Stopping to Think

  The 5 Masculine Instincts: A Guide to Becoming a Better Man by Chase Replogle My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a really good book. Chapter four alone is worth the price of the book. I appreciated Replogle's discussion of manhood through the lens of these 5 instincts, with the understanding that the instincts simply are . The question is not whether these instincts exist in our lives, the question is: will we master them, or be mastered by them? Replogle points us - through a skillful mix of question asking, and drawing from narratives both inside and outside of Scripture - to the source of true character and manhood: Jesus, the man who died for us. As I said, the chapter on Adventure, focusing on Samson, was particularly good. The only chapter I struggled with was the Ambition chapter, as I'm not sure that shoe quite fits on Moses' foot. Lots of what Replogle says in that chapter about ambition is really helpful, I just kept getting hung up on the use of Moses which doe...

Mansfield's Book of Manly Men: An Utterly Invigorating Guide to Being Your Most Masculine Self by Stephen Mansfield My rating: 3 of 5 stars After listening to an interview with Mansfield, I commented to my wife that this book sounded interesting, and she purchased it for me. I was disappointed. His telling of biblical stories (all the stories, actually) is thin. Not in a cliff notes, skip-the-fluff way, either. Lots of froth and extra words and not enough actual narrative. That said, I learned about a couple of guys I was previously unaware of. There are some good quotes. And he reproduces a few poems that will hopefully spark the interest of a few readers. View all my reviews

"Man is a poetical animal and touches nothing which he does not adorn." CS Lewis Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. 

Lone scrub oak, among the stones No trees for miles, but here you grow Among the rolling, broken hills Land untamed, devoid of frills There's grass around, and flowers, too Deep green and gold against the blue Rocks hewn, not by a mortal man But by Creator's omnipotent hand Grey clouds conceal the ev'ning sun Its daily course, the light has run  As hours flee you're left to stand Lone oak, the solitary man This isn't the tree I was thinking of, but close enough.

'Tis the season. The season of what? Well, of Christmas time, you might say. If you are in the mood for elaboration, you may be inclined to continue in such a way: the season for giving, the season for love, happiness, joy and cheer. Family, friends, good food, good drink, presents, a big fat elf, and maybe a little snow. Aaaaannnnddd, probably shouldn't forget that baby in a manger business. That's good too. If you like basketball, you might add the Christmas day games, but who watches the NBA on Christmas? Or ever? Anyhow. The sense you get from talking to most folks is that this is a season of joy. And of course for many, it is. Amidst all of the stress and the crunch and the rush, there is an undercurrent of I love spending this time with my family  or, I love presents-giving and receiving them! or, Christmas Eve is my favorite church service all year  or,  what makes the Christmas spirit brighter than Fireball and a Backwoods cigar? There are a lot of things to be ...