Raising Godly Men, Part 2

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:52 NIV

Earlier this month, we started talking about what it takes to raise godly men. I shared a little bit about how God captured my heart and gave me the desire to be a boy mom. If you have not had a chance to read it yet, then take a minute to go back and read it (Raising Godly Men, Part 1).

I shared about how to get started if your boys are in preschool and now I want to take a minute to talk about elementary, middle, and high school boys.

Here me on this real quick…it is never too late to get started. I talk to moms every day who have turned their lives over to Christ and want to parent their children in ways that honor God.

I love when that happens…you don’t have to live in regret and sadness over the fact that it didn’t happen sooner, but take a minute to rejoice in the decision you are making right now!

If your boys are in elementary school, then get started now by;

• All the things listed above, and
• Teaching them to memorize Scripture.
• Having a Family Devotional time each day.
• Encouraging him to attend their church group regularly.
• Meet with his group leader to get to know who is building into your son’s life at church.
• Encourage him to get together with their friends from church outside of church.
• Start praying for his future wife (I know, this is a hard one especially since he is so little but the prayers for his future wife are covering her while she is growing too).
• Hang this verse right beside the door so that your son will see if before he leaves the house every day; Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. Colossians 2:8 NLT

If your boys are in middle school, then get started now by;

• Praying, praying, and praying God’s protection over your son.
• Middle school is one of the hardest times in a child’s life, they need your prayers more now than ever.
• Encourage him to attend the church youth group regularly.
• Meet with his group leader to get to know who is building into your son’s life at church.
• Even when he doesn’t “want” to go, make attending group a priority for him.
• Encourage him to get together with other kids from youth group outside of church.
• Have a family devotional time.
• Keep praying for his future wife, at this point girls are on the radar and it is a great time to remind him that God has the perfect woman already in mind for him.
• Buy him a nice student Bible, whether he reads it or appreciates it right now it will be there with him when he is ready to receive it.
• Keep that sign up by the door with Colossians 2:8 NLT where he can see it and pray it over him as well.

If your boys are in high school, then get started now by;

• Praying, praying, and praying God’s protection over your son as he grows in wisdom and stature.
• Get him involved in youth group and make it a priority to attend.
• Have him attend “Big Church” services with you, as a family.
• Read the Bible together before he heads off to school in the mornings.
• Pray for his future wife
• Dating is around the corner for your high school son, keep an open dialogue about the importance of dating in a way that honors God.
• Keep praying for that special girl that will one day capture his heart.
• Give him plenty of room to spread his wings but gently guide him back on course with truth and love.

There is always room to grow, for us as moms just as much as for our sons. I would love to continue talking about this with you, so make sure you stop on over to Mel’s World in February 2011 where I’ll share some of the parenting books that I’ve read over the years.

Father God, you are the perfect example for us as we seek to train up our sons to be godly men. Show us Father where to jump in, where to get started and what to do next. We thank you for the gift our children are to us and thank you for allowing us to be their moms. Teach us how to lead them to be more like you. In Jesus name, Amen.