Last month I received this letter from a 10-year-old Canadian boy named Christian. He had read the Courageous novel and wanted to share with Alex and Stephen Kendrick and me what he had learned from it.

Dear writers of Courageous: Mr. Alex Kendrick, Mr. Stephen Kendrick & Mr. Randy Alcorn,

My name is Christian and I am ten years old. I love the book Courageous that you men wrote. It’s awesome; and it’s my favourite (same with the movie!). Here are 20 notes that stuck out to me:

1. When you’re going to do something you have to do it right.
2. You HAVE TO SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY
3. Don’t let peers tell you how to do everything, take initiative, stand out, and do what’s best.
4. Making decisions takes a lot of prayer and thought.
5. To go against the flow is hard but it’s worth it in the end.
6. Say the truth even when it hurts.
7. To be courageous you need to have a lot of integrity.
8. Never give up on God.
9. Work hard.
10. Interview your daughter’s date.
11. Be a man of your word.
12. Love your family so much that you would be willing to die for them.
13. Don’t treat one family member better than the other.
14. Don’t ignore the advice of elders.
15. Be the head of the home.
16. Never give up.
17. The prayers of little children are very powerful.
18. Don’t be lazy.
19. Never give up on your children and influence them when you can.
20. Never let go of the wheel (be the man of your life).

Below is my response to him:

Thank you, Christian, for your wonderful note. I am so glad reading Courageous encouraged you. May you love Jesus with all your heart, and follow Him always.

Photo by Rachael Crowe on Unsplash