Sheperding A Child's Heart By Tedd Tripp
By Shelley Cassar, Patriot Mom
"God is concerned with the heart - the well-spring of life"Proverbs 4:23
Shepherding a Child’s HeartBy Tedd Tripp
As a parent, the biggest responsibility I feel I have been given is teaching my children to love Jesus with all of their heart, soul, and strength. So I love when a book comes along that really encourages me in this quest. A sweet PCCA Mom passed this book on to me and I enjoyed it so much I wanted to share it with all of you. Shepherding a Child's Heart, by Tedd Tripp, gives a fresh biblical approach to child rearing.
Often times when it comes to my child's behavior I tend to focus on the good or the bad of it instead of the "why". Shepherding a Child's Heart was a great reminder to me that I need to look more closely at each situation so I can help my child understand the underlying "why" of the behavior, without trying to control the behavior itself. Most children can learn to behave because they don't want to get into trouble or they want to please, but helping a child understand that their behavior is directly linked to the condition of their heart and their walk with the Lord, is how a deep, everlasting change can take place.
Shepherding a Child's Heart has been a great tool for our family that has helped us open lines of communication about behavior. This communication has made the children more aware of the connection between the condition of their heart and the way they behave . One line that really stuck with me from the book is "Change the heart and you will change the behavior".
Tripp has divided his book into two parts. Part one deals with the goal of parenting, your child’s development, and discusses unbiblical methods vs. biblical methods. Part two describes training objectives and training procedures.
Some of the chapters included are:
- Getting to the Heart of Behavior
- You're in Charge
- Examining Your Goals
- Embracing Biblical Methods
If you are looking for a good book to read this summer about parenting, I think this would be one you would enjoy.
I love this book, too. A great follow-up to this book is Don't Make Me Count To Three by Ginger Plowman. She gives very practical suggestions that are based on the principles in this book. It is WONDERFUL!