Last night, as I ate dinner with my family at a local restaurant, I watched my boys.
Laughing, joking, eating their favorite things. I watched the light from the lamp overhead bounce off their hair, and smiled just at the thought of them. I always watch them like this, and lately I’ve noticed that they’re becoming more and more who they really are.
For the first few years of their lives, I mostly lumped them together into one category…”those” boys. And they are, no doubt. They both have larger than life personalities. They’re both loud, aggressive, full of energy, and impulsive. But they’re also becoming individuals. My dad noticed it too last night, and said, “what will they become?”
My reply?
“Good men. Good men who love Jesus. That’s what they’ll become. I don’t care about much else.”
The truth is, I don’t know what my boys will become. At seven and nine, I’m just beginning to see their individual strengths and gifts, but I don’t know what the future holds. They might be doctors or lawyers or missionary aviators who save the world. OR, they might be simple men who love their families well.
Either way, they’ll be good men. Either way, they’ll change the world by influencing those around them.
All men influence—some for good, others for bad—and as moms, we get the honor and responsibility of teaching them to use their influence well. It’s not necessarily about being a leader, but about using the space God gives them to honor Him and bless others.
That’s what our entire January series is meant to do…teach YOU to teach THEM to influence well. We’ll be taking an in-depth look at the book of Judges, digging in to topics like:
- Learning to finish well
- Raising rescuers
- Supporting our sons as they lead
- Special cases (when your son is different from everyone else)
- Serving behind the scenes
- Finding his calling
- Living with integrity
- Not being defined by the past
- Resting in God’s plan for our sons
- And more…
To make sure you get this month’s series in your inbox, just enter your email in the box below. We’ll come back to this page throughout the month and add each post in the series below so you can follow along.
Serving Together,
Brooke McGlothlin is co-founder and President of Raising Boys Ministries. She’s a mother of two boys who believes God has chosen her to fight for the hearts of her sons. She can be found most often on her knees in prayer, not because she’s so holy, but because God is. Not because she knows how to raise godly men, but because she believes in the God who can teach her how.
Join over 10,000 other mothers of boys in Brooke’s FREE Praying for Boys 5-day prayer challenge.
Amen sista! I agree. Whether they get married and have kids, or are “successful” in the worlds eyes, I just want them to love Jesus with all their hearts.
Janelle
Excited for this. I have two precious boys at home 10 and 13 – both totally different, but good boys and love the Lord. I want to keep it that way.
We have four sons. Just finding you but I am glad we did. Looking forward to learning!
How did I miss this? So good. Especially this: “All men influence—some for good, others for bad—and as moms, we get the honor and responsibility of teaching them to use their influence well.” Thank you for spurring us on!