A big day in a boy's life

Yesterday when I got home from work I was privileged to share in my oldest son's big day. A coming out party of sorts for a boy........he got to mow the yard all by himself. I personally hate yard work. I don't enjoy it all. I like a nice yard but I really don't like "working in the yard." However, at age 11 Peyton was looking forward to it. He could not wait to crank up the mower and set out on the yard. The grass only needed mowing in a few places but I let him mow the entire yard for practice. I told him he had to figure out the best "plan" in covering the whole yard. I walked with him to show him how to line it up straight with each "swipe". I showed him how to let the auto drive off while turning it and how to set it back straight before engaging the tire again.

When he was done, it really looked nice. The best part for me was watching his face as he turned off the mower, dumped the grass and rolled up the cord from the edger. He looked satisfied. He felt like a......well...he felt like a "man". He had the look of accomplishment that comes from when you complete something for the first time that you have been looking forward to doing.

Now..... I know their will soon come a day when he will not see mowing the yard as a privilege. He will see it as another thing in his list of chores. However, for a little while, he sees it for what it is to him. A right of passage. Something fun that makes him feel BIG. Their will be a day ( I hope for his sake it is at least a year) that he will not want to do it....for now he loves it and asked how long did I think it would be before the grass would grow and he could do it again.

In thinking of this and then also listening to Mr. Clint (our kid's pastor) I love the fact that at Team Church we have a kid's ministry that does all the normal church things that happen at many places. However, we also have a Kid's pastor who is a man, an ex Air-Born army guy, a sports guy who loves kids and lets boys be boys. In a day and culture with so many single parent homes and little boys who don't get a chance to be "little boys" our Kid's ministry is a great place for boys. I know this Sunday afternoon a bunch of them are going back into our back 40 acres to spend the afternoon in the woods doing what 4th and 5th grade boys love doing. They will climb trees, make forts, jump the little creek, have contest of who can do certain things that go along with being in the woods. They will have a great time and they will be doing it as part of a "church" event.

Our kid's ministry of course does all the normal stuff like crafts, games, Bible learning, stories and the like. However, I know my son has always enjoyed the extra life skills and more boyish practical learning about how to be a boy who will be a man in this ever changing and sometimes "anti-boy" culture we live in. Great job Clint and the entire Kids Ministry Team.

Team Kid and Pursuit have their last night of the Winter Season tonight. Don't let your kids miss it!

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years." - Mark Twain