Speaking of MANners... Have you see the new Dockers ad campaign?

Dockers® Store Online - Live Khaki

Good old Dockers is telling men to put on the pants. Here is the “Man-ifesto”

“Once upon a time, men wore the pants, and wore them well. Women rarely had to open doors and little old ladies never had to cross the street alone. Men took charge because that’s what they did. But somewhere along the way the world decided it no longer needed men. Disco by disco, latte by foamy non-fat latte, men were stripped of their khakis and left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny. But today there are questions our genderless society has no answers for. The world sits idly by as cities crumble, children misbehave and those little old ladies remain on one side of the street. For the first time since bad guys, we need heroes. We need grown ups. We need men to put down the plastic fork, step away from the salad bar, and untie the world from the tracks of complacency. It’s time to get your hands dirty. It’s time to answer the call of manhood. It’s time to wear the pants.”

"Disco by disco, latte by foamy non-fat latte, men were stripped of their khakis and left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny." You gotta love that line!

All I gotta say is, "You go, Dockers!"

The real inconvenient truth

The real inconvenient truth:

"Ironically, China, despite its dirty coal plants, is the world's leader in terms of fashioning policy to combat environmental degradation, thanks to its one-child-only edict."

In some ways it is nice when people just come out and say what they really think.

This little tidbit is, of course, quite old news. And I am glad that we have the Word of God to guide us in such matters.

27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Should God permit the world's population to increase, He will also permit the scientific discovery to sustain life on the planet.

Christmas Music

This is fast becoming one of my fave's.

The Charge of the Leaf Brigade

In emailing some "friends" today, I came to the conclusion that there are only 600 of us left who still cheer for the Blue and White...

And then I wrote this. With a little help from Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

----------------------------

Half a league, half a league,

Half a league onward,

All in the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

"Forward, the Leaf Brigade!

"Charge for the guns!" he said:

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

2.

"Forward, the Leaf Brigade!"

Was there a man dismay'd?

Not tho' the soldier knew

Someone had blunder'd:

Theirs not to make reply,

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and die:

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

3.

Bruin to the right of them,

Sabre to the left of them,

Hab in front of them

Volley'd and thunder'd;

Storm'd at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred.

4.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,

Flash'd as they turn'd in air,

Sabring the gunners there,

Charging an army, while

All the world wonder'd:

Plunged in the battery-smoke

Right thro' the line they broke;

Yankee and Quebecois

Reel'd from the sabre stroke

Shatter'd and sunder'd.

Then they rode back, but not

Not the six hundred.

5.

Bruin to the right of them,

Sabre to the left of them,

Hab in front of them

Volley'd and thunder'd;

Storm'd at with shot and shell,

While horse and hero fell,

They that had fought so well

Came thro' the jaws of Death

Back from the mouth of Hell,

All that was left of them,

Left of six hundred.

6.

When can their glory fade?

O the wild charge they made!

All the world wondered.

Honor the charge they made,

Honor the Leaf Brigade,

Noble six hundred.

General Life MANners

I have thoroughly enjoyed the lively discussion these suggestions have made on the blog and Facebook. Here are a few more. Am I a prude? A prig? An out-dated goody-two-shoes?

• Opening doors for others. When going into buildings, allow women and elders to go first and open the door for them. When preceding others into a building, don't let the door slam in the face of those behind, but hold the door until the person behind can grab it. If someone holds the door for you, then remember to say "thank you." Elevators/Transit: allow those in the elevator/subway to exit first before entering. Same with buildings or rooms - if someone is exiting the building or room through the same door you are entering, let them exit first.
• Remove your hat when sitting down to eat, at the playing of the national anthem or during prayer. Some men prefer to not wear hats indoors as a sign of respect.
• Don’t phone before 7:00 am and after 10:00 pm [unless in an emergency].
• When on the phone, don't talk with others in the room. Also, leave the room to talk in private if at all possible.
• Clean up after yourself. Especially when you are visiting a friend’s home.
• Smile. Your whole demeanor should be pleasant and well-mannered and respectful. Take your time and observe people – do they take their shoes off, then you probably should too.

Eating MANners

Here are some more MANners for you gentlemen to "chew on."  Not everyone has liked my suggestions so far, yet they don't seem to give a lot of reasons why in the comments.  Tell us why you think these are off-base.

• Never talk when there is food in your mouth.
• Avoid chewing your food with your mouth open.
• Sit up straight in your chair.
• At formal meals, stand whenever a lady sits or gets up from table.
• Learn place settings. It is not that hard!
• Simply use utensils in order as the meal is served.
• Place your napkin on your lap.
• Cut meat with your knife in your right hand and fork in left. Then transfer utensils to take a bite. (Reverse if left-handed.) There is some variance of opinion on whether or not one should cut all the meat at once and then eat, or cut one piece at a time.
• Never use your fingers to push food onto your fork. That is what your knife is for.
• Do not eat until the host has picked up her utensil. Also, do not begin to eat until you have been passed all of the food. Wait until everyone is served before eating.
• Eat slowly and don't gobble up the food. Someone took a long time to prepare the food, enjoy it slowly. Slowly means to wait about 5 seconds after swallowing before getting another forkful.
• When eating rolls, tear off a piece of bread before buttering. Do not cut your roll with your knife but break in pieces with your hands.
• Don’t clear the dishes off the table until everyone has finished eating.
• Don’t start eating your dessert until the hostess sits down and begins hers. This may mean you have to sit looking at an incredible piece of dessert for some time. Deal with this. :-)

Talking and Church MANners

Well, this may cause a storm of controversy. Here is what I suggested for MANners in church and in your normal talking to one another.


Talking
• Avoid talking longer than the person(s) you are talking to.
• Ask questions of others before launching out on a long description about you.
• Look the one you talk to in the eye, but glance away occasionally to break eye contact. The listener is expected to maintain eye contact and not glance away.
• Avoid the use of words like, suck, fart, crap, bull, pissed off, and other objectionable terms
• Never interrupt, but if you do, ask permission as you do it.
• Seek to use names often in conversation, especially with new acquaintances. Individuals more than ten years older than you should be addressed with Mr. or Mrs. and only altered by invitation.
• Say, "Please" and "Thank you" often. It shows respect and appreciation. In addition, if they are thanked, then say, "You're welcome".


Church manners
• Do not enter or exit the auditorium when the Bible is being read or prayer made.
• Offer your seat to a lady if there are no other seats available
• If two or more folks are talking together, wait to be invited in to the conversation. If you are standing to the side for more than 30 seconds without an invitation, this is a good clue that you not desired in the conversation.
• Go to new people and introduce yourself. Ask where they are from and seek out any ways to serve them.
• Sit in places where most folks don’t like to
• When you meet someone new be sure to introduce them to at least one or two others by name.

Dress MANners

So, we had a great time thinking through those manners that are particularly necessary for men living in Toronto in 2009.

I began our time by listing some benefits for having and using MANners (some a little tongue-in-cheek).

You should use good manners for these reasons:

• You will offend less people.
• Women will find you more attractive if you are single.
• Married women will not be so disgusted at you.
• You will likely appear smarter than you really are and that may get you a raise.
• It is a way to love others.
• You will likely gain more opportunities for the Gospel.

The we looked at some manners for dress.

Dress

• Dress suitable for the occasion. Funerals and weddings generally require jacket and tie. Your 1993 high school jacket is probably due for retirement.
• Avoid wearing objectionable images on your clothing
• Do not expose your underwear. The only one who finds your underwear-exposure or “plumber-butt” sexy is you. And that is disgusting.
• Unless planning on completing some manual labour, why not dress like you would for a casual date with your lady.

What do you think?  Are we on the right track?

MANners: What Men Do at GFC.

Tonight will likely be the most fun Men’s Meeting we have had since, well, last month. We are devoting the year to the idea of Stewardship – How Men Should Wisely Use What God Has Given Them.

The first night was the easy one. We talked about money. The Bible has a lot to say about that and I will maybe post some of our notes from the meeting. More than listing Bible verses, we are trying to make things really practical.

Tonight we get to talk about MANners. Etiquette for men. You heard me. No more slobs. Manners don’t sanctify, but they may be the fruit of sanctification. We have a few things planned to make this an interesting night. I will post more later…

The Father's Whistle

My friend Michael Haykin is a poet. He writes things that you have to think really carefully about to understand.
I, on the other hand, sometimes find myself saying sentences with last words that rhyme. And for some reason I post them here once in a while. The example below is simply what popped into my head at the end of last Sunday morning’s sermon on Zechariah 10 and 11. I am never sure what to do with these little rhymes (most of which I write out and ignore) but the imagery of that passage was so unique I thought it a helpful way to pull together some of the big themes.
Anyway, here it is for free. I hope in some little way it points you to Jesus.

Behold the flock whipped along to what is certain slaughter
Behold the Father whistling clear for every son and daughter
Is it your name the Shepherd calls and invites to endless bliss?
Turn from the flock doomed to death, to heaven from the abyss.

He’s made a way for you to come, the price: his own Son’s blood
And all who venture faith on Him are met by mercy’s flood
Those worthless shepherds will yell and clutch and try to prove they own you
Just trust the Saviour, friend, and come; He never will disown you.