Praying for Boys Review and **Giveaway**

Being a parent is tough...period.

When I first found out I was expecting my little dude, I just knew he was a girl.  I know how to raise girls because girls run in my family. I have a younger sister and all girl cousins and I was there to see them grow.

When I went in and found out he was in fact he was a little dude, (something he was not shy about I might add) I was blown away, not only because my intuition had been wrong, but also because I have no clue how to raise a boy!

My son is 9 months old and I still feel like I have no clue what I am doing.  It is a daily learning experience and is honestly the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, though the most rewarding indeed.




Before reading Praying for Boys, written by Brooke McGlothlin, my idea of caring for my son was making sure he was fed properly and sleeping enough.  Making sure that he had the proper clothing and that he was always wearing a hat when he went out into the cold.  Protecting him from germs and little old ladies at Walmart who insisted on pinching his cheeks.

It wasnt until I began reading Brooke's words of wisdom and encouragment that I realized: one, that I was not alone in feeling clueless when it comes to raising boys and two, that I had missed the most important way I should be caring for my son, by praying for him.

I did not have a firm foundation in prayer before reading Praying for Boys, it is just something I have never been confident in.  Brooke opens her book with a section on prayer; what it is and why we should do it.  Problem solved!  She made prayer seem really easy for me, a simple and informal conversation with God.  He knows everything anyway, so why try and put on a show?

I related to Brooke well.  Sometimes I felt she was telling my life story.  I thought at first this book might not work for me because my son is still a little guy but this is not simply a book you read and put back on the shelf.  It is a guide that will help you to pray for your son through the entirety of  his life.  My plan is to read it once a year so that I can constanly refresh myself on why and how I should be praying for my son through the various seasons of his life. Brooke writes that:

"This book was written with three main purposes in mind: to encourage parents to pray for thier sons, to teach them how to do it, and to inspire them to keep doing it on a regular basis by explaining why it's a vital part of raising godly men."

I believe she has accomplished this and presented a book that is exactly that.

The book is split into two main sections: The Things They Need the Most such as obedience, pride, and integrity and Fruit of the Spirit which includes things like love, joy, and peace. Brooke gives an overview of the section, scriptures to pray over your son, and reflection questions.

The book ends with tips on using this book for bible study and a 21 day prayer challenge.

After reading this book I feel confident that I can pray for my son in the areas that he needs it most and I see just how important praying for my son is.  I knew parenting was a huge task but after reading Praying for Boys I see the momentous task that is in front of me and I am ready to take it on and raise a son with a heart for God!

Bio:

Brooke McGlothlin is Co-founder of Raising Boys Media, where moms and dads come to discover delight in the chaos of raising boys. You can find her writing about fighting for the hearts of her sons at the MOB Society blog, or living a life in pursuit of Jesus at her personal blog www.brookemcglothlin.com. A normal day finds Brooke homeschooling her two boys, wrangling two large Labs, Toby and Siri, writing to bring hope to the messes of life (in the midst of her own messy life), and falling more and more in love with the man she’s had a crush on since the third grade (who just happens to be her husband).

Q&A

What led you to write your book Praying For Boys?

My husband and I have two boys who were born just 23 months apart. I probably don’t need to say much more than that, do I?? That’s enough to keep any mama on her knees! Actually, I’ve done a lot of hard things that I’m very proud of in my life, but raising my boys ranks up there as THE hardest thing I’ve ever done. In the book, I talk about how I asked God to give me boys, and that’s true, but the reality of the day to day mothering of what I like to refer to as “those boys,” (you know, the ones who are 250% boy?) often leaves me completely worn out. I realized early on in our parenting journey that I had no power to change their hearts. And while everything in me wanted to be able to snap my fingers and produce good, godly men, the Bible just doesn’t give us that parenting formula. So in an effort to just do something, I started praying verses from the Bible for my sons…verses based on things I wanted to see the Lord develop in their hearts. It was my way of crying out to God to change them, but it ended up changing me, too. After a year or so of doing that, and of constantly hearing from moms on the MOB Society, my blog for mothers of boys, who wanted to raise godly men, but felt like they were losing the battle, I decided to create a resource that helped them learn how to pray for their sons. It seemed a simple answer to me at the time, but the longer I encourage moms to pray the more convinced I become that prayer is the most overlooked part of raising godly men.

Brooke, your book is a prayer guide with over 200 scriptural prayers. Can you share a sample or two of these?

One of my favorite verses to pray for my own boys, that shows up in the chapter on kindness, is Numbers 6:23-26. They call it my “special prayer” and I pray it over both of them every single night. If I forget, they remind me, and I love that it’s become such an important part of the way we end our days. I just pull my boys close to me and pray, “May the Lord bless you, and keep you, and make His face to shine upon you, and give you peace.” We’ve been doing it so long now that they actually pray it with me. My other favorite verse to pray for my boys, because they’re young and still learning appropriate behaviors, is Galatians 5:22. I put my own twist on the end that they just think is hilarious. “Lord, fill up my sweet boys with love, joy, peace, and patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…lots and lots of self-control.”

What do you most hope the readers of Praying For Boys gain from experiencing the book?

I wrote Praying for Boys because I truly believe we can change the world if we pray for our sons. My greatest hope for moms who read it is to inspire them to trust God with their boys, get into His Word and find out what it has to say about raising boys, and inspire a generation of moms to get on their knees, partnering with God for the hearts of their sons.

I'm so excited that my first giveaway is this awesome book!  I have a copy of it waiting here with one of your names on it!  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment answering the following question:

Why do you think it is important to pray for our boys and what are some top prayer concerns for our boys?

You can also enter to win by liking Mommykakes on Facebook and The MOB Society on facebook.  Be sure to come back and leave a comment letting me know you liked these pages.

I winner will be randomly chosen Friday, February 7th, at noon eastern, and will be notified on the blog and by email!


Whooo...that was my first book review/ givaway and I'm exhausted!  Have a great night my friends...off to sleep so I can wake with my little dude in a few~!