Wading Through Truth

We just met this morning to map out our school year with our co-op, so my head is spinning with books, classes, nature journals, and hikes. I also just received a copy of the Gentle and Classical Preschool Guide (I won the giveaway!) and am anxious to peruse that to make plans for this fall.  I feel our days go smoother when I have some structured moments mixed in with their imaginary play. And my kiddos love "school time"!  Planners, notebooks, and lists make me happy, so I'm anxiously awaiting a day to look over our Wild and Free group plans and our preschool book so I can get them into my planner.

Speaking of books, I just finished The Life Giving Parent by Clay and Sally Clarkson. Some books you can pick up for easy reading between activities like The Middle Matters, while other books require time to concentrate while having paper and pen handy to take notes. The Life Giving Parent  requires waders as the authors will quickly take you in deep down a river of truth.  Meant to be read alongside The Life Giving Table and The Life Giving Home, this book answers the question of how to live as a 'life giving parent' in order to create a 'life giving home' and have 'life giving' experiences at your family table.  

The topics cover our children's Spirit, Heart, Mind, Will, Faith, Character, and Imagination. The authors discuss the importance of knowing your child's personality to be able to communicate truths specifically to him/her, and emphasize the importance of living out what you expect of your kids as truths/morals are always more easily 'caught' than 'taught'. 

Here are some of my favorite nuggets from the book:

"Parent them with the end in mind....When you begin parenting with the end in mind, you will make the most of the time you have to shape and influence your child's heart and mind for God."

"God doesn't want us to let mediocrity crowd out excellence in our mind; He wants us to train our appetites to appreciate beauty and excellence."

"Our deepest conviction was that the most important learning for our children would not be what happened in a classroom but what transpired in the informal settings of our home."

The end of the book really hit home. While discussing the history of the nation of Israel, they made the statement "the future of Israel is in the hands of it's parents".  They went on to describe Daniel being taken captive, then given a ruling position in a foreign government because of his faithfulness to God and his honorable character. Daniel's parents didn't know what Daniel would have to face in his lifetime. But their diligence to invest in him at home returned great rewards in a foreign court. 

Not knowing what the future will hold for my kiddos, I want to invest what I can now to give them to best possible foundation for their lives. This lesson also applies to any people that cross my path. How can I be a help and not a hindrance to what God is doing in their lives? 

Sojourning with you,

Felicia

PS. This book was given to me for review purposes by the Tyndale Publishing Company, but all opinions are mine.