Parenting with Love and Laughter : Finding God in Family Life

by Jeffrey D. Jones (Pitman, New Jersey )

• ISBN13: 9780787964252
• ISBN10: 0787964255
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-09-01
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

In this wise and witty book, author, youth expert, and practicing minister Jeffrey D. Jones brings to light the spiritual aspects of parenting that are often ignored by popular experts and gurus. Jones shows you how to attend to your own inner spiritual life and to the quality of your relationships within your family. By doing so we you re-envision parenting as a transformative, joyful and spiritual practice rather than merely a set of rules and regulations or tips and techniques. Parenting with Love and Laughter is a conversation about families and parenting that is filled with inspiration gleaned from scripture, reflections on Jeffrey D. Jones's own experience of family life, and wisdom he has gathered from years of service in the ministry. In addition, this warm and wonderful book features a bonus section at the end that provides simple designs and suggestions for group meeting-perfect for retreats, workshops, adult education classes, and parenting support groups. Use this blueprint for parenting to introduce love and laughter into your family life.

Author Biography

Jeffrey D. Jones has served in both local church and denominational leadership within the American Baptist Churches, USA for more than thirty years. He lives in Pittman, New Jersey with his wife Judy and his dog Tippy. They have two sonsùone a recent college graduate and the other a college student. He is a conference speaker, retreat leader, an ordained minister, and the author of numerous books on youth ministry, Christian education and church leadership.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction	p. viii
	p. 1
Live What You Want to Teach	p. 1
Forget Yourself	p. 6
Prepare Your Children for an Unknown Future	p. 10
Make a Home in Faith and Family	p. 14
Practice Grace	p. 19
	p. 23
Cherish Memories	p. 23
Nurture the Experience of God	p. 27
Practice Hushness	p. 31
Call Forth Gifts	p. 35
Encourage Standing Alone	p. 40
	p. 45
Accept the Reality of Change	p. 45
Grasp What Might Be	p. 49
Let Faith Conquer Fear	p. 53
Trust That God Will Work Things Out	p. 57
Remember Resurrection	p. 62
	p. 66
Seeing Life as a Gift	p. 66
Continuing to Claim and Use Your Gifts	p. 70
Being Honest	p. 74
Letting Hopeful Things Shape Living	p. 79
Remembering What It's Really All About	p. 82
	p. 86
Taking a Stand	p. 86
Giving Thanks When the Going Gets Tough	p. 90
Letting Children Teach	p. 94
Speaking Truth with Love and Laughter	p. 98
Relying on God's Forgiving Love	p. 102
	p. 106
Know When to Lay Back	p. 106
Learn to Let Go While Staying Connected	p. 110
Expect to Be Surprised	p. 114
Cherish the Moment	p. 117
Take a Break	p. 120
	p. 124
Play Together	p. 124
Share the Richness of the Past	p. 128
Find a Symbol	p. 133
Create Rituals of Sharing	p. 138
Celebrate Times of True Communion	p. 142
Using This Book with Small Groups	p. 145
Indexes	p. 153
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.