Sally Clarkson - The Lifegiving Parent Experience: A 10-Week Journey of Parenting for Life

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The Lifegiving Parent Experience: A 10-Week Journey of Parenting for Life

Copyright 2018 by Clay Clarkson and Sally Clarkson. All rights reserved.

Cover photograph of father and child copyright by Hero Images/Getty Images. All rights reserved.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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Christian parenting is not meant to be a solo or silo experienceMom and Dad taking care of parenting business in their own home in their own way, and taking care not to make their parenting anyone elses business. If were honest, as parents we can all become insecure at some point about what were doing, how were doing it, and if were doing enough. Were understandably reticent to open our homes silo doors to give others an inside view, especially of how our faith gets worked out in our family life and worked into our childrens lives.

Sally and I totally understand. As parents of four now-grown children, weve experienced more than thirty years of being there and doing that in our own home silo. Weve lived through all the same feelings, fears, foibles, and faith challenges that every Christian parent experiences. Its been a wild and wonderful journey for us, just as were sure it has been and will be for you. And we can say from this end of the journey that its been worth it every step of the way, or at least most of them. But its a journey youll definitely want to make with friendstheres just no substitute for having a parenting posse to share the trip. This group study guide will start you on that adventure.

Before going further, though, lets be clear about what this study guide is not. First, its not a guided guilt trip to make you feel bad about what youre not doing as a Christian parent. Most of us dont need any help with that. Second, its not a laundry list of things you need to do to be a successful Christian parent. That list does not exist, either in the Bible or in a book. Finally, its not just an important stuff God says about parenting doctrinal survey. There are lots of books for that.

So, then, what is The Lifegiving Parent Experience? Lets just say its an itinerary. Its a ten-week journey with friends along the path of parenting, with stops along the way to ponder and discuss what weve been learning. Everybody experiences road trips differently, just as we all experience the journey of parenting differently. This study guide is a friendly way for you to take some mental snapshots, make some helpful notes about the places well stop on this trip together, and take it all back home to show your kids. This journey is all about becoming what we call a lifegiving parent.

Lifegiving parenting, simply defined, is about bringing the life of God into your homegiving the life of God and the God of life to your children. As we say in our book The Lifegiving Parent, its about opening the doors, windows, and vents of your home to let in the love, light, and life of God. He wants to be there, to come in and be a part of the life of your home. Lifegiving parenting is not about doing parenting a certain way but about making ways for the living God to enter into your home. Lifegiving parenting is not a set of rules or a surefire formula, but simply a way of life.

Why is that important? Weve found through the years that many well-meaning Christian parents fall into the trap of thinking they have a Christian home because of what their children are doinggoing to Sunday school and Bible club, listening to Christian music, watching Christian videos, going to Christian activities. Theres nothing wrong with any of those things, but the reality is that a Christian home can never be defined by what the children are doing but only by what the parents are doing. Your children cannot make your home Christian; only you can do that. Many parents do well at giving their children what we call the Christian life but fail to give them the life of Christ. Lifegiving parenting is a way of helping you make sure your children experience the life of the living God in your home.

This companion Bible study and discussion guide for The Lifegiving Parent can be used either individually for personal reflection or in a small group for interaction and mutual encouragement. However, we suggest that you gather several other couples who are parents and go through the study together. Whether you find friends your own age or bring together couples of a variety of ages, the benefits will be the samesharing the parenting journey, talking about Gods Word together, and helping one another become lifegiving parents.

We dont think of The Lifegiving Parent Experience as just a book of formal Bible lessons. Instead, we see it as a guide for an informal discussion group for Christian parents. We want it to be the road map for a meaningful and enjoyable spiritual journey with friends, not a curriculum for serious and sober study. Weve tried to make the weekly discussion content interesting, insightful, and interactive, yet also something you can do in a comfortable amount of time with little or no preparation. You should be able to complete each weekly study in about ninety minutes, depending on how long you spend in discussion and prayer. The study and discussion questions are written to give everyone in the group freedom and encouragement to contribute their thoughts, insights, and experiences.

The L.I.F.E. outline used for each of the ten weekly studies is designed to move your group discussion from general ideas to specifics. Its an approach that allows you to start with a friendly warm-up to the subject before moving into reading and discussing relevant Scriptures and then personalizing and praying about what youve been discussing. Weve chosen to use the New Living Translation ( NLT ) for most of the Interact with the Word Bible passages because of its easy readability and more conversational vocabulary for group discussion.