It did not take me another second to choose the book The Passionate Mom, “Dare to Parent in Today’s World” by Susan Merrill from from amongst the titles of books I got to pick from Thomas Nelson. My resolve has always been to be an intentional parent, if you have not noticed that yet from the list of books I have reviewed so far.
First off, The Passionate Mom’s Book Description:
Motherhood is full of uncertainty. What do my children really need? Why are they doing that? Is this normal? What can I do to help them? How can I know for certain that I am doing this right?
The logistics are easy. Anybody can do laundry and carpool. But what makes a mother the best mom she can be?
It’s not better scheduling. Or more activities. Or less.
It is passion—the passion to teach, protect, study, and prepare her children for the future.
Great, but how?
Susan Merrill, the mother of five incredibly different children, has asked that question countless times. And she has read countless answers specific to a certain child’s temperament, age, or situation. But nothing she read offered an overall approach to parenting that would enable her to say with confidence, “I am doing this right.” She never guessed she would find a foundational plan—a reliable, universal parenting approach in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah.
In The Passionate Mom, Susan takes you on a journey through Nehemiah and into the heart of parenting. Her stories and confessions in every chapter reveal what she has learned: no mom can control her child’s future, but every mom can parent well. There is a plan—a roadmap for how a passionate mom can parent almost any child, confidently.
What made The Passionate Mom more interesting for me is the fact that Susan Merrill based her insights on motherhood and parenting on the book of Nehemiah. Susan walked her mother readers through the book and allowed for us to picture parenting as Nehemiah built the wall around Jerusalem. My first thoughts on this as Susan went about mentioning about the wall, I kind of had to step back and wonder if this is some old school over protective type of parenting know-hows of sorts. And then when I got to the chapter on “Pondering,” the phrase stared to my face,
“If you don’t ponder, who will?”
True enough. Who else will? Like Nehemiah, mothers should be perceptive. Fast if we must for our children. As children spend a lot of time away from parents and communication between family members has evolved to twitting and social networks – how can a mother be alert, available and attentive enough to her child such that she gets a clear picture of the world he belongs in. While it is true that the choices our child will make when he is grown, there will come a time, we will hardly have a say on, we cannot deny the great influence in how we go about our parenting NOW that will be of considerable impact in our child’s life.
- Perception
- Pondering
- Passion
- Prayer
- Patience
- Preparation
- Purpose
- Planning
- Problem Solving
- Perseverance
Susan Merrill broke her book down in chapters as each refers to the brick on the wall. For the record, this book speaks of the kind of wall that is essential to protect not the kind that divides. I love the practical insight Susan shared throughout the book as she enumerates the qualities that we need to nurture our parents that will be the very mortar that will hold each brick steady and keep the wall up.
The Passionate Mom provides very insightful, practical thoughts on parenting.
Disclaimer: This book was given to me by Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.
