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Adventures Beyond the Comfort Zone

Saturday, April 22, 2006

the other blog

It's up now, with a different name, at a different address than what I'd said a few posts ago. I've decided to stear the focus more toward the basic truth that God made women to be beautiful (and they all are!). And that us men were designed to notice and enjoy what we see. I'm starting to think that I'd much rather be mistaken for a pervert in looking forward to and celibrating these sexual Gifts than as a closed minded prude making women ashamed of their God given beauty (I'm serious when I say all of you).

Of course, I'm not going to let up on need to guard that beauty until the time and audience is right. I just want to be absolutly clear that I'm an advocate for that Beauty.

God Made Women Beautiful

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

From 'Nice' to 'Good'

I've been way outside my comfort zone, venturing out at an exponential rate.

I've actually spoken to some ladies who's dress triggered a little something in me. A couple took it pretty well. At least one got offended. But I believe this visual trigger was meant to be used by wives on their husbands. I don't see it as appropriate anywhere else. (Not that I can demand that anyone change; I'll just have to keep not looking at the ladies that disagree or misunderstand.)

There is some danger that I'm just going to unload all this... That would be neither nice nor good. I've gotta finish that book, No more Christian Nice Guy. I don't want to be nice, but I still desperately want to be speaking in love.

When she got offended, and the two of us spoke (online, as I've not yet been bold enough to speak in person about it, yet), I shrank back. She was upset, and I jumped to the conclusion that I must have done something wrong. This is a "Nice Guy" attitude... I realized I was rocking the boat and sat down.

I started to mentally climb back into my quiet little box of not saying anything about it. And I discovered that I no longer fit inside. I've come to far to stop talking now. I'd spread my wings and jumped off the cliff... got scared and tried to fold my wings and pretend it didn't happen... but I'm still airborne.

....

Maybe I should start this review back at the beginning...

I was reading through my journal, trying to remember how I'd managed to put God in the center of my life, because that was key to describing all of the changes that have been taking place.

I realized that I can't take much credit. I'd turned to Him as a last resort... I had at last admitted that I needed to break things off with Alicia, and came to realize how disconnected I had become with everyone else. God literally felt like all I'd had left.

It struck me then, that in the same way I'd been neglecting to make time to really connect with anyone around me at school, I'd done the very same to God. We were on a first name basis, and I recognized Him in passing, and we even talked occasionally... But that's not a relationship at all. And a relationship is His main priority with any of us. Using Jesus to pay our way into eternity is all about Him wanting to be with us forever!

...

There is so much that's been happening, even after reviewing the 2006 entries, it's daunting to think of summarizing it all.

God got my attention, and I've stuck by more closely than ever before; and He's rewarded me for it. He led me to the right books and people to help me with exactly what I'd been needing. For Women Only, to ease my feelings of being misunderstood by my former girlfriend; Wild at Heart, to answer my curiosity about what real Manliness is; man-friends to open up to and share myself with and pray for and be prayed for by; a remarkably open prayer group that I was eventually open up more completely than ever before about how easily I feel distracted by the female body; No More Christian Nice Guy, a book that reveled the gaping chasm between being 'nice' and being 'good,' a theme brought up in Wild at Heart that really captured my attention and I felt needed to be integrated into my life; and at last, the long anticipated For Men Only, a fantastic starting point in understanding the female mind, which is what I've grown increasingly certain is the primary audience for my delivery of God's message on modesty. Whoo! It's been quite a ride... And it's only just beginning!

And then there was this bit that I wrote the other night, about a day later that what you just finished reading:

I just can't sleep. The most profound truth has finally found its way to me. No More Christian Nice Guy is my new favorite book. I'm a little confused about where to rank it relative to the Bible itself.. I don't want to say it's better than God's Word, but... it helped me so much in understanding what God had been saying all along about what it is to be a Man!

....Most of society has been promoting a softer, less threatening, caricature, that even a lot of churches have bought into.... Just think of any sitcom or commercial..

Anyway, ... It's a fantastic book that anyone who is, or knows someone who is male should read.

Men are supposed to be fierce! We are supposed to be dangerous! How can we offer any true security to our wives if we are not? How can we defend the standards of God in a world that wants to pull us just a little beyond that necessary boundary.

Jesus himself did not follow the rules. Jesus himself was considered harsh, loud, and obnoxious! He did what he had to to bring people's attention to what was important.

I am of course NOT advocating senseless or needlessly reckless or malicious behavior. Jesus was acting in love, when He was being gentile, and when He was being fierce.

Makes me think of a time when some guy tried to walk off with Kim's backpack, and Dad took off running and shouting for a policeman and declaring what the guy had tried to do. I remember overhearing someone comment that Dad sounded more like someone who should have been arrested... At the time I thought this comment was just dumb; why would the thief want to draw that kind of attention to himself? Though looking back it strikes me more as disrespectful of a man out to protect his daughter.. as if his extremely vocal cries for legal assistance were somehow less excusable than someone running off with Kim's bag. Meh.

Dad was not even remotely nice about it. He was good.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

From the Source

As I sit here on the bed in room 214 of the governor's Inn waiting for my hair to dry, this seems an opportune time to see if I can unload all that's been happening to me. (As a side note, hotels with wireless internet access are the grooviest).

I'm not feeling the best right now; I've taken ill in some how or another involving my sinuses and throat... Though I'm feeling a lot better than yesterday.

So there was that day I spent watching Kenshin with Kari after she'd shown mom and I her family's baby sheep. Lambs are cute, samurai rock, and Kari is a dandy hostess.

.... My word... I don't even remember how long ago that was now...

Since then, I've been introduced to a local (to DSU) auto repair shop to discover that it was the bearings wearing out on my front, right tire that had been making funny noises. Not to costly, so it was okay. But then a couple weeks later I had to take it back find out that the trasmition was on it's last legs... That really wasn't okay... Though it was better to have it die when it did, rather than half way to North Dakota

So Kim and I borrowed the family minivan to roadtrip up to N.D. to see long-not-seen-friend, Calless who was to meet us at the Space Aliens Grill and Bar where we would eat before going to see VeggieTails Rockin' Tour live!! 'twas an awesome weekend. (I fell in love with the Veggies all over again [and was re-inspired me to work for people that make things to teach and amuse children with silly talking vegitables {Yeah, I spelled that wrong, but I'd rather write this than go through the spell check again after misclicking the first time.}])

... I'm tired now... I'll talk about Source tomorrow

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

... Goes Whoosh on Broadband ..

Nearly a month, eh? It's been pretty buzy; almost non-stop excitement. But I'm not really alert enough to write about any of it now.... Mostly, I wanted to redirect trafic from my fellow web publishers. Since there's no real focus for this blog, I'll more likely be using this other blog I've just started for the presentation and whatnot. or.. I should say this blog I'm going to start. It's there and has a title and a minutly descriptive bit... I'll hopefully get actual content/thoughts onto it tomorrow. dont-feed-animals.blogspot.com Bonus points for anyone that can identify the reference in today's title.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Crazy Month

I never promised regular updates, did I? .. I know myself better than that...

Or do I? I'm certian that I'm not the same Kevin I was just a few months ago.