Raising A Lion

How do I raise a man in this day and age? When men are constantly demeaned and made to look like they have nothing good to offer to a family other than comic relief? He is past my chin now. In church my chin would rest on his head as we worshiped, now my head tilts back. I will do this thing until I cannot do it any longer. I will rest my head on his and hold him close when his friends are not watching. He still lets me kiss his cheek and hug him in front of them though. He is strong enough to not care what they think. I hope we can always give him that. Strength. I was thinking the other day how do we teach him to be the spiritual leader of a home someday? I know he watches his dad and his dad is a great example for spiritual leadership but where do I, as his mom, fit into that? I have begun to give him a Scripture every day that he has to look up in the Bible by himself. I help, a little. He is then required to read that Scripture to his sisters at the breakfast table. This was the first week. Everyday I gave him Ephesians 6:10-19. Everyday he lead them in putting on the full armor of God. Everyday he lead. He was not made into the funny, dumb sidekick of his "much smarter sisters" he was made the leader. He was given dignity. I realized as he and his dad went out to shoot the crossbow together that I am raising a lion in a world where men have been made to be lambs. Don't get me wrong, I want him to be a kind and sensitive husband someday. I want him to be gentle toward his children and be able to hug them and tell them how much he loves them but I also want him not to be the doormat that I see often portrayed in the entertainment industry. That is not and never will be OK. It does not mean that we as women should not be strong and have an opinion but I want him to rise up someday and hold steadfastly to the leadership in his home. I want him to be confident as he claims responsibility for his family. I am raising my son to be a MAN.