Books That I Love

I am constantly reading.  I read almost anything I can get my hands on.  I have found a few books extremely helpful when it comes to training and treasuring my littles.  Here are a few that I have read and continue to re-read:

• Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas
• This is by far my new favorite book!  It has taken the focus of parenting off of technique and has refocused it on our hearts as parents.  The author reminds us that our loving, caring God uses everything in our lives to chisel away the ugly to get to the end result that He already sees in us.  It is encouraging, refreshing, and contemplative.  It is easier to find the purpose in changing diaper after diaper, reading to my kids, and sparing a few extra moments for some meaningful quality time after reading his words!
• Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
• In order for me to be a great mom, I must first be a great wife.  When we have strife in our marriage, our entire family will suffer.  This book, again, does not focus on technique, rules, or how-tos of marriage.  Instead, it asks us what if marriage was not created to make us happy, but to make us holy?  It focuses on what we can learn through our marriage journeys, how we can choose to be more Christ-like, and how we can bless our spouse by embracing the journey we're on together.
• Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson
• This was a book written for anyone who has a son, young or old...especially people like me who came from a family of all girls!  Dr. Dobson uses a blend of science, psychology, common sense, and spiritual insight to explore boys' behaviors, interactions with authority, and responses to life changes.  It is a must if we are to understand our boys, aim to not change who God made them to be, and encourage them to run hard after what God has called them to!
• Bringing Up Girls by Dr. James Dobson
• Written in the same vein as Bringing Up Boys, this book focuses on how little girls are different than boys, how they think and behave, and what relationships truly mean to them. 
• Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
• Ask any God-fearing parent what book should be on the bookshelf, and you will undoubtedly hear this title.  There is a reason!  The approach to disciplining your child outlined in this read is valuable: it teaches that the behavior of the child is really only the symptom of what is really going on in his heart.  It is those heart issues that we as parents must explore, expose to our children, and lovingly lead them to recognize and correct.
• Loving Your Kids on Purpose by Danny Silk
• This is a good one!  I read this one so quickly the first time, I missed a lot of treasure!  What I love most about this book is that it really focuses on preserving a life long relationship with your children, while also training them up in the way they should go.  It takes the focus off of the immediate disciplinary issues, and, again, looks at the heart of the matters.  When we do this, we gain perspective...when we gain perspective, we can see and preserve our long term relationship with our kids.
• The Kingfisher Children's Illustrated Bible
• After searching far and wide for a children's Bible that did not take too much liberty in retelling passages, that was more inclusive than just the "classics," but was still engaging and relevant to a little girl or guy, I have found this treasure!  This Bible breaks down important passages in one or two pages, with beautiful illustrations.  The passages all tie into each other, so it is like reading one giant story.  It also includes the exact references that it was taken from, so that we can go back through and read the actual text.  My boys new favorite time of the morning is Bible story time!
• Everyday Graces by Karen Santorum
• This is a relatively new discovery for me.  It is a collection of short stories, poems, and excerpts from children's classics that illustrate concepts of good manners in many contexts.  It covers topics such as table manners, honoring your parents, behavior outside the home, etc.  The best thing is that it is not a list of rules, but a collection of stories with a moral.  My kids are learning by listening!