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Discovering God Together
In this book, experienced psychotherapists Greg and Lisa Popcak show how you can transform your family into a joyful place where each member experiences life as a gift from God. From tapping into the rich beauty of Catholic traditions to mustering the motivation needed to deepen your spiritual life, you discover the practical, positive, and tangible difference our faith can make in your family life.
179 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2015
21 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Gregory K. Popcak
35 books66 followersDr. Gregory Popcak is the Executive Director of the Pastoral Solutions Institute, an organization dedicated to helping Catholics find faith-filled solutions to tough marriage, family, and personal problems. The author of over a dozen popular books integrating solid Catholic theology and counseling psychology (including; For Better…FOREVER!, Holy Sex!, Parenting with Grace, Beyond the Birds and the Bees), Dr. Popcak is an expert on the practical applications of the Theology of the Body. Through the Pastoral Solutions Institute, he directs a group pastoral tele-counseling practice that provides ongoing pastoral psychotherapy services to Catholic couples, individuals and families around the world. Since 2001, he and his wife and co-author, Lisa Popcak, have hosted several nationally-syndicated, call-in radio advice programs including Heart, Mind and Strength (Ave Maria Radio 2001-2010), Fully Alive! (Sirius/XM-The Catholic Channel 2007-2010), and most recently, More2Life (Ave Maria Radio–Airing M-F, Noon-1pm Eastern– 2010-Present). They have also hosted two for EWTN (For Better…FOREVER! & God Help Me!). Dr. Popcak’s articles appear regularly in Catholic periodicals such as Catholic Digest, Family Foundations, and others. Dr. Greg Popcak and Lisa Popcak are sought after public speakers and trainers and have been honored to address audiences across North America, Australia, and Hong Kong.
In addition to his ministry work, Dr. Popcak serves as adjunct faculty for the Franciscan University of Steubenville in both the sociology and graduate theology departments where he teaches Christianity & Society and Pastoral & Spiritual Direction respectively. He also serves on the faculty of the doctor of social work program for the Harold Abel School of Behavioral Health at Capella University.
In addition to his ministry work, Dr. Popcak serves as adjunct faculty for the Franciscan University of Steubenville in both the sociology and graduate theology departments where he teaches Christianity & Society and Pastoral & Spiritual Direction respectively. He also serves on the faculty of the doctor of social work program for the Harold Abel School of Behavioral Health at Capella University.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 10, 2016
Raising faithful Catholic children in today's generation is a challenging task for even the best parents. The amount of evil in the world is more visible and more accessible than previous generations. Due to the importance of this subject, Dr. Gregory Popcak and his wife Lisa have written a book entitled Discovering God Together. The book begins with an invitation, to not only pass on the Faith to your children, but to also deepen your faith in the process. It then proceeds to list the "Five Marks of a Faithful Family." They are as follows:
1. Catholic families worship together.
2. Catholic families pray together.
3. Catholic families are called to intimacy.
4. Catholic families put family first.
5. The Catholic family is a witness and a sign.
The rest of the chapters in Part One provide you with a general overview. Chapters walk us through the importance of rituals and routines, including ones for work, play, talk, and prayer. There is also a chapter on walking your children through the stages of faith, which go all the way from birth to late adulthood. Part Two of the book focuses a lot on prayer life and how to develop one as a family and also for your children. In this section of the book, there is also a chapter which speaks specifically to fathers )and mothers as well to some degree). There were some statistics in this chapter that were both eye-opening and sobering. It is the father more than the mother that will ultimately determine if their children grow up to become practicing Catholics. That's a lot of responsibility! The last part of the book focuses primarily on the Sacraments and has chapters for Baptism, the Eucharist, Confirmation, and Confession. There is also a chapter on parish life and its importance that I believe parents and priests could both benefit from reading.
The book is an easy and practical read by respected Catholic authors who know a thing or two about parenting. What I like best about this book is it is like there is a workbook built into it. There are reflection questions, a test to take, and some lines to fill out for brainstorming ideas. This is a valuable read for parents at any stage of the journey, but I would definitely recommend it most of all for new parents, because it is never too early to instill a love of God and the Church in your children.
1. Catholic families worship together.
2. Catholic families pray together.
3. Catholic families are called to intimacy.
4. Catholic families put family first.
5. The Catholic family is a witness and a sign.
The rest of the chapters in Part One provide you with a general overview. Chapters walk us through the importance of rituals and routines, including ones for work, play, talk, and prayer. There is also a chapter on walking your children through the stages of faith, which go all the way from birth to late adulthood. Part Two of the book focuses a lot on prayer life and how to develop one as a family and also for your children. In this section of the book, there is also a chapter which speaks specifically to fathers )and mothers as well to some degree). There were some statistics in this chapter that were both eye-opening and sobering. It is the father more than the mother that will ultimately determine if their children grow up to become practicing Catholics. That's a lot of responsibility! The last part of the book focuses primarily on the Sacraments and has chapters for Baptism, the Eucharist, Confirmation, and Confession. There is also a chapter on parish life and its importance that I believe parents and priests could both benefit from reading.
The book is an easy and practical read by respected Catholic authors who know a thing or two about parenting. What I like best about this book is it is like there is a workbook built into it. There are reflection questions, a test to take, and some lines to fill out for brainstorming ideas. This is a valuable read for parents at any stage of the journey, but I would definitely recommend it most of all for new parents, because it is never too early to instill a love of God and the Church in your children.
September 21, 2015
I truly loved this book. It was filled with simple, practical, doable, nuggets of inspiration. Little things you can start doing today to grow your own faith as well as share that faith with your children. I found myself getting excited on nearly every page. Encouraged. Teaching faith to children in this day and age is no easy matter. It is a huge and sacred responsibility. And this book made it seem not only possible but a privilege and exciting journey to do together as parents and as a family. It is a book that calls us to put our families first. In love and prayer and fun. Definitely one to read again and again.
March 27, 2019
Filled with many wonderful suggestions, and helpful ideas to enrich ones faith through the mission of the family. True to the teachings of the Catholic Church, this book offers many insightful and intuitive tips for practically implementing faith based acts in one's daily life with children. My favorite part of the book is that all of the insights provided are aimed at helping each individual in the family fall in love with their faith each time they are practiced. Very helpful!
September 10, 2017
This book has a lot of good content to help create or boost a Catholic family home life (ie. domestic church). Even if you are doing some of the suggested tips it helps to encourage your decisions and give you new ideas to help form your own and your children's spiritual life. The studies mentioned throughout the book supported the suggestions for effective faith formation and were fascinating as well.
December 14, 2020
One of the best books on family life and faith-based family formation I’ve read. It’s rooted in real research around child development and starts with accepted approaches to parenting and relationship development and then ties it back to the Church and what she’s asking us to do with our family.
January 31, 2019
I bought this book because my children are at or approaching the age of reason and will receive the Sacraments of Confession and First Holy Communion soon. As such I am looking for information on how to guide them in forming their own personal faith and prayer life instead of just relying on family prayer. This book helped in this regard but was not as much as I had hoped. However it had great information send practical tips for becoming a family who pray and worships together. It was an easy read and is recommend it to any Catholic parent.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews