Dannah Gresh - Six Ways to Keep the Good in Your Boy: Guiding Your Son from His Tweens to His Teens

Dannah Gresh has done a fabulous job addressing many of the issues that concern our boys. I highly recommend her insights, biblical instruction, and practical mom application. These pages are marching orders! Its time to fight for the good in our boys!

A NGELA T HOMAS ,
bestselling author and speaker

With two young sons of our own, Jean and I can certainly attest to the challenges raising boys can bring! Dannah and Bob offer parents a fascinating look into the development of tween and teen boys, as well as a wealth of practical, hands-on musts for successfully connecting with them. Learn the how-tos for building and strengthening parent/son relationships and guiding young men toward a purposeful, God-honoring adulthood.

J IM D ALY , president,
Focus on the Family

Six Ways to Keep the Good in Your Boy provides valuable information and points out positive ways to channel all that testosterone-induced male energy. If you have a boy, this is a book you must read!

M ARY A. K ASSIAN ,
author, Girls Gone Wise

Every mom wants her little boy to grow to be a caring and courageous man. The truth is, she can either be his ally on that journey to manhood, or she can hinder his progress. Thankfully, Dannah Gresh has sound, practical wisdom for moms who want their sons to be the men God made them to be.

B OB L EPINE ,
co-host of FamilyLife Today

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International VersionNIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Cover by Garborg Design Works, Savage, Minnesota

Cover photo Dmitriy Shironosov / Shutterstock

SIX WAYS TO KEEP THE GOOD IN YOUR BOY

Copyright 2012 by Dannah and Bob Gresh

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gresh, Dannah.

Six ways to keep the good in your boy / Dannah Gresh.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-7369-4579-0 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-4580-6 (eBook)

1. Mothers and sonsReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. Child rearingReligious aspectsChristianity. 3. SonsReligious life. I. Title.

BV4529.18.G745 2012

248.845dc23

2011030820

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 / VP-SK / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my dear friend
Jackie Stauffer, who
raised a good son to
be friends with mine

Like most books, this one wasnt written alone. There were a lot of people expressing their love to me in the form of goodness as defined in this book. Thanks to

Kelly Nebel, who was the first to do any work on this book. She is a research geek. (Takes one to know one.) She rolled up her sleeves and is the reason that this book communicates intelligently! In the middle of this she got married. May she and Mark produce many good boys!

Suzie Rothgeb, who followed Gods heart to offer to edit. While we were in the middle of writing this book, God spoke to Bob and me about resting and tending to our own family. How would I do that with a book to edit and a deadline to meet? Suzie e-mailed me out of the blue and asked if she could help. What an answer to prayer and what a great editor! The Christian publishing industry has just found its next great critical thinker!

Harvest House Publishers, who just makes me feel so welcomed. While I was writing this, Terry Glaspey and Larae Weikert actually trekked out to central Pennsylvania and we had some stimulating conversations about how to craft critical pieces of this message. What a treasure that day was. Paul Gossard, editor extraordinaire, made certain that our thinking actually did make sense. Thank you for the privilege of partnering with you.

The Resource Agency, who helps me strategically plan my writing ministry. Mike Keil has become such a dear friend to Bob and me. It did not go without notice that as I worked on this, Mike and his wife, Tina, launched a very good son into married life. Congratulations, Jason and Lillian!

Eileen King, my assistant, who is so notably full of goodness that I would not survive writing deadlines without her. Thank you for making my life more manageable and organized.

But mostly, thanks goes to my family: Bob, who wrote this one with me. Lexi and Autumn, for patience when your mom had a deadline to meet. And especially, Robby Gresh. Ive been thankful to God for him from the moment I first held him. His goodness humbles me every day.

by Rob Gresh

A few months ago, I received an e-mail from my mom with the manuscript of this book attached, asking me to look it over and make sure I was okay with everything she shares about me. I read it through and then replied, Its really good and you make me look pretty good, so you can keep everything. She then replied, I dont make anybody look good. You are good. Im proud of you.

This may not seem that significant to you, but it meant a lot to me. My mom is always encouraging me, whether through an occasional text or e-mail or a basket full of snacks during finals week. That said, my parents have never been afraid to tell me when I can do better, and they have always delivered those messages with love.

When I was younger, I thought I had the best parents in the world. I assumed that all kids must feel the same way about theirs. As I grew older I realized that my relationship with my mom and dad was special. Other kids often didnt share the love and respect with their parents that I share with mine. And I think that most students in college can identify a few things that they would like to do differently with their kids than their parents did with them. When my mom asked me what I wish she and dad had done differently, I honestly couldnt think of anything significant. My parents arent perfect, and they wouldnt want me to tell you that they are, but I really feel they are incredible. They set a great example for me every day. They encourage me. They know the difference between youre doing it all wrong and you can do better. And most important, they have always made it clear that they love me. Im not sure what I could do differently, but I will be thrilled if I am as good a parent to my kids as my parents are to me.