Thomas - 52 Things Sons Need from Their Moms

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover by Left Coast Design, Portland, Oregon

Cover photo Cultura / Inmagine

52 THINGS SONS NEED FROM THEIR MOMS

Copyright 2015 Angela Thomas

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Thomas, Angela, 1962-

52 things sons need from their moms / Angela Thomas.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-7369-5221-7 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-5222-4 (eBook)

1. Mothers and sonsReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title. II. Title: Fifty-two things sons need from a mom.

BV4529.18.T4495 2015

248.8'431dc23

2014042009

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Contents

A Son Needs His Mom to

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:16-17

H ello, new friend.

Today I wish we were meeting for coffee instead of this awkward first time meeting on a page. For months now, Ive tried to imagine what you look like. Where you live. The age and stage of your son. Is he fast asleep on your lap right this minute? This book propped on his blanket or toy? Did your boy just yell, I love you, Mom, and then run into the backyard to play? Are you grabbing this moment, having lunch in your office while your son is at school or day care? Are you in the car pool line? Sitting on the floor during nap time? Waiting outside the door of his music lesson?

Oh man, I really wish we were having coffee. Id love to hear all about him.

Words on a page feel like such a clumsy way for me to start because the very thing that could make all the difference is missing. Tone. Countenance. Laughter. A smirk. A wink. A tear. I long for you to know Im beside you. Im not writing to you from a soapbox. Im not typing from some academic, far-removed setting. Girl, Im on your team! The moms of boys are my people. Shoot, if you lived on my street, wed have to be friends.

Maybe this will help. Ive been trying to imagine where you are, so heres an honest picture of me, this very minute.

I work at home, so here I am. In my house, theres an office for me, but its been torn up for months. Every office kind of thing I own is piled into boxes all over. A guy is in there today building bookshelves, so Im on the other side of the house in my bedroom. I have my laptop and a couple of books beside me; my feet are dangling over the side of the bed. For the past month Ive been wearing the same version of a writing uniform. Gym shorts, a T-shirt, and flip-flops. No makeup, of course. My kids are teenagers and theres no school today, so my door keeps going open, close, open, close, open, close. Every time it opens, I forget what Im writing because we start talking about nothing. Surely anyone could write faster than a mom with chatty teenagers, holed up in her bedroom while the sound of a nail gun pops the air.

I may be a few years ahead of you, but I hope you can still hear my heart. Im on your team. I am for you. These words about raising sons are written for you as encouragement, without judgment. Probably a lot like you, I arrived at this gigantic task completely unqualified, and Ive been in over my head ever since. As we begin these pages of encouragement together, I want to start with the most important things.

If I have done anything right as a mom, it is because of Jesus Christ. And if the things Ive done wrong dont completely ruin my sons forever, it is, again, only because of Jesus.

I have no idea about your faith tradition, so there is no way to know what the name of Jesus means to you. Here is what Jesus means to me:

I grew up around people who talked about Jesus and attended a church where people worshipped Him. Until I was older, most of what I knew about Him I had learned from my parents and my church.

Then a college education taught me to ask questions and eventually I began to ask questions about my faith. What about Jesus? Was He really who He said? Is He the Son of God? Did He die on a cross and then, three days later, walk from His tomb, alive?

So I searched and studied, read and researched, and asked all the questions until my soul was satisfied. Over and over, the answer was yes , Jesus truly is the Son of God. The Old Testament promised a Messiah and Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. Jesus lived on this earth and died on a cross. Three days later, He was raised to life. Over five hundred people saw the resurrected Jesus. The Bible is the record of Gods love and contains His wisdom for our lives.

If Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the only logical decision I could make was to follow Him. He had to become the center of my life. Today my faith is filled with emotion, but deciding to follow Jesus wasnt an emotional decision for me. Becoming a Christ follower was the logical result of an honest search.

I tell you my journey because I want you to understand the weight of my words. The first lesson in this book is not intended to be spiritual or emotional or holier-than-thou-sounding. Ive begun with this first thing because its the most important thing I have to offer. Your son needs you to trust Christ and stay close to Him.

Trusting Christ is not about keeping a tradition. Or sitting in a church. Or doing good things with church people. If you dont know Jesus, it would be my honor to introduce you. He is the Lord of all, but more than that, the Bible says He loves you with an everlasting kind of love and He designed you to be in relationship with Him. The Bible says anyone who believes Jesus is Lord can run to Him.

He is the only One able to forgive you and make you clean.

His words are the only words with the power to change your life.

His way is the only way to find rest for your weary soul.

He is the One who wants to redeem your brokenness and heal your wounds.

He is faithful, the Protector of all you entrust to His care.

Maybe youve heard someone say, I couldnt have made it without Jesus. Thats exactly how I feel. There is no way to become the mom my son needs apart from an alive and growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

The most important thing you will ever do is become a follower of Jesus Christ. And you can make that decision wherever you are. The God who loves you is not far off; Hes right there with you now. Becoming a follower is not about returning to an empty tradition. Becoming a follower means your whole life gets reorganized around Christ at the center.

My new mom friend, I pray youll trust Jesus and stay close to Him. Truth is, you really dont need the rest of my words. I hope they mean something to you and I hope youll be inspired. But if youre looking for the power to become a great mom to your son or the power to change midstream or the power to endure the trial you face, I cannot give you that.