-08:00

Glorious....

I sometimes miss Portland....

2009-01-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

At least they honor beards....

The remote you would never lose....

2009-01-05T10:04:00.000-08:00

sorry...it made me laugh.

A new years to remember....

2009-01-05T09:41:00.000-08:00

Not sure what was going on at this New Years party...but it looks wild!!!

Dang cool....

2009-01-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

I can not imagine what this kind of weapon does to human flesh....frightening.

The Power donut....?

2009-01-01T19:12:00.000-08:00

This article nailed some things I've been ruminating over in the bottom drawer of my brain, you know, the drawer that you throw everything in that doesn't have a current place. I've shaved my head at numerous points in my midlife journey...most of the time, it was related to a scramble for something that hair or lack of it held to my shifting sense of identity. For the last year though, I found myself getting a little ticked at those hair club for men commercials that cater to those who are losing their hair. Dare I say, prey on them? Soon I started looking around and seeing the act of shaving ones head for some is another wossie act of insecurity. I've felt more and more comfortable just finding a casual acceptance of the patched life on the dome as it is...

Maybe in 2009...

2009-01-01T17:45:00.000-08:00

"I drove to the Rhine River and went across on the pontoon bridge. I stopped in the middle to take a piss and then picked up some dirt on the far side in emulation of William the Conqueror." General George S. Patton, March 1945

I've got some rivers to reach as well...and with some hard work, sacrifice, grace, grit and pluck...I pray to celebrate with the same audacity.

True manhood

2009-01-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

To be a complete man means to have the passions obedient to the will and the will offered to God."-C.S. Lewis

I found that to be a perfect explanation of true manhood to me.

Magic mustache...

2008-12-29T16:48:00.001-08:00

The Nipple Hair Moustache...

2008-12-25T18:52:00.000-08:00

This is so wrong.

Buck Rogers...

2008-12-19T20:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, I saw a lady on Tyra Bank's show today that reminded me of The Hawk, from Buck Rogers. Come on what a show....except for this and this....but there was Erin what boy didnt have a massive crush on her or Wonder Woman?

Amazing...

2008-12-17T19:33:00.001-08:00

Wolverine...nuff, said.

2008-12-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

http://www.myspace.com/x-menorigins

I want this for Christmas....

2008-12-11T18:52:00.001-08:00

Hierarchy of Beards

2008-12-10T18:10:00.000-08:00

Go here for a master pictorial of the manly man's guide to beards.