This is WAR!

 "Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;  he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples^[a] under me." Psalm 144


In recent months our young men (16, 13, and 10) have taken to playing more war type games. Gone it seems are the days of racing, Mario, and Donkey Kong, and instead a  replacement of  Golden Eye, Modern Warfare, and Blazing Angels.. I have noticed as I walk into the rooms with their faces intently plastered to the TV screen such words as, "your dead! I killed you! So long sucker! This is war!"  I personally am not overly feminine but I have become more "girly" through the years


So at first I was uncomfortable with such strong language and still am to some degree with our 10 year old. However, through the ages of history when a boy reached 13 he was no longer a boy and instead a man. I am looking at my 13 year old, who could pass for 11 easily, and the idea of him being a man is strange. I look at my 16 year old and it is easier for me to see him as a man considering he wears what looks like a shabby Amish beard. 


Historically, boys were taught at a young age to be men. The were taught the value of hard work, that women were to be taken care of, and that they were made to fight. I look at my guys and I realize that I haven't done a very good job of showing them those things. I have done a good job of making them good boys, but good men? So like the captain of a giant ocean liner I have taken to the task of turning a ship in mid-stream. Difficult? You bet! Possible? Absolutely!


This year I want them to see the power of God in their lives, and that God can use them, even at their age for war. They too are in a war! They come into contact with the enemy everyday, and it is time I prepare them for battle. Now the idea of them wearing guns instead of ball gloves is crazy, but so is sending them into their battle unarmed. 


How do we arm this generation of young men? First we have to show them who they are in Jesus; It all begins and ends with him. Second, we have to give them something to fight FOR. Women too long have become too willing to feminize and emasculate the men in their lives. True femininity is fierce, bold, and soft... It is okay to let them know you need them, not just bark out orders to them. I need these young men, I am not strong enough to carry in the food they require! Just kidding. 


Seriously though, I have to be someone who invites their masculinity to rise up, and give them a reason to want to protect. Third, I must be submissive to the Lord and their Dad. Fourth, I have to arm them with the Word. Fifth, I must pray!   


Men will rise up and be men, when we expect them to. Women have created an adolescence that lasts much too long. You can see this by the amount of young men who live on their mother's couches playing video games at 25. I declare that I will give my sons the gift of failure and mistakes. I will not protect them so much that God can't use those lessons of doing the wrong things to make them right next time. I have less than 10 years and all my young men will be grown men, probably husbands and fathers. 


My legacy will not be in what I do, but who I raise and who I love. So, from now until they leave my roof, THIS IS WAR!