Raising Cole

The "need to read" list is piling up. Here is a book that looks like one I will want to check out:

http://www.raisingcole.com/

And another:

Teenage Boys: Surviving and Enjoying These Extraordinary Years
by Bill Beausay

Graduation Ideas for Homeschooling Families

It's that time of year again. We are very fortunate to be involved in a homeschool group that offers graduation ceremonies for our seniors, but not all homeschoolers have such a ready option.

The HomeschoolDiploma.com website has collected several links to different articles to help you decide how your family will celebrate this important event:

HomeschoolDiploma.com Graduation Ideas

Debunking Wild at Heart?

In the earnest effort to present all sides of an issue, here is an in-depth article expressing concerns over John Eldredge's Wild at Heart "movement".

The author expresses deep concern over the (in his opinion) non-Biblical premises, integration of psychology with Christianity, and use (or lack) of scripture.

As with any popular idea in Christian circles, it is best to get all the facts and form your own opinion.

Wild at Heart - Part 1, by Gary E. Gilley

Back From Vacation

There have been no recent posts because my family and I were on vacation in Florida.

We're back now, so posts should be back to a regular 2-4 day interval...

Men's Fraternity

The Men's Fraternity website has tons of info on the various group study materials they provide including info on the Raising a Modern Day Knight video series. If you are looking for a good study to go through as part of a men's ministry, you are sure to find something here.

Caleb's Prayer Certificate

I am always looking for people's stories of Christian rites-of-passages. Here's an example of a recent men's ministry manhood ceremony. Attached is the actual image of the certificate.

We recently completed The Great Adventure (DVD series from Men's Fraternity). We wanted to offer an no-cost/low-cost keepsake for the men.

Consequently we printed Caleb's Prayer onto a parchment certificate with a large image of a vertical sword penetrating an open Bible. It was quite nice and very suitable for framing.

At the very end of lesson 20, Robert says "...let us pray." At that moment we had predesignated individuals pass out theses certificates, each was rolled and tied with a ribbon (like a diploma). We also had the words to the prayer on two final slides. We all then stood and recited Caleb's Prayer as our closing. Our men really enjoyed this material and closing.

Rick Tolis
Man to Man Men's Ministry Coordinator
Christ Community Church
Tucson, AZ

CalebsPrayer72.jpg

Covenant Games

Our family is into games of all types: card games, board games, word games, etc, etc. Far from just limiting games to a "Family Game Night", we find playing games to be a great way to spend time together, to learn, and to have fun at any time.

Sometimes it can be a little hard to find the right games that work for everyone in the family, that's why this website may come in handy. Their stated mission is:

to promote and distribute Bible based and Family Friendly Games for the purpose of giving kids and parents a source of games that are Christian Friendly and to increase awareness that games can be fun, challenging, and safe all at the same time.

I have not ordered from them yet, but will next time we want something that we can't get our hands on locally.

Check them out at:

http://www.covenantgames.com/index.htm

Men of Legacy

I'm always keeping an eye out for other blogs or websites that have similar visions/missions as Warrior's Hand. Here's one that looks very interesting that has been around since 2006.

A quick scan of recent posts makes it seem like there is a strong focus on Hillcrest Church in Dallas, TX but several posts have applicability to all Christian men.

From the blog:

The mission of "Men of Legacy" is to provide men with real tools that teach them how to live lives of authentic manhood as modeled by Jesus Christ and directed by the Word of God.

Check it out:

Men of Legacy

Masculinity vs. Maturity

I like this little article from the Thinklings blog (seven Christian guys sharing a common sounding board) concerning the difference between masculinity and maturity which sometimes get confused. From the article:

Suggestion #1: Church leaders concerned about the state of manhood in the church: please ditch the “all church guys are chicks” talk. It’s not true. I mean, it sounds good, it sells books, it spices up sermons when you describe the alleged wussification of men in our society ... the men in our churches that are part of the problem are not wusses, they just aren’t men. They are boys. The problem is a lack of maturity, not a lack of masculinity.

Check out the full article here: http://thinklings.org/?post_id=3332