What’s it like to be the parent of a boy at Whetstone? There is really only one person who can answer that question. You guessed it. It’s the parent of a boy at Whetstone.

This week on A Time to Sharpen we have two such parents: JD and Kelly Buss, the mother and father of Joey Buss, one of our recent 2024 graduates. I feel certain that this podcast will be a huge help to parents looking to place their son in a program, parents living apart from their son who is currently in a program, and parents preparing to have their son return from a program.

But it has also been a huge help to Brandon and me as we continue our quest to sharpen this program.

In The Tech Wise Family, author Andy Crouch describes the difference between devices which do our work for us, and tools which allow us to work for ourselves. One contracts, the other expands. One makes us lazy and apathetic, the other pushes us to grow. One forces us to conform; the other helps us to become better versions of ourselves.

At Whetstone, our work program equips boys with useful skills that transfer into their world back home, allowing them to become servants and leaders. You can’t just push a button to build a birdhouse, mend a fence, or tend a garden. You have to use your hands.

Join us this week on A Time to Sharpen as we discuss the importance of teaching young people how to do more and more in a culture that worships the art of doing less and less.