Today, the topic AT THE WELL is about Raising Godly Boys. I will attempt to answer the following questions from the WELL hosted by Lori at I Will Take it Lord, all You Have to Give. May I glorify God in my answers.
What advice would you give to them?"As a woman at the well, you'll be meeting women who are trying to raise Godly men. These boys they are raising will grow up to marry your daughters or become leaders in your community. What advice would you give to them?If you are raising boys, what areas concern you most?If don't have or haven't raised boys, what is your concern for boys in today's culture?"
Raising a child, whether a boy or a girl, they say is a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because you are given the privilege of shaping the life of a person who might play a very important role in his/her generation. He/She will remember you as the hands that nurtured him/her in love and held his/her fragile heart until it became strong, ready for more difficult battles in life. A curse, on the other hand, because it is never easy to be responsible for a life. Some would even say, "I can't even take care of myself, how can I take care of a child?" Parenting for a teenager, a single parent, or someone who is not ready to be a parent is really a huge responsibility to carry alone.
I remember our youth pastor who once warned me in my "youthfulness" to not be careless in the things I entertain in my mind such as to want a pregnancy out of wedlock. During those times, many Yuppy girlfriends of mine vocally say how much they dislike the idea being tied with a guy for good, but they would really like to be moms. It is good that thought like that can be
caught outright to be brought unto light. Our pastor added that every child is designed to be parented by a man and a woman whom He intended to represent His parenting. There is where the wisdom of parenting lies, the parenting based on the Word. To know God is to read His Word. So, my topmost advice for parenting in general is to know our Abba Father in His Word, the Bible. The Bible was written mostly in the context of Israel, a very patriarchal society. This is beneficial to us parents who were assigned to raise future heads of their families. The Bible will never fail us.5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:5-9
Second, I believe that prayer is something every parent should model 
and encourage his/her children to be a lifestyle. I am blessed to have a prayerful mother who taught us not to dwell on the negatives in life, but rather kneel before the Lord in prayer. Early in my Christian life, I had the notion that men pray less compared to women because my dad was not fond of joining our family altar (obviously led by my mom) and also because there were very few men who would join the Wednesday prayer meeting in the church. Even if the Bible bore so many testimonies of praying men, I thought the prayer of the righteous "women" avails more than men. I laugh at this realization, but I also feel sad that the spiritual warriors in most churches are women. Where are the men? There must have been a "breakage" in passing this legacy to many male believers. I think more than teaching our boys how to pray, we must also encourage our husbands to champion prayer so as to influence more our boys to pray. Prayer says, I can not do anything apart from you, Lord. Men need to know that though they have a built-in "fix it" mode, they have to surrender to God Who can fix things best and "for good". The warfare primarily belongs to men as the called heads of their future homes. Our boys must be taught to fight the enemy and his schemes at the forefront for their families' sake through prayer.
and encourage his/her children to be a lifestyle. I am blessed to have a prayerful mother who taught us not to dwell on the negatives in life, but rather kneel before the Lord in prayer. Early in my Christian life, I had the notion that men pray less compared to women because my dad was not fond of joining our family altar (obviously led by my mom) and also because there were very few men who would join the Wednesday prayer meeting in the church. Even if the Bible bore so many testimonies of praying men, I thought the prayer of the righteous "women" avails more than men. I laugh at this realization, but I also feel sad that the spiritual warriors in most churches are women. Where are the men? There must have been a "breakage" in passing this legacy to many male believers. I think more than teaching our boys how to pray, we must also encourage our husbands to champion prayer so as to influence more our boys to pray. Prayer says, I can not do anything apart from you, Lord. Men need to know that though they have a built-in "fix it" mode, they have to surrender to God Who can fix things best and "for good". The warfare primarily belongs to men as the called heads of their future homes. Our boys must be taught to fight the enemy and his schemes at the forefront for their families' sake through prayer.If you are raising boys, what areas concern you most?
We might leave the country 1-2 years from now for missions, and it
concerns me how he would live with two cultures (Filipino culture and the second culture of whatever nation we shall be sent to). I want to be ready to be able to teach and model the basics of Christianity and how I can contextualize it in a lesser confusing way. My kids will have to learn 3 languages: our Filipino native tongue which is Tagalog, English and probably Japanese; not to mention the two sets of alphabets - roman alphabet and Japanese characters. Only God knows how I and my husband can make it there. One thing I am certain for now, He will not lead us where His grace can not sustain us. Amen.May I share with you a message in a poster which my mom hang on the wall couple of years ago. I have read this so many times, and it is so appropriate to post here. May we strive to meet the need of this world even just by being faithful godly mothers to our little boys.CH
The World Needs Men…
by Zachary Buckler
• who cannot be bought;
• whose word is their bond;
• who put character above wealth;
• who possess opinions and a will;
• who are larger than their vocations;
• who do not hesitate to take chances;
• who will not lose their individuality in a crowd;
• who will be as honest in small things as in great things;
• who will make no compromise with wrong;
• whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires;
• who will not say they do it” because everybody else does it”;
• who are true to their friends through good report and evil report,
in adversity as well as in prosperity;
• who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning, and hardheadedness
are the best qualities for winning success;
• who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular;
• who can say “no” with emphasis, although
all the rest of the world says “yes.
4 Hearts who chimed in:
Such a precious post, bless you.
I love that list of the kind of men that the world needs! I might just borrow that to show to my own "little men". It sounds as if you are doing a beautiful job walking the path in raising your little boy.
I love the new site and the theme behind it. The Potter's Hand by Darlene Zschech is one of my favorites!
Thank you so much for joining us At the Well!
He will not lead us where His grace can not sustain us --- AMEN! you know what, this is what I always always recite whenever I'm in a difficult situation... when I can't understand why God put me in that situation. It's really comforting.
I am the mom of three boys ages 12,10, and 8. My biggest challenge in raising Godly men is the attitudes of others,and the oversexualization of children . As a seventh grader my oldest son has already been called "Gay" because he does not participate in innappropriate conversatiuon about girls. How can I encourage him to remain true to his convictions?
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"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." 2 Corinthians 4:7
Feel free to chime in and fill up my jars of clay. Thank you for caring enough to share your blessings. I humbly accept them. Shalom!