The Faith Of A Child

Research shows that if children do not accept Christ before they are fourteen, their chance of becoming believers greatly diminishes. Children's pastor Art Murphy offers help for anyone who struggles with the issue of children and salvation. The Faith of a Child is designed to teach parents, grandparents, or anyone who works with children how to be equipped and confident in guiding them to a saving faith in Christ.

Trapped in complicated Christianity? Here's permission to come out of confinement! How did so many people wind up trapped by complicated systems of performance-based faith? Why do we push ourselves past our limits in pursuit of more works than any reasonable Pharisee would have demanded? Must we run at a pace somewhere between maddening and insane to prove we're among the faithful? "No!" is the emphatic answer from best-selling author Chuck Swindoll. In Simple Faith, he shows us how to get free from such arbitrary confinement. He reminds Christians that they serve a God who promised freedom, peace, and rest. And it's everlasting?not exhausting?life, remember? Here at last is an exhilarating invitation to simple faith. Move beyond rat-race Christianity and break the bars calculated to wilt free spirits. A cage is no place for a Christian. Welcome to your wings!

A new and expanded version of Seamless Faith, now with more than a dozen new spiritual practices and additional resources for parents, kids, grandparents, and communities that care about families! Add family faith moments to your daily routine with little or no prep, and share meaningful spiritual experiences with your children! Traci Smith, a pastor and mother of three, offers ways to discover and develop new spiritual practices as a family, whether you're a new seeker or a lifelong follower. Faithful Families is brimming with easy, do-it-yourself ideas for transforming your family's everyday moments into sacred moments! Faithful Families helps you: connect faith to your family's everyday life; add family faith moments into your daily routine; learn new spiritual practices alongside your children; teach your children to appreciate religious diversity with time-tested non-Christian and Christian spiritual practices; respond to life's everyday challenges and opportunities with meaningful practices Faithful Families is the perfect gift for Parents, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles; Baptisms; Baby Showers; New Families; Christian educators and those they serve; Preschool Classes; and Godparents Faithful Families is part of The Young Clergy Women Project

Tain Gregory was present in his third grade classroom on the morning of December 14, 2012, the date of the Sandy Hook shootings. As part of the healing process for the community after the tragedy Tain was asked "What's the most important thing in the world to you?" His mother expected an answer about a video game or Pokemon trading card. Tain thought for a moment then answered with one word. "God." Until that moment, Tain's mother had no idea how close to the surface Tain's faith existed for him. This is a fascinating look at the journey of two souls, both Tain's and his mother's, that began with Tain enrolling in Sunday School and led to a strong life of faith for both of them. In This Child of Faith, Sophfronia and Tain share stories, experience and ideas to help parents get to the heart of a question that becomes more perturbing as our world grows ever more complicated: How do you help a child have faith—real faith, something he or she owns and not a regurgitation of something they've heard? How do you create a life space where they can learn to understand what they believe? Tain's stories include early encounters with death and, of course, the shootings at Sandy Hook where he was present in his third grade classroom on the morning of December 14, 2012. Tain is now entering an age where his peers are questioning everything and saying "everything just goes black" when you die, but because of his faith, Tain knows differently. “In this beautiful and timely memoir, mother and son share insights from a family’s spiritual awakening, a journey that led to a deep experience of God and a new way of life in the world. Not only do they offer practical advice on faith formation, but they tackle a difficult question: How does faith prepare us not only life’s joys but for its most shocking tragedies? The answer is deceptively simple: by paying attention to the Spirit and trusting one another. Read this one and weep. And discover the hope of a child.” —Diana Butler Bass, Author, Grounded: Finding God in the World, A Spiritual Revolution “When children begin to ask the big questions in life, many parents feel unprepared. What's more, their own yearning to find meaning, hope, and a deeper faith may be ignited. In this unblinkingly honest and tender work, Sophfronia Scott and her son, Tain, share their journey of faith. From her roots growing up in a large Baptist family in Ohio, to her spiritual curiosity as a Harvard undergrad, to her commitment to honor her young son’s request to attend Sunday School, Sophfronia gently models how to nurture the innate spirituality and faith of a child. In doing so, her own faith grows and deepens as well. And when the trials come, such as the deaths of several people close to her and her family, she is more prepared to help Tain understand and accept these losses. This Child of Faith doesn’t claim to know all the answers, but it serves as a moving testimony to the power of faith when a family embarks upon the journey together.” —Rev. Andrea Raynor, author of Incognito: Lost and Found at Harvard Divinity School

What do indoor picnics and funny face contests have to do with loving Jesus? More than you realize! As a mom in the throes of parenting, Courtney DeFeo believes that instilling virtues in children starts with laughter, not lecture. That perspective propelled her to create this idea-packed book, in which she offers motivating reflections, real-life stories, and a sandbox full of inventive ways to help you turn your kids’ hearts toward God. Each chapter focuses on one virtue that is key for developing your child’s character. Along with insights into how this virtue plays out in the nitty-gritty of life, Courtney includes a memory verse, activity ideas, and discussion questions to reinforce that virtue throughout the month. Here you’ll find a full year of ways to draw your children closer to God through delightful antics like Family Olympics, One Fancy Feast, and Light ’Em Up. In This House, We Will Giggle shows you how to capture the hearts of your children through fun—so that they experience the goodness of Christ, the joy of following Him, and the difference they can make in the lives of others. (Water balloons not included!)

Why isn't life everything we expected it to be? And why doesn't our faith resolve our frustrations and problems?

Mothering is messy. Our joy and hope in raising children doesn’t change the reality that being a mom can be frustrating, stressful, and tiring. But just as God is using us to shape our children, God is using our children and motherhood to shape us. In The Better Mom, author Ruth Schwenk, herself a mother of four children, encourages us with the good news that there is more to being a mom than the extremes of striving for perfection or simply embracing the mess. We don’t need to settle for surviving our kids’ childhood. We can grow through it. With refreshing and heartfelt honesty Ruth emboldens moms to: Find freedom and walk confidently in purpose Create a God-honoring home environment Overcome unhealthy and destructive emotions such as anger, anxiety, and more Avoid glorifying the mess of mom-ing or idolizing perfection Cultivate life-giving friendships At the heart of The Better Mom is the message that Jesus calls us to live not a weary life, but a worthy life. We don’t have to settle for either being apathetic or struggling to be perfect. Both visions of motherhood go too far. Ruth offers a better option. She says, “It’s okay to come as we are, but what we’re called to do and be is far too important to stay there! The way to becoming a better mom starts not with what we are doing, but with who God is inviting us to become."

As a freedom-over-formula parenting book for parents of all ages, Child Proof provides biblical insight and encouragement for readers who want to parent by faith. Julie Lowe uses Scripture and biblical wisdom to teach parents how to know their children and specifically love them with the love of Christ.