Caleb: A boy becomes a man

For a year and a half I have been planning for the next 10 days.  Actually, I have been anticipating the days since I read a book (Raising A Modern-Day Knight, Robert Lewis) 11 yrs ago.  Caleb was about 6 or 7 when I read the book.  I needed help.  Growing up without a consistent example of what a father looked like, I needed a idea.  This book put me on a path.  It gave me a plan.  It cast a vision for how I could raise men of honor.  I set in motion to be an intentional father, instead of responsive one.  I will be the first to tell you, I’ve failed in many ways as a dad, but one element I’ve enjoyed with Caleb (I will soon start the process with Joshua) is celebrating his rites of passage.  When he was about 10 or 11, we went to Beaver Lake to have “the talk.”  We did man things, built fire, fished, talked, and cooked over an open flame and made “man noises” (without having to say “excuse me”).  We finished the time with watching a inspiring man movie to encourage the soul and cast a vision. This was Caleb’s passage in to being a adolescent.  Now Josh ask when his “lake talk” is coming.  It’s now tradition.

Caleb turns 16 this summer (he is getting older, I’m not getting old).  The next 10 days we will celebrate this rite of passage into young manhood.  Anybody who is able to drive a deadly weapon (a car), has to shave facial hair, and leaves for college in 2 yrs is more than an adolescent, he is a young man.  Caleb and I are heading to Australia on Tuesday to participate in Fathering Adventures - a 5 day excursion to the land down-under.  This will be a huge trip with some amazing Aussies.  Would you covenant to pray for us as we gather for adventures (rafting, kayaking, diving, and mtn climbing), but also as we have some deep and meaningful conversation (topics: Intentional fathering, authentic manhood, 4 marks of a man, etc.)? We will close with an initiation into manhood ceremony.

There are some things I would like to enlist your prayer support on…

1. Pray as we tour Sydney on July 1st (we will never live in June 30th, that’s wierd).  We will be jet lagged, but it is our only day to see and do the town.  We are looking forward to it.
2. The mission of Fathering Adventures is that the hearts of the fathers are turned to their children, and the hearts of the children are turned to their fathers (Luke 1:17).
3. Please pray for Darren Lewis, leader of Fathering Adventures, for his health, and even more importantly, his sensitivity to God’s Spirit, and His leading. From what I understand, four of the eleven father-son pairs coming are unchurched. May they experience the drawing of The Father during their time amongst us. May God’s message be heard, understood, received, embraced and lived out by all.
4. Please pray for Melissa, Darren’s wife, and their 3 sons who won’t be participating… Brandon, Joseph, and Theo… that they will be covered, protected, and blessed despite Dad’s physical absence.
5. For the health and protection of all of the participants, and their families.
6. For a new generation of men in Australia and the United States to be born: men of honor, character and integrity…modern-day knights.

Join the Facebook fan page and stay in touch.  Many of you men are raising a modern-day knight too.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 27th, 2010 at 8:02 pm and is filed under Parenting and Family Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.