Interesting Thoughts

Marc and I have been reading Sacred Parenting, by Gary Thomas, together and so far it's been great. We're not very far in, but the first couple chapters have been very thought provoking. Here's a quote from Chapter 2:

"Abigail (Adams) wrote this profound comment to her son: 'It is not in the still calm of life...that great characters are formed. The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. Great necessities call out great virtues. When a mind is raised, and animated by scenes that engage the heart, then those qualities which would otherwise lay dormant, wake into life and form the character of the hero and the statesman.'"

and from the end of the chapter:

"Sacred parenting calls me to accept the hardest hurt of all - for the sake of God's kingdom and for the sake of our children's own development. I need to allow my kids to face challenges, failure, rejection, and pain, and then teach them to use these seemingly negative events to fuel their sense of mission and to foster their dependence on God."