The winner is...Brandy Brewster! Congrats, Brandy!
Thank you to everyone who entered!
I am the mother of a boy. An adorable, sweet, caring, funny, snugly boy; a rotten, mischievous, rebellious, loud, stubborn boy! Never in my years of parenting had I felt my failure and insufficiency as a mom more than after I had my son, and never had I been forced to rely more on grace and help from God than after that much-longed-for little guy joined our family. We had three fairly mild, well-behaved little girls; then Mr. D arrived and everything we thought we knew about parenting disappeared. Fast. As he grows I see positive changes and much improvement, but there are still many times when I'm driven to my knees to ask for guidance in raising this complicated little guy who I absolutely adore and who drives me absolutely crazy! Unfortunately, that's the problem too much of the time...I'm driven to my knees in desperation when the problems and conflicts could be handled far better and sometimes even avoided entirely if I had prayed first. But, what, exactly, do I pray? So often my prayers seem like rote recitations because I have a hard time forming the deep feelings of my heart into words, and I fall into the habit of simply "praying to be praying".
To be honest, I'm a little leery of books and articles which encourage one to "pray God's Word over"
Brooke McGlothlin is Co-founder of Raising Boys Ministries, where moms and dads come to discover delight in the chaos of raising boys. You can find her writing about fighting for the hearts of her sons at the MOB Society blog, or living a life in pursuit of Jesus at her personal blog www.brookemcglothlin.com. A normal day finds Brooke homeschooling her two boys, wrangling two large Labs, Toby and Siri, writing to bring hope to the messes of life (in the midst of her own messy life), and falling more and more in love with the man she’s had a crush on since the third grade (who just happens to be her husband).
I am the mother of a boy. An adorable, sweet, caring, funny, snugly boy; a rotten, mischievous, rebellious, loud, stubborn boy! Never in my years of parenting had I felt my failure and insufficiency as a mom more than after I had my son, and never had I been forced to rely more on grace and help from God than after that much-longed-for little guy joined our family. We had three fairly mild, well-behaved little girls; then Mr. D arrived and everything we thought we knew about parenting disappeared. Fast. As he grows I see positive changes and much improvement, but there are still many times when I'm driven to my knees to ask for guidance in raising this complicated little guy who I absolutely adore and who drives me absolutely crazy! Unfortunately, that's the problem too much of the time...I'm driven to my knees in desperation when the problems and conflicts could be handled far better and sometimes even avoided entirely if I had prayed first. But, what, exactly, do I pray? So often my prayers seem like rote recitations because I have a hard time forming the deep feelings of my heart into words, and I fall into the habit of simply "praying to be praying". That's why I think Praying for Boys is such a Godsend.
To be honest, I'm a little leery of books and articles which encourage one to "pray God's Word over"
someone. It sounds almost like using Bible verses as some sort of magic potion. (My own strange opinion, probably....) But I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this is not the case at all, at least not with Brooke. Instead, the advice she gives and the scriptures she uses are an excellent way to learn how to pray for my son using God's Word as a guide. I want my son to grow up to be strong in his faith; a man who understands Scripture and lives by it. What better way to train him up in this way than to apply Scripture to his life daily, through prayer?
I have highlighted nearly all of the book. Seriously. Besides the prayer helps, there is so much good stuff packed into this book! I even discovered some tips on how a Christian should deal with controversial subjects in social media! Interesting, huh? If you're the mom of a boy, and if you are struggling with knowing how to pray for him the way you really want to, if you need encouragement in your parenting journey, and if you want to train your son in the ways of God's Word, read this book. I highly recommend it!
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(Oh, and I just have to say:
I love the cover.) |
A Q&A with Brook McGlothlin:
What led you to write your book Praying For Boys?
My husband and I have two boys who were born just 23 months apart. I probably don’t need to say much more than that, do I?? That’s enough to keep any mama on her knees! Actually, I’ve done a lot of hard things that I’m very proud of in my life, but raising my boys ranks up there as THE hardest thing I’ve ever done. In the book, I talk about how I asked God to give me boys, and that’s true, but the reality of the day to day mothering of what I like to refer to as “those boys,” (you know, the ones who are 250% boy?) often leaves me completely worn out. I realized early on in our parenting journey that I had no power to change their hearts. And while everything in me wanted to be able to snap my fingers and produce good, godly men, the Bible just doesn’t give us that parenting formula. So in an effort to just do something, I started praying verses from the Bible for my sons…verses based on things I wanted to see the Lord develop in their hearts. It was my way of crying out to God to change them, but it ended up changing me, too. After a year or so of doing that, and of constantly hearing from moms on the MOB Society, my blog for mothers of boys, who wanted to raise godly men, but felt like they were losing the battle, I decided to create a resource that helped them learn how to pray for their sons. It seemed a simple answer to me at the time, but the longer I encourage moms to pray the more convinced I become that prayer is the most overlooked part of raising godly men.
Did you write your book just for moms or can dads and grandparents use it as well?
Praying for Boys is filled with real life examples of a mom raising two boys, but my husband and father find their way into the stories several times, so there’s a distinct male flavor there too. Really, when it comes right down to it, our boys just need someone covering them in prayer, and asking for God’s best in their lives. The 200 + scriptural prayers in the book can be prayed by anyone who wants to stand in the gap this way for boys.
Praying for boys not only changes them, it changes moms too. How has it changed you?
Do you remember from grade school math that any time you change one part of an equation, it changes the answer? So for example, if you’re adding 2 + 3 and get 5, and then read the word problem again and realize you should’ve been adding 3 + 3, you can’t expect the answer to still be 5. Something changed. And when even just one thing changes, it affects everything else…changes everything else, even if just a little. Praying keeps me in the right place with God. Keeping my mind focused on the fact that He is God and I am not helps me put all of life in perspective, and it changes the way I live my days. Ultimately, spending time talking to God brings me closer to Him, and helps me know Him better. There’s no better way to be a better mom than to get to know God better, and listen to Him as He directs our paths. As we change, our families will change too.
Win a Copy of Praying for Boys!
The good news is, I'm giving away a copy of Praying for Boys! (Thank you, Brooke, for letting me do this!) To enter the giveaway, simply comment beneath this post answering this question: "What is/was your greatest challenge, and/or your greatest joy in raising a boy (or boys)?" Simple as that! If you want an extra entry or entries, share this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or other social media and comment below saying "I shared this giveaway on....."
A winner will be randomly chosen on Friday, Feb. 7th, after 5 pm.
Share, share, share! :)
You can purchase the book by clicking on this link: Praying for Boys. There is also a companion guide which would be ideal for groups, or for personal use. You can purchase it here: Praying for Boys Companion Guide
To read more about Brooke McGlothlin, The MOB Society, and Praying for Boys, follow these links:
About Brooke:
Brooke McGlothlin is Co-founder of Raising Boys Ministries, where moms and dads come to discover delight in the chaos of raising boys. You can find her writing about fighting for the hearts of her sons at the MOB Society blog, or living a life in pursuit of Jesus at her personal blog www.brookemcglothlin.com. A normal day finds Brooke homeschooling her two boys, wrangling two large Labs, Toby and Siri, writing to bring hope to the messes of life (in the midst of her own messy life), and falling more and more in love with the man she’s had a crush on since the third grade (who just happens to be her husband).
Thank you so much for stopping by!
