Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments

by Kara G. Durbin

Train your child in the way he or she should go, moment-by-moment with God's Word. Parenting with Scripture is an easy-to-use topical resource for parents who want to make the most of teachable moments with their children. It is a guide to help you train your children in how to think and apply God's Word in the day-to-day. The 101 alphabetically-arranged, two-page topics address behavior, attitude, emotions, and actions. Examples include forgiveness, humility, anger, and procrastination. Each topic is comprised of Scripture passages, discussion questions, action items, and parenting tips. This revised edition of Parenting with Scripture adds detailed help for parents to quickly identify teachable moments and know what to do when they appear.

Genres: Parenting, Christian, Nonfiction, Family, Christianity, Faith, Spirituality

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 21, 2001

About the author

KARA DURBIN has enjoyed continually serving in various roles of children’s ministries for over 20 years. She has a degree in elementary education from Texas A&M University and homeschools her children part-time through a University Model School. Kara’s inspiration for the book was her mother, who blessed her life by parenting her with Scripture. When thinking about how to best parent her own children, Kara looked for a reference book that would have Scriptures to use for specific parenting moments. Not finding one, she began work on the book project. Parenting with Scripture has been a consistent seller for Moody Publishers and Kara has been interviewed about the subject on over 50 radio programs nation-wide and globally through Focus on the Family. Kara, her husband, their daughter and son, and two crazy dogs make their home in Murphy, TX (a Dallas suburb). For weekly tips on parenting with Scripture and teachable moments, subscribe to her blog through www.parentingwithscripture.com

Reviews

[claire elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

have used this precious book with so many ages- easily adaptable! actually a fav for my children & my youngest bestie just asked me for the title! it worked/works so well for us & hope it does for you, too! have used in formal studies & in the car on the way to school! ez to pack for travel! xoxox

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is just what it says it is: nearly the entire book is arranged according to topic. Each topic is followed by a short definition, some pertinent Scripture references, several discussion questions, and a couple of activities to use when teaching about the concepts/reinforcing them. I appreciated how many positive traits were sprinkled in with negative (i.e. "habits" and "honesty" along with "complaining" and "anger"). You could use this book almost as a family devotional guide and simply work through the concepts. You can also use it as a quick reference guide when an issue comes up with your children.

The one thing I felt was missing was an emphasis on grace. Yes, we are supposed to be "doing" and "working" out our faith, but we cannot do these things without the grace of the Lord. Also, I disagree about the way the gospel is presented a bit. But those are relatively easy things for parents to adapt to their own theological bent if they choose.

I read this electronically via netgalley; I would like to purchase this book and actually be able to use it as a reference. It will no doubt be easier to navigate in its official published form--even e-book--because the table of contents would be linkable.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, this is a reference book, and it really didn't make a good audiobook. However, I'm working my way through a lot of parenting books to see which ones I want to have on hand/read and discuss with my husband for our little one coming later this year.

This book is a great reference guide for both character development as well as praying for your child. Durbin did a wonderful job with good, solid refrances as well as some really good ideas for pratical ways of applying things for kids.

I will be adding this to my library.

[Brigette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve found this book to be really helpful for teaching my children application of God’s Word in real life situations. It has been especially helpful for topics that I haven’t studied previously in the Bible. For example, my child needed help in dealing with jealousy. From looking in this book I found some verses to look at and pray about and study further. And then I was able to help my child learn how to deal with jealousy from what the Bible says.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic resource. My son became extremely fearful of sleeping after he had, had the stomach flu during the night. For the next year and a half he insisted I read to him, from this book, the sections on fear and courage every night to help him feel safe. The quick guide references to a multitude of topics covered in scripture make it so easy to not only remind your children of the lessons within scripture, but also yourself as you read them aloud.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basically, this title says it all. This book is a parenting guide that uses the Bible as a teaching tool. I found it very interesting and useful. The author, Kara Durbin, goes over some of the ways she has used the Bible, even when her kids were very young, to teach them what the Bible teaches on different topics, not just about right and wrong. Kara even uses a passage from Deuteronomy to explain what teachable moments are; anytime you and your child are together.

What I found the most useful, was the way the book is set up. This is a book you will use on a daily basis if you have kids, long after you have finished reading it. After you read the intro and the teachable moments chapter, Kara lists 15 fabulous verses to memorize, they cover a broad array of topics that you may need/want to use when teaching your kids on a regular day, such as; Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.—EPHESIANS 6:1. Kara even gives some methods to help both you and your kids memorize the scripture verses, breaking it down by age. Kara also talks a bit about praying and how to pray with your children.

But, the best chapter, in my opinion, is the Topics chapter. In this chapter Kara lists almost anything you can think of that you may need to parent a child on, for example, anger, in alphabetical order, like a dictionary. First, she gives the definition of the word, then she lists verses where anger is discussed in the Bible, and lastly she has some discussion questions to use with your kids and a take action part that gives some real life reinforcement activities you can use.

I know that this will be a book that I will use when I have kids. It is a great tool if you want to teach your kids how to interact with the Bible in their daily lives and what the Bible teaches us about almost everything under the sun.

I highly recommend this book to parents, Sunday school teachers, or even to teachers at a private school where you can talk about the Bible.

Please read more of my reviews on my blog: sarahereads(dot)wordpress(dot)com

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

[This book review is also posted on Books for Parents and Teachers on Blogger.]

Parenting With Scripture is geared toward parents of children ages two through teens. It defines a teachable moment: how to find one and what it actually is. Discussion questions are designed to help the parent grab a hold of those teachable moments with his or her children. Different ideas can help you tailor each lesson to fit the individual situation. Included are verses that fit a variety of situations. Parents are encouraged to discuss the situation, pray about it with their children, and to memorize those verses.

Topics include anger, cursing, hope, death, humility, idolatry, kindness, charity, mercy, obedience, money, perseverance, respect, responsibility, sharing and more. Each topic is clearly defined in its own section, with the related verses, discussion questions and activities. Sections are short, providing a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the topic. Related topics are also listed for further reference. Parents will want to have read the book in advance to have a basic understanding of it. It would be hard to always have these topics at hand in those teachable moments and to have all of those verses memorized and ready to go. Being familiar with the book would allow the parent to quickly refer to it for guidance.

The appendix includes the full text of the Ten Commandments, Beatitudes and more. It also explains how to memorize verses, how to pray for your child, and how to tailor each lesson to the individual child.

This book would also be useful in a Sunday School situation.

I received an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parenting With Scripture is SUCH a wonderful resource! I'm thrilled that it exists. This particular one is a reprint from 2001 with a much cuter cover, in my opinion. :) Y'all know how much I love my covers.

Kara spends the first part of the book discussing how to find teachable moments. There's always teachable moments waiting to be taken advantage of!

She then lists topics from A to Z(actually A to W). Each topic gets a two page spread, with Bible verses pertaining to the topic. I'd love to tell you that I know book, chapter, and verse by memory for every subject there is, but I'd be lying if I did! I really appreciate having a book like this for those of us like me in that regard. There's also discussion questions and tasks, a "Take Action" section, which has little challenges, a parenting tip section, and then some related topics that you can study along with it. For example, along with contentment, you can study greed and money.

As part of homeschooling, Lord willing, I hope to do purposeful "character" studies, in addition to simply learning through everyday moments. Now I don't need to buy expensive material in order to accomplish that. Parenting with Scriptures is perfect for that purpose. (I know I wouldn't HAVE to buy material in the first place, but this book makes things MUCH easier).

In case you can't tell, I definitely recommend Parenting with Scripture! It's been an awesome addition to our home shelves.

*A huge thank you to Moody Publishers for my review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Jean Sommers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parenting With Scripture is a helpful tool in teaching children.
It deals with different emotions and situations. It has a Discussion and Take Action along with scripture that applies to that problem and It has a Scripture Appendix. There is also a section on Verses To Memorize. The first emotion that us addressed is anger, I had a ptoblem with anger and even though I am not a child or teenager, in the Discussion section, the first question that is asked is, "Was it really worth getting angry?" Now that I think back, over half the time, it was not worth it. Next, "How could the situation have been handled differently?" Again, there was a more appropriate way of handling the situation. The last one, "What does anger accomplish?" All I remember is that someones feelings were hurt and in at least one case, I lost a friend.
It has methods to help with these incidents and scripture to help understanding.
There are so many negative things in life today to influence our children, we as parents need as much help as possible, and this book is such a help. The cover is eye catching, the book is arranged so it is easily referred to as often as needed. A needed tool in our parenting journey. Children are always asking, "Why or Why come?", now we can give them an answer.

[Catherine Gillespie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parenting with Scripture is a helpful topical guide full of scripture references for specific issues, ranging from character traits like kindness to issues like sadness.

As a parent, I want to help my children learn to navigate life not just because I said so (although sometimes obedience is the point to emphasize) but because God says so. Having a reference like this book that topically organizes relevant scriptures is really handy.

The book is more than a topical verse list, however. For every topic, you’ll find a definition, relevant verses and passages of scripture, a discussion guide, and suggestions for application. If you wanted to, you could use the book as a springboard for discussions, as a Biblestudy guide for your kids, a scripture memory reference, or an idea of how to pray scripture for your child.

{Read my full review here}

Note: I received a free review copy of this book, but the opinions here and in my linked review are my own.

[Jonathan McPeters · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource book for any parent on the planet! This book covers over 200 character qualities and/or flaws in an easy-to-use format organized alphabetically by topic. This is not a generalized motivational self-help, but more like an index that takes parents directly to several Scriptures for each topic and then follows those Scriptures up with specific discussion points, activity ideas, etc. that will help reinforce the principles in our children.

Michelle and I have referenced this book often both with our own children and when counseling young parents. Again, a great index that can be used on an “as-needed” reference guide, or a topical devotional with your child or Sunday School class.

For a more thorough review of this book please visit A Blog On Books

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the book I expected when I first heard of this title. I thought this would be a run-of-the-mill Christian parenting book. Instead, I find this to be a Christian reference book to use in my parenting journey.

There are about 100 topics in the book, arranged alphabetically and given 2 pages. Each topic is given a definition and a list of applicable Bible verses. Then there are discussion questions and some sort of call to action.

This is not a book to read cover to cover. Instead, this is a book to take out when needed--and that's great! In many ways, this book is more useful than 99% of all the other parenting books I've read.

I won a copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program. I was encouraged, but not required, to write a review. I received no other compensation for this post.

[Mandy J. Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This is what I call a parent's dream book! This is a book that any/all parents should own and keep at their finger tips. Kara gives you a topical book with scripture references, discussion guides, action steps, and several other great, easy-to-use tools. Whatever the situation may be - discipline, questions, devotion time - this is the book that will give you the answers with the passages written right out along with things to ask your kids and things your kids can do to learn through the situation. She covers topics from anger to love, from hate to godliness, from joking to suffering.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was excited to get the book Parenting with Scripture to review. I sometimes struggle trying to think an appropriate verse or passage that relates to whatever we are doing through discipline or in other ares of our parenting. This book is a literal reference book of verses for many, many different situations in parenting and in life.

Read my complete review here: http://shoopettesbookreviews.blogspot...

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! This is a useful tool for pre-school through high school. Organized by topic, such as "competition", "humility", and "self-respect," this guide gives parents direction in adrressing scripture to common topics on which we all need reflection and God's Word. There are a few discussion questions to prompt your children as well as activities to try if you like. Love it!

[Willow · Rating 5 out of 5]

{July 27, 2012}
This is a great reference!! So helpful for addressing testy situations and reinforcing good ones! I love the lists of Bible verses and thought-provoking discussion questions. This is a good book for aiding your use of Scripture in training your kids--and yourself too!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent resource... need to keep it within easy reach for the next many years!! Not only is it good for teachable moments with my children, it's good for teachable moments with myself :)

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I just need to actually use it...

[Pepper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book for finding verses for your kids and you to memorize based on topic,
Theme, character trait