I am reading through John Eldredge's book "The Way of the Wild Heart", and the farther I get into it, the more it grabs a hold of my soul. Extending on his book "Wild at Heart", Eldredge digs farther into the male heart, laying it all out bare as I've never seen before. He writes to fathers learning how to lead their sons into classic manhood, at the same time explaining how to find for ourselves the manhood that so few of us were led into. It's an fascinating topic, that completely shatters the visage of overgrown Peter Pan boys you see on TV, and that we are so readily led to believe.

I just finished a chapter talking about the "Vision Quest" year he led his 13-year-old son through, a time of growth and initiation into manhood, ending with a ceremony. The ceremony, like the year leading up to it, involves a group of men, close friends, with whom the boy has seen adventure and learned lessons of true manhood, speaking encouragement and conviction into his heart & soul.

His narrative just thrills my soul, as I think of the adventure to come with raising my own son, pouring into his life and teaching him what manhood is about. This concept, of intentionally teaching your son about manhood, is something I never had growing up, and wish I had learned years ago. But I am so excited to be learning about this while Josh is still young. So much to learn, so much to do. The adventure of life just keeps getting better.

One common thread through this, which rings true with the lessons I've had to learn the hard way, is that good parenting is more about investing, than molding. Invest in the child, pour into them, rather than focusing on just behavior or forcing them into a mold of what you envision. God's vision is so much bigger than ours.