family | Heartstone Journey

How Four Stones Taught Me To Live In The Moment

We spend so much time dwelling on the past, thinking about the future or working 80+ hours a week…and for what?

In the 24th chapter of Exodus, God speaks to Moses and says, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay here…” Camping out on this for a bit, I realized that God understands human nature. God knew that Moses would spend lots of energy making the climb to the top of the mountain. And, like all of us, when we get to the top of the mountain we’re already thinking about and planning our descent.

What most of us miss is that we won’t pause and be present on the “mountain top”…and we miss out on what’s right there in front of us. Because we can’t unplug or pause, we miss those awesome life moments of being in the moment with God, with our families, fill in the blank _______________.

The issue is — are our eyes are open to see what any given moment is revealing to us. Here is a snippet of my adventures where I started to understand the importance of living in the moment.

31 Specific Prayers for Your Children

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. —1 Corinthians 16:13

For Dad (or Mom), here is a prayer list you can use to pray for your kids!

1) Pray that your child will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

2) Pray that your child will have a healthy fear of the Lord.

3) Pray that your child will have a heart for the lost.

4) Pray that your child will love obedience.

Moving Forward…Together

It was a beautiful summer’s evening at the Danversport Yacht Club accented with a magnificently painted sunset brushed by God Himself. The sounds of merriment from the family wedding faded into the background as I walked out into the parking lot with my cousin.

As we meandered through the maze of cars in the parking lot, our “shallow man” talk began to make an abrupt course correction. Like a mysterious wind coming out of nowhere, my cousin began to open up, sharing the dark road he was traveling and the impact it was having on his family. The wound was deep, but the shame kept him silent for years. He was an absolute mess and wow…I had no idea.

Men are taught over and over when they are boys that a wound that hurts is shameful.

—Robert Bly (Iron John)

Here was the rub…

3 Ways To Break Free Of The Homer Simpson Syndrome

Turn on the television, head out to the movies or browse social media and one of the major themes is that men are witless, pointless or mere playthings to be stepped on by the entire family. Like infomercials, men are endlessly lampooned and are shown as absent or feckless fathers.

Is all fair with dads on the family front? Does culture have a blind spot when it comes to the role of men in families? Would much of the jokes aimed at fathers be banned if they were aimed at women, ethnic minorities or religious groups? Most of the men I know are devoted, hardworking and would do anything for their families. Even give up their lives to save them.

There was a time in culture when men were always the authority figure and the head of the tribe. In comparison, today’s culture is polar opposite where men are demonized and sidelined way too much. We all heard the “who wears the pants in the family” jokes but leadership in the home is no laughing matter. During the last few decades our culture has redefined the meaning and responsibilities of men and women in society and in the home. Many men have become emasculated, confused and insecure. With this new narrative taking a firm grip on society, men don’t know how to step up and lead the home anymore. Growing up, most men lacked a good role model for leadership at home and don’t have a clue of what it means to lead a family. The result, they do not lead effectively or they do not even try.

Sadly many men have become passive or lunk heads in the home. They’ve decided that the easiest thing to do is nothing and that’s exactly what they do! The simplest thing with the smallest risk is to straddle the fence and let the wife do all the heavy lifting. When a man is married to a strong wife who takes over, he often lets her do just that…take over. Come on guys!

What are we telling young boys if the examples of fatherhood they see everyday are parodies of incompetence?

8 Tips On “How To Dad” From A Cheerios Commercial

Attended a CIO conference recently and one of the keynote speakers used the Peanut Butter Cheerios #HowToDad commercial to highlight leadership. Honestly, I’ve never tried Peanut Butter Cheerios but can totally appreciate how awesome this commercial is. Not in highlighting a product but how awesome dads are and that they do matter in today’s society despite a major de-emphasis on the role.

Here’s a bit of the background story of the commercial from the creators website.

Created by Tribal Worldwide Toronto, the socially-driven campaign features an upbeat online video that celebrates the insight that dads parent differently, and places Peanut Butter Cheerios at the heart of all the zany, funny and epic situations that kids get themselves into under dad’s watch. The video then drives viewers to HowToDad.ca for bite-sized sharable content that resonates with dads. Four 15-second preroll spots, widespread display advertising and targeted promoted social posts round out the program, which is all unified under the #HowToDad tagline. “It just made sense to declare Peanut Butter Cheerios as ‘The Official Cereal of Dadhood,’ because like great dads, Peanut Butter Cheerios lie somewhere in the intersection of awesome and responsible,” says Josh Stein, creative director, Tribal Worldwide – Toronto. “Dads are awesome and it’s awesome to be a dad. The new campaign creatively acknowledges that today, dads play a significant role in raising children, and celebrate their contribution.ⁱ

At Heartstone Journey, we know more and more dads are stepping up and experiencing the satisfaction and reward of taking a more active role in the lives of our kids…and dads should be celebrated! I love this commercial because if really does a great job at portraying the reality of life of a dad and family. I also want to give a huge shout out to Tribal Worldwide because they didn’t pick the idiot dad stereotype or the passive dad routine to be “funny”…they picked an authentic dad!

This commercial shows the simple ways dads are awesome and is a reminder that dads do matter and they have an impact on the relationships with their kids. Before reading on, click play, watch the commercial and you’ll see why the campaign is awesome.

How Four Stones Taught Me To Live In The Moment

31 Specific Prayers for Your Children

Moving Forward…Together

3 Ways To Break Free Of The Homer Simpson Syndrome

8 Tips On “How To Dad” From A Cheerios Commercial

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Never Out Of The Fight!

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