10 Building Blocks for a Solid Family: The Homeword Guide to Parenting

by Jim Burns, Gary Chapman (Foreword)

This honest and enlightening book from one Christian parent to another is filled with encouragement and time-tested techniques for anyone who wants to ensure the health and happiness of their own family. Jim Burns will be the first to tell you that no family is perfect--including his own--and in 10 Building Blocks for a Strong Family , he emphasizes the heartening news that most parents do a good job of parenting but just don't know it. Here parents will find personal stories from interviews with parents and experts on family relationships, covering almost every aspect of parenting--from helping children deal with stress to learning to play together as a family. When readers learn the ten essential principles for creating a strong, close-knit household, they'll discover a family that shines with love for God and one another!

Genres: Parenting, Family

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2003

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Jim Burns, Ph.D., President of HomeWord is the host of the HomeWord with Jim Burns daily half-hour, daily one-minute, and weekly half-hour radio programs. His passion is communicating to adults and young people practical truths to help them live out their Christian lives.

Jim is the author of many resources including his latest books The Purity Code: God’s Plan for Sex and Your Body, Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality and Accept Nothing Less: God’s Best for Your Body, Mind and Heart. In recent years, he has also written Confident Parenting and Creating an Intimate Marriage which are available in audio CDs, books, and small group curriculum kits; The 10 Building Blocks for a Happy Family; Devotions on the Run; and Parenting Teenagers for Positive Results kit. Since 1985, HomeWord has been assisting parents and churches worldwide through radio, resources, seminars, and the web at www.homeword.com. Jim writes monthly columns for Ignite Your Faith magazine and Simply Youth Ministry newsletter and website.

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the approachable feel of this book. Burns notes at the start that, over his years of working with families, he has discovered that all happy families seem to have commonalities. He then proceeds to relate each of them, describe their importance, and portray the ways some families achieve the building block--all while acknowledging that each family will accomplish each block in a unique way that suits it best. His building blocks are doable things such as "be there", "discipline consistently", and "love your spouse".

[Travis Daggett · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is from page 104: In solitude you will hear the whisper of God’s voice saying, “you are my beloved, the apple of my eye. You are doing a wonderful job parenting those kids. I treasure you, I forgive you, and I believe in you. You are my child, and we are in this parenting thing together.“
This is where I stopped reading.
Does God “believe in us”? This seems to me at best sloppy, and at worst right in line with the message of our culture. It smacks of the doctrine of the brotherhood of man. Too many people think that God loves everyone in the same way, that Jesus died for everybody. This is not what the Bible says and it is not what Christians should say.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did not finish. Just couldn't seem to get into it.