For February, our virtue is The Bold Adventurer with the tag line, “Go Courageously.” During the first week, we are asking the boys to memorize Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” What a promise from the God of the universe that he will be with us wherever we go. When we realize how much our heavenly father loves us, we are free to take risks and step out of our comfort zone, to overcome fears. “We go courageously because we’re loved securely.”

Parents,

I know many people who were so excited that Christmas was almost here that the decorations came out well before Thanksgiving even hit. While we often make jokes about how Christmas decor shows up in Hobby Lobby in August, the hope that Christmas brings for our world is especially welcome early this year.

One of the projects developed by our Building Boys, Making Men program is a series of Advent Calendar Devotions. We hope these 25 devotions make this a year even more focused on the gift God sent to us on Christmas.

Each devotion includes:

• A short Bible passage to read today (usually about 5-12 verses)
• An explanation of what we’re focusing on in those verses
• A couple questions you can discuss as a family
• A challenge—a simple way for your children to start living out what you discussed

You can view the devotions on the website or download them as a PDF.

Advent Calendar Devotions

For the month of November our virtue is Servant Leader. Our key verse is taken from Philippians 2:3-4. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.” In order for a Servant Leader to be capable of looking at the interest of others, they must become good listeners. Below are two quotes from an article from Inc. Magazine entitled, “The Forgotten Skill That Will Make You a Better Leader,” where the author states the importance of listening for leaders.

For October, our virtue is Humble Hero.  Pastor and Author Tim Keller gave this perspective on humility from his book, The Art of Self Forgetfulness.