We’ve Moved!

|  Mark Edward  |

It’s Official!  

We are now live on our own new domain.

We’ve shortened our name.

I’d Rather Talk to You Than Sleep™ is now, I’d Rather Talk™

idrathertalk.com

 

• More White Space.
  
• Shorter Paragraphs.
• Easier to Read.
• Easy-Access-Menus From Mobile Devices.

 

 

• Same Insightful Content.
• Still Helping Men Find Answers™.
• Future Post Emails Will Generate From idrathertalk@gmail.com via Mail Chimp
• A Graphic / Photo in Every Mobile Thumb Swipe.

Wait.  What?

Cuz some of my Millenial friends have a shorter attention span when there’s no pictures, bahaha.

Come on Over.

idrathertalk.com

 

On Sunday evening, October 29, 2017, our first official post on the new domain will be for single guys:

 

It has some great tips from the married guys in my Circle.

And.  Married guys – I have not forgotten you.

In November, we’ll be releasing, “Twenty Five Tips for Fathers of Daughters.”   (Twenty-Five Tips for Fathers of Sons is already live).

In Spring of 2018, “The M Word – Part 2 – For Married Men.”  Because you still ask me about that.

I Can’t Wait to Keep Locking Arms Together. 

A three fold cord is not easily broken.

Still putting on some finishing touches and in the final stretch of updating new logos on 800 photos.

 

But we’re live!  Click to Go to I’d Rather Talk.

I usually end my posts with a question.  Today it’s a statement:

Our Last Post at this URL.

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Feel free to reply below or email us privately if you don’t want your mother stalking your personal business.  We never share email addresses.

We won’t blow up your IN box.  We don’t air your dirty laundry.  Ever.

Copyright © 2017 by Mark Edward – All Rights Reserved

This article was first published on the site,  I’d Rather Talk to You than Sleep™

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CLICK ON THE ENVELOPE TO EMAIL US AND RECEIVE OUR LATEST POSTS FREE.

WE ONLY POST 2 TO 3 TIMES MONTHLY.  WE DON’T INVADE YOUR LIFE.

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What? Not following us on Social Media?  

We don’t clog up your feed.  We don’t tweet hourly.  We don’t care about Likes.  We don’t need more Followers for our ego.  We don’t post closeups of Shrimp Cocktail.  

Insights tastefully cybered to men.  

Once in a while.

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LEADERSHIP.  MENTORING.  DESTINY.  THOUGHT LIFE.  BOUNDARIES.  FRIENDSHIPS.  DATING.  SEXUALITY.  MARRIAGE.  PARENTING.  MONEY.  SON-SHIP WITH GOD.

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~ About Mark ~

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ShorTTake: 1601: Why You Can’t Stop Trying

|  Mark Edward  |

 ShorTTake™

ShorTTakes™ can be read in 3 minutes.  Or less.

Guys talk to me every week about their struggles. 

What they perceive as their weaknesses.

Often, it has something to do with testosterone.  

Few have anyone to talk to about it.  But I go there with them.  No judgement. 

Mark, I keep trying, but it catches me off guard when I least expect it.  I try to stop doing _________ (fill in the blank).  I think I’ve conquered.  Then – crap (or other choice words, haha).  It hits me again.

We all have this thing hanging between our legs which – at times – seems more powerful than our will.

“Making Some Changes” Survey Results

|  Mark Edward  |

Thanks to everyone who took a few minutes to give your input!

After 3 1/2 years of writing under the Marquee I’d Rather Talk to You Than Sleep™ – I’m considering shortening the name, and getting my own domain. 

 

Here are the Survey Results!

25 Tips for Fathers of Sons

|  Mark Edward  |

So I raised 3 daughters.

What could a dad like me possibly know about parenting boys?

Over the last 33 years, I’ve had the honor and joy of journeying with over 150 young men in a mentoring role.

Being directly involved in their growth – some for a season – and many over the long haul, I feel like I’ve helped raise a few boys too.  Plus… well, I was one.

A number of them have stayed at our home, sometimes for extended periods.

They tell me stuff.

I listen.

 

PORN: Your Journey Out

|  Mark Edward  |

One of the biggest challenges young men face in the 21st Century is the emotional separation created by the use of porn.  

I have observed regular porn use ruin the marriages of men with whom I’ve journeyed.  Legacies Lost.  Families Broken.  Over and over.  

I’ve seen porn deceive and weaken single men to the point where sexual desire becomes god.  And God seems silent.

Now, with Pocket Porn – glaring from The Glowing Rectangle in our jeans pocket  – it’s the number one thief in the lives of young men today.  

Porn steals the confidence, masculinity, peace, joy, relationships, and the God ordained sexual happiness of the young male. 

(Courtesy Shutterstock)

 

I won’t re-post them now, but you can view what I call “mind boggling” stats of millenial porn use in our previous post (PORN: It’s Not About the Pics) – later in this article.

There is little that is more powerful in a man’s psyche than his sexual thoughts.

Sex is a God-given desire.  Sexual desire doesn’t have to be dirty.

Men shouldn’t feel guilty when they are horny.  God meant sexual release for our enjoyment.

Yet, porn perverts our sexual desires.  And our sexual joy.  Porn exchanges The Real for The Fake.

Sexual desire is enormously powerful.  God made us to ejaculate.  But, with no boundaries, sexual desire binds us.

With no self control, it controls us.  It holds us captive.

You may be reading this and feel that you are captive.

Trapped.

Smothered.

Choked.

Imprisoned.

Is there a way out?

Journaling. A 40 Year Adventure!

|  Mark Edward  |

Forty years ago tonight.  11:01 p.m.  I began Journaling.

The inspiration came from one of my youth pastors.  He said,

“Mark, you should really think about journaling.  God will speak to you over months and years.  It will change your life…”

As an awkward, melancholy, musically creative teen, I took the suggestion seriously.   

 

Did it really change my life?   Is all the writing time really worth it?

The Isolation Trap

|  Mark Edward  |

 ShorTTake™

ShorTTakes™ can be read in 3 minutes.  Or less.

Isolation is not the same thing as Taking Time Alone.  

In fact, the two behaviors are polar opposites.

Both behaviors are choices.

Observing the recent journeys of my children, guys in my Circle, and even my wife’s recent journey of renewal and learning to caring for herself again,  have inspired me to write this post on isolation tonight.

ShorTTakes are short and sweet.  Give me 3 minutes guys.

The Difference Between Isolation and Taking Time Alone

Isolation Reverses.

Taking Time Alone Restores.

Your Man Journey

|  Mark Edward  |

I’m sitting in the Pavilion Crossing Starbucks in Tampa Bay, thinking back on the thousands of conversations I have experienced with the young men in my Circle over the last 33 years.

Because I am crazy auditory, I can repeat some of them word for word – years later.

 

One of the supreme joys of my life is meeting with young men weekly.  One on one.  

Talking to guys around the nation by phone, text, and Face-time.  It’s what I am meant to do.  

I’ve heard everything in 33 years of mentoring, that’s for sure.

Besides the typical curious questions on sexuality, one of the most frequent and heartfelt statements that fall on my musician ears goes something like this:

Mark… I just wanna be the best man / husband / dad / son of God I can be.   What should I do?  Where do I start?  Can you help me?

With great passion, I answer with much affirmation:

Yes.  I can.  More than that.  Your God can help you.  Let’s work on it together.  Let’s get a plan!

So, does it really matter if you complete your Man Journey?