About The Strange Him!!

The Strange Him!! is more than a newsletter — it’s a call to live narrowly, but boldly.

In a world that celebrates comfort, convenience, and compromise, the man who follows Jesus Christ is no longer the rule — he’s the exception.
He’s strange by the world’s standards. Set apart. Resilient. Unafraid to walk the narrow road.

This space exists for men ready to stand firm, resist the drift, and prepare their hearts and minds to struggle and sacrifice for the sake of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Each issue of The Strange Him is built to challenge, equip, and sharpen — helping you live with conviction, courage, and clarity in a culture constantly calling you to water it all down.

This isn’t a newsletter for perfect men.
It’s for men willing to be watchmen — ready to take their post:

Eyes open.
Heart anchored.
Sword in hand.

Let’s study, stand, and grow together as men of Christ — bold, prepared, and faithfully strange.

Let us become the men of God our families, communities, and country want and need.

Choose Your Difficult

inspiration from @ryanleak - Instagram

“Here’s what I want you to know. Life is hard either way, so choose your difficult.

-Waking up early to work out? That’s hard but so was feeling exhausted and unhealthy.

-Having tough conversations to fix a relationship…that’s difficult, but so is living with resentment and distance.

-The budgeting your money with discipline, that’s hard too, but so is drowning in debt.

-Putting yourself out there is hard and risking rejection and putting your work and heart on the line. I get it, that’s hard, but so is playing it safe and wondering what could have been.

-Growth is hard but regret, I would say, it’s harder.

Everything has it’s pain, so don’t ask for easy, ask for worth it. You don’t get to skip difficult but you do get to decide which kind of difficult you’re going to live with. The difference between people who grow and people who stay stuck, it’s not talent, it’s how they handle difficult”

-Ryan Leak

I don’t know Ryan Leak. I’d never heard of him before, but when I heard this, it definitely got my attention. It flat hit different!!

I have a good friend who often tells me that everything is a choice—what we eat, what we wear, the character of our person we display (or fail to display), whether we step out and start a new business (adventure) or stay tied to the 9–5 we hold disdain for, even whether we sin or don’t sin—all of it is a choice. I cannot agree more. But after hearing what I quoted above, I realized that while everything is a choice, every choice is a choice between difficulties. Some choices between difficulties are easy, like what to eat—Mom’s home cooking or fast food from McDonald’s? But some choices are truly hard. I suspect that if those around us could bear witness to all of our choices, whether easy or difficult, they would be able to put a pretty good stamp on the kind of person we really are. Life truly is a choice between difficulties.

This is true even for those who believe in Christ. Think back to when you first became a believer. For many true followers of Jesus, that moment involves a difficult choice: to stay tucked away in the comfort of the world or to submit your life to Him. It’s easy to say you believe—but as 1 John 1:6 says, “Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did.”

Choosing Christ means choosing the difficult road. Even Jesus said it would be difficult. It’s far easier to conform to the ways of the world than to walk in His footsteps. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

No one ever said life would be easy—whether you’re a believer or not. Life has its ups and downs for everyone. But for the believer, even in times of strife, we can be comforted by joy we find in Jesus and his promises.

Contrast this with the non-believer. When things go wrong, it’s easy to be filled with bitterness and contempt, and to direct blame at God. I don’t know if you know it or not…but that is the totality of the enemy’s plan: to steal our joy, kill our love, and destroy our lives. In that heart, there is often little room for joy.

Choosing to leave behind the ways of the world is difficult—but choosing the world over Christ leads to an eternity apart from God. And that separation will be more painful than anything we will ever face on this earth.

But…when we choose the narrow gate and rejoice in the life we have been provided—regardless of our circumstances—we experience the blessings of Jesus in our hearts. Yes, living for Christ can be more difficult than living without Him, but when our time comes to meet the Father, we will experience a joy greater than anything we could ever imagine on this earth.

Choose your difficult!

If you don't follow The Daily Blade, give it a listen as you head into work tomorrow. I promise that you will be inspired by a straight and to-the-point teaching of The Word of God. The Daily Blade is a short-form podcast(usually about 5 minutes) hosted by Joby Martin, the Senior Pastor of The Church of Eleven22, and Kyle Thompson, the producer of the Undaunted Life podcast. It aims to help Godly men embrace their anointed roles as men of God! You won't be disappointed. After just one listen, you'll be hooked, and it will undoubtedly become a great starting point for your morning. 

As always, I am going to plug my cult. There is just something that bonds men when they do hard things together. It is because of this bond that these men are a special part of my life, and I am a better man, physically, mentally, and spiritually, because of the men of this group. F3 groups are popping up nationwide. This is a great way to find a great group of MEN. Find a group of guys for you!

I am also going to continue plugging GORUCK. This is an activity you can do with a group or by yourself….anywhere you go. Get Heavy…GORUCK!

The Art of Manliness is a men's interest and lifestyle website with content geared to helping men become better men. You can find anything here from how to grill a steak to how to fall asleep in 2 minutes. It is just an interesting place for men to learn about men stuff.

Thanks again for subscribing, and Stay Strange, My Friend!