Give Them Grace

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I recently began reading a book that I received as a Christmas gift from my husband.  It's called Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus, by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick & Jessica Thompson.  Like I said, I've just started the book (I'm on chapter 2), but from the very beginning I was captivated and felt compelled to share a portion of the forward to this book (which begins with a quote from Michael Horton's Christless Christianity).

"What would things look like if Satan really took control of a city?  Over half a century ago, Presbyterian minister Donald Grey Barnhouse offered his own scenario in his weekly sermon that was also broadcast nationwide on CBS radio.  Barnhouse speculated that if Satan took over Philadelphia (the city where Barnhouse pastored), all of the bars would be closed, pornography banished, and pristine streets would be filled with tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other.  There would be no swearing.  The children would say, "yes, sir" and "No ma'am," and the churches would be full every Sunday... where Christ is not preached."

"This is scary - mainly because what Barnhouse describes is what most of us want for our children.  Jesus or no Jesus, we just want them to obey, be polite, not curse or look at pornography, get good jobs, marry a nice person, and not get caught up in the really bad stuff.

It may come as a surprise to you, but God wants much more for your children, and you should too.  God wants them to get the gospel.  And this means that parents are responsible to teach them about the drastic, uncontrollable nature of amazing grace."

I'm really excited to keep reading this book, and I'm sure I'll be posting again - at least once I'm finished to give a few final thoughts on the perspective on parenting that this book gives (which so far, I'm completely in agreement with).  Happy reading!  

~ Carrie