Shaun Groves
Boys all over…
Think farts are funny. In Tennessee, Uganda, El Salvador? Always hilarious.
Boys all over…
Like to turn sticks into swords and fingers into guns, and karate chop. With sound effects.
I’ve fought pint-sized ninjas and cowboys on every side of the ocean.
Boys all over…
Believe a little dirt don’t hurt. Georgia clay. Kenyan mud. In a Tennessee downpour.
Boys all over…
Dream of being rock stars.
Or ball players when they get big. Guitar or drums. Cricket, soccer, football. Dreaming all over the world.
Boys all over…
Think “superhero” is an actual career option. No application needed. Just a blanket.
Or a hand-me-down Halloween costume. And the right pose.
Boys all over…
Need a man to love them while they’re still boys and teach them how to be a man someday.
Men…Could you sponsor a boy?
Adopt one?
Play with a boy today?
There are boys all over who need a man like you.
Amy says:
Yep. Yep. And yep.
Our 2 year old neighbor boy learned the trick of faking farts. His mom was mortified. I was relieved that it wasn’t just my family. Although my family sure isn’t faking. 😐
Beth says:
Amen Shaun! So many boys around the world today are without good male role models. What a priceless gift to give a boy; a man he can be some day.
Beth
Angie says:
LOVE LOVE LOVE this!
Kelli says:
Awesome! I just wrote today about how colorful boys make the tapestry of life. And yes…potty humor is part of the color. Boys all over need a strong man in their lives to show them that tenuous balance between being a boy and being a man. Your boys are blessed.
So are mine…
Shaun Groves says:
It is certainly part of the color. The brown part, actually ; )
(So sorry. Couldn’t resist.)
Amy says:
I would like to say that i can’t believe you just said that, but it would be a lie.
Kelli says:
See..this is the tenuous balance of which I speak.
🙂
Shaun Groves says:
You’re the one who put “potty” and “color” in the same sentence. Slow pitch right across the plate. Too easy.
Kelli says:
Touche. Despite living with a grown boy and two small boys for eleven years now, I’m still prone to make rookie mistakes such as that. Because I’m a girl…
Missy @ enJOYing my journey says:
This is so true, and SO needed. **Love it.** Thank you!
Catherine says:
Several years ago, our family spent a week at a boy’s ranch on the outskirts of Caracas, Venezuela. I was doing some medical work while my hubbie and kids played and hung out with the kids. My daughter (age 9 or 10) was having a hard time because she couldn’t communicate with the few girls who lived on the ranch. They were trying to play board games, etc., but the Spanish-speaking girls would get upset at each other and fuss and my daughter was sad.
My son, age 6 or 7 at the time, was having a blast playing with the boys. He would run out into the field and yell, “aqui, aqui!” I was so proud that he learned a Spanish word, but he actually didn’t know what it meant, just that the other boys would throw him the ball if he yelled it.
My husband was trying to console my daughter about her “girl” issues. I will never forget what he said, “I’m so sorry, honey. It is hard because girls need words and you can’t talk to these other girls. Boys, on the other hand, can burp and fart in any language!” It made my daughter laugh!!
But, it’s so true. The kids were so alike despite their cultural differences.
Dave says:
Boys are AWESOME!
And we don’t ever really grow out of any of the things you mentioned. We just get better at stifling our snickers and we act out our super hero fantasies with business suits and football jerseys instead of capes.
Shaun Groves says:
Have you ever heard the bit by Seinfeld where he talks about men still believing they’re super heros? Holding a mattress on the roof of the car with one hand while driving with the other? Worth finding.
Dave says:
Yup. I love that bit.
“When men are growing up and they’re reading about Batman, Superman, and Spiderman…these aren’t fantasies. They’re options.”
Karen says:
Boys….they are a breed unto themselves…..no matter the age! 🙂 Trust me….I married one and raised 3!
Laura W. says:
Still can’t wait until you can talk about your newest (boy that is)! You’re killing me!
My whole family is loving soaking living hearing breathing TWSympony! Love that God can take a grown (boy) man and breathe His heart into a grown (stinky) man and out comes ‘all is grace and grace is all’ and then inspire the same (man) boy to write about farts and child sponsorship! You are my new superhero! LOL
ali @ an ordinary mom says:
Aw, man, I loved this, much like I’m LOVING the boy-ness of my 3rd boy who will soon be 3! 🙂
Praying for boys everywhere, and for the men that they look up to!
Jenna B. says:
As the mom of 3 boys, I LOVED this post. It’s so true. And Shaun, this payday my husband and I will sign up and sponsor a boy. Thanks for the push.
Jenna B. says:
Waiting for my packet to come in the mail! I can’t wait to hang his pic on my fridge.
Jason says:
Sponsor two boys through Compassion. They are awesome. Plans to do more in the future.
Juanita says:
I am married to a “boy” and we have four sons. This post made me laugh out loud! We will be sponsoring with Compassion this coming month! Another boy or two would just improve on the wonder of what God has already blessed us with! Love multiplied!
Thanks for this gift today!
Joy says:
As a mama to four boys, I got the biggest case of the giggles reading this…so very true. I’m so thankful for my husband…and my boys.
Kathleen Benckendorf says:
Never make popsicle stick crosses with 3-4 year old boys in Sunday School.
Instant guns.
SOOOO not where that lesson was supposed to go… 😉
Shaun Groves says:
Guns? Nah. Throwing stars!
becky@oursweetpeas says:
So true. My husband and I took our sons and daughter on a walk a few nights ago and some neighborhood boys were playing catch with a football. The boy asked “if I throw it at you, will you catch it and throw it back?” I thought he was talking to me until I realized his little eyes were peering above my head at my husband. He put it all on the line and asked the big guy. 🙂 My husband threw to him for a few minutes and it made his day. Boys need this and I was SO proud that for that day that little boy had attention from a good man.
Great post.
Dr. M says:
Shaun, I love the picture of you nose-to-nose with that little boy. Awesome!
I have done supervised visitations for the courts, so i have seen how desperate some boys are for attention from a good, loving man. Many times I have wept over the plight of some of these boys. I always make sure they know that I am there for them when they need me.
I’ve seen some incredible reactions from some of them when they find out there is really someone who loves them.