Resentment is like "resending" a bad memory back into your heart and causing a greater wound. Releasing angry memories is a process of healing.
          We covered a lot of ground in today's time together at the Sunshine Rescue Mission. We read a story about a young boy and his troubled relationship with his dad. You can read it below. We told a story about God's power of redemption that took over 50 years to make it happen. A little girl was given up for adoption by her Dad after his wife died shortly after giving birth. She found him on his deathbed through God orchestrated circumstances and they had a tearful reunion. His first words to her were, "I never should have given you up!"
          God used the remorse of a father on his deathbed to resurrect a father-daughter relationship. He died soon after, but he will see his daughter again in heaven.
          Our class was comically interrupted by "Orange Cone Thieves." The Mission has orange cones outside to help control the flow of guys who come in for meals. Several men took the cones and were walking down the street with them. Several guys ran outside to retrieve the cones. We had a good laugh as we prayed for guys who may have needed the cones to become like the "cone-heads" on Saturday Night Live.
          Our class closed with some great discussion on how to control anger and avoid resentment Here are some of the guys responses concerning anger:

1. Walk Away
2. Read the Bible
3. Set Boundaries
4. Pray
5. Talk It Over
6. Forgive

          Session #6 will continue next week. If you have any questions or advice, please let us know. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we.
​#mancave #strongmengreatdads #srm #ywap4Christ #JLYASDW
 

          Fatherlessness has many faces.A Dad can be absent physically or emotionally. Respecting authority doesn't happen easily for a guy without a solid male role model in his life. Today's Man Cave at the Sunshine Rescue Mission began Session #5 in the Strong Men Great Dads Life Manual for Men. We read a true story about a guy who took a bullet to save a boy's life.
           In the world of gangsters, respect is earned by following the rules set by the gang leaders. There is an authority structure that demands respect. When you don't follow the rules and disrespect the authority in a gang, you can lose your life. Power, money and respect is taken. Eventually everybody in this structure of authority will lose - they die or go to jail.
           Respect in the world outside of gangster-land is earned. Young men without fathers are angry and demand respect their own way. Jesus earned respect by serving people. The guys at SRM had a great interactive discussion about respect and the roots of anger. We talked about identifying those roots and taking steps to control our emotions. 
          In the slides below you can read the story and the first part of our lesson on respect. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we.

          Man Cave is famous for something we do called "Power Moment Mentoring." That means we mentor in the power of the current emotional moment where guys are. 
          We do follow a regular curriculum, but that takes second place to the emotional needs that present themselves in the current moment. Porn is an issue that's destroyed many men and their relationships with women and children. 
          Last week 7-16-20) our plan was to discuss building our own personal Man-Code-4-Life during Session #2.
​(You can read about Session #2 here.) We did that. but several other topics always pop up and porn took center stage. The Head Coach in a Man Cave is given the freedom to go in the direction that's needed by the men. Our Life Manual for Men covers many life issues, but we realize life hardly ever happens in the same order of the chapters we've written.
​          The following story is true and we share the story to help men understand the dangers of porn.           

          That was the headline in the Buffalo News. The story was a about a Teacher who was found in possession of child pornography. He was telling his story in the hopes that other men wouldn't fall into the same devil's trap that destroyed his life as a Teacher.
          The mere thought of someone having child porn is vile to most people, but this man didn't begin this habit overnight. He started with what they call soft-porn and gradually descended into the pits of hell. He said that the pictures caused him to slide down a slippery slope into hell. It became an insatiable addiction and spiraled out of control.
          First he looked at pictures of naked people. Then he lusted after action pictures. Then he lusted after the vileness of seeing children abused. It didn't happen over night, it was a process of following one bad temptation into an even more despicable temptation with each sleazy step. His self-respect left him. His character became so vile that he was repugnant to himself. 
          In the Man Cave we urged men to guard their thought life. One look can lead to another. Flee temptation, don't give the devil a foothold through porn. A man must respect himself before he can respect others. Porn is born through abuse of women and children. Men must take a stand against depravity.
                   
“Be very careful about what you think.
 Your thoughts run your life.” ~ Proverbs 4:23Thanks 
 
“Flee from sexual immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body,
but the sexually immoral person
sins against his own body.” ~ 1 Corinthians 6:18
 
“So give yourselves to God.
Stand against the devil,
and the devil will run away from you.” ~ James 4:7

          Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we.
#mancave #strongmengreatdads #ywap4Life #JLYASDW
          

          Our Program in the Man Cave follows the textbook called Strong Men Great Dads - A Life Manual for Men. We use that as a guide for our teachings, but it's up to the guys to use it as their personal Life Manual.
          We can't tell the personal stories of the men in the Cave, but we do tell them many encouraging life stories. You can read about Session #2 in our textbook by going to: Man-Code-4-Life Session #2
          Today we covered many stories about men who use hard times and failures as stepping stones to success, Ken Metzger is a cancer-overcomer and the Author of a Potter's Perfect Piece. Michael Jordan is a Hall of Fame Basketball Player who was denied a spot on his high school varsity team. Billy was a boy who was laughed at by classmates for being slow, he invented a new way to fly paper airplanes. Adam was the first man to sin and the first man in the lineage of Christ.
          We talked about privilege and how some folks are born in to adversity and some are born into prosperity. Whether adversity or prosperity, God has endowed all of us with His Spirit of excellence. What we are given by God is the privilege of sharing His Love with others. Every human being is given the Privilege of God - the ability to freely give that which we have freely received.
          All men will experience failure. Embracing failure as a stepping stone to success will help us to become Strong Men. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we.
​#mancave #strongmen #ywap4Christ #JLYASDW

          The Man-Code-4-Life is your own personal Man-Code of Conduct. There are actions in life that you should do. There are actions in life that you shouldn’t do. Sometimes sin is something you didn’t do.
 
          Building a plan for how you will conduct your life will help you make wise decisions in the heat of the moment.
 
          The first sin in the Garden of Eden is not what Adam did, but rather what he didn’t do. Adam was supposed to work and guard the Garden. He failed to guard the garden.
          His second sin is not what he did, but rather what he didn’t do. He failed to protect his wife. He left her alone with the devil.
          A man with wisdom takes care of his home and his family. He is a leader in the home first and the community second. Adam blamed his wife for his own failures. Strong men own the blame. When the blame is not necessarily on their shoulders alone, they still go shoulder-to-shoulder and share the blame. Strong men take responsibility and actively pursue the process of righting the wrong.
 
Key-Word-4-Strong-Men
“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
Genesis 2:15 KJV
Hebrew words from Strong’s Concordance for deeper understanding
Abad: Pronunciation: ä·vad'
to labour, work, do work
to work for another, serve another by labour
to serve as subjects
to serve (God)
 
shä·mar'
to keep, guard, observe, give heed
(Qal)
to keep, have charge of
to keep, guard, keep watch and ward, protect, save life
watch, watchman (participle)
to watch for, wait for
to watch, observe
to keep, retain, treasure up (in memory)
to keep (within bounds), restrain
to observe, celebrate, keep (sabbath or covenant or commands), perform (vow)
to keep, preserve, protect
to keep, reserve
 
You are a man.
You are a man of God.
You are a Guard for God.
You are an adversary of the devil.
You are a Warrior.
Please use the pages below to craft your own Personal Man-Code-4-Life. Leave us a message if we can help you or you need advice on launching a Man Cave.

          A Man Movement has started and it's spreading. Guys are gathering in Man Caves. Teachable Men - willing to be transparent, vulnerable and accountable. 
           We use a Life Manual called Strong Men Great Dads, but sometimes we just go with the flow of life. Sometimes we stop talking and call a guy who can't be there because he's sick or hurting. We stop what we're doing and make a prayer phone call. Guys have to demonstrate that they truly care for one another.
          Sometimes the subject of the weekly gathering is given to us by God. Yes. this is a Biblically based Leadership program for men. We need to know how to love the same way that God loves us.Sometimes a guy is going through a difficult life situation. We become listeners and ask god for the wisdom to help him know that we've got his back.
          So far we've launched two Man Caves in the midst of a pandemic.We believe that many more will be launched soon. This Man Movement is about men helping each other respect themselves, respect women and know how to be responsible fathers. 
          We can't tell you the details of what is shared inside a man Cave. We have a "ManCode4Life" that we live by; "What happens in the Man Cave, Stays in the Man Cave." Each week we'll give you a glimpse of the teachings with out the personal information shared by the Man Cavers.
          If you are Man or know a Man who is hungering to join a Man Movement and enter a Man Cave, please contact us. Time is of the essence for Men to ManUp!
​          Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we.