Be a Man Classes

As our son, Gabriel, began journeying through the difficult years of puberty, I made a conscious decision. I decided not only to spend more time with him, but to intentionally engage in man-specific activities together.  I call these activities our "Be a Man Classes". When we play sports, I intentionally push, shove, and keep the game physical. I enrolled him in martial arts classes in order for him to learn how to celebrate the validation of sweat. We sword fight, roughhouse, and wrestle on the concrete floor. 

Over the years, we have shot guns, repaired toilets, built dog houses, changed tires, hung sheetrock, fed farm animals, slept in the treehouse, bombed imaginary ships in the muddy water of our ditch, and much more. Growing into a soft, feminized man is not acceptable. Celebrating God's role for a man to be a leader and provider is a top priority.

Since making that intentional decision to lead Gabriel into manhood, the biblical keys to masculinity have become common place in our family's conversations. We talk about these principles when we sit at home, when we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up. God's view of manhood is a constant topic of our discussion.

The importance of masculinity cannot be overemphasized.  It is our prayer that the following picture illustrations will give you ideas on how you can encourage the boys in your life to become men.

We fed the farm animals for a family that was out of town.	We build dog houses together.
We often box, wrestle, and sword fight just to get the testosterone flowing.	We shoot guns together.
We build and sell picnic tables to help support our ministry.	We love to bomb imaginary ships in the muddy water of our ditch.
We de-ice the freezer together.

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