A former All-American and one of today's most respected child advocates likens the final years of raising teenage boys to the two-minute drill in football -- a crucial win-or-lose point where a focused game plan is needed.

If you are the parent of a teenager, you are coming down to what former All-American and one of today's most respected child advocates John Croyle calls the two-minute drill. In football the last two minutes are crucial; the whole game builds to those moments that can determine the final outcome. The Two-Minute Drill to Manhood is John's game plan that will help moms and dads make sure their sons are ready for authentic manhood. Based on Croyle's life and experience parenting more than 1,800 abused and neglected children on the Big Oak Ranch for Boys and Girls, as well as parenting his two biological children, he drills down into seven actionable life principles drawn from the word "manhood" itself: M – Master A – Ask and Listen N – Never Compromise H – Handle Responsibility O – One Purpose O – One Body D – Don’t Ever, Ever, Ever Give Up

This book covers the ten year period from 1940 to 1950 during which author Clarke Church grew from boyhood to young manhood. During these years Mr. Church transitioned through high school, the US Army, and college, and his memory of events is reinforced by quotations from the 106 letters which he wrote to his parents at home. Not only is this a story about one boy's experiences while coming of age, but it positions these experiences against a backdrop of dangerous and exciting times for our country and for the world - the end of the Great Depression, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the ebb and flow of World War II in Europe and the Far East, and the early stages of the Cold War. Though written primarily for his family and descendents yet to come, the author hopes that his manuscript will stimulate pleasant memories of their formative years in other readers as well.

The REAL Man Program The REAL Man Program is an empowering and inspiring guide for young men and all men, outlining the steps necessary to become a REAL Man. The REAL Man Program offers a ground-breaking, life-changing, & society-shaping message. It challenges men to become responsible, respectful, and respectable individuals: To become something special and to do something special with their lives. The REAL Man Program prepares young men to become winners in every aspect of their lives. It teaches them to make winning decisions, put themselves in winning situations, and surround themselves with winning people. The REAL Man Program teaches them to win at being a man, to win at being a husband, to win at being a father, and to win at being a member of society. The REAL Man Program provides a clear and purposeful game plan for becoming an authentic man in today's world. It offers young men the guidance and resources to help them develop into men of substance, men of principle, men of honor, and men of virtue. Above all, the program is committed to helping boys become not only men, but REAL men: Men who respect all people, especially women; men who always do the right thing, and men who live a life that matters. To state the profound impact of The REAL Man Program simply: "It challenges young men to be a REAL man and inspires them to make a REAL difference in the world." The REAL Man Program and message are informational, inspirational, and transformational: Reading the REAL Man message will be informational... Taking to heart the message is inspirational... But living-out the message is transformational. ___________________________________________________________________________ The REAL Man Program Contents The REAL Man Program Consists of: - 20 Separate Lessons - 8 Bonus Lessons - More than 100 "downs" (or "mini-lessons) - Group Exercises and Discussion Questions - Personal Reflection Questions - Writing Assignments and Journaling Opportunities - The Official REAL Man Program Workbook - Dozens of Worksheets, Exercises, and Take-Home Assignments - Handouts, Flyers, and Signs for the Locker Room and the Classroom The REAL Man Program Audience The REAL Man Program Is Designed For: - Young men from middle-school through high-school ages, and beyond - Youth development programs and initiatives - Youth groups and church-organizations - CHAMPS Life Skills and Character Education programming - College residential life programming - Men's Book Study groups, and other study-based programming - Athletes and non-athletes alike - People of all cultures, races, religions, and beliefs _________________________________________________________________ Praise for The REAL Man Program: What Coaches Around the Country Are Saying "Great stuff!" Exclaims Seattle Seahawks Head Coach, Pete Carroll "This is it, right here! "This material right here-these lessons-this is what it's all about." Coach Bell, South Florida High School Coach "What a great resource! It always takes a spark to start a fire, and this is certainly doing that." Coach Kirk, A Georgia High School Football Coach "Impressive... Absolutely impressive!" Coach Davis, Florida High School Football Coach "I'm blown away." Avon Old Farms School (CT) Coach Kevin Driscoll proclaims. "This is exactly what our boys need!" "Incredibly inspiring!" Proclaims Vince Ferragamo, former Los Angeles Rams starting quarterback, and Super Bowl XIV starter. "This is awesome stuff!" "This is great, absolutely great! Our kids need this today, more than ever!" Coach Wallace, Hall-of-Fame High School Football Coach "This is a great program!" Declares Alabama's Coach Frank. "It will change your life, and it will change the lives of the young men you coach."

Man up; it’s the best thing you can do for others—and yourself Men are so busy doing so many different things; when not working, their free time is often full of the trivial or sinful. But what society and church so desperately need are men who embrace all that God created them to be, who long to follow God without limits and meet the needs of those around them without hesitation. To get there, we need what Pastor James MacDonald calls “radical surgery”—a deep, probing exploration and reparation of all that it means to be a man. In his definitive, bold voice, MacDonald calls men to be watchful, firm in their faith, strong, and loving. This isn’t a call for bravado and bluster. It’s a call for men to mix tender and tough, to be humble, to follow Jesus. It is a call to be leaders, men of God, husbands who are present and caring and strong. It is straight talk—no posturing or posing or beating around the bush—inviting men to redemption and restoration in their manhood. Read Act Like Men and take bold steps toward being all that God designed you to be.

The Bible’s frequently referenced chapter of Proverbs 31 defines godly womanhood. In Raising a Princess, greatly respected child advocate John Croyle asks, "How do you equip a daughter to become the kind of woman who is described in Proverbs 31?" After all, a woman like that doesn't appear out of nowhere. Somebody taught her to rise before dawn to provide for her household. Somebody gave her the moral compass to reach out her hand to the needy. Somebody taught her the business principles that made it possible for her to consider a field and buy it. Perhaps most importantly, somebody gave her a sufficiently strong sense of self that made it possible for her to go out and make a huge impact on the world around her. Raising a Princess begins with the end in mind. The end is the Proverbs 31 woman; Croyle keeps her squarely in view as he looks at what parenting techniques help the reader to raise a princess who will someday be a queen. Based on Croyle's life and experience parenting more than 1,800 abused and neglected children at Big Oak Ranch, alongside his two biological children, the book is organized around eight virtues a parent can build in his or her princess: Then change the letters as follows: P: Praiseworthiness R: Righteousness I: Initiative N: Nurture C: Character E: Empowerment S: Servant-Heartedness S: Stability

New Economy Edition Many parents I meet, "" says John Croyle, ""feel discouraged and defeated in their relationships with their children. They want to be good parents, but they don't know where to find that 'something extra' within. This book is meant to give you some positive principles that will help you find that. Then you in turn can bring out the winner in your child."" Bringing Out the Winner in Your Child challenges parents to examine their skills, recognize their inadequacies, and love their children enough to make the changes needed to provide a stable, peaceful home. Croyle's life is an inspiring story of an All-American defensive end whose love for children prompted his coach, the legendary Bear Bryant, to advise him to ""forget about pro football and follow your dream."" In 1974 Croyle founded Big Oak Ranch as a home for abused, neglected, or abandoned children. Since then it has been a refuge and a natural, loving environment for more than 1,500 children from ages six to twenty-one. Croyle's practical guide to raising children encourages parents to develop skills as guardian, disciplinarian, provider, and friend so they can provide their children with love, stability, protection, and wisdom. His wide-ranging experience is the basis for his many lessons in dealing with typical parenting problems. Croyle offers such valuable insights as how children listen with their eyes (not their ears), how children and adults speak different languages, how realistic boundaries can affect children in positive ways, and how discipline with love, not anger, creates an atmosphere of growth and trust. His daughter, Reagan, was a four-year member of the women's varsity basketball team at theUniversity of Alabama. Croyle's son, Brodie, was the top-rated high school quarterback in America when he graduated in 2000, and in 2002 he was a quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide.""

“The Unforgiving Minute is one of the most compelling memoirs yet to emerge from America's 9/11 era. Craig Mullaney has given us an unusually honest, funny, accessible, and vivid account of a soldier's coming of age. This is more than a soldier's story; it is a work of literature." —Steve Coll, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars and The Bin Ladens "One of the most thoughtful and honest accounts ever written by a young Army officer confronting all the tests of life." —Bob Woodward In this surprise bestseller, West Point grad, Rhodes scholar, Airborne Ranger, and U. S. Army Captain Craig Mullaney recounts his unparalleled education and the hard lessons that only war can teach. While stationed in Afghanistan, a deadly firefight with al-Qaeda leads to the loss of one of his soldiers. Years later, after that excruciating experience, he returns to the United States to teach future officers at the Naval Academy. Written with unflinching honesty, this is an unforgettable portrait of a young soldier grappling with the weight of war while coming to terms with what it means to be a man.

Be a Man is a 7-chapter study designed to help young men understand biblical manhood.