Every year in the middle of March, twelve guys get together for a weekend outing. These men, for the most part, have the common link of having been involved in Young Life youth ministry in some way. There are present and former Young Life staff, former volunteer leaders, and former Young Life club kids. There are a couple of family members who have joined the group by common consent. The members are now all over 40 years old with the oldest being over sixty two. The weekend begins on Thursday night and ends on Sunday morning and is usually set to coincide with the beginning of “March Madness.” The guys have their “bracket sheets for the N.C.A.A. tournament all filled out when they arrive. The venues have varied from Hilton Head to Cashiers, North Carolina. Many times golf has been involved. Others times fishing was the “lure.” (Sorry!) This year the attraction was four wheel A.T.V.’s and skeet shooting. The locale was the northwest corner of Georgia near Cloudland Canyon. This weekend has been going on for twenty years now.
Is there a purpose to the weekend other than some guys getting together? “Sounds like a testosterone–filled weekend”, you say. In truth, it partly is. There is real value in men being together, away from the pressures of everyday life, in a relaxed environment where they can be themselves and laugh long and hard. The real purpose of the weekend, however, is to share with each other what has been going on in their lives over the past year. For many of us, we only get to see each other at this time. It is a time when we can be totally transparent. We share our victories and defeats, our joys and our sorrows. We do not judge each other. Being guys, it is hard not to try to fix situations and offer advice. Usually this is done when the person seeks advice and counsel on dealing with an issue. We share struggles with our marriages, our families, our jobs, and our faith. In short; we get real with each other. Guys in the group are wrestling with extremely difficult issues in their lives. Each man is prayed for as he finishes his sharing time. This process actually consumes the bulk of the weekend and is the time we look forward to the most. Sure, the activities are fun, the venues are great, and the laughter is therapeutic, but the love, care and concern shared by the “Band of Brothers” is what keeps us coming back.
Guys, if you do not have something like this in your lives, you are missing out! I would love to help facilitate something like this for you and your friends. Give me a call at 678-986-4814.
MINISTRY NEWS:
We are reformulating the Wednesday lunchtime group at the corporate office because we were not successful in reaching our target group, namely other people in the office park. The group distilled down to five or six women from the corporate office. The group will now be led by a woman from the group who has obvious gifts of discipleship with these women. I will use this time to meet with men on an individual basis. I will continue to lead the warehouse men in a lunchtime Bible study different day. I am available to lead another men’s group. Call me if you are interested at 678-986-4814.
MINISTRY NEEDS:
We are asking for prayer for one of our Friday Morning group members, Russell Thomas, who suffered a fall at his home. He had a serious head injury and has been in the I.C.U. for a week. At last report, his condition is improving rapidly. Please keep Russell and his family in your prayers
I am blessed by your friendship, support, and encouragement.
Christ - The ReeseSource - The Newsletter of Net Work Ministries, Inc.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Christ - The Reese Source - February 2008
IN MEMORIAM
On the morning of Thursday, February 7th, I lost a dear friend and a role model. Dale K. McMennamy went home to the Lord at the age of ninety-two, leaving behind his wife of sixty nine years, his son and daughter-in-law, three grandchildren, their spouses, and three great-grandchildren. I will and do miss him greatly.
Married sixty-nine years! Wow! He and his wife, Sarah, were role models for so many of us. At Mr. McMennamy’s funeral, I was talking with some of the men of his church. They spoke humorously of how Mr. McMennamy made them all look “bad”. He always opened the car door for his wife, held hands with her, and held the door open for her going into the church. Mrs. McMennamy shared with me the other day that his name for her was “Angel”. Not long ago, during a sleepless night, as she was retuning to bed, he looked at her and asked, “What do you do with your wings at night?”
Mrs. McMennamy has given me permission to share with you a Valentine’s Day card that Mr. McMennamy had composed two years ago when he was unable to go to the store to purchase a card.
Dear Sarah,
I have never been a poet or good at penmanship or spelling. I was usually the first to sit down in a spelling bee. But I have always wanted to write about how much you mean to me. Being married to the most beautiful woman in the world, a Christian and one who lives it in every way, is far more than I deserve. Our married life has been the greatest thing that could have happened to me, and I hope for you too. No regrets and a constant reminder of how great my life has been. I have always gotten a thrill when you walk into the room and I always will.
All my love,
Dale
Guys, take a lesson from a man who had been married sixty-seven years at the time of the writing of this Valentine’s Day card! I think of Mr. McMennamy when I read Paul’s command in Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
Mr. McMennamy was a giant in my eyes. He was larger than life to me. He was an adventurer, an engineer and an entrepreneur. He was a kind and gentle man. He was an artist in wood and machinery, a true craftsman. Most of all, to me, he was a man that lived out his faith in Christ daily.
As Sheldon Van Auken said to C.S. Lewis said on the streets of Oxford, England at their parting. “Christians never have to say ‘Goodbye”, just ‘See you later.”
To paraphrase what St. Paul says in Phillipians 1:3, “I thank my God in all of my remembrances of you, Mr. McMennamy.” I will see you later.
What a remarkable man! What a remarkable life!
MINISTRY NEWS:
I am continuing to minister to men on an individual basis on issues of marriage and family, employment, and interpersonal relations. Additionally, I continue to network with people to bring them together in mutually beneficial ways.
I continue to facilitate three different (and diverse) groups during the week and will start another breakfast meeting at the first of next month.
Are you interested in either a couples retreat or men’s retreat or father, grandfather/son, grandson retreat to Montana this summer? There would be fly-fishing, hiking and sight-seeing around Glacier National Park. The trip would be approximately five to seven days in length. We would have daily devotionals. Let me know a.s.a.p. of your interest by calling me at 678-986-4814.
On the morning of Thursday, February 7th, I lost a dear friend and a role model. Dale K. McMennamy went home to the Lord at the age of ninety-two, leaving behind his wife of sixty nine years, his son and daughter-in-law, three grandchildren, their spouses, and three great-grandchildren. I will and do miss him greatly.
Married sixty-nine years! Wow! He and his wife, Sarah, were role models for so many of us. At Mr. McMennamy’s funeral, I was talking with some of the men of his church. They spoke humorously of how Mr. McMennamy made them all look “bad”. He always opened the car door for his wife, held hands with her, and held the door open for her going into the church. Mrs. McMennamy shared with me the other day that his name for her was “Angel”. Not long ago, during a sleepless night, as she was retuning to bed, he looked at her and asked, “What do you do with your wings at night?”
Mrs. McMennamy has given me permission to share with you a Valentine’s Day card that Mr. McMennamy had composed two years ago when he was unable to go to the store to purchase a card.
Dear Sarah,
I have never been a poet or good at penmanship or spelling. I was usually the first to sit down in a spelling bee. But I have always wanted to write about how much you mean to me. Being married to the most beautiful woman in the world, a Christian and one who lives it in every way, is far more than I deserve. Our married life has been the greatest thing that could have happened to me, and I hope for you too. No regrets and a constant reminder of how great my life has been. I have always gotten a thrill when you walk into the room and I always will.
All my love,
Dale
Guys, take a lesson from a man who had been married sixty-seven years at the time of the writing of this Valentine’s Day card! I think of Mr. McMennamy when I read Paul’s command in Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
Mr. McMennamy was a giant in my eyes. He was larger than life to me. He was an adventurer, an engineer and an entrepreneur. He was a kind and gentle man. He was an artist in wood and machinery, a true craftsman. Most of all, to me, he was a man that lived out his faith in Christ daily.
As Sheldon Van Auken said to C.S. Lewis said on the streets of Oxford, England at their parting. “Christians never have to say ‘Goodbye”, just ‘See you later.”
To paraphrase what St. Paul says in Phillipians 1:3, “I thank my God in all of my remembrances of you, Mr. McMennamy.” I will see you later.
What a remarkable man! What a remarkable life!
MINISTRY NEWS:
I am continuing to minister to men on an individual basis on issues of marriage and family, employment, and interpersonal relations. Additionally, I continue to network with people to bring them together in mutually beneficial ways.
I continue to facilitate three different (and diverse) groups during the week and will start another breakfast meeting at the first of next month.
Are you interested in either a couples retreat or men’s retreat or father, grandfather/son, grandson retreat to Montana this summer? There would be fly-fishing, hiking and sight-seeing around Glacier National Park. The trip would be approximately five to seven days in length. We would have daily devotionals. Let me know a.s.a.p. of your interest by calling me at 678-986-4814.