Purposeful and Persistent Parenting: Blessing Others, Blue-Tape Boundaries, and Other Practical Perspectives on Raising Children

Paperback
5.5" x 8.5"
272 pages

Also available on Amazon Kindle.

Thorough and honest book review by Tim Challies.

Description

Sometimes in our childhood we fantasize about out future parenting skills and how we will be the ultimate mom or dad. These grand visions rarely survive the first few months of our own journey as parents–once that specter of self-will first manifests in our new bundle of joy. We quickly learn that while parenting is infinitely rewarding and a wonderful blessing. It is also a difficult, sometimes confusing, often thankless responsibility. We find ourselves wishing for a clear, simple, and preferably illustrated instruction manual.

In Purposeful and Persistent Parenting, John and Cindy Raquet seek to share through encouraging examples of their journey toward God-honoring parenthood, the lessons they learned in raising their eight children. With personal stories of triumph and failure, goal-setting (and resetting), many practical tips, and a little blue tape, they hope that his work will be a valuable companion on your own adventure in parenting and instrumental in helping you to truly enjoy the work of raising your children.

Endorsements

Purposeful and Persistent Parenting is a little gem of a book. I get asked to review many good books, but I have not reviewed a book about which I am more enthusiastic than this one. I am enthusiastic about this book because it takes biblical principles of child-rearing and puts the feet of wise application on them. Often, I fear that parents struggling against the tide of our culture react into extremist and foolish applications of perfectly biblical principles. On the other hand, biblical principles of child-rearing do require more than lip service. They require diligent practice in the everyday world. Parenting challenges like whining, proactive parenting, the practical application of the rod, sitting still, mealtimes, and many other issues are discussed in a biblical, reasonable, and practical way. Another thing that commends this book is its tone. I much appreciate the kind and generous way in which John and Cindy have written. It allows parents to apply the insights and practices John and Cindy suggest in a way that fits their own situation. It also recognizes that in matters of practical application there is room for discussion and difference of opinion. I believe this easy-to-read volume will provide a reason for many parents to thank God for the labors of John and Cindy on behalf of their children and grandchildren. 

Purposeful and Persistent Parenting hits a home run for getting things in order from the start of parenting. Every young parent needs to read this book. It is targeted to the first ten years of parenting, where everything matters most. It will get you going in the right direction. John and Cindy Raquet understand with clarity that laying solid foundations early on is critical. It is full of helpful ideas grounded in the Word of God. I can’t wait to get it into the hands of my grown children raising their families. 

Moms and Dads, if you desire to cultivate joy, unity, and a renewed biblical purpose regarding your parenting approach, you must read this book. It will help you. It will help your children, and in fact, it will help the entire Christian community take a significant step in rediscovering purposeful and persistent parenting.

– Doug Barger

Author Bio

John and Cindy Raquet have been married for thirty years   and have thoroughly enjoyed raising their eight children. The Raquets have lived in New Mexico, Finland, and Canada, and now reside in Dayton, Ohio where John is a pastor/elder of their church.