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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.

Looking Back At 2016

The new year has come and it feels like only yesterday that I was writing my 2015 year in review. Wow, where has the year gone? Since my last year in review a lot has happened on Heartstone Journey and in my own life. There is so much I could share, but here are some highlights:

How A Stump Can Man You Up

Life is a journey. At times everything can be going great and life’s good, but often there are times when life gives you a solid throat punch! In tough times we can often feel alone and without any sort of compass to guide us. The boy in the legend below is symbolic of you, of me, and what he discovers is an important reminder for all of us on our road to manhood.

There is rite-of-passage into adulthood story for a Cherokee Indian boy where his father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him, and leaves him alone. To pass the test, the boy is required to sit on a stump (or log) all night and not remove the blindfold until the morning sun shines through it.

He cannot cry out for help to anyone. If he survives the night, he is a man. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each youngster must come into manhood on his own.

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…

Authentic Men Are Warriors Who Protect, Not Rape!

Perusing through my feeds, I came across a story about four young men who demonstrated authentic manhood. Four skateboarders (Arnaud Nimenya, Carsyn Wright, James Hielema and Starlyn Rivas-Perez) displayed courage and bravery when they stepped into a horrific situation where a man was sexually assaulting a woman. They not only stopped the attack by scaring him off…they pursued him and held him down until police arrived to arrest him.

I remember earlier this year, another horrific story of rape, where Stanford University varsity swimmer Brock Turner was convicted for sexually assaulting a woman on campus behind a dumpster. The impact letter of the victim (known as 23-year-old “Emily Doe”) is gut wrenching, but she highlights two men from Sweden who demonstrated authentic manhood. They noticed what was going on,they intervened and tackled Brock…ending the assault.

How Four Stones Taught Me To Live In The Moment

How A Stump Can Man You Up

Moving Forward…Together

Authentic Men Are Warriors Who Protect, Not Rape!

Favorite Quotes

Cool Scripture

Never Out Of The Fight!

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