Hal and Melanie Young have six sons and two daughters—the six boys came first. Their children range from 2 years old to out of high school. They speak on parenting, educating your children and family policy issues among other subjects. You can read more about their ministry at RaisingRealMen.com.

Summary

Divided into two parts, the Young’s first offer biblical foundations for how they parent their boys (and, yes, sometimes even their girls). The introduction to part one looks at the virtues of being a man and how God intended for men to be, well, men. Chapter one is an apologetic for our boys having the right set of heroes to look up to. First and foremost must always be Jesus Christ, then dad. After that, you, as the parent must help your son to be discerning as to who they look up to.

Chapter two looks at the biblical foundations for a boys sense of adventure and boldness while chapter three offers tips on how to teach your sons to stand for something while learning how to be responsible. A helpful chapter is the chapter on boys and guns and what the Bible says about the subject.

This section concludes with chapters on what it means to be a servant leader and how to train your boys to be citizens with a proper understanding of their role as a citizen both here and in Heaven.

After having laid the biblical foundation for their parenting, Hal and Melanie offer practical tips on how to actually parent your sons. The first chapter in this section looks at how you should teach your boys diligently and without ceasing. The second chapter in this section looks to how to teach the boys to use money.

An extremely helpful chapter is the one entitled “Your Own School for Boys.” In this chapter, the authors detail major key differences in the development of boys when it comes to education. Basically, this chapter helps to keep parents from sounding the “freak out” alarm when little Johnny doesn’t learn as well as little Timmy.

In two practical chapters, they look at the misconception that chivalry is a thing of the past and that working in the kitchen is for women. No, you will not scar your boys for life if you make them work in the kitchen! They conclude the book with how to guard your son’s mind from the spiritual battles that will take place in their lives. The last chapter is the guide on how to set your boy free to become a man. Mom’s will definitely want to read this.

Review/Recommendation

The only real issue I had with anything in this book was their section on stewardship and how to teach your sons to use a credit card. They act as though a credit card is inevitable and therefore every child must be taught how to use one. I have not used a credit card in six years. I don’t plan on using a credit card ever again. Anything you can do with a credit card can now be done with a debit card.

Outside of that one issue (and it is really a non-issue), I highly recommend this book to any parent who has a son (or three). I cannot tell you how many times my wife and I, the parents of three boys so far, would say, “Man, I wish we knew someone with similar convictions as us that would allow us to pick their brain on raising our boys.” Well, we now have that brain to be picked.

Hal and Melanie write as though they are sitting at your kitchen table discussing what they have experienced in their 20 years of raising boys and offer their experience to you. They make it a point to declare that “this is what we do” and not that it is the only way to do it. They maintain a humility (boys will do that to you) throughout the whole book.

To read this book once is to plant many seeds in the mind of the parent. To own it and have it at your disposal is to have a watering can with an infinite amount of water to water that seed. This will be a book my wife and I reference again and again.

Terry Delaney

Christian Book Notes

Buy Raising Real Men Now

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 employee changed: more hours, less security, less freedom. We also grew to need more time and flexibility for ministry. Working together as a family like we did growing up looked more and more attractive, until finally a layoff gave us the extra push we needed to strike out on our own.

We have come to realize that we want to cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit in our children. It would have been much easier to start a business when it was just us and fewer expenses, so we want our guys to have the courage and skills to be business men from the beginning if that’s what God wants them to do. And not just that, but the strengths of an entrepreneurial spirit: reasonable risk taking, hard work, creativity, discernment, and initiative are very valuable in most careers.

Raising Real Men talks about how to instill that spirit in your boys and how to teach them to manage money, avoid debt, and prepare for the future.  Today’s resource will help you put it into practice raising boys!

Teaching Good Things is hosting today’s free giveaway and it is huge!

Teaching Good Things. is all about equipping families with practical skills. I had the opportunity to look through their Making and Managing Money for Teens by Olivia Brodock the other day. Talk about practical! It had tons of ideas for businesses that teens and preteens could get started. I loved that it talked about how to get started, the cost of start-up, and what was involved in running each kind of business. It is a solid, practical way to get your children thinking, then working toward starting a micro-business of their own. That micro-business may even be God’s leading toward a career. I think about a relative of mine who started a web business as a teen and is now the CEO of an industry leader in the same field.

Unbelievably, Teaching Good Things has offered fans of Raising Real Men a free copy of Making and Managing Money for Teens! This eBook costs $16.97, but she is giving it to you free to celebrate our release! What a blessing! Thank you, Brodock family!

Go to Teaching Good Things and Get Your Free Copy of Making and Managing Money for Teens!

When you get to the cart, enter the code (it’ll be on the link above), hit update, then enter your zip code and hit update. While you are there, sign up for their newsletter to get a free 7 part mini-course called Encouraging Eager Hands! They have lots of great resources and a fascinating blog. Enjoy!

You aren’t going to believe today’s contest provided by Values-Driven Family! A $93 value!

Values-Driven Family, the ministry of Marc and Cindy Carrier, is all about raising our children according to the principles and values found in Scripture. Their site is chockful of free articles and help to raise a godly seed. The Carriers have generously donated a Gift Pack of premium quality Beeyoutiful vitamins for our contest. The Gift Pack, worth $93 dollars contains a three month supply of SuperDad vitamins, a three month supply of SuperMom vitamins, and a bottle of SuperKids vitamins (how long it lasts depends on how many children you have!)! We have started using these vitamins ourselves and are so thankful for them – and our children love the natural berry taste! And Values-Driven Family gives you a 15% discount off purchases of Beeyoutiful products, too. Thank you, Marc and Cindy!

While you are at the Values-Driven Family site, be sure to sign up for their newsletter. I was totally amazed at the freebies they give you when you sign up! I tend to be a little jaded – we’ve been parents and homeschoolers for decades and I have more things than I will ever use, but wow! I saw quite a few things I can’t wait to download. They have charts for a daily schedule and chores and behavior, memory verse and values posters, and tons of download freebies from other publishers!

How can you enter? The winner of this huge prize will be chosen exclusively from those who help us spread the word about Raising Real Men. Just post about our book, Raising Real Men, or this Celebration anywhere on the web (blogs, forums, email loops, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, anywhere, with a link back to http://raisingrealmen.com and let us know in the comments. Every posting is an entry.

We are hearing from all over the world (Singapore to The Netherlands!) that Raising Real Men is changing parents’ hearts toward their boys. That is our hope! We don’t have the huge advertising budget that many publishers do. You are our team. Your recommendation is the best marketing we could have, anyway!

Sign up for our newsletter (new subscribers this month will be entered to win a $70 collection of workshop CDs) and fan our Facebook page to join the conversation!

“Just received the book over the weekend. By page 2 1/2 of the introduction I knew I had to read the entire book. By page 23 I was crying. So far, every paragraph begs for the next one to be read. And I don’t even have boys. God has blessed me with three girls.”  Ken Porter

“I’m hanging on to every morsel of this read, and finding it difficult to imagine that so many books have been published without scratching the surface that the Youngs do. So much practicality & truth packed into a easy-to-read format!” Angela Wheeler

Today’s freebie is hosted by Kap and Pen Publications.

The owner, Gail Kappenman is a gracious lady that puts ministry first in her business. She is offering us TWO freebies today!

These are difficult times. I know they are for our family! That’s one of the things we are really praising God for in bringing our book out now. With Hal’s cancer, the doctor said he would be able to work a half day at most and he would be unable to do the international engineering consulting that brings in a lot of our income at all. What a blessing that the Lord led us to write Raising Real Men now! Only He could have known that we would need this income now. He is so good!

“It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.  Isaiah 65:24

Ever since we lived in Louisiana and learned about Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning (Yes, you can get it at Wal-Mart , beans and rice have been the mainstay of our hard times cuisine. Well, Gail tells us that we can do even better:

In this eBook, Gail Kappenman shares quick and easy recipes that will help us save money on our grocery bills. She even includes the cost per person (usually well under $1). It’s a $2.95 value and you get it free.

Hang on a second, though, because Gail is offering us another of her $2.95 eBooks free, too! She has a very interesting sounding title telling how to plan those treasure hunts that churches and clubs do. It sounds like a lot of fun and I’m going to download a copy for my teens, it sounds like something they like might like to plan. Just email Kap & Pen at orders@kapandpen.com and grab these freebies.

I hope you’ll go check out their other products, too, though. I want a copy of their Bible Journal for myself! Parents of boys ought to consider The Young Man’s Handybook, especially. Written by Gail Kappenman and Martha Greene (MarmeeDear to many of us), it has cooking and kitchen help for boys as well as fishing, hunting, building, first aid and more. I have to confess, when I first glanced through it, I thought, “I don’t know…” mainly because they use silhouette illustrations of Victorian-looking boys like we ladies like so much. I wondered what the boys would think, so I handed it to my very manly 12 year old – the all-guy, outdoorsman one. Well, guess I was wrong. He loved it!  When I was looking for it the other day, I said, “Hey, does anybody know where The Young Man’s Handybook is?” He jumped up, “You mean that book that tells how to build a log cabin? Of course, I know where it is!” And that is probably the best endorsement I can give it.

Christian Perspective is graciously providing today’s contest prizes:

Beyond Numbers a Practical Guide to Teaching Math Biblically, by Katherine Loop, a homeschool graduate. This looks fascinating to me! I read James Nickel’s Mathematics: Is God Silent and was amazed by how much of the Lord’s character can be seen in math. I wondered at the time, though if someone who didn’t have the math background I do would be able to understand it. Katherine has stepped into that gap. James Nickels said that Beyond Numbers was “A great, general-purpose introduction for a typical parent.” Katherine is offering us two hard copies to give away with a value of $8.99!

BTW, Christian Perspective has a free monthly newsletter with a short story with a message, a homeschool tip, and more. Check out the archives and sign up on their site!

How can you win? One winner will be chosen from among Raising Real Men’s Facebook fans. To join our Facebook page, just click “Become a Fan” in the right sidebar or click on any Facebook in this paragraph

Another winner will be chosen from those who comment on this post. You can get extra entries by posting about this contest or Raising Real Men, on your Facebook wall, blog, forum, email loop, or Twitter and linking back here. Just put a link or cut & paste your post into a comment. Thanks so much for spreading the word for us – it’s a blessing to us!

We’ll announce the winner on Monday. We’ll be taking tomorrow off to worship. Have a lovely Sunday!

And, drumroll please, I’d like to announce the winners of yesterday’s contest to win one of two ABC Bible Memory Verse Songs: Lindsey Hoy, from the comment section, and Hannah Crouch, one of our Facebook fans. Congratulations!  Also, I just checked and dear Candace at SonBeams has left the link live for us and you can still grab yesterday’s freebie. Thank you, Sonbeams!

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!

I was given this book, Raising Real Men, by the authors Hal & Melanie Young in exchange for my honest review. As I have been reading this book, I have been so very encouraged to allow my boys to take risks and adventures and not be over “motherly” in protecting them. As I was reading chapter 3, I was asking myself, “Do my boys even try to be adventurous or have I sqashed that tendency in them?” Well, I got to thinking. Yes. They do! Wes immediately came to mind. He is 11 and he likes to ride his skateboard outside, even without me being there. HA! He loves going to the checkout lanes and paying for his own items while I am in another lane and not necessarily in the lane next to him. He loves to climb trees, too. As for Nathanael, my 13 year old, he has a beautiful voice but refuses to sing out loud at church. I now understand that I need to encourage him to use his gift for God and even if he doesn’t want to sing in public, that his singing around the house encourages me in the Lord. Nate shows that he wants to be a conquerer by  taking most of the grocery bags (which are usually overfilled) from my vehicle to the kitchen cabinet in as little trips as possible. He will load up those bags on his arms until it has taken either most of his strength or all of his space (fingers, hands, arms). What a great book to help me see these qualities in my sons. Now, back to reading. . . .

Today is one week later and I have completed reading the book. I highly recommend you get this book if you have sons. One phrase really struck me. It was “Our job is to shape and prepare the arrows so when they are released, they fly straight and true on their own.” How true this is. Our children are the arrows and it is our job, not our parent’s, the government’s, or anyone else’s, to shape and prepare our children for when they leave home.

I have learned quite a bit on raising boys and how to encourage them to be “chivalrous.” I wish I had this book when my boys were younger, but since I didn’t, I will work extra hard to encourage my boys (now 11 & 13) to be more attentive to the needs of those around them.

Tina Brown

Mom of 7 Kids Blog

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been reading Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching, and Appreciating Boys by Hal and Melanie Young. I finished it yesterday, and plan to read it again after Larry gets a turn. Put simply, if you only read one book about raising boys, this is the one I would recommend. I ordered my book through their website last year, although I see it is now available elsewhere.

Most authors of books about boys may have been a boy or even raised one, but their books tend to be based on research and/or professional experience. I have found that to be useful in helping me better understand my boys, but Raising Real Men helps put that understanding into practice. The Youngs have six sons (and two daughters); they know what it’s like in the trenches. They cover the real issues based on their own years of experience: responsibility, discipline, competition, chivalry, homeschooling, chores, and more.

As I read, I alternated between two reactions: “Phew, we’re on the right track!” and “Ohhh, that’s a good way to deal with that!” More importantly, it has finally made me thankful for the privilege (and challenge) I have been given with five real boys to raise.

Wendy & her Lost Boys Blog

I had pre-ordered this book and was so very excited to receive it in the mail last week. And I thought it was really cool that the authors signed the book! I just finished it today and can say that I LOVED it! It’s a great read for parents who what to raise up Godly MEN from the boys their families have been blessed with. It’s so full of practical, Godly advice on how to raise sons. The Youngs have 6 boys (and 2 girls), so they have many examples of what has worked (or not) for them. The part I appreciated most about the book was that with every example they gave, they went back to the Scriptures to back it up or explain why certain things are the way they are. My boys are sure different than I am (the only girl in this house) and so much of what they do and think, I just don’t understand. This book helped me to be able to get into their minds just a little bit and it explained a quite a few things to me! It gave very specific, useful advice on how to use those “boy differences” to help them succeed. It was a very enjoyable read, I even laughed out loud a few times! Ah, so my boys aren’t the ONLY ones who do that!! : ) I know that I will be reading and rereading this book for many years to come. I’m actually wanting to read through it again right now, because it was really full of so many good ideas that I want to be sure I gain as much as possible from it now.

One of my favorite quotes from the book goes along with the title of this blog and really speaks to what we want for our boys. Page 222 “We don’t aim to hold on to our arrows all the way to the target. They’re not push-pins, they’re meant to fly. Our job is to shape and prepare the arrows so when they are released, they fly straight and true on their own. The time is coming when they will leave our quiver and depart on their life’s mission, as we have to prepare then – and ourselves – for that launch.”

Do you have boys?? If so, I’d encourage you to read this book – you won’t regret it!

Corina Garayua

Arrows in the Hand