Product Description

Parents in our post-modern world tend to be committed to but anxious about their child-rearing responsibilities. They've tried the countless parenting books on the market, but many of these are strident, fear-based books that loving parents instinctively reject, while still searching for direction.

Now Dr. Tim Kimmel, founder of Family Matters ministries, offers a refreshing new look at parenting. Rejecting rigid rules and checklists that don't work, Dr. Kimmel recommends a parenting style that mirrors God's love, reflects His forgiveness, and displaces fear as a motivator for behavior. As we embrace the grace God offers, we begin to give it-creating a solid foundation for growing morally strong and spiritually motivated children.

Releasing in an affordable trade paper edition, this revolutionary book presents a whole new way to nurture a healthy family.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2111 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-17
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Kimmel, author and founder of Family Matters ministries, likens many Christian parents' attempts at rearing children to putting together a puzzle without first studying the completed picture located on the box's cover. Kimmel states that families of faith tend toward extremes, either being overly permissive or overly legalistic. This is not a particularly new concept, but Kimmel pulls it off with interesting storytelling and sound biblical parallels. He says Christians frequently believe that the battle for a child's heart and soul is fought on the outside-with rigid rules and boundaries-when in fact just the opposite is true. He underscores the importance of communicating the unconditional love that Christ offers and affirming this timeless message of grace to one's family. Despite the numerous examples the author cites where parents fail, this text is overwhelmingly upbeat with hope and possibility: Parents who strive to live a life of faith characterized by daily trust in God will pass on this message of possibility and potential to their offspring. Kimmel asserts that this "radical" mode of parenting will meet the three essential needs in kids' lives: for security, significance and strength. He assures parents that these needs can be met with grace-laced love, purpose and hope. Kimmel's gentle heart is evident in every chapter, and his obvious passion will spur frustrated parents to keep at the task with new resolve and optimism.
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Customer Reviews

Seeing the big picture
I loved this book- a refreshing and biblical way to approach parenting. I really appreciate the way Tim Kimmel points out all the ways God handles us with infinite grace as our heavenly Father and ways to reflect that to our children as well. Highly recommended.

Grace-Based Parenting
I found this book very helpful to me in raising children to love the God who cares for them unconditionally. This book proposes an approach to parenting that is loving in the same way God loves us--with grace. I highly recommend it.

Marvelous!
In preparation for the arrival of my first child in 1998, I read many Evangelical parenting books. These books sought to encourage new moms like me with moving discussions of the importance of our role. These books also provided practical discipline strategies. But, as a first-time mom, I needed more than ennobling rhetoric and discipline techniques. I sought a comprehensive, Biblically-based framework for parenting that would help me to structure and evaluate my day-to-day interactions with my child. I couldn't find anything that met my needs in any of the many books that I read. Dr. Kimmel's book provides the framework I've been searching for and is an outstanding addition to the Evangelical parenting literature.

I especially appreciated the author's use of Scripture to develop his framework, particularly his analyses of Jesus' interactions with children. Matthew 18:5-6 and 10, for example, provide motivation for Dr. Kimmel's point that children feel significant when they know they have their parents' attention. Mark 9:36-37 underlies Kimmel's argument that children feel secure when they receive affection.

My only regret is that I wasn't aware of this book when it first came out! My only criticism of the book is that it doesn't contain enough practical application material.