SecondIron's Blog

Sharpening Iron to Live Second

25 Core Manly Skills Every Man Should Have

In a day and age where gender lines are blurred and chivalry is fading away, there are some basic skills every man should have. Let me preface by saying these skills are not limited to men, but more so should come second nature to us. They are life skills you may or may not have been given or shown by your father or grandfather. As the years go by some of the greatest skills a man could possess are slipping through our fingers. Men are not as present in the lives of their kids these days so some of the skills may need to be self-taught or relearned. Become a Master of Language – Both the spoken and written word have become lost art. Avoid using slang and jargon, master your first language, perhaps even learn a second. Be a Reader – Reading will add to your arsenal of topics both at the water cooler, the bar or over dinner. Read the classics, history and self-improvement. Read more than just the articles in Sports Illustrated or Field & Stream. Pick up a Hobby – Men that are all work and no play are well boring to be around. Learn to fish, hunt, woodworking, or whatever. By adding versatility in your life, you become more interesting. Be Date-able – This goes for married and single men alike. Married men, date your wives, date your daughters, show them how much they mean to you. Single men, have respect for yourself and those you might date. Another notch […]

My Father the Hero (Guest Blog)

As I slowly recover from the writing frenzy of November and prepare to edit the 50k+ words written I have had my blog taken over once again  by another guest blogger Brooke as she shares a story about her father, her hero. According to Brooke she is just a girl with scrapes and bruises, grateful to be picked up each & every time by my Abba. My prayer is that my life shines with of glimmers of His grace. I’m the wife of a realtor. Addicted runner. And best auntie eva. Blog link: https://awkwardlygraceful.wordpress.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awkwardlygraceful/?fref=ts Twitter: https://twitter.com/AkwdlyGraceful Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awkwardlygraceful/   An icy day 5 years ago changed my dad’s life forever. A small act of heroism cost him his livelihood. In the moment life seemed unfair, and with each ripple I’m discovering that I am simultaneously right and wrong. Rather than some grand gesture, my father’s story was an act of every day courage. He didn’t deliberately set out to be a hero, but rather showed up, did his job, and worked a small miracle for a stranger. 9-1-1 dispatch received an emergency call from someone staying near the local ski resort, but thanks to the ice storm our county had been hit with, the first responders couldn’t make it up the mountain. Dispatch, in turn, called the street department and my dad and his snow plow went to work. Or at least they tried. The ice was too much for the plow as well. He got out of the truck to make some […]

Do You Have Mighty Big Shoes to Fill?

Growing up I heard that I had  “mighty big shoes to fill” quite often. Many people grow up thinking they want to be like someone else. Whether we are trying to follow the footsteps of our father, or in my case grandfather or some other person we want to be like. The shoes we long to fill seem unobtainable and never the right size or fit. Shoes are usually pretty personal, I don’t know too many guys that share their sneakers with their friends. Yet we spend much of our lives trying to fill the shoes of others before us. We spend our childhood looking up to others. It could be a family member, friend, or even a church or community leader. Hoping to be like them, we change who we were born to be. Sometimes we spend such an effort to be like someone else we begin to forget who we really are. We might talk differently, hang out with an unusual crowd. Maybe we work at places that challenge our morals, all just to be like someone else who we think has it all. I’ve got big shoes to fill. This is my chance to do something. I have to seize the moment. ~ Andrew Jackson All the meanwhile we ignore God’s design for our own lives. Getting consumed by the expectations of others we fail to see our creators fingerprints and true beauty. Forgoing our own destiny we chase after dreams, fancy clothes and fast cars trying to fill a void we […]