Abraham, Isaac & Jacob

...and Joseph and Moses and Caleb and Joshua and Saul and David and Solomon. Need I go on?

There has been a lot of captivating conversation among many of females about the quality of men, or apparent lack thereof. What I want to know is what is strength in a man? True men, in my humble opinion, are those who are willing to stand up for who they are and who they will become (note Philippians 3:20-21). This includes their willingness to be bold.

We've heard a lot of messages lately that have focussed very heavily on the idea that God's men make mistakes. We're not talking nicey nice mistakes either. We're talking mistakes that many would divorce over. Seriously. Would I really want to be Sarah or Rebecca when husband tells pagan worshipper number 1, i.e. Abimelech, that I'm his sister? Jerk. Is that trust? Is that what "men of God" do to the women they love? Is that what "men" do to women at all? Is that what God calls strength? Can I even possibly work with that? Many of my friends have proposed: "Can I marry a man like that, one who is so weak? I'd rather not even bother."

Note to self: Sarah nor Rebecca divorced. Rather, they stood by their men.

We're talking Abraham here folks, the father of the faithfu, and Isaac. So what then? Instead of focussing on the weaknesses of men, perhaps it would be beneficial for us to focus on their strengths. "And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the FRIEND of God" (James 2:23). I want that. I want the man I love to be a friend of God. I want our faith to be counted as righteousness.

Mark is studying at what point God's noted godly men chose to live according to God's standards. What did Abraham DO that God admired? Why is he called faithful? What did Paul do to become an apostle? What is it that God loves? What is it that women love? What are those positive traits that make men worthwhile?

In every story of every admirable man, biblical or not, is a man who chose right. And chose right consistently. I'm thinking Abe & Isaac and that whole Isaac being a casi-martyr, Paul could have stormed out after he got his sight back, Joshua could have said, "Nah, I think I'll just wait here" (ref. "as for me and my house..."). But they didn't. There was a turning point, a revelation, an incredible amount of faith.

I think many of my guy friends have it. Do the ladies recognize it? Do the men recognize it? Are men respectable who are so bold? Is that what women want?

12 calidades de lideres efectivos

Dr. Winnail gave a talk the final day of camp. The counselors weren't there to hear it, but it was probably be most useful, relevant info all camp. Here's what I got.
Twelve qualities of effective leaders:
1. High ethical standards, above reproach.
2. Easily entreated, sensitive.
3. Wise use of position, no self righteousness, growth under leadership?
4. Ability to effectively communicate; obey, understand, expound.
5. Team builders.
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting (Eph. 4:11-14)
6. Ability to handle changes; flexible, adaptable, resourceful; make plans, but do not set them in concrete
7. Keep your commitments, Luke 9:62
8. see Joshua chapter 1. "...Be strong and of good courage..." Courage v. Fear.
9. Risk takers. No foolishness. Imagine the sound of WWCG members' sighs after series' upon series' of lukewarm sermons. Give the brethren what they need. Again, fearlessness.
10. Responsible for making decisions.
11. Have a mission that matters, focus on it. Use difficult situations to make the right decisions.
12. Think big. Why are we here? Where are we going? How do we get there? Proverbs 13:20.

fun times.

this is the best picture yet. See everyone's faces? Hilarious. I didn't start it, I promise.

what's in a name?

amanda: present progressive of the verb "amar" in Latin (or Spanish or Italian, possibly even French). That means that if you drop the -ar from "amar" - the infinitive - and add +ando you get the masculine amando. Name your firstborn son that. heh. Thus the feminine form would be amanda, meaning loving.

Even more fun: sandor, i.e. defender of mankind. Common in Eastern Europe as a first name. Alexander is an English derivative. It obviously comes from Alexander the Great. We have successfully ruled out two options for our firstborn's name.