Shoulders of a Man

I read a captivating collection of insight, truth, beauty and sorrow yesterday entitled "A Wife's Eyes are the Window to a Man's Soul." It was written by Randy Elrod and I encourage you to read it here. Actually, implore would be a more accurate word - GO READ IT!

I suspect this will develop into a series, but I at least have to talk about the weight of Randy's observations and the fact that this weight is squarely on the shoulders of the man. Though the cliche "when momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" might be amusing, it is wrong. The truth is that when daddy ain't a man, ain't nobody happy. And I've grown to accept and appreciate this fact as you'll see below.

The mantle of leadership in a marriage sits squarely on the shoulders of the man. It cannot be removed, it is not there by the choice of either individual and it is there whether the two parties involved recognize it or not.

Three thoughts:

1. I know I'm on the thin ice of "wives be in submission to your husband" and the associated abusive actions, teachings and destroyed families. But that just proves the point. The leadership in a marriage - good, bad or indifferent - decides it's fate. And the leadership is the man.
2. The weight of this mantle is crushing. It is of grave importance, difficult to do well, hard to define and under constant attack from both the world and the wife. It's supposed to be. As Randy states, this is about the measure of a man and no man can be a man without overcoming challenges and adversity (no woman either).
3. The mantle can be managed, and it can be managed well. How? Submission.
   

I've found that the only way to successful manage this mantle of authority is to submit to both the role itself and the One who bestowed it. This helps me shut out my gut reactions of wanting to run, hide, cower or control - and believe me, I want to do all of those ALL the time. Instead, I remind myself that if I'm in the role, I must therefore be "qualified." At the same time though, I am deeply aware that I'm not qualified at all and cannot succeed without the guidance and council of God in all matters.

It's a delicate balance because it's easy to get it wrong. I spend my life going back and forth between "I'm the MAN" and "here God, fix this!" It's ugly. And damaging. When I hit the right balance though, it's power-ful for those around me and myself.

The mantle of leadership in a marriage is bestowed upon the man for the purpose of blessing. it is meant to not only bless the wife, children and community (the world), it is meant to bless the man. Reread the final section of Randy's post with this in mind and imagine the man who's wife has "Fulfilled Eyes".

Do you think he's blessed? Blessed indeed.

The Desires of Your Heart

I'm posting a link to this Untemplater video interview of Seth Godin on all my blogs today for two reasons. And since my first reason is the same for all three postings, it's at the bottom. My number 2 reason, specific to this blog appears first.

2.) This quote: "who can I change, what sort of example can I set. How can I build a platform for spreading ideas? ...to spread ideas and to make positive change." Inspiring stuff.

Despite all the bad news and very real struggles in the world today, I hope you'll grasp the core of the message of this video: there has never been a more opportunity filled time in the history of the world than today. There's never been a time so supportive of individuality and creativity. And Godliness.

"The glory of God is man fully alive" - St. Ireneaus

Now is the time to faithfully commit to explore the God breathed desires of your heart. To seek what it is God meant when he created YOU! And not just explore, but to then put hope, then faith, and then ACTION into and GO!

Because the unprecedented opportunities are not about you. They never are.

My wife and I attended a leadership conference this past weekend where we heard the following quote from Pastor John Guest: "This is a generation (all ages today) in DESPERATE need of inspirational leadership. A generation longing for authentic, passionate followers of Christ." Yes indeed.

We need you. Live fully alive!

1.) It's brilliant and I'm not exaggerating. If you are wondering what's going on the world today - financially, socially, etc., etc., - this interview covers most all of it thoroughly and insight-FULLY in ways you will not find anywhere else. Not only does Seth see the big pictures, but he puts them in dead-simple terms that will impact your life. At least I hope they will. Two quotes:
- "The future will not be like the past only shinier"
- The current economic template "was invented by people who owned factories"

I cannot oversell the importance of watching this video and paying attention to what's said.


Enjoy

Rules create loopholes — values do not

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to hear John Eldredge speak in person several months back. My life has been deeply impacted by his writing and his words that night continued that work. There was one statement he made that I knew at the time set a trajectory for my life: "the sorrow of the earth is bad kings."

Those words brought focus to my many thoughts about men and women and their (my) struggle to fulfill their purpose. In particular, it brought out the desperate need of humanity for leaders. True, purposeful, solid and, as this post from Fast Company perfectly explains, value centered leaders.

"Rules create loopholes — values do not. If those in leadership roles want to shape behavior, they must pay more attention to instilling values. They are the underpinning of belief, and that's what inspires people and gives them a sense of mission and purpose. Only beliefs and the values that underpin them can be shared. Values perform a kind of double duty by acting as both a source and a mechanism for regulation." - Dov Seidman

I encourage you to read the whole post, but first let me define leader and king as I see it: you.

Despite the headlines, the world does not need a better Obama, European Union or solution in Afghanistan, what the world needs is you and I fulfilling our true callings as kings and queens (little k and q). Kings and queens who humbly lead, manage and steward their individual sphere of responsibility with skill, compassion, vision and integrity.

This will never happen as long as we believe the inherently evil and life-robbing notion that the destiny of the earth lies in the hands of wealthy, successful, important, recognized, powerful, highly esteemed, recognized or elected as big L and K, Leaders and Kings.  And it won't happen if we believe the destiny is in the hands of Priests and Pastors.

Don't misunderstand me to say we don't need Leaders, Kings, Priests and Pastors. We do. Nothing works without a hierarchy. And don't misunderstand me to let all of them off the hook for the sorrows of the earth. There are many who's hands are guilty of much blood and sorrow. I'm not addressing those issues.

I'm addressing what I see as the biggest challenge in the world today: epidemic levels of worthlessness driven complacency. The world is FULL of people who have no idea what to do because they have no idea they matter.

See, there are two types of bad kings: evil ones and passive ones. The sorrow of the earth is passive kings (and queens - little k and q).

It's time to fully assume your throne.

Blog Action Day: Climate Change

Today I am writing in tandem with thousands of bloggers around the world taking part in blogactionday, an annual event powered by Change.org. Despite the fact that I don't agree with everything they do, I can support their idea of unifying folks to speak about the great issues of our day. And besides, I like this years topic: Climate Change.

I like it because I of three strongly held beliefs on the subject:

1.) Gravity and causes: Yes we're seeing Climate Change around the world, however, I do not believe it to be a grave threat to the existence of our planet or its inhabitants. The scant historical comparison data we have shows that the earth has had seasons like this before. Which would suggest that it's unlikely that today's issues are caused by my two cars.

2.) God: The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it - Psalm 24:1. He built the place and will care for it until its usefulness is through. It's egotistical of us - of me - to think that I can change that.

However:

3.) Christ Followers: If we believe what Psalm 24 says, why aren't we the environmental leaders? Why aren't we proactively leading the movement to properly and care-FULLY steward His world?

Why aren't I?

Our Proposed Health Care Plan

I purposely avoid political topics on this blog because I find that people are often blinded by the terms Liberal and Conservative or Republican and Democrat and therefore unable to simply discuss issues. I've also found that I'm a strange mix of all of the above because my Lord is too and the Bible seems to be somewhere in the middle too. I don't see our problems as right or left but a result of the fact that we have no moral compass. The government wouldn't have to solve problems if people - especially those that can - would take care of those who can't.

I am concerned about the Health Care Plan currently proposed for our country though. Concerned that it is a knee jerk - a LONG overdue knee jerk - reaction to a non-critical problem. Don't get me wrong, we have health care problems and a disproportionate percentage of people do not get the care they deserve. But we also have an incorrect view that health insurance is a right just like home ownership. Neither is a right, nor are they the only solution. People can get health care without insurance - it happens ALL THE TIME! Yes some do, but most hospitals do not turn away sick/broken people. Likewise, people can have many forms of shelter that does not involve home ownership.

I could go on and on but won't right now. Instead, I encourage you to read this post and see if you believe this is a good proposal. Here are two or 50 points from the article.

• Pg 30, Sec 123 states that there will be a government committee that decides what treatments you are allowed and what your overall benefits are.
• PG 429, lines 10-12 give an Advance Care Planning Consultant the power to order end of life plans for a patient.

I thought this bill was supposed to prevent the disproportionate use and availability of health care. These two items clearly contradict this idea. The government will decide who gets what and when and they will decide when a person is no longer worth the expense of life. And btw, don't tell me that's not what this means.

One last thought: I hate the title of this post because I am not against Obama. I didn't vote for him, but I do believe him to be an intelligent man that wants what's best for our country. I also don't believe this is his plan, it is the result of many, many people's thoughts, concepts and ideas. On that note though, it unquestionably represents a society that believes government to be the solution to any and all problems (and the Rebulicans are guilty of this too). And that with limited resources available to government, the solutions must also rate the value of people.

Like I said, it's a moral issue. 

He Longs for Justice

Read this quick post by Jason Curlee please. The second to last line?

"I want justice—oceans of it."

As John Eldredge said in a talk I heard recently: "the sorrow of the earth is bad kings."
We need justice.

Faith based living

From the end of my last post:

"The problem is this: Every time the government takes some of the trouble out of performing the functions of family, community, vocation, and faith, it also strips those institutions of some of their vitality--it drains some of the life from them."

I don't know that I've read a better description of what we've done to life. Or more sad.

It's a perfect description of what I see in far too many people. More precisely, what I don't see: life. It all makes sense of course. I mean, how can you know if you're living a "life well lived" if there's no challange to living? And how can we live if all we do is fear?

We can't."

We were not created to live in fear. We do not have the mental and physical capacities to fear for any length of time. Want to know what the true #1 killer of people is? Stress. Estimates place stress as the key or contributing cause of most illness at well over 60%. We're just not made for fear.

But we're not made for safety either. God didn't tell Adam and Eve to be careful. Quite the opposite, he told them to subdue the earth. Have you SEEN the earth? It's anything but safe. Not to mention the fact that the battle in Heaven, the one that led to the deception of Adam and Eve and everything that's followed, happened before they were created. God created mankind in the midst of war.

And made us warriors.

Do warriors fear? Absolutely. Fear is what keeps them alive. It's what keeps them alert to their surroundings and vigilant in physical and mental preparation. It's what motivates them to plan and strategize and in the end, act.

Take away fear and bad things happen to warriors. They become apathetic, satiated, sedentary and lazy. They also become unimaginative and bored. The only good thing that happens is they don't die. At least not physically.

Notice I said "take away fear." This is our most common reaction to fear. We want it removed, compartmentalized, managed and taken care of by someone else. The flaw in this thinking is that it's focused on the fear itself. And this focus on fear only compounds the problem and we become fear-FULL.

But we're called to be faithful warriors.

We serve the God of the Universe. The Creator, Lord and Victor. We have nothing to fear that he can't overcome.

With our help.

Yes, we - you and I - are involved in this thing called life. We have a place in the story - as faith-FULL warriors. We must have not only faith in God, but faith in our selves as the warrior partners. We have a part to play, not in the removal, compartmentalization, management or delegation of fear, but in the fighting and defeating of the roots of those fears.

This is our calling and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Fear based living

A friend of my recently posted a note entitled "Fear" on Facebook. In it, he rightly pointed out our improper obsession with fear. It's a topic I consider often as I see myself alternate between moments of great faith and moments of great fear.

Of course I want to live by faith and I'll continue to grow in that direction. I know what faith looks like and I know how to live it too, but that doesn't make it easy.

But then again, is it supposed to be?

And then I came across the text of a speech by Charles Murray that can rightly be called brilliant. Delivered to the American Enterprise Institutes Annual Dinner on March 2009, the speech builds a case for "American exceptionalism, in which individuals freely unite to construct a civic culture."

Read it here, it's well worth the time. But my purpose here is not pro-Americanism, it's pro-faith-FULL living.

Mr. Murray's assertion is built upon the dual premise of "a life well-lived" and "deep satisfaction."

"To become a source of deep satisfaction, a human activity has to meet some stringent requirements. It has to have been important (we don't get deep satisfaction from trivial things). You have to have put a lot of effort into it (hence the cliché "nothing worth having comes easily"). And you have to have been responsible for the consequences.

There aren't many activities in life that can satisfy those three requirements. Having been a good parent. That qualifies. A good marriage. That qualifies. Having been a good neighbor and good friend to those whose lives intersected with yours. That qualifies. And having been really good at something--good at something that drew the most from your abilities. That qualifies. Let me put it formally: If we ask what are the institutions through which human beings achieve deep satisfactions in life, the answer is that there are just four: family, community, vocation, and faith. Two clarifications: "Community" can embrace people who are scattered geographically. "Vocation" can include avocations or causes."

I don't know that I've read a better description of life. Or more exciting.

Continuing:

"Put aside all the sophisticated ways of conceptualizing governmental functions and think of it in this simplistic way: Almost anything that government does in social policy can be characterized as taking some of the trouble out of things. Sometimes, taking the trouble out of things is a good idea. Having an effective police force takes some of the trouble out of walking home safely at night, and I'm glad it does.

The problem is this: Every time the government takes some of the trouble out of performing the functions of family, community, vocation, and faith, it also strips those institutions of some of their vitality--it drains some of the life from them."

I don't know that I've read a better description of what we've done to life. Or more sad.

It's a perfect description of what I see in far too many people. More precisely, what I don't see: life.

It all makes sense of course. I mean, how can you know if you're living a "life well lived" if there's no challange to living? And how can we live if all we do is fear?

We can't.

...to be continued...

Production and consumption are the real economy

A must see brilliant explanation of economics, economic solutions and how a pinch of Old Testament might just do the trick:

YouTube - Six Minutes with the Renegade Economist - Michael Hudson Special...

We must get back to our founding document

I do not put my faith in the United States or her government. However, I am immensely proud of the nation designed and built by our founding fathers and completely sold out on the genius of our Constitution and the principles and ideals that it protects.

So I am deeply concerned about the current wave of attacks against these foundations and I hope that you are too. Please understand, however, that I am not blaming our new President for these attacks - this is not an anti-Obama post. He is simply the man of the hour in a nation that has allowed itself to drift too far. A nation that has not invested enough energy into teaching the importance of our history and foundations.

So instead of a people familiar with our documents of law, the people who wrote them and the reasons they did, we are a people of ignorance. A people unable to discern facts from fiction and law from ideas. This is most often illustrated by quoting of the Constitutional separation of church and state - a term that does not appear anywhere in the document. To be fair, it does appear in a Constitution, just not ours.

Which is perhaps the biggest tragedy of our ignorance: that we do not understand - or cherish - the difference between our nation and others.  And by that I do not mean that we're better, but we are...well, us. The United States of America. A nation that has a constitution, rules of law and a government. Why are we trying so hard to be another country? I thought this was a time of unprecedented celebration and acceptance of diversity. What's up?

Luckily, there are folks that are offering suggestions as to what we can do. One such person is Nancy Salvato, the wife of an old college buddy (a screaming lead trumpet player. Check out her comprehensive and thought filled article on educating our public here:

"The New Media Journal | An Alternative to Impending Doom by Nancy Salvato

Here's a quote to wet your appetite:

"There are a number of actions that must occur if we are to influence those who voted representatives into public office with whose actions we disagree. We must begin with the basics. The American people need further education in the rationale behind each word of our Constitution. Our citizens need to learn about the failures of socialism and other forms of government. To appreciate the freedoms protected by the US Constitution, one needs to understand what sovereignty means to the longevity, power and wealth of our nation. Finally, those who do not engage politically need to become convinced that by disengaging they are empowering people whose actions are not necessarily in this country’s best interests."

Why has the market plunged?

The WSJ offers the following statement about the current market and economic indicators. These are powerful words.

Our Troubled Economy Is a Response to Barack Obama's Policies - WSJ.com

"The market has notably plunged since Mr. Obama introduced his budget last week, and that should be no surprise. The document was a declaration of hostility toward capitalists across the economy. Health-care stocks have dived on fears of new government mandates and price controls. Private lenders to students have been told they're no longer wanted. Anyone who uses carbon energy has been warned to expect a huge tax increase from cap and trade. And every risk-taker and investor now knows that another tax increase will slam the economy in 2011, unless Mr. Obama lets Speaker Nancy Pelosi impose one even earlier."

You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy
out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another
person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to
anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody
else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to
work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the
other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody
else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about
the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."


~~ The late Dr. Adrian Rogers

Even AP said it

What does it mean when the Associated Press has the following quote in it's story about the Obama budget proposal?

"Denouncing what he called the "dishonest accounting" of recent federal budgets, Obama unveiled his own $3.6 trillion blueprint for next year, a bold proposal that would transfer wealth from rich taxpayers to the middle class and the poor."

Even AP says he's transferring wealth. Wow.

And I'm interested to see the proof of "dishonest accounting."

Pre-World War III, or IV or V?

In this chilling comparison between today's world and that of the run up to World War II, Bret Stephens Says We Can't Allow Barack Obama's Optimism to Lull Us into a Weakened Foreign Policy - WSJ.com.

"As in the 1920s, we have emerged (if only partially), from several years of war -- scarcely anticipated, earnestly begun, bravely fought, often badly waged and, at least in the case of Iraq, ambiguously won. It was an emotionally exhausting war justified first on grounds of national survival, then for spreading democracy. The moral clarity and political unity that went with the war's beginning collapsed into political division and disillusion.

"From this there has emerged under the Obama administration a new kind of moral clarity. It is founded on conciliatory tendencies, a preference for multilateral solutions, a powerful desire to be on the right side of global public opinion, and an instinct for looking away from that which we'd rather not to see. This has put some political stress on our residual post-9/11 commitments, particularly in the case of Afghanistan, while creating an overwhelming aversion to possible confrontations, particularly against revanchist Russia and millenarian Iran."

I hope he's wrong.

Moving Beyond the Fake Stimulus

Great stuff teaching what's going on:

Understand This Or Perish ... | Brazen Careerist

Government Service?

This isn't the right time in my life, but this post sparked something in that's been brewing for a while: the thought of getting involved in government.

This Is Smyrna, TN: March 3rd deadline

Hmmmm...