Some of the things that I do find myself distracted with often get in the way of getting things done. TV and Pittsburgh sports in particular often draw me away from the things that I need to do around the house. The internet in general makes any computer work that I need to do take much longer than it should.

What are some of the things that you find yourself being distracted by?

Some examples could be video games, the bar, the things I listed above, or the pursuit of opposite sex. You could even be distracted by your job if it is pulling focus away from your family or God. In general, none of these things are bad. That's what makes them easy distractions. There's nothing wrong with going out to go grab a drink with a couple of buddies, but there is something wrong with neglecting your wife to do so.

Do you recognize the things that are pulling you away from the more important aspects of your life?

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This week we look at the disaster in Japan and how technology is making it easier for the average person to help in relief efforts when natural disasters strike. Will churches use the same technology for giving that the Red Cross uses to raise funds for disaster relief? Also, where have we been for the past two weeks - Bryan talks about his trip out west.

The Next Three Days

We talked about the book, Wild at Heart by John Eldridge, on the podcast back in episode 16 as Steve was getting ready to take his mancation. The basic premise of the book is that men are created to be adventurous. We want to be the hero, the daredevil, or the warrior. This is why we tend to lean towards action and adventure films more than romantic comedies. I watched The Next Three Days last night and it got me thinking about reality and how a skewed perspective of reality can lead us to rationalize things that we might not normally do. The wild heart drives us to seek out danger and adventure, but the rational mind keeps our actions in check. What happens when we rationalize something to the point where we see a lie as truth?

Let's take the movie I watched last night. [Spoiler Alert] A woman is set to jail for allegedly killing her boss. Her husband believes that she didn't do it and eventually believes that the only way she will ever be free again is to break her out of prison. The rational mind would normally keep him from attempting to break her out because he is a good, law abiding citizen, but the more he rationalizes the injustice that has occurred, the more he sees an escape as the right thing. He sees breaking her out of prison as an heroic act of rescue instead of a criminal act. He even goes as far as killing a drug dealer for money.

The truth is that breaking someone out of prison is breaking the law, but his skewed truth turns him into a hero. I'll admit that I was leaning into this movie, hoping he would succeed and they would make it to safety. The antihero has become a major character in pop culture and even though we know they don't carry out every action with virtue, we want to see them win. I think it's easier for us to relate to these heroes because they're imperfect like us. I don't know that I would attempt some of the things that our hero did in the movie, but the danger and adventure is enticing.

We don't need to tame our wild hearts, but we do need to keep them in check with truth. When we rationalize the things we want, we end up with a skewed truth and our wild heart might lead us into destruction. Being slightly off course might not have an immediate effect, but eventually you could miss your target altogether. Make sure your wild heart is not chasing after a false truth.

Thanks for taking the time to check in and listen.

I have no problem with men who watch sports for the sake of recreation.  I guess everyone needs a break from the grind of life every once in a while, and sporting events often create a good opportunity for us to connect with friends and family as we watch or participate together.  A problem does emerge, though, when we turn sports into an idol.  The ancient Hebrews had their golden calves.  Modern Americans have our sporting events.  Some men completely check out on their families for the sake of staring at a little box watching other men take risks and do great things with their lives.  Sports widows suffer as their husbands disconnect from the family.  People attend tailgate parties that turn into drunkfests, as an escape from the hard realities of life during the working week (cubicles can suffocate us, so we must need some relief on the weekends).  Men yell and curse at the TV, at one another, at their families, at anyone who will listen.

Yes, idolatry is alive and well in America.  As we go through the end of this basketball season, and the upcoming drama of the NFL labor dispute, we need to make sure that we do a reality check.  Have we made sports an idol in our lives, or are we at the point of having a healthy, recreational outlet?  Are we using sports as an escape from the hard realities of our lives?  What do our families think about how much we watch sports?  What if we channeled the passion and energy that we spend on sports teams into efforts alleviating the suffering of two-thirds of the world's population that lives every day in crushing poverty?  Could the three hours spent watching a sporting event be sacrificed in order to spend three hours mentoring an inner city kid?  What if we used our lunch breaks this week to take our wives out for a date instead of filling out another bracket?  Then, as men, we might have a whole new definition for March Madness.

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Charlie Sheen has taken over every news outlet. Facebook vs. Twitter. The iPad gets a refresh. Rodney King gets pulled over. The guys discuss the problem of addiction in America, and it's not just about substance abuse.

God requires so much more from us than passivity.  He designed us to live from our hearts, out of our strength.  We have a vital role to play in the world... in our own lives, in our friends and families' lives, and even in the lives of people we do not even know or might even be enemies with.  I am not talking about macho aggression.  I am talking about courage... the kind of courage that God gives us to live out our crucial roles in his mission to fight against evil in this world.  The opposite of courage is passivity and indifference to the struggles of others around us.  Let's live courageously.

God designed us to be relational.  He designed us to be in meaningful relationships with God, with friends and family, and with many different kinds of people in the world.  It's almost as if every person who we come into contact with is a divine appointment.  As C.S. Lewis pointed out, we are all eternal beings.  When we meet someone, we are not talking to a mere mortal.  We are talking to someone who is going to live forever, either with God or separated from God.  That is why we should have a sense of authenticity and care when we build relationships with people.  God cares, and so we should care.  That holds true whether we meet a Wall Street banker or a Honduran orphan.  God is love, and we should demonstrate love to everyone we meet.  Everyone should look at us and see Christ in us, but too often people in relationship with us look at us and see anger, gossip, slander, fear, anxiety,  self-promotion, busyness, distraction, depression, or carelessness.

The Journeymen are all about challenging one another to live the full Christian life that God has in store for us.  It is the narrow path in life, so we must come along side one another and encourage one another to find and stay on the path.  The challenge for this week, then, is to focus on relationships.  Let's do a status check.  How are things going with our relationship with God?  Are we deeply, intimately connecting with our Creator and Father, or do we feel distant from God?  If married, how is the relationship with the wife?  Does she feel treasured and loved because we as husbands are so intimately engaged on a heart level with her, or are we distracted, distant, and cold?  How about our children?  Good friends and extended family?  When was the last time we got together and shared some good quality time with our friends or relatives?  How will we respond when we meet new people this week?  Like a busy, distracted jerk, or like we are having a divine encounter with an eternal being who God made, loves, and cherishes?  And how about our enemies?  Will we continue to harbour anger, resentment, and bitterness against them, or will we love our enemies as Christ requires us to do?  That may be one of the most difficult things to do in life, but it can also be very rewarding when God honors that love by reconciling relationships that we thought were destroyed and painful.  God is love, and he wants to communicate that concept to the world through his Church.  We cannot demonstrate God's love if we are unwilling to love others well.

Thinner than the iPhone4... Crazy!

Steve Jobs announced yesterday the next version of the Apple tablet that took the nation by storm over the past year. There are major upgrades with a faster processor, two cameras, and a super thin new body, but do these warrant upgrading your current iPad? If you held out for the iPad 2, does it meet your expectations?

I for one think that iPad is awesome. I bought my wife an iPad last year for our anniversary and have wished I had one of my own ever since, but I don't think this is the one for me. The thing about technology, and especially Apple products, is that there is always a better version right around the corner. With that in mind, I am going to wait to see what the next version is like. It's something I want but not something I need, so I'm in no rush to get one.

If you were waiting for the iPad 2, what where you waiting for? The cameras, faster processor, retina display, HDMI, 16:9 ratio, or something else? I think they put most of what I wanted in this versions, but I'm still waiting for a higher resolution.

I don't have the answers, but I'm hoping to spark some discussion here, so leave some comments and let's get the conversation going.

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Steve, Bryan, and Tony talk about Leadership transitions in churches, Christian Cruises, and Universalism vs Fandamentalistic Legalism.

Click to start with Season 1

I was watching the most recent episode of Parenthood last night when I realized how much of myself (past or present) I see in the different characters on the show. I found myself getting upset with the characters who act like the way I once did. I found myself emotionally attached to the characters that handle situations in ways that I wish I did. Different aspects of my personality are amplified in different characters. I long to see the redemption of characters after they mess things up because I would never be able to handle the just consequences.

I am reminded of how easy it can be to mess up when you're caught up in the emotions of a moment and not thinking beyond the immediate. I don't know if Parenthood is my favorite show, but I find myself drawn to watch it more than any other show on my DVR. I think I even react to my family a little differently after watching it than I would if I hadn't watched it. I see ways that I want to act right along side reactions that I want to avoid.

Do you have a TV show like that, or maybe a certain author that you always read? Do things like this shape how you live day to day? I would argue that they do in some way, even if you don't realize it.

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Western Pennsylvania's stink bug epidemic. 7 characteristics that women look for in men. Steve is the love expert. What's the point of Valentine's Day? The pursuit of your wife should not end on the wedding day. This week's challenge: Show love when it's not expected.

Let's choose to be different this week.  Let's live our lives on fire for the God of heaven and earth.  Let's engage the world... not just the people who we are comfortable with or other Christians, but people who are far from Christ.  Life is short, and God has big plans for us.  Let's live like that this week!  Let's go into the places where we have typically been afraid.  Let's take risks for the sake of God's mission to this world.  Let's choose not to get caught up in all of the things in this world that would seek to destroy us, but instead we will wake up each day and give our lives away for the sake of Christ and for everyone who is lost.  Today is the day!

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Death by rooster. Hockey: No nose required. Bryan's missing porch furniture. Intentionality as it relates to being a father and a husband. Bryan finishes things off with another challenge. More outtakes AKA Steve should stick to his day job.

Valentine's Day is one example of what I'm talking about.  For some reason, there is this concept out there that men are disengaged, insensitive meat heads 364 days of the year.  But on one magical day of the year... Valentine's day... we must rise to the occasion, pull ourselves up by our boot straps, and be the romantic, sensitive machines that our wives need us to be.  If only for one day...

So I'm going somewhere with all this.  I have a confession to make.  My wife doesn't like it when I get her things and do nice stuff for her on Valentine's Day.  Actually, she doesn't ALLOW me to do any of that stuff.  It would make her angry.  The worst thing I could probably do in my household is show up on Valentine's Day with a dozen roses that I paid ten times as much for on that day than I could have on any other day of the year.  My wife doesn't want to go to some overcrowded restaurant on Valentine's Day.  Part of the reasoning behind my wife's seemingly strange outlook on Valentine's Day has to do with how practical and frugal she is.  But, more to the point, my wife expects me to romance her, to be more than a lustful, beer drinking, simple-minded fool, on EVERY day of the year.  Of all the men in the world, she chose to marry me!  And every day, I know that I want to show her how much I love her.  I tell her how much I love her, AND I show her.  It doesn't mean that I'm a perfect husband and that I get it right every day.  I mess up all the time.  Still, I try to prioritize her as much as I can in the common moments of day to day life in our household.

So guys, let's step up to the plate.  Together.  Let's not wait for Valentine's Day this year.  Let's bring our wives flowers randomly, when they least expect it.  Let's write our wives love letters, not as a duty every day but when they least expect it.  Let's tell our wives we love them.  Often.  And let's show them we love them.  Often.  Let's figure out how our wives like to be romanced, and actually make her happy by doing those things.  You are a man.  You have many adventurous roles to live out in this life, and I can't think of a bigger challenge than marriage.  Oh, but what an amazing challenge!  What do you say, guys?  Are you a simpleton like the guys in the beer commercials, or are you daily engaging in the masculine role that God has given you to live well and to love others well.  Let's step up, not just on Valentine's Day, but every day!

- Bryan

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The number 23 is everywhere. Britain invaded America this week in History. The guys talk about hearing from God and whether or not He still speaks to His people today. Steve remembers his mancation and Bryan remembers his decision to work with L.A.M.P. John Eldridge - Walking With God.

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Steelers are going to the Super Bowl again. Sports superfans. Hockey revamps their All Star game. State of the Union Address and remembering space shuttles. Top 10 appearance turn-offs. Is a Christian bubble a good thing? What makes music "Christian"? Public Schools vs. Private Schools.

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Steve, Bryan and Tony talk about what makes a good Father's Day gift, Should a man have more than one watch, Steve is now addicted to the History Channel's Pawn Stars and more...

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An hour of what not to do with your money, is Dave Ramsey a genius or a mashed potato-head, the Gulf oil spill is out of control, stock market flash-crash, and ultimate insults.

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The podcast becomes a man, Apple secret phone leaks to the public, and Steve gives his mancation wrap-up.

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Steve has game, iPad released but gets no love from Bryan, Earthquakes on Twitter, Steve heads into the wilderness to confront his fears, all that and Jason Gregg joins in to talk about being photographed in the ladies room and the importance of organ donation.

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Steve and Bryan take on healthcare reform, The attack dog kill code, How to man up a poodle, Steve reads Wild at Heart by John Eldridge and gets ready to go camping, Brady style, The 80's were rad, and Singing the station wagon blues.

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Guest host Tony LaMarca, Is God a Geek? Big Ben, bad judgement, iPhone addiction, and the Holographic church of the future.

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Steve and Bryan look at Evangelism, Goodbye Winter Olympics, Hey Canada, How about bringing snow next time, School caught spying on students, and Steve solves the problem of pot in our National Parks - what?

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The Journeymen break down the criticisms of both big churches and small churches, Breaking up is hard to do... online, Olympic coverage continues with an immense amount of curling, and Steve "The Showkiller" has a solution for Southwest Airlines - Second Class Seating.

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Stuck in a snowstorm, Breaking down the Olympics, B-mac goes skating but not to the doctor, and Too fat to fly.

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Why do men hate Bible studies, will the iPad be awesome, and New Pro Bowl format - good or bad?

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When Christians need a rest, Haiti relief, and Epic Movies.

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The Journeymen pic apart the critics, Hurricane Ivan, Reagan and Ford, and A year in tweets.

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Decade in Review Continues and Steve Contemplates and Adventure.

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Fondue, Bryan thinks he's Charlie Brown, and Decade in Review Part 1

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Man Food, Road Trips with Kids, and How to Avoid Your Mid-Life Crisis.

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The Journeymen analyse Tiger Woods' infidelity and talk to Jason Gregg in studio about his journey through life with CF.

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Family, Football, Parades, and Are Christians guaranteed safety in the face of danger?

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Droid vs. iPhone and Why do Christians hide their struggles?

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Steve and Bryan discuss college pranks and what went wrong with episode 1.