If you have a son, grandson, work with boys, teach a boys Bible study, or know another dad who has boys, then this message is for you…

As part of the transition to manhood, boys desperately need their dads or other adult men in their lives to teach them about work, and to develop healthy attitudes toward work and a willingness to work for God’s glory.

The best way to do this is apprenticeship, where a boy “shadows” his dad or other adult men and learns about work and character by example.

An excellent resource I am using to teach my own sons about work is “Created For Work: Practical Insights For Young Men.”

The author, a dad himself and a carpenter by trade, tells inspiring stories from his own life and work — real-world stories that fascinate boys.

He uses these stories along with Scripture to reveal truths about diligence, initiative, honesty, promptness, responsibility, and many more aspects of character and work ethic.

Two of my sons favorite chapters are “Dirt” and “The Donut Race.” “Dirt” is about a guy who never lets dirt get in the way of completing his work. “The Donut Race” is about two boys who race each other to a donut shop one morning before school. One boy obeys the traffic laws, while the other one speeds. It’s an effective and humorous lesson on haste and also teaches how hasty people miss God because God is never in a hurry.

Having personally read this book with my own son when he was 8, and now re-reading it again with him at age 10, I give “Created For Work” two thumbs up as an excellent way for dads to spend quality time with their sons as well as impress on their minds key character qualities about work through reading together fun “guy-stories” and discussing the questions at the end of each chapter.

If you have a son, grandson, or know a boy or group of boys between the ages of 8 and 16, this book is highly recommended as an interactive resource. It is also an excellent gift idea for a boy or dad!

Learn More or Order This Resource

Fellow Dad, here’s a gripping thought I am reminded of regularly…

The way we are right now, day-in and day-out, is what we are modeling to our sons about how to be a dad.

In our actions, words, attitudes, priorities, habits, and character traits.

One day down the road, they too will become dads and have their own family. And they may read books on parenting, attend seminars and conferences, and even develop friendships with other fellow dads their own age and trade child-raising stories.

But let us be assured of this… Our sons are watching us… their own dad… every day!

What they are learning from our actions as we model fatherhood to them is going to influence their own fathering perhaps more than anything else.

Amazing thought isn’t it?!

Talk about influence!

Is your little guy learning…
- fatherhood means work comes before family
- fatherhood means lots of time in front of the television or Internet is justified for entertainment purposes
- fatherhood means sports are a high priority for happiness
- fatherhood means expecting Mom to do most of the work in the kitchen and house
- fatherhood means spiritual growth is pursued only through weekly attendance to a local church service

Or is your son learning…
- fatherhood means leading our family through daily acts of serving them
- fatherhood means our wife and children are a higher priority than hobbies and personal interests
- fatherhood means cheating our work regularly to spend time with our family
- fatherhood means consistent daily prayer time with our Heavenly Father
- fatherhood means taking the lead in daily reading scriptures out loud to our family
- fatherhood means being gentle and forgiving our children when they mess up or disappoint us

Remember, dad, he’s watching you… always watching you.

FamilyDads Resource

Choosing To Cheat: What Happens When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley