THE COURAGEOUS SOUL WAY BLOG
Spirituality
Tender Strength
When you put the two words tender strength together, it doesn’t usually make sense. Can we really be tender and be strong?
I think most people would unequivocally answer no to that question. When we think of tender, we usually think of being soft, over-emotional and physically weak.
I am here to say that thinking is 100% wrong. A man showing our tender side doesn’t make us weak, it makes us human. It makes us strong and it makes us authentic.
Every Man Has a Tender Side
I believe every man h…
Silence is Betrayal
I am sharing this blog post on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. What an amazing man and legacy he has left for us to follow. He has inspired me because I have a dream too.
My dream is that men get out of quiet desperation and start to live a life of divine inspiration.
My dream is that being a Christian man in today’s world is no longer about suffering in shame and guilt, but living a life that makes us feel fully alive because we see ourselves the way God sees us.
We are his beloved sons.
My d…
My One Word for 2021...JOY
Instead of setting New Year’s Resolutions and a list of goals, I have found it more helpful to choose one word that I want to live my life by. Last year my one word was courage. This year I want to live my life by joy.
As I reflect back on my life, I must admit it hasn’t been filled with joy. Fleeting happiness, yes. Joy, definitely not. My joy and happiness has always been dependent on external circumstances and other people.
As a recovering codependent and perfectionist I have lived my life …
Living Life Unleashed
Indulge me while I tell a dog story that could potentially transform your life. As I was out for my morning walk in beautiful Boulder, Colorado with my dog Oakley, I saw two different sides of her. The leashed side and the unleashed side.
Her leashed side is docile and tame with an energy that feels like she is being held captive and contained by her leash.
Freedom, Passion and Mischievousness
When she is unleashed I see her come completely alive. She has this look of freedom, passion and som…
Getting Our I AM Right
What we say after these two words, “I AM”, defines how we live our lives.
Richard Rohr in his book Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self talks about getting our I AM right. When we get our I AM right, everything else in our lives falls into place.
Try this experiment. Say to yourself, “I am tired”. Now say to yourself, “I am energized”. My guess is that your body instantly felt different depending if you told yourself you are tired or energized.
Now try this. Say to yourself “I am a …
Finding Peace Being Me
The position I played in football back in the day was strong safety. It was a defensive position. My job was to defend my opponent from getting in the end zone. It was all about defense. The better wall we collectively put up as a team, the least likely our opponent was able to penetrate that wall and score.
Being defensive served its purpose. When we played solid defense, we usually won. As they say, the best defense is often times the best offense.
Being great at defense served me well when …
Finding Hope During a Pandemic
We are all feeling some strain at this point of an ongoing pandemic that doesn’t seem to have any end in sight. I know I certainly am having COVID-19 and mask fatigue. I miss seeing people’s faces. I miss seeing people’s smiles. I understand the importance of wearing masks and I am doing my part, but I can’t wait to see people’s smiles again.
It’s easy to lose hope during this time. My heart goes out to anyone who has lost a loved one during this challenging time or have encountered economic de…
Overcoming the Master Addiction
I have been doing a lot of reflecting back on my life lately. Not to live in the past, but to learn from it, so I can heal and grow.
I have lived the majority of my life with a sense of heaviness. I have felt the weight of the world on my shoulders.
There have been periods of happiness, but it’s almost always based on external circumstances.
As I am trying to understand the main source of my pain, God put this so strongly on my heart.
Overwhelming Need for Control
The number one source of m…
Do the Opposite
As I am sitting down to write this our nation is in the middle of a heated political election that as of this time is undecided.
The county I live in, Boulder County, will move to safer at home level 3 restrictions due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.
The fires are still burning in many parts of the state of Colorado where I live.
There is a lot of tension, anxiety and fear in our world right now.
My question is how are we going to respond?
What if we did the opposite of the way the world re…
Learning to Surrender
“The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.” –William Booth
Learning to surrender control to God has been one of the hardest things to do on my journey since I have become a Jesus follower about ten years ago.
I have felt the need to control, manipulate, and do things under my own strength so life circumstances turn out the way I think they should. This is true in every area of my life including relationships, finances and career.
What it Means to Surrender
Surrender is …