The Dude. Rocks!

I want to showcase - illustrate - that life as a Christian is amazing. More importantly, I want to be an example of how a Christian man can live a life that glorifies God and is cool, awesome and manly.

I am no sissy! I don't back down and will fight to the bone if I have to. I have that nature and aggression, and it seems that being a Christian man means having to forgo those urges to be a man. To stand up and fight, to be angry, to be a little rough around the edges. Well, a Christian man doesn't have to be a pansy to be an example of Christ, it's quite the opposite.

Jesus was a manly guy, he hung around with a rough crowd of low life's, thugs, sinners. He was bold and spoke with authority and stood his ground when confronted. He did so with a Godly sort of aggression. This is the masculine spirit of God that a Christian man can be. I was turned on to the real identity of a Christian man from the book "Wild at Heart" by John Eldridge. I won't give a book report here, but it is worth reading.

All in all, I used to enjoy rocking out to some rough music, metal, rap, vulgar and aggressive - I loved it! What about now? I want to live as an image of Jesus, and not fill my mind with junk. Well, I can still rock out and I suppose aggressively praise my God. Listening to music is great, but just imagine the long term effects of "enjoying" music that encourages sin. I still enjoy country and a little rock, but praise and worship have gained a strong foundation on my playlist.

Now, I want to shout praise to God!

Enjoy these moments.

It would be easy to work 70 hours a week and be completely absorbed in business or my job. What's difficult, is getting to a place where you can shut yourself off to that noise and focus on what truly matters. I've always been wanting to spend more time in the Word but fought it with the "not enough time" excuse. Face it, it's simply an excuse and not reality.

I started waking up 30 minutes sooner so my daughter has time to get ready for school and so I can drop her off on my way to work. Initially, this was a drag. Poor me - I have to wake up early. But how long will she be a kid, and I can take her to school? I spent my extra time this morning reading a teaching on self-centered mind. Dedicating my new free time to God and to renewing my mind - priceless.


I suppose the point is, enjoy these blessings and moments and praise God for them. I want to allow my self time to get to know God better, and definitely give Him thanks for all He has provided.