I’ve read a parenting book or 50 in my 18 years of parenting. I think I was reading parenting books when I was single. I think. I wanted to make sure I “did it right” because I knew it would be the most important thing I did with my life.

And you know…if it weren’t for the wisdom I gleaned from all those great books, I would have been clueless in knowing what to do with that baby who seemingly wanted to eat every waking moment and NEVER wanted to sleep. Or that toddler who threw the tantrums when I said, “no”. Or how the gospel should fit into conversations with my school aged children…every single day. (I didn’t know that was necessary…but it is!) Or how to expand the freedoms of a teen who shows himself to be responsible and trustworthy.

The “books” don’t have ALL the answers…I’ve found. My fifth child never fit into any of the “categories”. She’s stumped Joe and I every single day of her life. The books don’t know her. But God does. So where the books fail…there’s the Word of God and the Holy Spirit…and His grace for each mysterious day.

But for the most part, the books play a critical role in helping to shape us as parents…and provide us with the wisdom and tools we need to get started on this journey of parenting. One thing I’ve noticed as my children have “grown me up”, is that the books I turned to many years ago seem a little out of balance in some ways. There is still much that is good in them. But each one “misses” something…or “stresses” one thing over another…and it is hard to whole-heartedly recommend them to new parents without all these caveats.

Not that caveats are bad. I really believe that we need not throw out babies with bath water every day. Feast on the meat…spit out the bones. However, it’s always nice to be able to find a resource that I can heartily recommend without all the caveats attached. The Faithful Parent, by Martha Peace and Stuart W. Scott is one such parenting resource.

With an emphasis on what is MOST important…your relationship with God…The Faithful Parent does three important things.

It gives an excellent overview of the “big picture” in parenting. It will inspire you and encourage you in God’s purposes behind all those messy diapers and frustrating temper tantrums.
It beautifully lays out the spiritual and physical tools needed for each stage of a child’s life, so that you will be able to effectively nurture your child’s WHOLE self. Body and soul.
It addresses various cases that are outside the “norm” and that require wisdom and grace to navigate successfully. Cases like the single parent home, blended families, and so forth.

If I were to give one comprehensive resource to a new parent, this would be it. It covers all the basics, not merely giving the parent “food” to feed them for a day…but providing them with the tools to grow food for the lifetime of their family.

Visionary Womanhood is giving away a free copy of this book to one of our e-mail subscribers! If you don’t already subscribe to Visionary Womanhood, and you’d like to get our posts in your e-mail inbox AND be automatically entered into our monthly drawing for great resources like this, you can sign up on the side bar!