Raising Godly Boys Minute

Where’s your WD-40?

When a door hinge squeaks or a bike chain becomes rusty, what do you spray on it? Probably WD-40. The spray lubricant works so well that around 80% of American households have a can somewhere in their garage.

But WD-40 wasn’t easy to create. Engineers developed dozens of mixtures until formula number 40 proved just right.

As parents, WD-40 helps us remember that good things take time to develop. It’s easy to grow frustrated when our sons don’t mature as quickly as we’d like. Maybe they squeak out excuses or are rusty at basic life skills.

Even though physical, mental, and spiritual growth takes time, God is faithful. Philippians 1:6 reminds us that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.”

For more encouragement and parenting advice, visit Trail Life USA or RaisingGodlyBoys.com.

Shortcuts. We all kind of like them.

As you drive around town, do you ever take a shortcut? Maybe there’s a light that stays red too long. Or perhaps a street that’s always packed with cars. In these cases, we like shortcuts that save us time and frustration.

That’s fine for driving, but in the parenting journey, there are no shortcuts. The process of training your son to become a godly man can’t be rushed. You may wish your son learned a skill faster or matured more quickly, but becoming annoyed won’t help. Instead, through patience and persistence, you can raise your son to love the Lord with all his heart, soul, and mind.

Becoming a godly man doesn’t happen by accident. It takes consistent training. Trail Life USA has a Proven Process that is helping boys grow spiritually. Learn more at RaisingGodlyBoys.com.

Music to your ears?

Ludwig van Beethoven is recognized as one of the greatest composers of all time. But did you know that he wrote five sonatas and his famous Ninth Symphony while completely deaf? 

The secret to his success was his passion for music. That and a whole bunch of hard work and dedication.

As parents, we may not have the musical genius of Beethoven, but we can still create wonderful harmony within our homes. Begin by providing your son a consistent tempo of training, and a steady melody of encouragement. Add to that an upbeat rhythm of physical fun, and the vibrato of adventure. 

The resulting chords of growth will prepare your son to perform his own creative solo. And in doing this, his life will be a lasting crescendo that brings glory to God.

For more encouragement and parenting advice, visit Trail Life USA or RaisingGodlyBoys.com.

Got a minute?

Each day contains 1,440 minutes. That sounds like a huge number, but those minutes are quickly used up. On average, we sleep 408 minutes, work 500 minutes, and eat for 67 minutes each day. Getting ready in the morning, driving across town, and running errands devours even more time.

This leaves only a few hundred minutes available for actual free time. The question is: How are you spending those free minutes? If you’re like ordinary people, you spend it watching TV or surfing social media.

But instead of being ordinary, be extraordinary by investing your spare minutes into your kids. Take them camping. Ride bikes. Go bowling. The minutes you spend with your kids are quickly transformed into memories that last a lifetime.

For more encouragement and parenting advice, visit Trail Life USA or RaisingGodlyBoys.com.

Is it time to focus?

If you have a magnifying glass, take it outside on a bright sunny day. Show your son how to raise or lower the lens until a beam of light focuses on a single point. With a steady hand and a little patience, that concentrated light becomes so intense that it can catch dry grass on fire.

Use this activity as an object lesson. Remind your son that if life ever becomes so busy that it begins crowding out his time with the Lord, he needs to refocus his attention. Sports and hobbies are a blast, but they should never consume all his energy.

By training your son to put the Lord first in all that he does, he will develop an intensity for life that will magnify God.

For more encouragement and parenting advice, visit Trail Life USA or RaisingGodlyBoys.com.