Raising Your Kids to Love the Lord (Faithful Families) [Hardcover]

Dave Stone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 8, 2012 | Series: Faithful Families

Practical life lessons, real-life stories, and Scriptural truths for being the family that glorifies God.  

Raising Your Kids to Love the Lord is the first of three books in the Faithful Families series where Pastor Dave Stone applies a practical, conversational, and humorous approach to the challenge of building a strong spiritual foundation for the family. Topics include: Authenticity, Discipline, Modeling Godly Principles, Sharing the Load, and more. 

Preaching is his gift, but Pastor Dave Stone’s family is his life’s blessing. While raising three kids with his wife, Beth, as well as shepherding the diverse families of his congregation, his heart, and passion for building strong families rings louder than ever. He knows that raising faithful families is a key to the future of the church. 

“The world needs more people like Dave Stone. He is an astounding communicator, tremendous minister, terrific dad, and a dear friend. He writes from a wellspring of experience and character. Read this book! You will be glad you did.” —Max Lucado

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dave Stone is senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, where he preaches Truth to more than 22,000 people each weekend. He and his wife, Beth, have three children: Savannah, Sadie, and Sam, and a son-in-law, Patrick. Dave believes the most practical way to spread the gospel is through moms and dads who model a genuine faith for their children.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (May 8, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400318718
• ISBN-13: 978-1400318711
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #801,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Gospel is missing entirely from this book. 10 steps to obedient children July 22, 2012

By Jackie Kaulitz

Format:Hardcover

Readers will absolutely love the quick easy flow of this book and the many bits of helpful parenting tips that fill its pages. I loved this book for all of its practical advice (that actually works!) for raising mindful, obedient and well-mannered children. Many might even agree that the most fitting title of this book would be "How To Raise Obedient Kids". There are many pages of what-to-dos and not-to-dos. Here are a few samples:

- "Make sure you are the same person in church as you are at home. If you lose your integrity, purity and faithfulness in different circumstances, your children will know."

- "Your children need to see you living what you believe."

This book has almost all the right outward steps for raising obedient children... but sadly it is void of the most important advice "for raising kids to love the Lord". What is sadly missing from this book is that we must teach our children the means to "loving the Lord" via the gospel. From cover to cover, the gospel (which is the power to save our children) is completely adsent from this book. The word "gospel" is literally mentioned only once in the entire book and it was used in the context of someone preaching the gospel in China.

This book is an excellent parenting tip book, but Christianity is not only about obeying the rules. This book fails to encourage parents to teach their children the gospel and to raise their children with "love for God". If all children have are rules and strict obedience, they will learn to fear God, dread God, and hate this strict judge of a god. Grace is absent from a life of pure strict obedience. It has been proven that legalistic Christianity drives children away from God, not towards him.... I've heard the odds of children raised in legalistic Christian homes rejecting Christianity in their teen and college years are astronomical. No one can be "good enough" to "make it to heaven" so our obedient kids just give up. We need to teach our children the gospel, not just the law! So when they do try and fail, they know that Christ still loves them! (And know that I am not preaching "easy love" here or "freedom to sin".)

Instead of this book, I recommend Elyse Fitzpatrick's book "Give Them Grace" about raising gospel-centered children without forgetting obedience but also not forgetting the gospel of God's grace and God's love. I also recommend parents listen to sermons from John Piper, who teaches grace, love and obedience in the right relationship and shows us all how to love God and see God for the beauty to be had in Him! We are not only to have joy in God's blessings but in Christ Himself! Our children must learn to love God and they will be watching their parents to see if their parents love God. Teach your children obedience but don't forget to also teach them the gospel of God's grace and to also show them grace every once in a while.

My disclaimer - I received this book from the publisher but I am not required to give a positive review. I always give brutally honest reviews and attempt to critically point out parts of the book that may not agree with the Bible and so not appeal to others. I want you readers to be able to confidently choose a book based on the stars I give it, because I know you have limited money, time and energy to read. So let's make the most of our lives and discern and choose the very best books wisely. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful for all parents everywhere July 2, 2012

By MGW

Format:Hardcover

From pastor and author Dave Stone comes an excellent, pocket-sized parenting guide: Raising Your Kids to Love the Lord, part of the Faithful Families series.

This book is an easy-to-read, easy-to-apply handbook to living in such a way so that your kids will follow Christ -- both by your own example and your directed guidance. Topics included in this full-color, glossy-paged book include:

- How to incorporate Scripture into your home and daily life so that it is truly "written on their hearts"
- Consistent discipline
- How to pray (specifically!) for your children every day
- How to teach respect and care for others
- Special tips for both moms and dads individually
- How to maximize the benefit of Godly grandparents, babysitters, and other role models

This book is basic in many ways, but it did definitely challenge me in several areas. It has made me realize again that our goal as parents isn't necessarily just to get our children out of the house and standing on their own two feet. It is so much more than that. I'm grateful for books like this that remind us of that truth.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Our Number One Goal May 7, 2012

By A. Looby VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This is our number one goal for raising our children. More than learning to read or write, we want them to love the Lord. We spend time each day in Bible study, prayer and just modeling behaviors we want them to see and repeat. But as any parent, we question if we're doing "enough" to each them. This is the most important lesson we will ever teach them and it's the most important lesson they'll ever learn.

This book incorporates ideas that we have and that we haven't thought about in teaching this lesson. I've read almost every Christian based parenting book out there, I've solicited advice from other parents in our church, I've prayed for my children and I've looked at parenting websites.

The main point of the book is that you need to start from the top down...meaning you start with yourself and get the first things in place, then others will come into place as you work your way down. Get yourself and your life and your Christian walk well in place and then you can teach it to your children.

The book emphasizes prayer and give examples of how to pray for your children. It also gives tips on how to pray with your children. It talks about how to read the Bible with your children, making sure you're reading it yourself too. (This makes me think...I've been teaching my sons Bible stories, but few actual verses...hmmm...)

There is a great chapter about discipline and obedience. This has been our issue with the boys (5 and 2) lately so this one I spent a.l.o.t. of time reading and even passed it to my husband to read. Consistency and clear expectations make a lot of difference to little ones.

There are individual chapters for mothers and fathers and what their roles are in the lives of our children. I love the 6 gifts kids need from fathers.... I've seen in our own house that the more time they get with Dad, the better they act in general. I can tell when the miss their daddy!

This is one of a series of books by Stone and I'm really looking forward to reading the implementing all of them into our lives.

I received a copy of the book in exchange for a review. No additional compensation has been received and I was not required to write a positive review. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Encouraging, easy read February 11, 2013

By Rachel B

Format:Hardcover

Dave Stone has written an easy to read, encouraging book for parents on how to raise their kids so that they may come to love the Lord. Filled with practical wisdom and loads of experiences from the author's own life, Raising Your Kids to Love the Lord inspires parents to be very intentional about influencing their kids in their faith. I think this book is most suited for parents who are relatively new in their faith, are struggling with it or with parenting or who haven't read much on this topic. Parents who have read more (for instance Sticky Faith) or who have grown up in a loving Christian home themselves may find the advice rather basic. I mean it's all true and good, but it does stay somewhat on the surface.