Raising Emotionally Strong Boys

Emotionally strong males are

• Resourcefulhaving the ability to name and navigate emotions


• Aware-having a rich interior world, including strengths and weaknesses


• Resilient-having the capacity to cope and feel competent


• Empathetic-having an ability to understand and share the feelings of another

The second emotional milestone is perspective. This milestone is learning to accurately categorize the events of life. Learning that a one in life is losing my car keys and a ten is losing a family member. I don't want to go to ten over losing a scrimmage, though many boys can and do.

The milestone of perspective is like the pain scale doctors use.

Though Scripture is incredibly clear in God asking us to come to him when we are weary and burdened, helpless and in need, we struggle with doing so as males. The invitation is clear, but the practice is difficult. Until we learn to pray with honesty, speak with honesty, and act with honesty, we will continue to rely on our own strength. Relying on

INTENTIONAL PRACTICES

1. Journal prompts. A favorite memory. A time I felt afraid. A hope for the future. If I could have any superpower. My favorite thing about summer. Three interesting facts about me. A character from a book or movie I'd like to meet and why.




2. Strengths assessment. Draw a line down the center of a piece of paper. List strengths on one

This swing from blame to shame is one that boys make often. They struggle to get to the healthy middle space of taking ownership and rebuilding anything that needs repairing.

The River and the Ripple

There's a famous saying that "there comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in." This book is all about heading upstream to find out where boys are falling in. I hope to interrupt a boy's current way of being in the world in a

As God's image bearers, part of laying a healthy foundation is accurately defining masculinity by looking through the lens of Jesus as a man. His strength was defined by sacrifice, humility, compassion, and love. He had close relationships with a small group of men. He was a champion of women. Scripture tells us Jesus wept in an encounter of loss,

Consider using some part of your training time to watch movies like My All American; Radio; The Blind Side; When the Game Stands Tall; Remember the Titans; Invincible; Facing the Giants; We Are Marshall; Rudy; Glory Road; Hoosiers; Hurricane Season; Coach Carter; Invictus; Bend It Like Beckham; Miracle; Eddie the Eagle; The Miracle Season; Soul Sur

It seems important to acknowledge how contradictory this way of being in the world is to the common phrase "Man up!" I think about how often males speak and hear those words. If you really think about it, the message there is to stop feeling, start doing, and take care of things on your own. The message burdens males with a need to carry