The Mystery of Children: What Our Kids Teach Us About Childlike Faith [Paperback]

Mike Mason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2001

“This joyful, honest, and compelling read calls me to be grateful for every laugh
and each tear I have been granted as a parent and a child.”
--Dan Allender, president of Mars Hill Graduate School and author of The Healing Path

“Page after page Mason makes observations that are so transparently true that we wonder why we never noticed or thought or spoke like that before.”
--Luci Shaw, writer in residence, Regent College, author of The Angles of Light and Writing the River

“An extraordinary book. Mike Mason has shaken me to the
core of my soul--he knows me.”
--Brennan Manning, author of Ruthless Trust and The Ragamuffin Gospel


Just as Mike Mason’s best-selling The Mystery of Marriage explored the parallels between marriage and our relationship with God, so does The Mystery of Children illuminate key spiritual truths modeled in the complex parent-child relationship. More than a manual on parenting, this book is for everyone who wishes
to become childlike in heart or to be closer to children--two desires that are intimately and wondrously entwined.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This is not a book about how to parent; it is a book about how the experience of being a parent can bring a person closer to understanding the grace of God. Mason offers chapters arranged by half-years, roughly chronicling his own spiritual development as his daughter, Heather, morphed from a baby to a toddler to a wise-beyond-her-years school-age child. Mason's writing can be truly revelatory, whether he is exploring the implications of Jesus' command to "become like little children" or ruminating on the helplessness that many parents feel as children turn their lives upside down. Some conservative Christians may be put off by Mason's more startling assertions, but this is a truly prophetic book and prophets aren't always popular. Without a doubt, this is one of the best Christian books of the year.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

?This joyful, honest, and compelling read calls me to be grateful for every laugh
and each tear I have been granted as a parent and a child.?
--Dan Allender, president of Mars Hill Graduate School and author of The Healing Path

?Page after page Mason makes observations that are so transparently true that we wonder why we never noticed or thought or spoke like that before.?
--Luci Shaw, writer in residence, Regent College, author of The Angles of Light and Writing the River

?An extraordinary book. Mike Mason has shaken me to the
core of my soul--he knows me.?
--Brennan Manning, author of Ruthless Trust and The Ragamuffin Gospel


Just as Mike Mason?s best-selling The Mystery of Marriage explored the parallels between marriage and our relationship with God, so does The Mystery of Children illuminate key spiritual truths modeled in the complex parent-child relationship. More than a manual on parenting, this book is for everyone who wishes
to become childlike in heart or to be closer to children--two desires that are intimately and wondrously entwined.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press; First Trade edition (July 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578564220
• ISBN-13: 978-1578564224
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,516,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

If you go to my website at mikemasonbooks.com, you'll see my tag line: "Purveyor of Fine Sentences." I write sentences, not books. Someone once said that a writer's job is to make good sentences and the rest will take care of itself. So I try to make every sentence true and beautiful. As the sentences accumulate and start heading in a direction, books happen. (Maybe my website should be mikemasonsentences.com?)
This is not just a philosophy of writing but of life. It's moments that count, more than the grand scheme. Live great moments and the rest will sort itself out.
My first great moment happened in 1952 when I came into the world in Peterborough, Canada. By age eleven I wanted to be a writer, and although I got many things wrong in life, one thing I got right was to hang onto the writing dream and pursue it single-mindedly. After earning an M.A. in English from the University of Manitoba, I spent my twenties doing odd jobs to support my writing, from garbage-collecting to journalism to library work.
In 1982 I married Karen, a family doctor. We spent our first year of marriage studying theology at Regent College in Vancouver, and we've lived in British Columbia ever since. We have one daughter, Heather, born in 1987, who is pursuing dance studies in Toronto.
In nearly three decades of writing, I've published five devotional books, two collections of short stories, and now a pair of fantasy novels, The Blue Umbrella and The Violet Flash. I'm currently working on a collection of my Christmas stories, and also on a book of a very different sort, an account of heavenly visions entitled Adventures in Heaven.
Turning to novel-writing at age fifty has meant a radical change. In many ways I had to learn my craft all over again and work through many fears and insecurities. The result, however, is deeply satisfying, and now with more novels on the way I have a renewed sense of challenge and joy in my work.
All in all I enjoy a simple life filled with family and friends, our dog Shelby, books, music, and prayer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Children Teach Us, June 26, 2007

By 

Niki_b_p "Eclectic reader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mystery of Children: What Our Kids Teach Us About Childlike Faith (Paperback)

Great book that is more about us than children. God uses our kids to teach us truths about ourselves. We may need to make some changes based on what we discover about ourselves.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Book, May 19, 2010

By 

Eden Waters - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Mystery of Children: What Our Kids Teach Us About Childlike Faith (Paperback)

My Mother's group decided to read this book together. It
was such a good book to read!

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, December 11, 2011

By 

A. Brown (WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Mystery of Children: What Our Kids Teach Us About Childlike Faith (Paperback)

I bought this because I loved Mystery of Marriage (BUY that one if you have not read it... it's AMAZING), compared to that one, I was disappointed with this one. It does have some thoughtful reflection, though.