I've been reading...
...Grace-Based Parenting
by Dr. Tim Kimmel. My sister-in-law recommended this book to me. I appreciate all books about parenting because each of them reminds me that there are still people in the world who are interested in raising kids. A lot of people say that children are the future but not too many of these people are actually interested in "investing."I thought that the book had some very good experienced-based insights and observations. However, I can only go so far as to say that Dr. Kimmel is...well..."on the right track." While he has, like I said, some good examples of Godly parenting strewn throughout the book, he really complicates things more than I think a person needs to. He's gotten lost amongst the trees of the forest I'm afraid.
One of the most annoying things about the book is his lack of a definition for "grace-based," a term used extinsively in the book. He'll give a three page example of some parenting episode and then say, "That is grace-based parenting." So the reader is left to piece together the definition of the term "grace-based" from several examples throughout 240 pages of reading. If the thesis of a work is not clearly defined then it leaves a weak foundation for the argument.
My conclusion is that the book is like a nice conversation with an older, more experienced parent (on his back porch with the sun setting, a cool 72 degrees, a light wind, and an icey glass of lemonade - after a days work...ahhh nice!)-oh right, where was I...a more experienced parent from whom you might get a few gems of wisdom.
In short, I like books that make me want to go study the Bible and this one was only interested in putting forth the undefined term "grace-based."
God tells it without all the clutter. If you want to convince someone of a biblical truth it's always most effective to use the Bible.
You might be wondering why I'm concerned with parenting since I have no children and I'm not married. There's a simple explanation. Why wait to start thinking about how you will parent when you have children. Once you're there you'll need to be parenting!
posted by Davis @ 3:00 PM
12 Comments:
Your review reminded me of a story I heard about another self-help book. This escaped convict who had already killed several people took a woman hostage in Atlanta, and while she was imprisoned she read to him from The Purpose-Driven Life. He was so moved by the book that he released the woman, surrendered to the police, and the book soon reached the top of the best-seller lists.
I haven't read The Purpose-Driven Life, or Grace-Based Parenting for that matter (I tend to shy away from hyphenated titles, maybe), but I guess it goes to show that there's always a market for old wine in new wine-skins! Maybe the old guy on the porch with his lemonade won't fend off any rapists, and I'm sure he's not in any competition with the Bible, but he'll probably reach a few people, and make some better parents out of them. For whatever reason, some of us just seem to prefer our biblical truths secondhand!
By the Light of My Kerosene Lamp. Can be found here:
http://www.biblio.com/details.php?dcx=20033401&src=frg
Chai Yo
Matt,
Haha! Yes, secondhand can be good sometimes. My mother told me that there were some books she read as a new mother that were extremely helpful and she believes that God led her to those books. I can't disagree with her. I believe God has done the same thing for me.
Thanks for the comment!
Todd,
I'm confused. How did you know I was looking for that book?!
Todd,
I meant to also say thanks for the link!
I have been wanting to read this book as well. Have you read Sheperding a Childs Heart? It is really good as well. I think the two balance each other out, from what I have heard about GBP.
Do you remember the girl that you met while doing the Ezekiel Project, that I knew. Her mom called today and she is looking into going to the university here!
Hey Shawna!
Yes, if that's the book by Tedd Tripp then I have. Someone told me that the book you mentioned and "To Train up a Child" by Michael and Debi Pearl were a good balance together. The first tells you the why and the latter tells you the how of sheperding/discipline.
That's interesting that "the girl that I met while doing the Ezekiel Project, that you knew" wants to go to the "university there."
What's she interested in doing?
Shawna,
I'll ship that book to you if you want. Just e-mail me. I don't have yours.
I don't have your email.
Who told you, the two of those books are good together? I was just telling my dr. that yesterday. some serious deja vu! or however it is spelled. I will look to see if your addy is on the camp website.
oh, I forgot to mention, the how is actually in the back of SACH, which I totally missed the first time I read it, 4 yrs ago. I was like, ok that is great but HOW DO I DO THIS???
well email me....look at the camp site, if you need to know what it is.
I love this website:
http://www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com
She has a awsome blend of parenting that just makes sense.
Davis-
The other night we were discussing your reading of this book. Debbie and Dave were over as well as S&L. The thing that dave pointed out, is that you can only have grace when the law has already been established. I thought that was a very interesting point to ponder.
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