As a mom of four, no other parenting book has impacted me the way Parenting with Words of Grace has. In it, William P. Smith writes that the book is, “an invitation to experience God’s heart with your kids, to experience God parenting you as you parent them.” True to this invitation, as I read, I was astounded by the grace of God.
Here are some reasons why I have gifted more copies of Parenting with Words of Grace than any other parenting book.
Parenting with Words of Grace Shows the Gracious Heart of God
I first picked up Parenting with Words of Grace knowing I needed to show more grace to my children. What I didn’t know was just how much I needed reminders of the grace of God for me. And as I read, my soul was deeply ministered to and moved by my Heavenly Father’s heart of grace, patience, and kindness.
Parents need to understand the way God relates with us if we are to show the same grace to our children. And this book is filled with examples of how God speaks to us as his children—how he is a Father we want to draw closer to.
Communication as an Invitation to Relationship
Parenting with Words of Grace also helped me consider whether the way I communicate with my children invites them to draw closer to me. This was paradigm-shifting, to think not just about the content of my communication (“What am I teaching my children?”) to whether I am being the kind of person they’d want to draw closer to (“What am I showing my children about what I’m like and how I think of them?”).
William P. Smith writes:
Every time the possibility of a conversation comes up, you are communicating exactly the same things to them that God communicates to you: “This is what I am like as a person—this is what I value; this is what’s important to me; this is how I think about life; this is how I think about you.”
And you’re also communicating what you’re like relationally: “This is what I’m like in a relationship—this is how I treat people; this is how I interact; these are the kinds of things that I say; this is the way that I say them.”
And just like God, you’re not only communicating those things about the present moment, but you’re also inviting the people around you to something more. Whether you choose to speak or choose not to speak, you’re not only telling who you are and what you’re like relationally, but you’re also asking, “Based on what I just said, do you want less of me or more?”
As parents, we need the reminder that as we seek to raise our children in the instruction of the Lord, we ought to be a compelling display of his grace in our relationships with them.
Relatable Stories & Readable Chapters
William P. Smith shares real stories from his own family that will help parents feel less alone in their struggles. His relatable examples provides models for how we might speak to our children in ways that invite them to move toward us and God.
What’s more, all of this important content is distilled in short chapters, making Parenting with Words of Grace a manageable read for busy parents. Readers can take time between chapters to reflect over deep truths about our gracious Father as well as put some of the content in practice.
Parenting Woos
“Parenting doesn’t work. It woos,” opens William P. Smith at the start of Parenting with Words of Grace, and readers will find themselves wanting to draw near to their Father as they learn to invite their children to do the same.
