"Parenting From the Heart" Review

Parenting From the Heart by Marilyn Boyer encourages, reassures and instructs mothers at each stage of life in a friendly, Titus 2 kind of way.  Throughout the book, I felt as if Mrs. Boyer was giving me a glimpse into her personal life as she shares what is most important to her as a wife and mom of 14 children.  She gently challenges our culture, even our Christian culture, and presents another way of viewing and living life based on solid conviction from the Bible alone.  It was encouragement for me to put back up my guard and stand firm on the things I know to be true and fight for our home and family rather than cave into the pressures of culture, tradition and man's opinion. 

Mrs. Boyer offers wisdom on a variety of topics from free time, character and chores to potty training, discipline and homeschooling.  She also follows up each topic with real-life stories and helpful ideas, tips or resources.  Her practical and relevant wisdom applies to any mother of any family size.  I only wish I had read this book sooner!

Kindle Edition:  http://www.amazon.com/Parenting-from-the-Heart-ebook/dp/B00D3VPBMA/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1373836123&sr=1-5
 
Paperback:  http://www.amazon.com/Parenting-From-Heart-Marilyn-Boyer/dp/0970877072/ref=pd_rhf_cr_p_t_2_87VS

Although I submitted the above as my "official review", I have more I'd like to add.  The Boyers run Character Concepts, a curriculum and family company centered around helping parents build strong, godly character in their children. 

I discovered Character Concepts via a google search and then had others recommend them.  I was even more excited to "buy local" as they are 20 minutes away from here!  We purchased Character Trails as a way to weave character training into our daily lives.  And, it's crazy how God is taking 12 colorful flashcards, simple yet meaty definitions to character traits and Bible verses and providing discipline and structure to our home.  The curriculum is an outline and God is filling in the rest as we seek to become more like Him!

On top of the character training, the Boyers have a strong sense of patriotism and seek to educate others on how our country was founded and the rights we need to fight for in order to remain a Christian nation.  Patriotism is something that is so lost in today's culture.  It's something that we don't talk about in our churches nor is it something we really see modeled in anyone younger than age 70 (aka those who haven't grown up in war times).

Between the things I heard at the HEAV Convention, the things I've been reading from the Boyers and then learning alongside my child about how our country was founded, I'm beginning to sense this great responsibility and even duty to understand our past so we can shape our future.  We need godly politicians and godly men and women to take the issues of today and speak God's truth to them.  We are being duped by so many even in the religious realm by the feel-good Christianity that we've lost our own voices and our own desires to stand up for what is right.  We think we are just one person, one voice, and fail to realize the impact that one voice can have.  But I want to teach my child otherwise.  I want to teach him that he has a God-given voice to use for real change and together, as a family, encourage others to find and use their voices, too.  But in order to do that, we have to know what we're talking about and what is most important!

Thankfully, God placed Character Concepts in our path to teach us our facts and our history.  We are being exposed to modern day patriots (whose foundation usually consists of solid character training) and discovering a network of Believers who seek to bring God's light and freedom to our world and to our country by taking a public stand for what is right and for the principles our country was founded upon.  I don't know what God has in store for us and what He will be teaching us in the year(s) ahead, but I'm beginning to see why homeschoolers typically have a strong sense of patriotism and I'm grateful for those who will share it with us!

For more on Character Concepts, visit their blog at http://characterconceptsblog.com.