kids | Heartstone Journey

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.

Men Your Words Have Power, So Speak Life To Your Kids

First things first men. How much time are you spending with your kids? Doing life with them, having fun, teaching them whats important and leaving a legacy? If you spend quality of time with your kids, awesome. If you don’t, you need to get your head out of your @$$ and start.

For most men we have our sights set on stuff such as; a house (and a vacation home), car, boat, money, climbing the corporate ladder, fill in the blank ________. Most of us don’t leave much room for things that really matter and our values become our kids values.

Ok guys, here’s a test. You’re walking on the beach and a genie bottle washed up onto the shore. Of course all your senses tell you it’s not real, but you rub the lamp anyways out of curiosity and out pops a genie. Here’s the catch…instead of three wishes, the genie only gives you one wish.

What do you wish for?

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.

Living Life Or Chasing The Wind. The Choice Is Yours!

With no winners in Saturday night’s (January 9, 2016) record $949.8 million Powerball drawing, the next jackpot could reach an estimated $1.3 billion, said lottery officials. The Powerball is at an all time high and there is an excitement in the air.

Before you get caught up in all the excitement and the whispers of wealth, take a moment and give the second chapter of Ecclesiastes (written by a guy who had it all) a good read through. Sure, we can pursue material things in life (and most of us do) and yes, when we loose our stuff (and we will) — much of it can be found again. But there is one thing that’s really tough to find again once you loose it: LIFE!!

Seriously, will your life really be better if you win? …maybe for a time.

Whatever chapter of life you’re in right now, remember we will all face that day when the last curtain falls.

On that day, what will you remember?

On that day, what will you wish you had more of?

Lets dig into this a bit more…

Authentic Men Are Warriors Who Protect, Not Rape!

Men Your Words Have Power, So Speak Life To Your Kids

3 Ways To Break Free Of The Homer Simpson Syndrome

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

Living Life Or Chasing The Wind. The Choice Is Yours!

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Cool Scripture

Never Out Of The Fight!

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