New Book Helps Fight the Perfect Parent Syndrome

“It’s hard enough to train kids to behave, but good behavior isn’t what Jesus calls for in the Bible.” In Spiritual Parenting, author Michelle Anthony calls us as parents to “depend upon God for our children’s spirtual and moral development, urging us toward a heart posture of surrender and faithfulness. The end goal is a vibrant faith that is passed on from one generation to another.”
Spiritual Parenting is a transformational and refreshing how-to manual filled with Biblical truth and a God-centered mind-set to parenting. Dr. Anthony’s personal experiences and her unique wisdom make this a valuable resource for Christian parents struggling to bring children up in the world, but not of it.
Dr. Anthony begins her book with the story we all can relate to. The perfect parent syndrome, where people look at our kids in amazement and think, “Wow what a magnificent mother!” Very quickly we realize that this approach is both overwhelming and exhausting. This is when we must realize that God alone is divine and He alone changes hearts and therefore we need him to help us parent differently. It is not our job to merely control our children’s behavior, but to create a spiritual life for them. The “by product” of this spiritual life is good behavior. Anthony explains that this is done by creating space for the Holy Spirit to do His work.

The author introduces us to spiritual parenting in the first chapter. Her compelling description leads right into the next chapter which explains how we get there. She completes this chapter with a quick checklist of the the 10 environments where spiritual parenting flourishes.
The remainder of the book is dedicated to a detailed chapter for each environment. Each chapter gives us the examples and life experiences needed to put the experiences into play in our own parenting.
I love how quickly I could read through the book and begin implementing the strategies defined. I love how there was a chapter for each environment that I can refer to as needed. The layout of the book makes this a great resource that I can refer to as difficulties arise. I especially love the advice given to parents to pray for guidance and to listen to God as he speaks to you. What a great way to parent as we ourselves are the learners and the Holy Spirit is the teacher.
This, of course, would make a great small group study for parents especially with the chapter by chapter layout. But, It could also be used as a training tool for ministry leaders and their volunteers. After reading the first 2 chapters together, different volunteers could take a detailed chapter, read through it and share their thoughts on it.
I would love to give this book as a gift to parents at a baby dedication to help them begin their parenting journey on the right path. To raise the children God has gifted them, through Him and His Spirit. What more could a parent ask for then to have children who are transformationally living by conviction for Him.
Spiritual Parenting is available through David Cook publishers and can be found on Amazon.com. You can learn more about the book and it’s author on her official website and Facebook page. For a second opinion, check out these other blog reviews of this book: Wayne Stocks, Jared Kennedy, Anthony Prince