One of my readers gave me a really good laugh when he wrote, “I bet you a wind chime.” There’s nothing like uniquely personalized humor to make you feel appreciated.
BoyGeeding’s escape room birthday party went well and I was thankful me and the ex were able to keep things civil. It’s still very awkward being around her. I get it, she’s happier divorced and feels more complete. I’d just like to have a conversation about it and why at the start did you ask for full custody of the kids.
I attended several of the sessions of my church’s men’s retreat over the weekend. They held it at Camp Copass, where I spent two or three years volunteering at when I was in my late teens. One volunteer during those days would incessantly tell us how he met his wife at the camp, that it was in the cafeteria near the sugar bowl, and “it was sweet.” It was nice seeing how much the camp grounds have improved since my time there. It was also nice just walking around and letting the memories flood in.
At the start of the retreat, we gave the guest speaker a chance to get to know us by going around the room and introducing ourselves and saying why we came. I just simply said my name and that I’ve been regularly attending our church for about 16 years and this was my first ever men’s retreat. The entire room welcomed me by clapping. That was heart warming.
As nice as many things were about the men’s retreat, I left disappointed. See, Camp Copass is a Baptist encampment. And, one reason I left the Baptist church was that it was getting too political, that if you weren’t a conservative, they would question your salvation. I prefer being able to grow and worship in a church that’s not condemning or judgemental, one that is free of politics. For the most part, my current church has been that, but the guest speaker reminded me of the tail end of my Baptist days when I just couldn’t take it any longer. For instance, he griped about woke culture. That was tolerable. What wasn’t tolerable was hearing an old white dude gripe to a room full of old white dudes about how white culture is under attack. Here’s an example of our small group discussion questions:
“Why does the imposition of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in schools, businesses, and organizations seem not to be having the desired effect wherever it is imposed? Do you believe that the cause of White Supremacy is being protected by those who object to DEI?”
Uh, can we get back to Jesus please, and leave the law and political land minds behind? How about something regarding grace, acceptance, serving others? You know, retreat stuff.
I came to the men’s retreat to escape the worries of the divisive outside world and bond with men I normally wouldn’t have time to. There’s probably a reason why there wasn’t one minority at our retreat. Would a minority male feel welcomed or comfortable having to discuss this type of question? What about one who was discriminated against?
As usual, as with a lot of conservatives, they will gripe about something like DEI but offer no alternative or any way to fix it.
There’s a time and a place for these discussions. A retreat isn’t one of them. It felt like an attempt at exclusion instead of inclusion.
Progress isn’t always linerar.
According to a new Stanford study, the average penis is larger than it was 30 years ago.
The family of an 11-year-old boy from Winter Park said he died after a twisted ankle and potential scratch eventually spiraled out of control. Jesse Brown got Strep-A, which then turned into something worse, eventually killing him.
“We become not a melting pot, but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” Jimmy Carter
