July Vacation

Matthew and I talked about my vacation.

He said, "Go to Traverse City without me."

But what fun is that...to go alone?  My sisters are busy in Africa and with boyfriends.  My friends are busy or have moved away.

So I stayed in Portland.  I still might go up to the Cherry Festival later the week...

...but for now I'm having fun hiking around Portland, unveiling beauty.

And taking pictures of it. 

Have you seen a catapillar this cool yet this year?

Have you seen cool wildflowers like this yet this year?

What about bugs playing leapfrog...seen any of them?

I even found some wild berries!

...I'm serious!

A real man knows who he is.

REALLY knows.

Remember your first year of band camp - where you were put through an initiation.  Mine involved putting on a swimsuit, having other members of the band write all over my body in marker, then having the drum major march us all into the lake.  We came out covered in colorful, runny marker.  We also came out initiated.  We now knew we were truly a part of marching band!

Boys also go through an initiation process.  But their initiation isn't as easy as marching and markers.  They have to know their roots, face a series of trials that test them, take a journey, and have faced an enemy before they can become a man.  Only then can a boy truly know who he is: and that he is a man!

For example, Maximus from the movie Gladiator was a real man.  Let me tell you the story:

Emperor Marcus Aurelius wanted Roman Army General Maximus to be his successor.  But Marcus had his own son, Commodus, who felt he was the rightful heir.  So Commodus got mad and killed his father; the Emperor.  He then took Maximus' wife and son and sentenced them, along with Maximus, to execution.  Maximus escaped, but not soon enough to save his wife and son. 

Maximus then gets sold as a slave and turned into a Gladiator.  As a Gladiator, Maximus displayed remarkable courage, hiding his identity behind his helmet. 

Upon winning yet another battle Commodus said to him, "Your fame is well deserved Spaniard.  I don't belive there's been a gladiator that has matched you…why doesn't the hero reveal himself and tell us all your real name?"

Maximus is silent.

"You do have a name" Commodus asked.

"My name is gladiator" says Maximus as he turns his back and walks away.

"How dare you show your back to me slave!" Shouts Commodus.  "You will remove your helmet and tell me your name."

Maximus slowly lifts his helmet and turns to his enemy.  "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridious.  Commander of the Armies of the North.  General of the Felix Legions.  Loyal servant to the true Emperor, Marcus Aurelious.  Father to a murdered son.  Husband to a murdered wife.  And I will have my vengeance in this life or in the next."

His answer builds like a mighty wave.  He knows his name and it is not "mama's boy" or "sissy" or "fatty" or "loser."

A real man know s who he is.  He doesn't just know it in his head; he knows it deep down in his soul.

Do you know your name?

-- Excerpts from author John Eldridge --