Preparing for your children

I recently took my son on a canoeing trip with some other dads and their sons on the Namekagon River in Wisconsin.

I have been deliberate about helping my son along his journey to manhood. One book that has been helpful in my teaching is "Boyhood and Beyond" by Bob Schultz.

According to the book, Schultz recommends that boys start to think in their teenage years about what they want their kids to be like. Schultz learned this from God when asking what to teach his daughter:

On January 11, 1978, God gave us our first child. That evening my wife went to bed early. Our daughter Molly lay beside me on the couch. I watched her like any new dad would, thoroughly amazed that she belonged to me. I knew that I was responsible for her life. She was under my care, to protect, to provide for, and to train. Never having children before, I felt somewhat overwhelmed. 'What will become of her life?' I wondered. I purposed at that moment to plan her education.

I picked up my Bible. Beginning in Proverbs, I read, looking for things to teach her. After an hour I was getting nowhere. I couldn't put my random thoughts into any sort of plan. 'God,' I asked, 'what do I teach my daughter?'

He gently answered in my heart, 'Be what you want her to be.' I didn't expect that answer. I was thinking about molding her; God was thinking about molding me. 'She will be what you are, not what you try to teach her.'

In general, children act the way that their parents act. They follow their parents' example. It's never too early to think about the example that you want to make for your children, as that will influence their children and beyond.