Parenting With Scripture {Book Review}

Sometimes readers ask me to share advice on parenting. I’d love to (and sometimes I do voice my opinions and reflections). Only…

• I still feel so new at this parenting gig.
• I’m not confident everything I do is exactly “right” (that was my nice way of admitting, yes, I make mistakes and miss opportunities!).
• I don’t have the same child you have, therefore what works for our son might not work for yours – children have different temperments.

I don’t think I’ll ever have all the answers … but there’s one thing I am confident of – if you base your parenting on the guidelines of God’s Word, you won’t go wrong.

Sounds simple right? But then those moments you weren’t expecting hit you between the eyes (usually in public or when you’re overtired!).

• Your child disobeys a rule you KNOW is crystal clear.
• Unkind words create division between siblings.
• Disappointment overwhelms your usually happy child.

Even the best of us probably can’t calmly thumb through our Bible while our children quickly melt-down and our nerves rapidly frazzle! And yet, these are the “teachable moments” where you can show a Godly response to your child’s issues and questions.

My mother had this index card box, where she listed topics from Attitude to Ministry to Worship, with matching verses for each topic; when she wanted to teach us about a particular topic, she had the verse handy on a card to read to us (I have become the lucky recipient of this storied box!). Turns out, author Kara Durbin had a similar idea and published a book about it!

Durbin’s book, Parenting With Scripture, gives parents 101 alphbetically sorted topics ranging from apathy, charity, fairness, giving, responsibility and more. It’s an easy-to-use resource for parents seeking to guide their children by the light of God’s Word.

Each two-page topic gives the definition of the term, 5-6 verses of scripture, discussion questions and take action suggestions for parents to use with their kids. Not only do I love the scripture references, but the questions and other ideas help us teach our children to think Biblically and critically about how to apply scriptures to daily life.

Personally, I don’t see why this book couldn’t be used by anybody to deal with life issues from a Biblical perspective. Although the first section is about parenting and how to take advantage of learning opportunities for your children, it’s written in a clear style even kids/teens could easily read. I could see Parenting With Scripture being used for Bible studies, family devotions, as well as parenting help to instill Bible truth into your children.

The only thing I wish is that this book came in an edition that used the King James Version, as that’s the Bible version we use in our house, so I always have to look up each reference separately. However, other than that, this book will prove a valuable resource to parents, and I highly recommend getting a copy!