raising boys

Dear Mama to Boys
I'll never forget the first time I went out shopping after our third son was born. We were in the shoe store when an elderly couple approached me. "Is it a girl???" they asked, gesturing towards the stroller. "No, this is our third son," I said with pride. "Oh, honey! I bet you were just…
Crank Down the Anger
We finally noticed a pattern. When one of our children got somewhere between nine and fourteen, they'd climb on an emotional rollercoaster and invite us all to join them. Wow, what a tough age to parent! The first time we went through it, we questioned everything, "Is it us? Have we failed in parenting? Is…
Pushing Mama Up a Mountain
I was so excited about taking our children to Yellowstone National Park. I'd been there with my family as a child and some of the happiest memories of my father, who's been in heaven many years are centered around that area. Unfortunately, I tore a ligament in my knee on one of our conference trips…
A New Tradition for New Year’s
When we think about New Year's, what comes to mind? Glitzy parties, fireworks, watching the ball drop, Auld Lang Syne, or perhaps if you love classical music, the Vienna Philharmonic playing The Redetsky March. Oh, and resolutions. I always liked the idea of starting new when I was younger, but I had an appallingly bad record…
Biblical Manhood
Feel free to share, friends! And don't miss the lowest price of the year on Raising Real Men in our Merry Christmas Shop!  (more…)
Bring Back Work Week: The Pleasure of Accomplishment
A few weeks ago, our son Matt came in and said, "Mom, you know it makes a guy feel good to take responsibility - to meet a need, to do something that matters. I had no idea how much fun it could be to be the one to take care of something." I think there…
Review: “Courageous”
Not many movies had me in tears in the opening sequence. "Courageous" did. I'm not an "early adopter" of whatever comes down the road--I think I didn't upgrade to Windows 95 until Windows 98 came out. Movies are a little different, and there may not be many days left in the theater schedule for this…
What They Won’t Learn in School
The King's School is the oldest independent private academy in Australia.  The headmaster of the all-male, K-12 boarding school, Dr. Tim Hawkes, presented a paper at the International  Boys' School Coalition conference in Toronto, Canada, a few years ago, starting his presentation with this observation: When the philosopher, Aristippus of Cyrene, was asked some 400…
Join us on The Other Side with Charles Butler in Chicago!
Chicagoland listeners: We'll be on The Other Side with Charles Butler on WVON 1690AM Chicago at 7:15pm CST tonight. We'd love for you to tune in!
Minding Your Own Business – Your Own Business To Mind!
We're celebrating the official release of Raising Real Men with freebies and contests! I grew up in an entrepreneurial family and I have to confess that when we were first married, I thought it was great that Hal went to work and then came home and was done. Over the years, though, life as an…