Lee Nienhuis - Countercultural Parenting: Building Character in a World of Compromise

Table of Contents

In Countercultural Parenting , Lee Nienhuis offers a paradigm shift desperately needed in todays culture. She reminds us that the journey to raising children with character begins with us! Lee writes that we have to personally and actively cultivate a deep life of virtue and moral fiber, relying on Gods power to produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives as we live out our faith and train up our kids. This refreshing book is filled with transparent stories and biblical advice to help you trust God with your childrens future.

John Fuller, vice president of Audio and cohost of the Focus on the Family radio program

Dont think you can make a difference in this world? Think again. Your best contribution is to parent with countercultural intentionality. The words in this book will show you how.

Jill Savage, author of Real MomsReal Jesus

Do you need to believe you can parent well in hard times? Really believe? This is the book for you. Youll find the encouragement and inspiration you need because of Lees use of Scripture, stories, and specific ideas. She teaches us how to join the oppositional forces that trigger cultural changes and how to make sure our kids are in this group. Lee both inspired me and equipped me. We can battle and win!

Kathy Koch, PhD, founder and president of Celebrate Kids, Inc., cofounder of Ignite the Family, and author of Start with the Heart

Are you stunned by the corruption, foolishness, and egomania displayed by our leaders and celebrated in our culture? Are you devastated by the reverberating character deficits you see in your own kidsand even in yourself? With wisdom, wit, and mom-in-the-trenches perspective, Lee leads us to our only character-renovating hope: God and the truth of His Word. Come leave your apathy and hand-wringing behind and follow Lee on a charge to change the worldone mom and kid at a time.

Shannon Popkin, author of Comparison Girl

For such a time as this God has placed your child in this world and into your home to fulfill the incredible calling He has for him or her. God knew this period of time would be filled with all sorts of temptations and distractions. Lees book is masterful in helping parents see and understand that they can raise up children with godly character, morals, values, and strength no matter the child, situation, culture, or parent. This deep, rich resource along with the Bible will help you and your child become remarkable men or women of God!

Sally Burke, president, Moms in Prayer International

In our current culture, its tempting to become lax and disheartened when it comes to matters of character. Thankfully, Lee Nienhuis has diligently and boldly laid out a guidebook to reorient parents with their God-given responsibility to raise children who live under His authority and do some earthly good. I stand with Lee in believing that revival is possible in this generation and the next, beginning with a subgroup who is willing to go against the status quo and train their kids in the countercultural ways of Christ.

Katie M. Reid, author of Made Like Martha , cohost of The Martha & Mary Show , and mother of five

As a parent, you have one of lifes most precious and holy responsibilities: to shape the character and heart of your children. Im thankful my friend Lee has poured her heart and soul into these pages for you to have all you need to build on the foundation of faith in your family. Dont get so caught up in the busyness of daily life that you forget to think about the legacy you are instilling every day in your kids. If we want to change the world, we need to start in our homes.

Matt Brown, evangelist, author, and founder of Think Eternity

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

For Brendan

The day you were born changed everything.

The world gained a gentleman,
a man of integrity and character.

May it also grow to know you as a man of unshakable faith.

You dont have to be perfect, Son.

There will always be grace enough for us both.

I love you forever,

Mom

Now I commit you to God and to the word of his
grace, which can build you up and give you an
inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

ACTS 20:32

Contents

S ome authors are called to write books with the advantage of looking back through the rearview mirror. God has not awarded me that luxury. At the time of publication, I will have one kid in high school, two in middle school, and one finishing elementary. By Gods grace alone, I have already penned one book. Brave Moms, Brave Kids: A Battle Plan for Raising Heroes came from a desperate desire to find a way through the fear that is paralyzing a generation of mothers, myself included. When fear pressed in on me and there was no solution in sight, I found one source of strength, hope, and wisdom: the fact that while I dont know how to do this, God does.

God has parented in every generation, knows what lies ahead, and promises to be with us. Furthermore, He has not failed in one of His promises, and He will not ruin that track record with us. He can be trusted. Though we have not seen a day like this, the Ancient of Days has, and He alone knows the way through it. I believe Gods Word contains everything we and our kids need for life, godliness, and faith in our generation (2 Peter 1:3).

The story behind this book is not unlike that of the one before it. Countercultural Parenting began as a question to the Lord and has become a manifesto I must declare to the world. It all began the morning after a presidential electionbefore my eyes opened, before coffee, and before I knew who had been elected. I lay in bed, sighed, and began to pray. Lord, I dont know who was just elected to serve our nation, but I know we have gone horribly astray. Months of toxic election chatter and revelations had exposed one thing for certain in my mind: We were a nation whose values, priorities, and agendas no longer demanded that a person of noble character lead us.

Father, are we too far gone? Is it even possible to raise a child to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly before You all his days? Are we past the place where our culture would choose righteousness ?

In the dark of that early morning, I wrestled with what I feared was the answer to that question. Until three simple words formed in my heart.

Raise that child.

This is my anthem, and it is also yours.

We are in a time of revelation and reckoning, a character crisis of epic proportions. The symptoms are evident as we open our curtains and the news apps on our phones. The effects drip from our social media engagement, follow us into the voting booth, and trend in polls. Cheat. Bribe. Lie. a headline reads. My stomach churns. Corruption, coercion, and counterfeit living are commonplace, and it is making the job of raising virtuous children seem like a far-fetched ideal. Truth be told, most days just reading the news makes me feel like I swam in a cesspool. Our headlines are heart ripping, but it is the daily reality of living those headlines that makes us ache.

Our family lives in rural, small-town America, largely protected from crime and scandal, but the disintegration of wholesome values has rolled down our gravel roads as well. Today, our schools address issues like teen vaping, athletes doping, and the recreational use of legalized marijuana. This one-stoplight community deals with embezzlement, greed, prejudice, and abuse of power by authorities. While there is no wrong side of the railroad tracks, the dividing line between wealth and poverty is painfully obvious, and we live with a constant awareness that children who go to school with ours do not have enough to eat and are shivering in the cold of a Michigan winter.