Book Review and Giveaway: Parenting--14 Gospel Principles by Paul David Tripp

Parenting is the most rewarding yet most challenging job in the world! This book helps readers see parenting in light of the gospel. It's unlike other parenting books. It's not about how-to, but rather about what and why. It's about the essence of Christian parenting. "This book is meant to give you vision, motivation, renewed strength, and the rest of heart that every parent needs. It is written to give you the big gospel picture of the task to which your Savior has called you." (p. 13) The book covers 14 gospel principles that give parents important foundation to be God's effective ambassadors, representing God's message, methods, and character. We parents are called to be daily instruments of God's forgiving, rescuing, transforming, and delivering grace in the lives of our children. The theme that runs through the whole book is grace-centered, grace-infused parenting. Another message you will see over and over again in this book is: we (parents) are more like our children than unlike them. We, too, need to be rescued from ourselves.

I find this book to be therapeutic. When I read it, I felt convicted and comforted at the same time. Even though I've failed countless times in my parenting, God, by His inexhaustible grace, continues to use me and transform me and my children. Parenting is such an important work because God has designed us to be His tools in creating God-consciousness and God-submission in our children. We must live the gospel out with gratitude and joy in front of our children so that our children may desire the gospel of God's grace for themselves. The author points out that parenting work needs to focus on the heart of a child, not on the outward behaviors. I really appreciate all the Biblical wisdom and insights from Paul David Tripp. You can tell how much I love a book by how many quotes I include in my review :). I highly recommend this book to all parents! It is one of the very best parenting resources available.

"God calls unable people to do important things because ultimately what he's working on is not your immediate success, but that you would come to know him, to love him, to rest in his grace, and to live for his glory." (p. 35)

"Humble, confessing parents encourage their children to be humble and confessing too, and the result is that they have many opportunities to talk about the rescuing love of Jesus." (p. 40)

"Remember, the greatest danger to your child is not the evil outside them; it's the sin inside them that is the greatest of all threats to their well-being." (p. 51)

"As a parent, you are not called to just enforce God's law in the lives of your children, but also to constantly exhibit and teach God's grace to them as well." (p. 52)

"Parenting is not about exercising power for change in your children. Parenting is about your humble faithfulness in being willing to participate in God's work of change for the sake of your children. " (p. 61)

"Good parenting lives at the intersection of a humble admission of personal powerlessness and a confident rest in the power and grace of God." (p. 69)

"What is obedience? It's a willing submission of my heart to the authorities that God has placed in my life." (p. 119)

"Our children need the security of faithful, consistent, firm, uncompromising, and loving authority--authority that is motivated by and tempered by grace." (p. 120)

"There is a daily war that is being fought on the turf of the hearts of your children. It's a war for control. Will the heart of your child be controlled by love for the Creator (worship) or by craving something in the creation (idolatry)?" (p. 142)

"There is no more important function for a parent than this: to lovingly and patiently bring our children to the point where they too cry out for God's mercy. Crying out for God's mercy happens only when you have acknowledged the sin that is inside you from which you are not able to free yourself." (p. 172)

GIVEAWAY: You can win a copy of this book! The giveaway is open to 
residents of the U.S. and Canada only. Ends 11/4 at midnight Pacific time.
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~ Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller/FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.