Incredible Men,
Before you were ever a man with a job, a marriage, a mortgage, or a mission — you were dust that God knelt down and breathed into.
"Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." — Genesis 2:7
Sit with that for a second. God didn't speak you into existence from a distance the way He spoke light into the darkness. He got close. He formed you with His own hands, then put His own breath into your lungs. The Spirit of God is the reason you're alive right now, reading this. Not your alarm clock. Not your coffee. Him.
The same Spirit that gave you breath in the garden is the same Spirit Scripture says still lives in you today.
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." — 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
"If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." — Romans 8:11
That changes what taking care of yourself actually is. It's not vanity. It's not even just discipline. It's stewardship of a body the Holy Spirit chose to live in. You wouldn't let the sanctuary at your church rot from neglect. Don't let the one the Spirit actually inhabits rot either.
So let's talk about how He built you to be renewed, because it's simpler than the world makes it.
God hung the sun in the sky on day four and called it good, long before anyone had heard of vitamin D. He surrounded the garden with rivers before He ever handed Adam a tool. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." (Psalm 19:1) Sun. Water. Ground. Breath. None of it was decoration. That was the original design for how a man made from dust and filled with Spirit was meant to live — outside, in the light, near moving water, dependent on the God who formed him.
Somewhere along the way, we traded it for fluorescent light and a glowing screen, and we wonder why we're exhausted, why we can't sleep, why our bodies feel like they're running on fumes by Thursday. You were not built for concrete and notification sounds. You were built for an open sky. Some part of you still knows it, even after years of ignoring it.
I watched that truth hit a whole group of men at once last Saturday.
We stood on the rocks at Lakeway City Park before the sun had even cleared the hills. We prayed together — out loud, unhurried, the kind of prayer that doesn't happen when you're rushing out the door. We trained hard, side by side. We had a real time of devotion and encouragement, man to man, the kind most of us don't get anywhere else in our week. And then we walked straight into that lake.
I want to be honest about what that morning actually was, because it's easy to file it under "workout" and move on. It wasn't just a workout. It was a group of men putting God first — literally seeking Him before the sun, before the noise, before the world got a vote — and then letting His sunlight, His water, and His people finish the work in us that striving never could. "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." (3 John 2) That's not two separate prayers. That's one prayer, over one man, prayed in the same breath. I watched it answered on the shore of that lake.
No one can steward this for you. Not your wife. Not your doctor. Not me. I can hand you a map. You're the only one who can actually walk it.
This Saturday, August 22 — 6:33 AM, Lakeway City Park, 502 Hurst Creek Rd — we're doing it again.
Bring yourself, a towel, and a bottle of water. We'll take care of the rest. Every man is welcome. No experience needed — just a willingness to seek Him first before the world gets a say in your day. And don't sit this one out telling yourself you'll catch the next one. Bring a friend who needs this more than he'll ever admit out loud.
The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is living in you. Go live like it — starting this Saturday.
With you in the fight,
Pastor D
You're receiving this email because you matter to God — and you matter to me. Whether we've met or not, I'm for you, I believe in you, and I'm praying that you step fully into who God created you to be. I consider you an Incredible Man — not because you're perfect, but because you're called. Called to live with conviction, lead with integrity, and stand firm when life gets hard. The word incredible comes from the Latin incredibilis, meaning "not believable." It describes a man who lives differently — set apart, grounded, and unwavering.
I'm grateful you're here.
