Men need other men to push us...
Bill Shorey had this on his blog and it really struck a nerve with me - sums up what I am trying to say very well...
There are many men who live shallow lives, but deep beneath their surfaces lie grand purposes -- buried. I believe every man struggles with this -- a sort of "self-dummying down". Day-to-day life becomes the pursuit of the insignificant, but these men are haunted by a desire to search out and find grand purposes. Those purposes are not absent -- just buried.

Every redeemed man must come to understand that he possesses a glory that has been buried. He needs to recognize that silt has settled into the deep channels of his soul, turning his depths into shallows. He needs a settled belief that he is not meant to remain shallow. Secondly, shallow men need other men -- understanding men -- who persevere with unfailing love to draw out the hidden glory from the depths of a murky soul. Men of understanding are rare; few are willing to engage in the tedious and dirty job of dredging.

The deep treasures of the soul lie buried in deep waters.

The past 3 months has been a time of dredging for me. I am digging out the junk that has filled my soul - the mindless "things" that occupy my time and take me away from the man God intended me to be. It is hard work and it doesn't clear up as fast as I hoped but as I do this, I get a taste, a whisper, a hint of life on the other side and it is sweet.

I am waking up to the realization that my children are getting older and will leave me soon. All these things I say I want to do with them - trips across America, a weekend camping trip, a fishing trip, a day at Callaway riding bikes - I talk a good game but I fail to act. What am I waiting for?

I shared this blog with a good friend and business companion and we had lunch yesterday. He was struck by some of the things I said about fathers and sons. He confessed his struggle to spend quality time with his two sons. He is a good man - very good - but he sees the same things I see - we intend but fail to deliver.

Dredging helps with this because dredging focuses us on the real priorities. The priority in my life isn't the private school board or the United Way campaign or a Chamber committee or Rotary Board -- the priority is God, my wife and my two daughters. "Things" that take us away from the task at hand are "silt" - sooner or later, they will fill up what was once a "deep" man and make him very shallow. I'm guilty. Are you?

This adventure is about freedom. It is about total dependence on God and, therefore, total freedom. The more I depend on God, the more free I become. Hopefully, my lunch yesterday with my friend helped dredge a bit of his soul to free him. It helped free me - to no longer say, "one day, I'd like to take my girls to ____". Times a wastin', what ya waitin' for?

Another friend read this blog and his takeaway was essentially, "I don't do well in group settings bonding with men, I much prefer to be alone to contemplate life." I just don't believe that is God's model for our lives. Men need other men to keep the channels open and dredge silt. We need each other to enable us to soar.

I am haunted by my desire to search out grand purposes for my life. God is calling me to so much more. He is calling me to Soar.