What does it mean to be a man? Moreover, how do you as a father instill that reality in your son? By Raising a Modern-Day Knight. The medieval custom of knighthood offers a unique approach to shaping a boy into a strong, godly man. Centuries ago, select boys went through a rigorous, years-long process of clearly defined objectives, goals, and ceremonies—with the hope of achieving knighthood. Along the way, they acquired a boldly masculine vision, an uncompromising code of conduct, and a noble cause in which to invest their lives. They were the heroes of their age. In much the same way, Raising a Modern-Day Knight will show how you, too, can confidently guide your son to the kind of authentic, biblical manhood that can change out world. Complete with ceremony ideas to celebrate accomplishments and ingrain them in the mind of a knight-in-training, this resource is as insightful as it is practical in raising a boy to be a chivalrous, godly man.
In the same tradition as Raising a Modern-Day Knight, this book is designed to equip parents to cultivate strong relationships with their adolescents. Raising a Modern-Day Princess stresses the importance of creating a rite of passage for teen girls—a defining moment in which girls can be blessed by significant adults in their lives, and a call for their families and communities to celebrate and support them as they enter womanhood. This book offers practical help in raising a generation of women to see themselves as God sees them—as daughters of the King.
Bringing chivalry back into our modern-day world, this book shows us how to inspire today's generation of young boys to pursue honor, courage, and compassion. In an age when respect and honor seem like distant and antiquated relics, how can we equip boys to pursue valor and courageously put the needs of others before their own? This book helps parents to inspire their boys by captivating their imagination and honoring their love for adventure. Heather Haupt explores how knights historically lived out various aspects of the knights' Code of Chivalry, as depicted in the French epic Song of Roland, and how boys can embody these same ideals now. When we issue the challenge and give boys the reasons why it is worth pursuing, we step forward on an incredible journey towards raising the kind of boys who, just like the knights of old, make an impact in their world now and for the rest of their lives.
In the beginning, Steven Stanford had started off like any other normal kid, the desire to have a place he could call his own. In his back yard had grown a massive cottonwood tree, larger than any other tree in the neighborhood. There had been the initial complaints that allowing him to build a tree house would not only be an eyesore, but would also lower property values. After all, kids would use anything for building materials. Steven was not the average twelve-year-old. His father, Michael Stanford, was the foreman for Diamond Estate Homes. At age seven, during the summer vacations, Steven was more interested in spending his days with his father and the workers than playing ball with his friends. He had been fascinated to see bare ground transformed into a beautiful house. The love for the craft could be seen now as he and three friends painstakingly coated every finished piece of lumber with a durable water sealer over stained finish. The work completed was nearly all conception of the idea; Steven had shoveled snow and mowed lawns throughout the neighborhood so that he could purchase the materials on his own, from his father and the men on the construction sites. He learned the finer points of framing, fishing, and furnishing it, without the technical details, the multiple levels and handmade arched windows would not have been possible. As the boys stepped back to admire the final result, Steven took notice of the crowd gathering for the last hour on the street just to the side of his yard. There were parents with kids and cameras. A man and woman from a news van, and Vanessa, the most beautiful girl in his homeroom class this year. Steven couldnt believe she was actually looking at him! Summoning his courage, he raised his hand and smiled. Expecting her to ignore him as she had done all through school, but instead, she smiled and waved back. Unbelievingly, he quickly glanced over his shoulder at his buddies. They were still admiring the tree house and its decks. It had really been him she had waved to! Guys! Check it out! Its Vanessa! Steven said, trying not to sound too excited. Embarrassing him, they ran to the railing and pointed right at her. Holy shit! Brian said, Her boobs are even bigger! Like youd know what to do with them! Carl said, giving Brian a shove. More than you! At least Ive seen boobs, real boobs! Forcing himself to look away, Steven looked annoyingly at Brian. Your sisters dont count. Bite me, dill weed! Boobs are boobs. Steven dismissed his claim with a wave of his hand as he turned toward the lowered gangway stairs. It wasnt worth fighting over. Besides, Loris boobs were nothing new, but Steven would never admit to having taken her for a ride in his goat cart for the chance to feel them. On the ground, he lost his sight of Vanessa and feared shed be gone by the time he opened the fate through the tall picket fence, but immediately spotted her again just as the reporter and her cameraman intercepted on the sidewalk. When he tried to skirt them. The woman blocked his path. Hi! Im Linda Gray from channel four news. Is that your tree house? Yeah, he answered, relieved at seeing Vanessa walking toward him. Its very impressive. Did you build it all by yourself, or did your dad help you? My dad helped me with the electricity. Its the law. And y my friends helped too. Your parents must be very proud. If its all right with your folks, wed like to do a story on it. Would mind giving us a tour? Filing his thought was the question why Jessica stood smiling broadly just a foot away from him. She was so close that he could smell an intoxicating fragrance coming from her hair. Could a girl smell any better than she did right now? A hand in the middle of his back sent him stumbling forward causing him to bump into Vanessa. Geez, are you going to kiss her or stand here all day? Brian asked. The realization that the chest had pressed toget
On the great influence of a valiant lord: "The companions, who see that good warriors are honored by the great lords for their prowess, become more determined to attain this level of prowess." On the lady who sees her knight honored: "All of this makes the noble lady rejoice greatly within herself at the fact that she has set her mind and heart on loving and helping to make such a good knight or good man-at-arms." On the worthiest amusements: "The best pastime of all is to be often in good company, far from unworthy men and from unworthy activities from which no good can come." Enter the real world of knights and their code of ethics and behavior. Read how an aspiring knight of the fourteenth century would conduct himself and learn what he would have needed to know when traveling, fighting, appearing in court, and engaging fellow knights. Composed at the height of the Hundred Years War by Geoffroi de Charny, one of the most respected knights of his age, A Knight's Own Book of Chivalry was designed as a guide for members of the Company of the Star, an order created by Jean II of France in 1352 to rival the English Order of the Garter. This is the most authentic and complete manual on the day-to-day life of the knight that has survived the centuries, and this edition contains a specially commissioned introduction from historian Richard W. Kaeuper that gives the history of both the book and its author, who, among his other achievements, was the original owner of the Shroud of Turin.
This rerelease of the popular original edition continues to speak to parents in a society where "family values" no longer seem to exist. If anything, today's community standards threaten the family. Airwaves and movie theaters are drenched with obscenities; perversion is glorified; divorce is cheap and easy; "safe sex" is promoted instead of abstinence; parental authority is undermined; sex roles are confused. For children, such cultural chaos is crippling. But in Real Family Values, parents will learn how to sort through today's moral confusion, remove it from their homes, and change the world by zeroing in on the part they love most: their families.
How do we build our sons to be tough but not arrogant? mannered but not soft? imaginative but not lazy? bold but not hollow? Future Men is a Christian guide to raising strong, virtuous sons, contrary to the effeminacy and sentimentalism of contemporary culture. When Theodore Roosevelt taught Sunday school for a time, a boy showed up one Sunday with a black eye. He admitted he had been fighting and on a Sunday too. He told the future president that a bigger boy had been pinching his sister, and so he fought him. TR told him that he had done perfectly right and gave him a dollar. The stodgy vestrymen thought this was a bit much, and so they let their exuberant Sunday school teacher go. What a loss. Unbelief cannot look past surfaces. Unbelief squashes; faith teaches. Faith takes a boy aside and tells him that this part of what he did was good, while the other part of what he did got in the way. "And this is how to do it better next time." As we look to Scripture for patterns of masculinity for our sons, we find them manifested perfectly in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who set the ultimate pattern for friendship, for courage, for faithfulness, and integrity.
Now available in paperback. The inspiring story of how a church showed God's love to a dying culture by building bridges to its neighborhood, community, and world.
