The Family You Want: How to Establish an Authentic, Loving Home
Overview
In an age of broken homes and disintegrating family structures, John Huffman investigates the real issues at stake in the family and helps you to live in the best family that you are able to have. John takes us through the issues associated with work, spirituality, emotions, children, parenting, the extended family, divorce, sex and marriage. With chapters entitled "What Jesus can do for your family" and "Why work should be your fourth priority," this book is an enjoyable and easy read, with a much-needed message. John's advice is practical and comes with solid biblical foundations; it is precisely what is needed for the families of the 21st century.
Top Highlights
“The child rebels. The father is turned off. What he can’t control, he refuses to love. He builds a wall around his heart so that he will not be hurt again.” (Page 107)
“The role of the pastor is to sensitively listen to questions people are raising, feeling the joy and pain of their lives, to be aware of one’s own struggles as a spouse, a parent, and a child, and, when speaking on family matters, to articulate bottom-line, biblical principles that can be guideposts for us in our odysseys as parents.” (Page 104)
“The model we will take for a father is that sketched by Jesus in his parable that some call the ‘Prodigal Son’, but I would rather refer to it as the ‘Waiting Father’. The story is a mirror of you and me, helping us realize how God functions as the ultimate single parent, relating to both a wayward prodigal son and a self-righteous, prideful son. This parable in its pristine beauty paints a picture of a model parent, that ideal representation of what it is to interact with one’s children, giving you and me helpful insights for our significant task.” (Page 105)
“He is calling mothers and fathers to live under the authority of God’s teaching, modeling for our children what it is to live disciplined lives. As we live under God’s authority, what we teach our children about the ways of God takes on more existential relevance to them. If I teach them one mode of conduct and live under a different mode myself, they will see the hypocrisy of it all.” (Page 110)
“A mature person is someone who understands why they are acting in certain ways, understanding the negative or positive long-range consequences of behaviors or attitudes.” (Page 16)
Product Details
- Title: The Family You Want: How to Establish an Authentic, Loving Home
- Author: John Huffman
- Publisher: Christian Focus Publications
- Publication Date: 2005
- Pages: 224