The Heart of Jake: The Wild Frontier

I recently had a conversation with someone at work about one of my favorite books of all time: Wild at Heart by John Eldredge.

What I came to realize in the course of the conversation was that it was time to read the book again, so I decided that a good way to process my way through the book is to blog about it as I go.

The very first thing that recaptured my attention is a section John calls "Westward Expansion Against the Soul."

As I read the words Eldredge has written about the feminization of masculinity in our culture I can see how the pressure around me tries to force me to be more tame, predictable, safe, sensitive, manageable, efficient, and all the other adjectives and labels we use to refer to the "nice" guy.

Just as our society puts unrealistic and damaging expectations on women to be perfect, I feel that there is an unrealistic expectation for men to be "nice."

Think about it. The highest complement we can dole out is, "He is such a nice young man."

But who wants a "nice" guy?

Nice guys don't make great men.

Being a father has been an interesting exercise for me.

I love my sons and I don't like to see them hurt, so far too often I find myself instructing and teaching them to play it safe. But often enough I remember that they are boys, that they will someday be men, and that to be the men that God designed them to be they will need to know their way around the wilderness.

The wilderness has a special place in the narrative of men.

Adam was formed in the wilderness.

God met Moses in the wilderness.

Jacob wrestled with the Angel in the wilderness.

Elijah sought God in the wilderness.

John the Baptist lived in the wilderness.

Even Jesus spent time in the wilderness before He began His ministry on earth.

And like these men, and countless others, I want my sons to know the strength that comes from understanding their "wild side." Heck, I want for myself to know the strength that comes from understanding my wild side.

As I continued to read through the words Eldredge left behind as a treasure map for men I found myself invigorated. It was as if the deep in John was calling to the deep in me and awakening something that had been dormant for years.

I started to see how I had let the "safe" back into my life in so many ways and how the real heart of God was to call me out of bondage and into His promise for my life. My problem is that the safety of my bondage is easy. Just like the Israelites who yearned to return to Egypt after God delivered them from the hands of Pharaoh, I wanted to go back to what I knew even though I knew it would kill me.

But that does not have to be my story.

I don't have to be led around in the desert for my whole life because I am afraid of the battle before me. I can make the choice to find God in the wilderness and let Him lead me where, when, and how He sees fit.

Thursday Time Machine: Do what you love, but pick something to do.

Today continues the series I decided to call Thursday Time Machine; which I plan to be advice that I would give a younger me if I could travel back in time.

Today's post has a bit of a dual edge to it: Do what you love, but (for the love) pick something to do.

Harvey MacKay is quoted as saying, "Find something you love to do and you will never have to work a day in your life."

Drawing a Bigger Circle (or) Loving People Again

Me in the middle, where I usually end up.

The past few years have been pretty hard for me.

I don't say that to garner sympathy or to make excuses; but it may help you to understand where I am coming from when I say I need to start loving people again.

I have always been a "people person." I could always find something to love about nearly anyone and I loved interacting with as many different people from as many different walks of life as possible. But the last few years I have found myself becoming a bit of a Humbug.

I can't really point back to when it all started or one single event that started me down the path. I can't even be sure at what point I stopped loving people.

Why organized boycotts don't work: Part II

Last week I posted a blog on organized boycotts and why they don’t really work.

For those of you who missed Part I of this blog I will recap my assertion that for a public, organized boycott to be successful it must have not only widespread participation but also a real reduction in demand for the product or service being offered by the person or company being boycotted.

Last week I took a look at what I call the one day boycott. This week I take a look at a second type of boycott (and my favorite to make fun of)...

The political/philosophical disagreement boycott.

Why Americans are fat, and why fad diets and new guidelines won't help.

I recently saw that the United States Department of Agriculture, with the help of First Lady Michelle Obama, released a new dietary guide to replace the time honored Food Pyramid.

Behold the new: My Plate.

I find it very interesting that Federal Government once again has totally missed the issue here.

If fancy diagrams and information could cure the nation's obesity we would already be there.