With three boys in the house, it is always a struggle to keep my daughter from "falling through the cracks". I'll be honest...it's just easier to deal with boys.
Going through an old box of books the other day I found this book again. My daughter is a teen, so it's been a few years since I read it. But if I remember correctly, it is a good book.
Check it out:
Throw another book on the "need to read" list:
Children have plenty of buddies. In an age when kids all around us are growing up without strong, positive guidance from their parents (who are busy, distracted, gone, or choose to be buddies instead of parents) children need someone they can look to with respect to help them build their lives.When he was thirteen years old, Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, had such a man step into his life: a Sunday school teacher who modeled love, respect, hard work, and discipline. Cathy decided to follow that model, and today he has some 130 foster grandchildren, many of whom have broken their family’s generational cycle of neglect through the encouragement of Cathy and other adults who reached out to them.
In It’s Better to Build Boys Than Mend Men, Truett Cathy lays out a simple model for adults desiring to reach out to youth and challenges readers to allow God to work through them to change the life of a child. His book is filled with stories illustrating the principles of discipline, trust, reputation, generosity, common sense, peer pressure, and family stability.
Readers who follow their hearts into children’s lives will find that their own lives are enriched as well.
Way back in February of 2007, the third post on this blog was a review of Brian Molitor's book Boy's Passage, Man's Journey.
From the looks of his website, it seems his ministry is still going strong!
I hope to soon read his book for daughters: Girl's Passage - Father's Duty.
Check him out here:
Malachi Global Foundation
I've always tenuously recommended John Eldredge's stuff. I have heard and read the many arguments that his ideas are "radical" and that he tends toward "open theism".
If I take his books as just another Christian guy sharing his story and not as a theological treatise, I find that his works are inspiring and encouraging.
His latest book is no different. Here he explores an idea that popped up a lot in his previous books: that we are living our lives as part of a grand story along the lines of the "epic" movies he so often references (The Matirx, Gladiator, Braveheart, etc).
He suggests that our lives have purpose and meaning and that we realize that meaning as we participate in the story God is telling...none other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is a easy yet inspiring read, and I can't help but feel it might be a good way to share the gospel with certain people in my life. I recommend this book.
Here is a cool website that goes along with the book:
I finally "went commercial" and set up an Amazon store.
Really, I'm setting it up not because I want/expect revenue from it, but because I thought it would be a nice place to have an easy-to-navigate list of books & movies that have been meaningful to me in my journey through manhood and fatherhood.
If I make $1 off of it I will be surprised! If it helps one person find the right resource, I will be satisfied!
It is really exciting to see the "next generation" of authors beginning to write about being strategic in raising sons & daughters with a core of moral substance.
While I will always go back to the founding fathers of this genre (Robert Lewis, Steve Farrar, Stu Weber), it is nice to hear new voices too.
While I haven't yet read his books, Rick Johnson looks very promising as one of those new voices. From his website:
I believe families, communities, and our society can grow stronger when parents begin to realize the unique power and influence we have in the lives of our sons and daughters. This goal is reflected both in the books I've written and through Better Dads, a fathering skills ministry that now equips both men and women to become better parents, spouses, and leaders.
There's something kind of refreshing about the austere quality of this workbook-style resource for training boys into men of Christian character from Plain Path Publishers.
If you and your son are used to slickly produced material with vibrant colors, "hip" graphics, and bite-sized information, you may well be underwhelmed by this meaty, no-frills presentation.
However, if you can get past the surface, you're in for some powerful Biblical principles.
Each of the chapters gives an overview of a principle, specific examples, Biblical underpinning, exercises & questions to discuss, and (my personal favorite) a personal evaluation section.
I don't agree with everything in every section, and much of it will seem a bit "old-fashioned" at first glance--but that has more to do with our cultural norms than with the material itself.
Overall a great resource to help you and your son set manhood goals.
| Christian Manhood | |
| Author: | Gary Maldaner |
| ASIN: | B0019M4A86 |
| Genre: | Religion & Spirituality/Christianity |
| Recommended: | Yes |
| Score: | 8 out of 10 |
| Summary: | A Guide for Training Boys to be Spiritually Strong Men |
I've been searching for a book to read with my 16 year-old...this looks promising:
Written when they were 18 years old, Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.
Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life and map a clear trajectory for long-term fulfillment and eternal impact.
Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of revolution already in progress challenges the next generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.
A long while ago I reviewed the book Age of Opportunity by Paul Tripp. I pulled it back off the shelf a couple of days ago to look something up and realized (anew) what a great book it is.
The teaching ministries of Paul and his brother Ted Tripp have had a significant impact our family. If you are not familiar with their work I would encourage you to take a look:
Paul Tripp Ministries
Tedd Tripp Shepherd Press
Well it is obvious to me that I am never going to find the time to read all the books I would like to read...so the next best thing is to find good book reviews done by others.
In keeping with the theme of the last post on dad inspiration, here are some excerpts from Pat Williams' The Warrior Within : Becoming Complete in the Four Crucial Dimensions of Manhood from leadershipnow.com. He gives lots of examples about his interaction with sports stars to drive home his points.
About half way down is the header "How to be a Perfect Dad"...something we can all identify with:Don’t you want to be a perfect dad? Sure you do! To help you reach that goal, I’ve assembled a simple guide to flawless fatherhood. Follow these easy steps and you, too, can achieve perfection as a father.
Step 1: Forget About Being Perfect
Got that? If you did something hurtful to your kids, such as yelling at them when you shouldn’t have or missing one of their important events, then admit it and apologize sincerely. According to Pat, acknowledging mistakes actually magnifies you in your kid's eyes.
Excerpt from The Warrior Within : Becoming Complete in the Four Crucial Dimensions of Manhood - Leadershop @ LeadershipNow.com
Here's what looks to be a great book to read and site to explore concerning rites of passage. It looks like the author really digs into and explores what is at the core of rights of passage and attempts to teach willing parents how to build into their children''s lives the essential experiences every child needs.
If you are concerned about the effects of the current cultural chaos; if you notice in your children a lack of responsibility, the lack of a good work ethic, disrespect for authority; if you are worried that your children may experiment with false rites of passage-profanity, smoking, drugs, alcohol, body piercing, or sex-let Walker Moore show you how to provide the four essential experiences most children are missing.
It's time once again to make a post about a daddy/daughter resource. The fact that I have to specifically point it out sadly speaks volumes. You see, our house is a "boy house".
As we look across the landscape of Christian families and Christian homes, there is one relationship which has been universally forgotten and forsaken -- that of fathers and daughters. God designed it to be one of the most beautiful and powerful relationships that we can experience. As we seek to see the Godly family restored, we must not ignore the special bond that God creates between every girl and her daddy. DAVID BARRETT, and his twenty-one year old daughter, ELYSSE BARRETT, want to see Christian families be all that God designed for them to be...and it starts with the restoration of a father's heart towards his daughter and a daughter towards her father! (Malachi 4:6)
Saw this in the store the other day...don't know much about it but a quick thumb through made it look very interesting.
Has that old "boy scout how-to" look. My fear with these books is that I buy them with best of intentions and then they wind up sitting on the shelf mocking me.
Maybe I'll check this out at the library and give a short review in the future.
The Dangerous Book for Boys
In his no-nonsense style, Steve Farrar delivers a great book that fits in nicely with the genre of "raising sons to be Godly men" books. Whereas others focus primarily on the vision of Biblical manhood (like RaMDK), Steve focuses this book on the nuts and bolts of the process.
While he does not provide a step-by-step "do this at this age" game plan, he does deal head on with many of the issues you will face over and over again as you work to raise your son. Using kings of the Old Testament as a backdrop, he examines the critical role a father plays in preparing his son to become a godly man.
Especially needful for us post-modern dads is his treatment (2 chapters worth) of the whys and hows of discipline. If you ever worry that you are bruising your son's self esteem or "scarring him for life" when you enforce boundaries, read Steve's thoughts for a swift boot in the rear.
Overall a great book with sage advice that will help you to build your son into the man God wants him to be.
| King Me | |
| Author: | Steve Farrar |
| ISBN: | 0802433197 |
| Genre: | Religion & Spirituality/Christianity |
| Recommended: | Yes |
| Score: | 9 out of 10 |
| Summary: | What Every Son Wants and Needs from His Father |
Having three boys I spend a lot of time focusing on father/son issues...but I also have a daughter that God has blessed me with. Finding resources for father/daughter issues is a little bit harder, that's why I am so excited about a book I just came across called Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Dr. Meg Meeker.
I am ordering the book and will post a review as soon as I am done, but in the meantime here are some videos of an interview with her (Below is part 1. There are 6 parts in total). Great stuff!
To encourage families to set aside time to read together, pastors will challenge their congregations to covenant to abstain, for 30 days, from all forms of media entertainment. During this 30-day period, Lamplighter will provide 5 Lamplighter books for each participating family for a third of the retail cost ($30); we are asking the church to contribute a third, and Lamplighter will contribute a third. Each contributor (family, church, Lamplighter) will be investing $30 per family. I strongly believe that the return on this investment will be a congregation with renewed passion and vitality!
Long before I discovered Raising a Modern Day Knight principles or even knew about the term "Biblical Manhood", I was already feeling the need to be a better father to my kids and to use a principle-centered approach.
I picked up a copy of this book in those early days and loved it. The author outlines the very engaging metaphor of a car tire to drive home the principles he is imparting...and surprisingly those principles are not far from what I have subsequently picked up in many other fathering books.
This is an easy and worthwhile read that will leave you with many useful tips.
| The Five Key Habits of Smart Dads | |
| Author: | Paul Lewis |
| ISBN: | 0310206677 |
| Genre: | Religion & Spirituality/Christianity |
| Recommended: | Yes |
| Score: | 8 out of 10 |
Look this book up on Amazon and you will be overcome by the hype! The reality is that the book has a great perspective and several good pointers for restoring honor to your household....but don't expect an "out-of-the-box system" that will fix all the problems you are facing.
I enjoyed the book and was able to extract many ideas and tips that I could use in my family. Also included are a few family time activities. However, if you are looking to this book to present an easy, fail-proof system you will be disappointed. I am learning over time that nothing replaces the hard work of parenting your kids with consistent, loving correction.
| Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes in You and Your Kids | |
| Author: | Scott Turansky, Joanne Miller |
| Publisher: | WaterBrook Press |
| ISBN: | 0877883548 |
| Genre: | Religion & Spirituality/Christianity |
| Recommended: | Yes |
| Score: | 7 out of 10 |
Take the “Wild at Heart” concepts of John Eldredge and combine them with the rites of passage framework of “Raising a Modern Day Knight” and you get this book: a Youth Pastor’s wake-up call to churches of the importance of reaching, and sometimes reclaiming, the "young lions" of the teenage community in their midst.
Importantly, the author states at the beginning he came to these concepts without prior exposure to either of the aforementioned books. Perhaps a confirmation that this generational awakening is from God?
| Passed Thru Fire | |
| Author: | Rick Bundschuh |
| ISBN: | 0842376348 |
| Genre: | Religion & Spirituality/Christianity |
| Recommended: | Yes |
| Score: | 7 out of 10 |
