Until recently, I’ve been all-girl. Though I married a boy, he’s still a wonderful mystery to me. I grew up with three sisters. For the past six years, I’ve been having tea parties with our 2 daughters. So, I consider myself a novice when it comes to boys. Last July, our son was born. Overnight, I became an avid MOB reader. As a new MOB writer, I offer my nostaglic observations from the beginning of “It’s a Boy!”

Here’s what I notice so far: the boy thinks he is only his eyes.

As soon as Malachi could prop himself up on his Leapfrog Garden, he demonstrated that if he saw something with his eyes, he’d go for it. It doesn’t matter that he has an entire body to account for. It doesn’t matter that he has an adorable head to bonk or a precious nose to smoosh! If he sees something interesting, he flings himself into it (and eats it). The girls never ever ever moved like that boy moved the first time he wanted to eat a plastic frog. If the girls saw something that they wanted, they paused, moved one foot and then another, reached one hand out to touch the object, and then – if the coast was clear – would proceed to explore the item. Not the boy. He saw; he lunged; he ate. I hadn’t thought about the word headlong since a sixth grade vocabulary quiz; now it comes to mind every day. 

I can see how this is a huge advantage in life – talk about courage! I can also see how this requires many trips to the emergency room.

So, Momma, do you see headlong in your home? Have mercy on this newbie and flood the comment section with lots of advantages to this (wince) amazing ability…

In a world where it’s way too easy to see all of the negative about our boys, we want to help you intentionally look for something to brag on…

• Maybe your boy made a good grade this week
• Maybe he served someone spontaneously
• Maybe he learned a significant life lesson
• Maybe he did something hilarious!
• Maybe he looked super cool in his costume/dress up clothes!
• Maybe you took a fabulous photo of him you just want to show off.

Tell us all about it on Thursdays in the MOB Society’s new link-up…

Let’s Hear it For the Boys!

(#LetsHearItForTheBoys on Twitter)

There’s only two real rules for this link-up…

Brag on your boys! Tell the world how they make you proud! Take time each week to write down or take pictures of the good things they do and remind yourself of how God is working in their hearts.

And…leave a link back here to the MOB Society so other boy moms can brag on their boys!

We think it might change your whole perspective.

Link-up! (Or if you don’t blog, tell us about your amazing boy in the comments!)

I don’t know about you, but one of the things I find most charming about little boys is their sometimes over abundant energy!

My little man is always out to conquer the world.

Even if some days, that just means a very large armchair.  Or snow pile.  Or sneaking under mom’s bed when she isn’t looking and grabbing her feet for sheer comedic effect.

Whatever it may be, his zest and zeal for life are the most genuine I’ve ever seen.  It’s a big, big world, baby.  He’s raring and ready to go as far as the biggest adventure will take him.

And when he jumps from the top step, or he winds up with a running start, I want my arms wide open to catch him …

instead of holding my breath and wincing;

bracing myself, and bemoaning the impending impact.

*

*

You see, my body isn’t made for rough and rowdy.  My body is tender, sensitive, weak.  I’m learning, day by day, to live in it.

And so, I feel that this wild wonder of a boy,

has gotten the short end of the stick in the mother department.

He needs a mom who can roll and wrangle and toss him up and chase him down.

He deserves a mom who can keep up.

I am not enough for him.

But,

has God not given him to me?

While I hope to fill those needs the best that I can, perhaps he also needs a mom who can teach him gentleness and consideration.  Perhaps he needs a mom to cultivate a sensitivity to the needs of others…to foster a heart for those who can’t keep up.

*

If we know that God doesn’t make mistakes, then we also know that our boys are ours by design.  Your struggle to relate to your son in some way is for the good of you both; for your sanctification and his betterment.

Mom, you are enough.  Just the way you are.

iPhone photos...the only way to keep this little tornado still, if only for a moment

With over 700 photos in our Flickr stream – yes, over 700!!! – it was next to impossible to pick just ten winners, but it had to be done!

We did our best to pick a variety of ages and perspectives and we hope you enjoy this collection of photos as a small representation of the MOB!

**One note: We could only choose photos that we had permission to share through Flickr and many of your fabulous photos did not allow us to do that. We were sad to leave so many out for this reason, but we must follow those guidelines!

Without further adieu, the winners, who will be featured in our new site design, are…

Congrats to all of the winners!

And a HUGE thank you to all who participated! Keep sharing your fabulous boy pictures in our Flickr stream – we love to see them all!

We’ve been sneaking around a bit, hinting at the big changes coming your way at the MOB Society in February. We’re getting a new design, launching our first team book, and maybe even adding some new writers. We’re over-the-moon excited about all this!

But what we’d really love is to know what YOU think about this boy mom community. Would you take just five minutes of your time and answer nine brief questions about your experience here? Click here to take survey! We value your opinions friends, so BE HONEST. Be BRUTALLY honest (but do it gently )

And thank you!

(pssst…tomorrow we’re announcing the winners of the photo contest! Don’t miss it!)

{I’m THRILLED to introduce you to today’s guest poster, Momma Kristi! Kristi is the mom of three little boys and the creator of an amazing new site called Must Love God. I highly recommend that you run over to the MLG community and take a look around…after you read this post that is…Everyone welcome Kristi!}

I was a strong independent woman at one time.  I graduated from college with a doctorate degree, had a good job, and was even building a house.  I thought all my skeletons of fear and anxiety were shoved nicely in the closet.Skip ahead a few years- a wonderful husband and expecting our first child.  Those skeletons slowly crept back out, slivering, sneaking their way back into my life.

“What if something happens to the baby?”
“What if I’m not a good mother?”
“What will labor be like?”
“Baby, I’m scared!!!”

My husband Jason learned quickly how to respond and you say, “what are you afraid of?”  “I don’t know,” I’d respond, “the unkown?”

“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid” he’d always quote Joshua back to me.  Even in labor, he whispered those words in my ears.

The story fast forwards again three years- three beautiful rambunctious boys (born over a three year time period).  Slowly I try to shut those skeletons back in the closet, for good this time, not to ever come back.  I love my life, my family, and my God.  There is nothing to fear.

“I’m scared,” says my oldest.  My response, “be strong and courageous”.  We even practiced making brave faces and showing our muscles on the way to preschool.

“I’m afraid,” whines my middle boy, just the other day even.  “Be strong and courageous.” We start this process again.

Now my baby, he seems to be afraid of nothing right now, but if he ever utters those words….”be strong and courageous” will be my response.

I often wondered how my past skeletons would affect those future babies.  And as I currently get a stronger handle on my own fears and anxieties, I want to teach my boys too, how to lay those concerns at Jesus’ feet.  I’m realizing the closet is no place to shove those skeletons, as they only creep back out over time.

I see that the only way I can instill confidence and wellness in my own sons’ is to be confident and well myself.  I’ve come face to face with the woman in the mirror.  I’ve vowed to get well, to change my lifestyle, to be healthy and confident.  Those are the traits I want my boys to learn from me.

How do you show confidence in front of your boys? Has your lack of it has affected them?
Kristi is a Jesus-girl, wife to her best friend, and mom to three amazing little boys. She works full time as a pharmacist in a local hospital on the weekends and is a stay at home mom during the week. Kristi lives in suburbia but dreams of moving with her husband and boys to the country. She blogs at MommaKristi where she shares her faith filled journey through motherhood. Kristi also contributes at Sisters in Bloom and is a OneVerse Blogger. She is the founder/creator of Must Love God which fills her passion for helping women focus on wellness and wholeness.

There is never enough time.  When you are a working mom or a single mom, time seems even more elusive.  There just aren’t enough hours in the day to do all the things you need to. And when you find a few moments in the evening to spend quality time with your kids, they are exhausted from their day.  They’ve gone to school and possibly day care after school.  They’ve been in a structured environment all day and just want to play and relax in the evenings.  But you want to use your time to shepherd their hearts.  So, how do you disciple you children when time is short and their attention spans are even shorter?

As moms, we have to be creative.  We have to multitask.  We have to look for opportunities in everyday life to disciple our children.  We don’t always have the luxury of home schooling or private schooling.   So we make the most of each minute, trusting that God will be faithful to reveal Himself to the hearts of our children.  And we look for opportunities to point them to Jesus even in the mundane moments.

Your boys eat at least three times each day.  Use your time at the table to point your boys to Jesus. Review what your children learned at church that weekend.  Review memory verses they are working on.  Leave notes in their lunch boxes with Scripture or prayers written out.

In our home, I point my children to Jesus at the table is by using homemade placemats.  I take a piece of poster board, cut to placemat size and decorate it.  Some are decorated for seasons and holidays.  Some are decorated with their current fascination.  Right now, my son is fascinated with superheroes.  He wants to talk about them constantly.  So I look for opportunities to redeem superheroes to teach him about Jesus.  I took a superhero book from the dollar store, cut out his favorite characters and glued them on the poster board.  Then, I asked him to describe what made a superhero special.  He used words like “strong”, “powerful”, and “courageous”.  I found Scripture that used those and wrote them all over the poster board.  I found a Bible that is illustrated in comic book style and copied a story and glued it on the back.  I laminated the poster board.  Now, my son has a placemat that he loves because it has superheroes on it.  And every night, he asks me to read him the Scriptures and Bible story on it and we get to talk about Jesus in a way that is fun for him.  Less than 30 minutes of time and less than $5 has proven invaluable in discipling my son.

William's Superhero Placemat

There’s never enough time, but we can make the most of mealtime. Be a good steward of your time and trust God to work in your son’s life.  He is faithful.

In a world where it’s way too easy to see all of the negative about our boys, we want to help you intentionally look for something to brag on…

• Maybe your boy made a good grade this week
• Maybe he served someone spontaneously
• Maybe he learned a significant life lesson
• Maybe he did something hilarious!
• Maybe he looked super cool in his costume/dress up clothes!
• Maybe you took a fabulous photo of him you just want to show off.

Tell us all about it on Thursdays in the MOB Society’s new link-up…

Let’s Hear it For the Boys!

(#LetsHearItForTheBoys on Twitter)

There’s only two real rules for this link-up…

Brag on your boys! Tell the world how they make you proud! Take time each week to write down or take pictures of the good things they do and remind yourself of how God is working in their hearts.

And…leave a link back here to the MOB Society so other boy moms can brag on their boys!

We think it might change your whole perspective.

Link-up! (Or if you don’t blog, tell us about your amazing boy in the comments!)

*********

Thanks for joining the M.O.B. Society as we reach for the hearts of our sons. To join us every day, subscribe in a reader, by email or receive updates directly to your Amazon Kindle!

Hey mamas – you sure have some handsome boys – and great photography skills! Here’s another round of our favorites!

Please note: we plan to end this contest tomorrow, January 18, 2012. You’re welcome to continue adding photos to our free Flickr account until that day. We’ll announce the winners next week!

For more information on the contest rules, read about our new blog design!

From CAMZphoto - Enjoying the outdoors!

From nicdawnham - Guitar, Batman, stuffed puppy – love it all!

From baxkee - FREEDOM!

From Photography by Corie - Raising STRONG men!

From brantleyclark - Brotherly love at the beach – I’d like to be there right now, too!

From Kimberly Ann Design - Messy hands!

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Thanks for joining the M.O.B. Society as we reach for the hearts of our sons. To join us every day, subscribe in a reader, by email or receive updates directly to your Amazon Kindle!

Today we invite you to leave a prayer request. 

Maybe you are in need of the touch of the Divine…maybe your son needs healing or for the Savior to bow low to grab his heart.  Whatever it is, there’s safety on these pages.  And love.

But we ask that you not stop with just your own request.  Take the time to read the one above you and leave a prayer in written form for that precious soul too.  Let the cycle of love and lifting go on and on…

Let’s pray…