Permanent Markers

Janel Breitenstein

Description

A You-Can-Totally-Do-This Guide to Teaching Spiritual Life Skills That Last As mom to a work-in-progress family of six, author Janel Breitenstein knows too well the chaos of life with the lid off. She understands how skeptical you are of shoehorning more into carpool-packed days and just trying to get kids to put socks in the hamper. But as a missionary, she also understands the urgent need to cultivate unerasable habits that prepare kids for a bold relationship with Jesus. If you're a parent looking for doable, out-of-the-box ways to disciple your children, Permanent Markers is a resource you'll seek again and again. Find age-appropriate, uber-easy ideas and activities that will draw kids toward Godquestions to kickstart meaningful conversations, along with journaling prompts for both you and your kidshands-on life skills for teaching kids what the world often rejectslike community, self-control, humility, and Christ-anchored identitysmall-group discussion questions and lists of additional resourcesPermanent Markers empowers you to engage kids in vibrant spirituality, leaving this work of art up to God. You'll find a practical, fun handbook for the most vital, eternal part of parenting.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers
• Date de parution: 05 octobre 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736984812
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Endorsements
Janel Breitenstein has given every parent a gift in this book. With her characteristic candor and wit and her love for God and His Word, she offers hope and encouragement to moms and dads who can easily find themselves growing weary as they raise their children. Her insights are profound and right on point.
Bob Lepine, cohost, FamilyLife Today
This much-needed parenting book does not disappoint! Janel s global perspective, practical suggestions, and insightful wisdom will guide your family in necessary conversations to navigate today s culture. I highly recommend this book!
Kristen Welch, bestselling author of Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World
Through honest story-telling that will make you audibly laugh, along with raw vulnerability that doesn t put you under the pile, Janel helps you pursue the most important part of your kids: their hearts. I m grateful for the ways Permanent Markers has helped us refine and reshape the goals we have for our kids, giving us practical tools and guided conversations to meaningfully engage with our kids with deeper intentionality.
David Robbins, President, FamilyLife
Enlightening and enjoyable to read, Permanent Markers will equip you as a parent to tattoo messages of truth from God on the heart of your child that they will carry throughout life. With practical activities every parent can do, this book will focus your investment of time in what is eternal and what is best for your child.
Ron Deal, bestselling author of The Smart Stepfamily and Building Love Together in Blended Families (with Gary Chapman)
Permanent Markers is a treasure trove of creative, practical ideas for shepherding children more deeply into the love of God. With passion, candor, and wisdom, Janel Breitenstein offers parents a grace-filled approach to discipleship that lays down the burden of behavior modification and instead embraces the adventure of cultivating a listening ear-not only to our children s hearts, but to God s. This book is a winsome invitation to relinquish control and rehearse our dependence on the God who generously gives us everything we need as we navigate the complexities and joys of parenthood.
Sharon Garlough Brown, author of the Sensible Shoes series and Shades of Light
Janel makes learning God s Word attractive and has created engaging activities that will make these truths something kids can enjoy and remember. The tools found here will help families make inroads into the hearts and minds of their children!
Jason Houser, founder and president, Seeds Family Worship
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Verses marked ESV are taken from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Verses marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Verses marked HCSB have been taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible , Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible , Holman CSB , and HCSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
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Cover design by Bryce Williamson
Cover photo Maydaymayday, Suradech14, flyparade / Gettyimages
Interior design by Angie Renich, Wildwood Digital Publishing
is a federally registered trademark of the Hawkins Children s LLC. Harvest House Publishers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the trademark.
Permanent Markers
Copyright 2021 by Janel Breitenstein
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97408
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-8480-5 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-8481-2 (eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021935225
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
Dedication
To Baden, Will, Corinne, and Jack-rare gifts all.
i carry your heart with me
(i carry it in my heart)
ee cummings
Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
Matthew 17:20

And for John, who always thought I could.
Mostly when I didn t.
Marrying you is every day like Forrest Gump investing in a fruit company.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church.
Ephesians 5:25-27
I found him whom my soul loves.
Song of Solomon 3:4 ( ESV )
Contents

Endorsements
Dedication
Foreword by Barbara Rainey
Introduction: The Need to Know
1. Identity: Who Do You Think You Are?
2. Prayer: Listening Up
3. Self-Control: The Power of What We Don t Do
4. Meditation: On Keeping Quiet
5. Studying God s Word: Learning to Feed Ourselves
6. Simplicity: When Less Is So Much More
7. Holy Sexuality: We Are Worth More Than This
8. Community: Almost Home
9. Discernment: Sorting the Skittles
10. Service: Downward Mobility
11. Sharing Our Faith: Loving Them This Much
12. Resilience: Your Child, Stronger
13. Respecting Authority: Stepping Down
14. Confession and Repentance: Regrets Only
15. Adoration: The Song That Never Ends
16. Celebrating the Wins
Group Discussion Guide
Acknowledgments
Notes
About the Publisher
Foreword

Growing up is everyone s assignment.
Adulting is the finish line of the eighteenish-year marathon called parenting. Over those years, a metamorphosis happens. Repeated since the first newborn after Eden is a physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and relational transformation. It feels miraculous.
Moms and dads of babies to parents of teens are continually learning about themselves. The grown-up people see with new eyes and change as their littles become bigs and then take flight. Yes, kids need parents, but God gives us parents the gift of our kids to help us finish growing up to be like him. Becoming integrated, balanced, and healthy like Jesus is God s goal for all his people-children and parents alike.
There is a seeming paradox in parenting. Our children come to us 100 percent dependent; they would literally die without our devoted attention. But in the end, when they become 100 percent independent, we realize so little was really in our control. Eric Peterson writes, In ways that continue to astound me, God consistently chooses to accomplish divine purposes through the agency of human imperfection. 1 A perfect summary of parenting.
But there are no perfect parents. Even God, who is the perfect parent, has a house full of flawed, authority-resistant, blame-casting children. Welcome to the ride!
The great news is we are not alone! Everyone faces the same or similar dilemmas. Parents, like starving children, eagerly absorb stories from friends about their own experiences. There is nothing like the comfort of trusted friends. Your small group, book club girlfriends, neighbors, or siblings can be that someone who listens and shares advice from their lessons learned.
But I especially hope Janel can be that friend to you too as you add her wisdom to other sources you collect. Reading her book was for me like sharing a small table in a kitchen or coffee shop and brainstorming ideas like we ve done over writing projects in the past. I heard her eager-to-help voice.
Janel is one supercreative woman. She has never been afraid to try new ideas. She s the champion of making lists: ways to keep kids busy, ideas for loving your spouse, or questions to ask your kids. This book is full of multiple-choice options for every season of parenting. It is also full of well-reasoned, God-is-with-us-and-wants-to-help-us verses to guide in every issue you will face with your kids.
While our children are with us, our assignment is to invest fully in their lives, to know them, and to lead them to the care of God himself. Their very lives and eternal future depend on it.
The years are short, someone said about parenting. And it is true. So I encourage you to ask God to guide you to the wisdom in this book that you need today for your child or children. Allow yourself to be challenged to try new things. Be encouraged that you can make a lasting difference for good in your little ones. And don t give up and quit. I promise it will be worth it in the end. And God says so too: Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9 ESV ).
Barbara Rainey
Coauthor of
The Art of Parenting
Introduction

The Need to Know
Dad, where do babies come from?
Why doesn t Grandma believe in God?
Can men get pregnant? That guy looks pr