Families with Faith: Survival skills for Christian Parents

 

I came to Richard Patterson’s book expecting to find a few nuggets, but to my pleasant surprise, reading Families with Faith was like taking a parenting course in developing strong Christ-centred relationships within the home. Showing a true understanding of the challenges facing the 21^st Century family, the book is aimed at the varying compositions of single parent, blended and step-families.

 

Patterson deals with a variety of issues, not limited to maintaining a healthy work-life balance; prioritising spending time with the family; praying for, and creating a strong sense of identity in children to reduce the need for acceptance generated by peer pressure; creative, yet inexpensive ways to have fun together; making great family memories; developing your own, and helping your children develop relationships with God; as well as building strong support networks.

 

As one who has struggled with keeping to regular family prayer times, I found the segment on nurturing faith within the home particularly helpful. Patterson gives guidelines on having effective family devotions; and while he encourages this and family nights, he stresses the importance of what he calls the ‘family atmosphere approach’. In other words, building rich spiritual values by placing God firmly at the hub of day to day activities.

 

There are plenty of practical suggestions for leading a stress-free, fun-filled family life, and at the end of each chapter, Patterson provides thought-provoking questions, and, without being prescriptive, practical tips and suggestions to develop a home environment that works for you. 

 

I could not whiz through Families with Faith in the speed to which I’m accustomed, but that’s mainly due to the author’s attention to detail, which meant I frequently had to stop and consider what I’d read. For a potentially life-changing book, I didn’t find this a disadvantage at all. This is a book into which I would heartily dip for a refresher.

 

Families with Faith would be a great study guide for small groups, and certainly for spouses looking to establish biblically based families. If you are looking for the microwave-able guide to parenting, I suggest you buy this book, and keep it in your bookshelf until you are ready for the hard graft that raising a Christian family entails.