Awakening Heroic Manhood

Good post on Covenant Eyes blog describing some practical ways women can help inspire their men to live a noble manhood:

Men need someone to believe in them. They need someone to tell them that they can rise above this horrendous mediocrity. They desperately need someone to tell them that they can have a lot more than “one thing” on their minds. And they need someone to raise the expectations of their manhood. Believe it or not, we as men need you, as young women, to help us find our way out of this spiritual gutter of cultural “normalcy.”

Awakening Heroic Manhood | Covenant Eyes

The Men of Honor & Ladies of Honor

Here's a cool ministry that is attempting to minister to both boys & girls, men & women. It looks like they offer both training and retreat-style camps.

I really like the "axioms" from their mission statement:

The Men Of Honor Axioms

I am a winner... I am a man of honor;
I do the right thing... because it's the right thing to do; My word is my bond.
C.H.I.P.
Character, Honesty, Integrity, Perseverance.
If there is no man... I will be the man;
Manhood and Christ-likeness are synonymous;
Being a male is a matter of birth;
Being a man is a matter of choice;
There is no greatness outside of God;
1, 2, 3... YES!

The Ladies Of Honor Axioms

I am a leader... I am a Lady of Honor
My attitude... Is my choice
I do the right thing... Because it is the right thing to do
I learn to listen... Because I listen to learn
A good leader... Is a good follower
To be a Godly leader... I must follow Christ
L.I.G.H.T.
Loyalty, Integrity, Generosity, Honesty, Trustworthiness
I am not ordinary... I am extraordinary
My inner beauty... Is the jewel that shines within me
Ladies of Honor... Shine
1,2,3... YES!

The Men of Honor & Ladies of Honor Homepage

Modesty

My wife and I were rolling our eyes this morning that the latest American Girl Magazine You Pick It topic (where girls get to send in their stories/poems/etc) was "Fashion Frenzy". Our daughter was so excited to find out the topic, but kind of looked bewildered when she saw what it was.

The fact is, fashion has become an increasingly important topic to her peers, and even though she is a little behind the curve (thankfully), it is starting to become important to her as well. As this change takes place we are working hard to keep the concept of modesty in the forefront of our conversations.

Here are a couple of websites that are among the very few voices talking about modesty in fashion for girls without becoming over-zealous and weird about it:

Girl Talk Blog

Modestly Yours Blog

Modesty Survey

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters

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!

Unfading Beauty

For my daughter's 10 birthday, my wife and I performed a womanhood ceremony with her (we do this every 3 years for the ages 7 through 19).

We took her to Duke Gardens, a beautiful renowned garden near our home. As we walked around the gardens surrounded by beautiful flowers and landscaping, we shared with her five principles that we hope will encourage her as she continues to grow into a Godly woman.

The first principle has to do with "Unfading Beauty", how a true woman's focus is not only on her outward beauty, but on her inward beauty. Below is a copy of the actual letter we gave her. I am convinced our daughters need to hear words of encouragement from their dads.

Unfading Beauty