“Of all sad words of tongue or pen the saddest are these IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN” -Anonymous I have written about the importance of masculine initiation here and here, and I’ve featured a post written by my older son providing his perspective. In this post, I want to provide some practical considerations against the day […]
A note from the host: The following is a first-person account of masculine initiation, written by my son, Samuel. I’m proud and honored to welcome him as the author of this site’s first guest post. Here’s Sam: The summer before my tenth birthday, my Dad took me on a four-day backpacking trip. This was the start of […]
It was the first night of my son’s initiation into manhood. We had hiked to the top of Pinnacle Mountain and beyond the boundaries of Table Rock State Park and made camp for the night. After dinner, we sat by our campfire, and I began to explain to my son the purpose and the content […]
Note: While I’m working on creating some new posts, I’m re-posting some of my favorites, such as this one. When my older son was about to turn ten, I began a three-year process of initiating him into manhood. (How I came to this decision is the subject of an upcoming post.) The first part of this […]
I encountered what I’m about to share with you quite providentially. In a discussion regarding male-female relationships, someone made a passing reference to the letters J.R.R. Tolkien wrote to his son. Being a fan of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings, I was intrigued, went looking for the letter, and found it. I […]
“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome, ‘Do your worst, for I will do […]
“See my beard ain’t it weird? Don’t be skeered It’s just a beard” – George Carlin November is the month dedicated to men’s health issues, and let’s be real — men, we’ve got issues! Between prostate cancer, testicular cancer, emotional or psychological disorders, addiction, and poor fitness, it almost seems like we’re doomed. Notice I […]
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” – Proverbs 17:17 I just came back from a long weekend with four of my oldest — in terms of length of friendship — friends. We arranged to meet for a four-day weekend on the North Carolina coast to catch up, watch […]
“Tell me, and I may forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I may understand.” -Chinese Proverb Fortunately for all of us, it appears we are seeing a dramatic decrease in the use of the term “Man up.” If only the spirit behind it would follow it down. As is true with […]
“A guest never forgets the host who had treated him kindly.” -Homer Now that it’s springtime, it’s officially Wedding Season. Soon you’ll start receiving wedding invitations, and perhaps even requests to stand with one of your friends as a groomsman or even as best man. If this is new territory for you, here are some tips […]
