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.

Blog post "Faithfulness, Not Results, in Parenting" by John & Cindy Raquet.

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.

- Sam Waldron

Pastor, Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Owensboro, KY
President, Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary

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.

– Scott Brown

Pastor, Hope Baptist Church, Wake Forest, NC
President, Church and Family Life

I have been a pastor for over thirty years and am a father of six children, four of whom are now adults. My personal library contains dozens and dozens of Christian books on the subject of the family. However, when it comes to child-rearing, I do not hesitate to say that Purposeful and Persistent Parenting by John and Cindy Raquet is the best book I have ever had the privilege and blessing to read on this subject. It is written by a couple who have much proven experience and God-given wisdom. It is soundly and faithfully scriptural. It is gospel-centered and gos- pel-suffused. It is hands-on, nitty-gritty practical, giving many helpful suggestions and creative ideas without being legalistic, since the writers are careful to distinguish between counsel and Scripture command. Indeed, it addresses many practical and important aspects of parenting rarely addressed in books on this subject. I cannot highly recommend this book enough! I am in double earnest to promote this book and will be urging all the young families in our church to get it and to read it.

– Jeffery Smith

Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Coconut Creek, FL, board member and lecturer for Reformed Baptist Seminary, author of The Rich Man And Lazarus: The Plain Truth About Life After Death and Preaching for Conversions

My wife and I have been blessed by the Lord with the chance to raise and disciple three young children. Though we have read multiple books on parenting, John and Cindy Raquet have produced one of the most helpful books I have encountered. While presenting their advice gleaned through wise reflection on lives lived on purpose, John and Cindy con- cisely draw lessons out of their failures and their successes. As they do, they do not argue for rigid and absolute formulas for successful par- enting. Rather, they invite the reader to inspect their own parenting by providing diagnostic questions drawn from reflection on the Scriptures, and the lessons they have drawn out of their own lives and experience. I highly recommend that any parents who are seeking to parent pur- posefully pick up a copy of this helpful volume and use it as a way of developing their own habits and patterns of shepherding the children entrusted to your care.

– Matthew Bennett

PhD Assistant Professor of Missions and Theology
Cedarville University

Romans 12:2 commands that we “be not conformed to this world.” This includes our parenting philosophy. Christians believe that the Scriptures are sufficient to provide the instructions necessary to raise their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

Christians also believe that the household of God, which is “fitly framed together,” also provides an opportunity to learn from one another in and through our shared experiences as Christian pilgrims. John and Cindy have provided their fellow pilgrim parents with an insightful treasury containing practical parenting advice for first-time and experienced parents alike. As a pastor, husband, and father of three, I particularly appreciated their straightforward approach when treating real issues that my own family has had to face over the years.

Their writing style is refreshingly candid, anchored in biblical wisdom, and free from modern-day pseudo-psychology that seems to clutter many "Christian parenting" books on the market these days.

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 it 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

Pastor, Christ Reformed Baptist Church
New Castle, IN

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.