To be a lifegiving parent you need the life of Christ within you. Many parenting books focus on technique or methods of discipline. By contrast, Clay and Sally Clarkson’s new book focuses on the kind of parent you need to be to pass on the life of God to our children — hence the title — The Lifegiving Parent.
I love Sally Clarkson’s writings. She always encourages me to love my family more intentionally, more patiently, more joyfully– and her newest book, The Lifegiving Table was no different.
Even before I was finished reading the introduction, I was reminded that no matter what my parenting views or methods, having a relationship with my children is one of the most important things that I can do. I see that now ever more clearly that most of my children are teens or close to teens.
I was drawn to the title of this book- Women Who Move Mountains: praying with confidence boldness and grace. Who doesn’t want to pray with more confidence and boldness? I know prayer is a key in my success as a wife and mother, so I am always glad for encouragement in that area.
We’ve been studying the Civil War lately. Here are some of the resources we’ve used. My boys are ages nine to sixteen so the resources span a wide age range. War is obviously a violent time in history and the Civil War especially so. The casualties caused by the Civil War easily outrank any other war that America has been part of.
My daughter loves to be read to. It’s one of her favorite things to do. That’s why I was delighted to come across the new children’s book, Your Magnificent Chooser by John Ortberg.
Your Magnificent Chooser is a beautiful book with delightful illustrations and rhyming text (it reminds me of Dr. Seuss).
My son recently published his first book. The book is about chess. And not just chess in general, but on one single opening. We’ve had some people ask why he chose to write a book on one specific chess opening. I think he explains it really well in his introduction so if you want to know, just check out his introduction. We learned some things along the way that I thought I’d share with you today.
Parenting is hard. I don’t think anyone who as been a parent for any amount of time would disagree. There aren’t always easy answers for the problems we face. Again and again, we need to ask God how to best face the challenges before us. Never is this more true, though, than when one is raising a child who is different.
I’ve been trying to read more to my two-year-old. I’ve found that if I have beautiful books on hand that I enjoy reading that is much easier to do. Here’s a list of some beautiful picture books we’ve been enjoying these wintry days. You might want to grab a few from your library and snuggle up in your favorite chair with your little one
“Do you know what pliable means?” my mom said as she looked up from the book she was reading. We were in the middle of Pilgrim’s Progress and had reached the part where Pliable and Obstinate were trying to convince Christian to turn back from his dangerous journey.
“If something is Pliable it means it can be easily bent around– like play-dough,” my mom went on.
Books make the best gifts. And books in a series are even better because once you find a good thing, it’s always great to have more. Here are some book series we’ve enjoyed as a family.
