A nine year old boy and his six year old brother made 34 chocolate cream pies in the last month. They wanted to give money for their church’s special fall project. Their total profit was $415. They tithed on that amount and gave $306 to the special project. Above and beyond that they gave their $70 in tips to support a friend and missionary from their church.
How does a mom with these two young boys, a baby, and three foster teenagers do it?
The boys WANTED a way to earn money for the church project. Mom came up with the idea and prayed that God would make their efforts successful. The boys did all the work. They made the grocery list, ordered online, made the pies, and delivered them!
A few nights it was getting quite late and they still had a few pies that needed to be finished for the next day’s delivery. Mom offered to finish for them. They said they wanted to do it all, even though it meant getting to bed late.
I asked their mom why she was willing to do this. (Anyone who has ever seen two active boys in the kitchen knows it is easier to do it yourself.) She said she had just finished a study called Building Boys. The study provides answers to a world that tells boys they can be girls if they want to be. Parents and teachers need to focus on what it means to be a boy and that God created them specifically as boys that will become men. This project helped to drive those concepts home. They got a taste of the value of hard work, selflessness, sacrifice and radical generosity.
I just had a crow a bit about my sister and my nephews. What a wonderful, positive experience this was for them. They will never forget the lessons they learned last month. And it provides a strong stepping stone to more experiences to develop true manhood in those two little boys.
My sister based this experience on the series, “Building Boys” by Audrey Broggi (2018) for SearchTheScriptures.org. You may play the four audio or video sessions and download the outlines and study guides at: Building Boys
You might like to follow her on Facebook at: Mothering from the Heart
These are some other good resources on this topic.
- Focus on the Family has a book called, “Bringing up Boys.”
- There is a web site with advice for raising Boys called BuildingBoys.net
- There is a good article about Building up Boys
- Read about some science behind the bad choices boys make and how to help boys make good choices.
- 10 ways to Raise a Giving Child