Over the last couple of years, I like many of my male friends have sought out fellow cave dwellers. Now I am not referring to the cavemen that grunt and scratch themselves. I am talking about the men that lean on each other and sharpen each other as we struggle through life. I have attended a men’s group called That Man is You on Wednesday mornings at my church. It is a group of between 30 and 50 Catholic men that watch a 30-minute video of the week then spend about 30 minutes discussing the points of the film and anything else that may come up in discussions. Many times the topic itself gets replaced by real issues we are dealing with personally. Why Every Man Needs a Cave Full of Broken Men Click To Tweet Although that group has fed me over the past couple of years, I have longed for more. I became involved in conversations with men in a Facebook group called the Real man Cave. This is a group of guys from around the country that really press into one another. It is a safe place to discuss manly topics and also be held accountable. No topic has been off-limits as we have discussed things like finances, marriage, addictions and more. I also came across a website that also has a mobile app called ManUp God’s Way. A place where men from all over can share as well as be challenged. I use the app regularly to share with others, read […]

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  When A Church Sends You Running for Cover Many people who are raised in the Church, end up wandering astray. We are filled with the stories we don’t understand. Threatened with hell and damnation for our unavoidable sin, why would anyone want to stay for that. We go to church to please our parents, fighting to keep our eyes open, and our minds shut. With all the pretentious and better-than-though mockery, we turn up noses on our appearances. No longer does it only matter that you are there, it also matters what you wear. Your mind wanders on this man, they call Christ, if he loved the least of these, why not these that follow him. Starting to question the need for the Church, where is this faith when the world is full of pain and hurt. Just as many do, I began to make excuses. Whether I stayed out late, or just didn’t feel like going. I would rather sleep in than go to Church. Beginning to think that all these scriptures were meant for the real sinners, not me. I quit, quit going to church, quit praying, quit believing. The world was my oyster, I had my Sunday mornings free. I woke up to headaches and hangovers and not preachers or Bible thumper. My life was mine to live, no one was going to tell me what I could or could not do. The new-found freedom was the beginning of my fall. I wrecked myself into my apocalypse of spirit where no Church could reach. Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted […]

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A Man’s Journey in a Coffee Shop and a cup of Iron to share. Pull up a seat, let’s talk for a while. I‘ll buy you a cup of coffee and we can sit a spell. We all need to take a moment and pause, Everyone has a story inside us to tell. As men, we are not keen on sharing, We are not the ones to open up to each other. The weather, our jobs even what is on ESPN, Those are the things we talk about as men. It is not normal for men to talk about failure, Shortcomings are off the table, our ego intervenes. It is not manly or masculine to discuss these things, Let’s talk about nothing and go our separate ways. So how are things, you and the wife doing okay? Always one word answers like ‘fine’ or ‘yeah’, Deep down you want to talk about your troubles. Who would ever want to listen about your struggles, Instead you hide in your shame and everything is okay. We are not alone in the walk that we choose to take, Everyone falls and skins their knees or their pride. Just because we are men does not mean we are fake, You will always be alone until you open up and try. There is a code of silence a bro code of sorts. Nothing leaves this table except for two friends, No matter what is shared and the stories told. We are here for each other to help mend fences. Let […]

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