Courtney DeFeo - In This House, We Will Giggle: Making Virtues, Love, and Laughter a Daily Part of Your Family Life

Every parent needs this book! I love Courtneys fun, practical ways to connect our kids with biblical truth while making family memories. This book is an amazing resource that will teach children how to have their own relationship with God.

L YSA T ER K EURST , New York Times best-selling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries

Courtney DeFeo has written the book I wish Id had while my kids were growing up! Its full of creativity and fun for anchoring twelve key virtues into the hearts of children. I love how her ideas lay a vital foundation for spiritual growth and developmentand help families have a blast while doing it.

S ANDRA S TANLEY , North Point Ministries

If youre looking for real-life ways to become a more proactive instead of reactive parent, you should read this book. Courtney DeFeo gives us personalized and practical ideas for building love and laughter into our children so we can actually develop an intentional plan for investing in them.

R EGGIE J OINER , founder and CEO of Orange

We laughed our way through this book with its honest snapshot of all that comes with being a parent. We also were seriously inspired to invite our kids into a life filled with virtues. Courtney takes the guesswork out of it by giving parents creative and practical ways to seize everyday moments and make following Jesus fun!

L AUREN T OMLIN , wife of Christian music artist Chris Tomlin and on the journey with him to raising a family after the heart of Jesus

I love being a dad, but to be honest, Im an insecure one. I want to be really good at this, but there are days when I wonder. This is one of the many reasons I love Courtneys book. She reminds us that we should take parenting seriously, but not so much ourselves. Love, giggles, and virtues are a lot more fun than perfection anyway. This is a practical and encouraging guide for parents who arent perfect but who want to get this extraordinary opportunity rightand have fun along the way.

J EFF H ENDERSON , lead pastor of Gwinnett Church, dad to Jesse and Cole, and husband of Wendy

As a counselor, I hear weary parents every day trying to figure out how to combat the entitlement of this generation, instill virtues in their children, and enjoy one another at the same time. Im so grateful for this book, which contains encouragement and practical ideas to do just that! Your family will be inspired to grow, serve, love, and laugh together!

S ISSY G OFF , director of child and adolescent counseling at Daystar Counseling Ministries, Nashville, TN, and author of several books, including Intentional Parenting

Courtney DeFeo, in her typical style, offers us something refreshingly different, powerful, and creative: a secret weapon for parents. For me this book felt like the Swiss Army Knife of parenting, with a tool just waiting to be applied as needed to every occasion with a dose of fun and giggles along the way!

D AVID S ALYERS , vice president of marketing for Chick-fil-A Inc. and coauthor of Remarkable!

Every mother will be helped by this practical, inspirational, and down-to-earth book. Each page holds biblical truth, family-time suggestions, and a huge trunk full of plans to help you teach twelve beautiful virtues. If you choose to do as this book suggests, your family is in for a lovely journey.

E STHER B URROUGHS , author and speaker with Esther Burroughs Ministries, Greenville, SC

Like Courtney, I want to create a home where our children experience Christ in a tangible way. The ideas in this book are practical, and the stories are relatable. Youll come away with fresh inspiration for nurturing a faith-filled, fun-loving family.

H OLLY F URTICK , author of The Preachers Wife blog and wife of Pastor Steven Furtick, Elevation Church, Charlotte, NC

I N T HIS H OUSE , W E W ILL G IGGLE
P UBLISHED BY W ATER B ROOK P RESS
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Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. Scripture quotations marked ( MSG ) are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( NASB ) are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org). Scripture quotations marked ( NKJV ) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( NLT ) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Trade Paperback ISBN 978-1-60142-606-2
eBook ISBN 978-1-60142-607-9

Copyright 2014 by Courtney DeFeo

Cover design by Kelly L. Howard

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, New York, a Penguin Random House Company.

W ATER B ROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
DeFeo, Courtney.
In this house, we will giggle : making virtues, love, and laughter a daily part of your family life / Courtney DeFeo. First Edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-60142-606-2 ISBN 978-1-60142-607-9 (electronic) 1. Christian educationHome training. 2. Christian education of children. 3. LaughterReligious aspectsChristianity. 4. FamiliesReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.
BV1590.D44 2014
248.8431dc23
2014021156

S PECIAL S ALES
Most WaterBrook Multnomah books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, and special-interest groups. Custom imprinting or excerpting can also be done to fit special needs. For information, please e-mail or call 1-800-603-7051.

v3.1

To Ron, Ella, and Larson:

You have shown me a love and laughter that I never knew was possible.

In this house, I will treasure you.