Dear Friends,

We have been nominated for the Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year, which honors books produced by small publishers each year for outstanding contribution to Christian life. The really exciting part is that this award allows everyone to vote – publishers, retailers, authors, and yes, readers, too!  This is the last week that voting is allowed, so we are going to be celebrating – and asking you to vote – until March 31st. Stay tuned for great give-aways and freebies every day this week.

We were delighted that our son could enjoy the same books his brothers had and grow up with the same heroes, but also that he was able to learn to understand complex language. That helped so much when his reading caught up! He jumped right to reading on grade level!

We discovered another benefit, though. We all loved listening to the Hentys as we were working or driving. They are stories that are just bound to grab your attention!

But why Jim Hodges when there are several folks doing the same thing? Well, we first chose Jim Hodges because all his books are unabridged! We wanted our boys to hear the whole thing – all about the geographic location, the historical setting, and the terrific language - and not to hear some simplified version  that would miss some of the greatness. Also, Jim has a pleasant voice and loves the books himself – makes a difference, that’s the same reason why Hal read Raising Real Men for our audiobook – interpretation counts. I’d choose Jim Hodges now for even more reasons. When we were first starting out, Jim took the time and trouble to help us. He recommended us to his own newsletter list. He gave us advice and counsel on our audiobook. He’s been a real friend to our ministry. Buy from Jim!

A Give-Away!

Jim Hodges is going to give five blessed winners each a G.A. Henty audiobook of their choice! I wish we could compete! So how do you win?

First, go cast your ballot for the Book of the Year. Click here, then scroll down to NONFICTION – RELATIONSHIPS / FAMILY, where we sure hope you will vote for Raising Real Men! Be sure to hit the “Submit Votes” button at the bottom! If you’ve already voted, keep reading…

Then, head over to sign up for Jim Hodge’s newsletter. You ought to, anyway, he has great resources and terrific deals. Click here, and sign up on the lower left!

There, you are entered! Keep an eye out for more giveaways and freebies this week. Oh, and if you have time, what are your favorite books for boys?

Psychologists Joseph and Claudia Allen say that low expectations have undermined the transition from childhood to adulthood, and twenty-somethings are still trying to figure out what their parents knew as teenagers. The age of marriage is rising, the number of young men living in their parents’ basement is climbing, and America is raising a generation that’s really good at Facebook and Halo 3, but doesn’t know where to begin when it’s time to grow up.

Is 25 the new 15?  We say NO — and we don’t have to play that game!

Hal and Melanie Young will be speaking on “Doing Real Things, for Teens and Their Families,” during The Old Schoolhouse Expo, October 4-8. Young men and women will hear how they can stop just marking time and start making a mark on the world. Parents will be inspired and equipped to help their children make the transition to adulthood more easily.

To help promote this online event, we’ll be on The Old Schoolhouse’s Facebook page this afternoon from 4:00 Eastern for about 15 minutes, answering your questions live!

AND … We’ve got a couple of specials to give away –

(1) For someone who leaves a comment on this post, we have a free ticket to the Expo — a $19.99 value for all five days!  We’ll draw the winner at noon on Tuesday …

(2) For someone who leaves a comment on this post, we have one set of volume one and two of our new Hero Tales audiobook! A $10 value and we’ll draw the winner at noon on Tuesday…

AND  a sale!

(3) For a limited time, you can order our “Homeschooling Teens Bundle”, three hour-long CDs of ideas and encouragement, including “Homeschooling High School,” “Aiming For College,” and you know what teenagers need – food in bulk, Melanie’s popular “Sanity’s in the Freezer”!  Regularly $15, you can get all three for $12 with free shipping! Just click here.

So come by www.facebook.com/theoldschoolhouse this afternoon to join in the conversation -

And to enter, drop us a comment here. For extra entries, link to this post on your Facebook, Twitter, or email loops. Just be sure to leave another comment to let us know you did!

Learn to Study the Bible grew out of the author’s effort to teach the youth in his church inductive Bible study methods with, at first, little success. His search for an easy to teach and understand system led him to realize that there were many approaches that had a place in the Christian life, and perhaps he needed to make those ideas accessible to a wider audience of Christians than those willing to research and search through the many books he did.

The opening chapters of the book explain why we need to go beyond light reading of the Scripture and consistently spend time in real study to truly get all the Lord has provided for us in His Word. They also lay out the foundational principles of Bible study: that we should observe, interpret and apply the Word to our lives. This was an extremely valuable part of the book and I can’t wait to have my sons and read it and discuss it with them. I did find the author’s repeated use of lists and underlining a real distraction. This style, while well suited to the latter part of the book where the methods are taught, encourages the reader to skim, when the explanations under each heading contain points too good to miss. I’d love to see these chapters rewritten in a prose style – they would be fantastic!

The second part of the book describes forty different methods we can use to find the rich treasures buried in the Word of God. I must confess this part was much more interesting than I expected. I wanted to pull out my Bible right then and get going. The author includes basic methods, such as using the words in 2 Timothy 3:16 (doctrine, reproof, correction, etc) to analyze a passage, traditional methods such as word study, creative methods, such as a translation comparison, methods appropriate to specific parts of Scripture and innovative methods that might appeal to a younger crowd. Really, there is no excuse for not approaching your Bible study with anticipation after you’ve read Learn to Study the Bible.

The section on study methods treats each suggestion separately, describing in detail how each is done, but it doesn’t stop there. Each method has a handwritten example of the notes someone might produce if they used that approach to study an appropriate Scripture. Seeing the system “in use” on an actual Bible passage greatly aids comprehension, as well as clearly showing the usefulness of it since you can immediately see the conclusions and applications the author found while using that method.

This is a great resource not only for teaching our children step by step how they can approach the Word of God as “a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,” but also encouraging ourselves to get back into the Scriptures and take a look at them with a fresh eye. That’s worth a lot!

I would love to see the author add a chapter, or perhaps do a follow-up volume, that teaches folks how to use Bible helps, such as Nave’s, Strong’s, a Bible atlas, etc, in just the same way that he teaches these Bible study methods. How about it, Andy?

Get a copy (and you should!) of Learn to Study the Bible at the book’s very cool website: www.LearntoStudytheBible.com.

The author provided us with a free copy of the book for our honest review. AND… he’s provided us with another copy for…

A Contest!

I have one free copy of Learn to Study the Bible to be chosen from those who comment on this post by noon Friday. I would love to hear what you have done to teach your children to love the Word of God. You can get additional entries by posting about this contest on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, or a forum or email loop. Just leave us a comment telling where you posted it!

If you can read this, obviously you’re “computer literate,” but you might not be able to explain the finer points of Microsoft Excel to your high schooler, or help your student debug an HTML problem on their blog. Maybe you’re looking for a good, structured curriculum to help them get started and develop the basic skills that change them from just a “user” to someone who really understands how their computers work. Maybe you’d like more skills yourself! Phyllis Wheeler of Motherboard Books has what you need, and she gets you started with an audio session called “What Homeschool Mothers Really Need To Know About Computers”. To help us celebrate the release of Raising Real Men, she’s offering this as a free download! Plus, just for fun, she’s also giving away her Internet Scavenger Hunt, a $10 value, to introduce your kids to interesting facts on animals and geography while searching safely.

Click here to download both freebies!

Really understanding your computer is more than being able to use email and Facebook, and really understanding writing is more than just forming words and sentences, isn’t it? We all expect our kids to be able to read and spell, but what we really want is kids who can express their thoughts clearly and convincingly in writing. Kim Kautzer has a curriculum to do just that – WriteShop is a full K-12 program, with all kinds of helps to inspire successful writers, showing them how to create everything from simple stories to persuasive essays. She even tells you how to write and publish children’s books!  WriteShop’s step-by-step approach lets you teach with confidence, so your children learn to write with confidence.

For one of those who comment on this post, Kim is giving away your choice of WriteShop Primary Teacher’s Guide w/Activity Set Worksheet Pack – w0rth up to $37.90!  Plus we’ll give extra entries for posting on Facebook, Twitter, your blog or other places – help us get the word out that Raising Real Men is officially released tomorrow!

But WriteShop has so much to offer, Kim is also giving away a $35 gift certificate, so you can pick the level and the focus you need!  We’ll give this prize to one of our Facebook fans. If you haven’t joined Facebook yet, give it try – there are all kinds of interesting things happening, not to mention our own rapidly growing “Raising Real Men” community!

(While you’re there, why not join WriteShop’s fan page, too!)

Hal

We long for our children to serve Christ. We want them to share their hearts with us and to follow us as we follow Christ. We believe that building unity in our family will help us accomplish that. As our boys identify with our family and build happy memories, that the ties which bind them to us, we hope will go through us to the Lord. One of our workshop CDs shares a whole hour’s worth of ideas that you can do to have A House NOT Divided: Building Unity in the Family.

Our friend, Felice Gerwitz, at Media Angels will soon be releasing a new book that sounds like a great resource, too.  She’s sending me a copy to review and I can’t wait to read it!

Written by mother-daughter team, Paula Stevenson and Sky Stevenson McNeill, Secret Code Time: Creating an Unbreakable Bond Between Mother and Child sounds great! Here’s what Media Angels says about it:

Do you sit at the side of a crib and wonder what your relationship with your child will be in years to come? Do you wonder what it will be like; will you have a communication relationship that has no boundaries? Or have the years slipped by too quickly, and you now feel like there is an impenetrable wall that goes up anytime you try to talk to your child?

Join this mother-daughter team as they recount hilarious antics and reminisce about heartfelt moments that forged an unbreakable bond that would last a lifetime.  Come along on their journey, as they take you step by step in how to build a bridge of communication with your children from an early age and how to mend and restore a broken parent-child relationship.

Want a sneak preview? Today’s freebie is the Secret Code Time Relationship Checklist. Click here to download the checklist and do a check up on your relationship with your children!

Want to read it before anybody else? I am very excited to announce that Felice Gerwitz of Media Angels, the publisher of Secret Code Time has agreed to let us give away two prepublication copies of Secret Code Time! That’s right – you can get a copies before it is even published – just like the big magazine reviewers do!

One copy will be given to someone who comments on this post. I’d love to hear what special things you do as a family to build unity with your children. And as always, you get extra entries for posting about this contest or Raising Real Men on your blog, email loop, forum, Facebook page, Twitter, anywhere on the web you like! I can tell you guys are spreading the word and we appreciate it more than you can know!

A second copy will be given to someone who twitters mentioning @raisingrealmen! Follow us on Twitter

I apologize for not posting these sooner, but we’ve been swamped with Katie’s heart test at Duke and the children getting the stomach flu. We are so grateful for your prayers!  Here are the winners from Saturday, Monday and Tuesday’s contests:

Beyond Numbers: A Practical Guide to Teaching Math Biblically by Katherine Loop from Christian Perspective:

Congratulations to: Randy K and Bonnie (I don’t have an email, Bonnie! Send me a note!)!

Hands and Hearts History Kit of Your Choice from Hands and Hearts:

Congratulations to Gaines Family and Rachel S!

Beeyoutiful Family Vitamins Gift Pack from Values-Driven Family:

Congratulations to Paula!

And congratulations to Joy Ellis, to whom we are giving a special gift! Joy has blessed us incredibly by spreading the word about Raising Real Men and our celebration! Thanks, Joy!

Don’t forget the Estes’ Super Sale! And we’d love to continue the conversation with you on Facebook (fan us on the righthand side of this page) and our newsletter (sign up there, too!)

And Happy Birthday to John Calvin, our eldest son, without which we’d be drowning in a byte-mine!

Hal & Melanie

We’re having a party to celebrate and you are invited!

Every day from now until then, we’ll have a giveaway – that’s right, something everyone can have for free! – and a contest with fantastic resources and prizes provided by our fellow Christian publishers who want Raising Real Men to take off with a bang! We have resources for preschoolers, elementary age students, teens and parents coming. Don’t forget to check back every day in the next week or you’ll miss a treat! Why not sign up for an RSS feed, so you don’t miss a thing? Just click here. We hope you’ll check out our friends who are sponsoring this celebration with gifts up to $93 in value!!!:

Sonbeams, Hands and Hearts, WriteShop, Values Driven Family, Christian Perspective, Kap and Pen Publications, Teaching Good Things, Motherboard Books, Homeschool Group Leader, Media Angels and Lynda Coats Unit Study Emporium!

Today’s party is hosted by Sonbeams: Raising Up SON-Beams for Him!

I’m really excited about introducing you to Sonbeams! You may know that we have eight children who range in age from adult to infancy. I find I get a little lazy about resources for the little guys – after all, we have so many things from when the big guys were little, I forget I need to keep an eye out for new and better things. I was happy when Candace of Sonbeams contacted me about sponsoring our celebration. She sent me a download of her ABC Bible Memory Verse Songs

I loved them! It’s a collection of 26 Bible verses set to really sweet, happy songs. What a fantastic way to hide the Word of God in our children’s hearts. Years ago, we had a CD that had a few Bible memory songs on it and we still – probably 15 years later think of them whenever we hear a reference to those verses. This is the easiest way to memorize Scripture I’ve ever found. It’s child-friendly, too, as the songs are sung by children. I think this is a great addition to any family with young children.

There are several great options on the Sonbeams site: you can download the songs, or buy a CD, or buy a CD, teacher’s guide, even music. Check it out!

I am thrilled to tell you that Sonbeams has offered to give you a download of one of their songs free! They let us decide which one and we chose “C – Children Obey Your Parents in the Lord, for This is Right.” We all want our children to know that verse, right? LOL! I think you’ll love it. Please note that if you want to get their newsletter, and I hope you do, you’ll have to sign up separately as Candace wanted this gift to be completely free of obligation!

Download your gift from Sonbeams here.

That’s not all! Sonbeams is also sponsoring a contest for us!

They have given us two ABC  Bible Memory Verse Songs CDs to give away! They’re worth $13.95 each!

Here’s how we’ll choose the winners:

One winner will be chosen from among fans of Raising Real Men‘s Facebook page. Just head over there to fan us and you’ll be entered, or just click “Become a Fan” in the side bar on your right!

Another winner will be chosen from those who comment on this post. Leave a comment with a tip or a question about raising young boys (since today’s resource is for younger children) for Christ!

Want more entries? Just post about this week’s celebration or this contest or Raising Real Men with a link back here on your Facebook wall, your blog, an email loop, forum or Twitter. Then post a comment with the link or you can cut and paste your post if you post somewhere private.

We’d love for you to help us out by doing this because we really want to spread the word about Raising Real Men. We are getting so many letters from parents who have had their hearts changed toward their boys because of this book. Just this morning I was talking to a mother who had given the book to a friend who had an older daughter who was calm and quiet, then adopted a little boy. She was so relieved to find out that he was a normal boy and she had a renewed vision of how to raise him to be a real, godly man.  Why not read a chapter or order a copy while you are here?

We’re signing copies you order from this website, plus you get our study guide, free shipping and the first Sugar Creek Gang audio book as free bonuses! Just click here!

Don’t forget to come back for tomorrow’s freebie and contest! We’ll announce a winner tomorrow, too!