Grace Based Parenting

I finished this book last night and if you are a parent, I urge you to go get it and read it yourself!! I just have to get down a couple of points that I felt were so important.

• He defines love as "the commitment of my will to your needs and best interests, regardless of the cost." He then goes on to say that when we are talking to people we love that our honesty must be delivered with its effect on the other person in mind. Grace requires that we deliver words about touchy subjects with a commitment to help - even heal- the other person. And that it works both ways - that we speak this way to our children and that we let them speak this way to us. (italics are passages straight from the book)

What I love about this book is that it teaches us how to be grace based Christians on top of being grace based parents. We should do this with everyone not just our kids but it's so important that we do treat our kids with grace. We are such a huge influence on our children just think of the influence we'll have on them if they know first hand how much difference the grace of God makes in their life.

• Another thing I really liked was this quote by Dr. Dan Allender about dishonesty... "Because dishonesty, or living a in denial, is actually an attempt to dethrone God. It is an attempt to become as God with the power to construct the world and reality according to our desire...God does not play by our rules nor resolve our wound and ache as we desire; therefore, we leave God's world and create one that is more palatable to our taste, even if it robs us of life and love."

Wow.

I love stuff that I can tuck away in the back of my mind and pull out when I need it and this book is full of that. It makes me want to treat everyone I know with grace and I know that's what God wants for me too.