The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family by Dr. Kara E. Powell (book review)
Last Christmas, Big A gave me a gift that I loved: a book. Not just any book but one I'd wanted to read called "Sticky Faith" by Dr. Kara E. Powell and Dr. Chap Clark. He had heard her talk at a conference and knew I'd wanted the book (thanks to my wish list on Pinterest), so that's the one he got. In "Sticky Faith," Dr. Powell told of her study through the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) about why kids are leaving the church and their faith after high school. It was a real eye-opener for me who found Christ AFTER high school to know that kids really go the other way.
When I had the chance to read "The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family" by Dr. Kara E. Powell, I was really excited to get some real-life ideas and insights into how to help my children grow their faith and keep it later on.
A lot of our faith talks with the kids are organic. Squirt and I talked a lot about Christ and the resurrection at a funeral visitation. In the past year, we've talked a lot about death and heaven and how to get their through the death of my great-grandmother. And then other times our talks are not spontaneous. When we memorize a catechism or Scripture verses, that's well-thought out by me. I know the verses helped me get through a lot of hard things prior to really following Christ. We attend church regularly, we read the Bible, we pray. Moose knows that I like to read my Bible in the mornings and so he'll come cuddle with me (if I'm still in bed) and read his book alongside.
None of that will save my children. None of that will make sure they stay on the narrow path of Christ. But I believe it will help. That's exactly what "The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family" is about; giving readers a LOT of ideas on how to help cultivate a lasting faith for your kids.
By a LOT, I mean a LOT of ideas. Powell really stresses making no more than five (5) changes at a time. Less is more in this sense so you don't get overwhelmed. The five that I chose for our family will be:
1. Birthday Dates. One of us parents taking a kid out monthly on their birth day. So for Moose it's be the 1st of the month. For Squirt, it'd be the 10th of the month. I like the idea of one-on-one dates and in the past, we've done this as a reward for good behavior but I really like this idea of not having to earn this time. That it's just a special thing because we love them.
2. High School Bible. In "Sticky Faith Guide" a family bought a Bible for their children when they entered high school but instead of giving it to them, they prayed through it and highlighted things pertaining to their kids. Then when they graduated, they gave them that Bible that had been prayed over specifically for them for 4 years. I love this idea and don't want to wait 6 years to start. I'd like to get Bibles for the kids now and start praying through them for each kid.
3. What Would Happen Next? A friend recently told me how her family dinner conversations have been centered around pre-deciding choices for different circumstances. You know, what would you do if someone asked to be your girlfriend. What would you do if someone says a bad word at recess? This 'sticky faith' activity is along those lines. Parents giving their kids a challenging ethical situation that they would have to decide how they would respond. Then they ask and then say 'ok, what would happen next?' Our kids do well when they think through situations so why not help them out?
4. Christmas Card Dinner Prayers. Keeping Christmas cards to pray over people as a visual guide. I love this idea. We have prayer sticks we use to pray but I like the visual idea. We keep missionary prayer cards on a wall by where we normally eat so we (hopefully) remember to pray over them. I like the idea to do this with our friends and family, too. And then if you don't get a card from someone (like neither of our parents send out cards), just snap a picture of their family next time you're together to add to the pile.
5. Seeing the World - Literally. This family bought a large world map to show their kids where missionaries live or where world events are taking place. Then you can pray over those places, even if you've never been there. I've loved this idea for a long time. I just need to find the best place to hang this map.
I believe these are the activities that really spoke to me. I realized that we do some of the things talked about in the book - we take vacations as a family, we pray about situations that come up (another idea I loved was praying over your calendar), we apologize to our kids when we make a mistake, etc. Not that any of those things, again, guarantee your child's salvation but I think it just helps!!
Disclaimer: I received this book in order to write an honest review. Others may not have the same opinion(s).
When I had the chance to read "The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family" by Dr. Kara E. Powell, I was really excited to get some real-life ideas and insights into how to help my children grow their faith and keep it later on.
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| image via BookLook |
None of that will save my children. None of that will make sure they stay on the narrow path of Christ. But I believe it will help. That's exactly what "The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family" is about; giving readers a LOT of ideas on how to help cultivate a lasting faith for your kids.
By a LOT, I mean a LOT of ideas. Powell really stresses making no more than five (5) changes at a time. Less is more in this sense so you don't get overwhelmed. The five that I chose for our family will be:
1. Birthday Dates. One of us parents taking a kid out monthly on their birth day. So for Moose it's be the 1st of the month. For Squirt, it'd be the 10th of the month. I like the idea of one-on-one dates and in the past, we've done this as a reward for good behavior but I really like this idea of not having to earn this time. That it's just a special thing because we love them.
2. High School Bible. In "Sticky Faith Guide" a family bought a Bible for their children when they entered high school but instead of giving it to them, they prayed through it and highlighted things pertaining to their kids. Then when they graduated, they gave them that Bible that had been prayed over specifically for them for 4 years. I love this idea and don't want to wait 6 years to start. I'd like to get Bibles for the kids now and start praying through them for each kid.
3. What Would Happen Next? A friend recently told me how her family dinner conversations have been centered around pre-deciding choices for different circumstances. You know, what would you do if someone asked to be your girlfriend. What would you do if someone says a bad word at recess? This 'sticky faith' activity is along those lines. Parents giving their kids a challenging ethical situation that they would have to decide how they would respond. Then they ask and then say 'ok, what would happen next?' Our kids do well when they think through situations so why not help them out?
4. Christmas Card Dinner Prayers. Keeping Christmas cards to pray over people as a visual guide. I love this idea. We have prayer sticks we use to pray but I like the visual idea. We keep missionary prayer cards on a wall by where we normally eat so we (hopefully) remember to pray over them. I like the idea to do this with our friends and family, too. And then if you don't get a card from someone (like neither of our parents send out cards), just snap a picture of their family next time you're together to add to the pile.
5. Seeing the World - Literally. This family bought a large world map to show their kids where missionaries live or where world events are taking place. Then you can pray over those places, even if you've never been there. I've loved this idea for a long time. I just need to find the best place to hang this map.
I believe these are the activities that really spoke to me. I realized that we do some of the things talked about in the book - we take vacations as a family, we pray about situations that come up (another idea I loved was praying over your calendar), we apologize to our kids when we make a mistake, etc. Not that any of those things, again, guarantee your child's salvation but I think it just helps!!
Disclaimer: I received this book in order to write an honest review. Others may not have the same opinion(s).
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