• Become a conversational parent. Talk to your kids. Listen. Share your story.
• Dare to believe that God has much to teach you through your kids. Be humble enough to learn from them.
• Create a haven for your kids, an oasis in your home that protects, supports, and gives kids space to be themselves. Take seriously the mandate that you are responsible for the soul-nurturing of your children.
• Teach your children to joyfully engage their world, while holding tightly to Jesus’ hand. Teaching this comes primarily from modeling it in your own life. Do you engage your neighbors? Are you more interested in God’s kingdom than your own? Admit your failures openly with your children, showing how much you need Jesus to live your daily life.

You are the first to admit that being authentic might require a parent to apologize after an angry outburst. Are you saying that authentic parents don’t always have it all together as some would like to think?

Yep! We are all frail, needy humans. If we present ourselves as perfect parents, never failing, always doing this correctly, we show our children we have no need of Jesus. We also set up a standard of perfection—that to be a Christian, one has to be perfect. This can lead to our children creating elaborate facades or hiding behind masks. I’d rather have my children see that even mommies make mistakes. Even mommies need Jesus every single day.

You talk about the twin values of engagement and purity. What does that mean?

Many parents subconsciously believe that true parenting means protection at any cost. We received a lot of flak for putting our children in French schools because the atmosphere there wasn’t exactly nurturing. Believe me, the decision was excruciating. But through it all, I realized that Jesus calls us all to be engaged in the culture we live in, yet not to be stained by it. That’s the beauty of engagement and purity. Abraham understood this. After God told him to leave everything and venture to a new place, he obeyed: “From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD” (Genesis 12:8). Oswald Chambers elaborates: “Bethel is the symbol of communion with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abraham pitched his tent between the two.” As parents journeying alongside our children through a postmodern world, this concept of pitching our tent between communion with God and engagement in the world should encourage us.

What bugs you about postmodernism?

I happen to believe in absolute truth, so that’s a problem! But more than that, I worry that all our rambling about it, trying to discern what it is, has caused us to rely more heavily on our own intellectual pursuit of God than our heart. When I get caught up in that, I remind myself of my friend Jeanne’s son Jacob, whose heart after Jesus takes my breath away. Living with a brain injury, Jacob throws off pretense as he worships God, arms vaulted to the sky in unashamed heart worship. That’s the kind of believer I want to be. That’s the kind of heart I want. I love this verse: “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). For me, for my children, that’s my prayer, that we’d be simply and purely devoted to Jesus no matter what worldview we find ourselves in.

To purchase, click here.

Visit Mary's helpful and fun website here.

Meet Mary and read her crazy blog here.

Two weeks ago I was blessed to attend summer camp. Actually, my whole family attended to serve in a drama ministry. I also had the joy of watching three boys, ages 3, 4, and 6 while their parents helped in the kitchen. Yes, boys are active but some of my best times were playing with them in the sand at the lake with the sun smiling down on us.

Still, I came away from camp with more than a sun tan. I also learned some great things about my (our) walk with God!

1. Everyone needs a time to escape with God. Isaiah 49:10-11 says, “For the Lord in his mercy will lead them beside cool waters. And I will make my mountains into level paths for them.” As you will see from the photos, there were both beautiful mountains and cool waters at camp. It was a time of refreshing. A time to be reminded of God’s creative powers and “rest” in Him.
2. There is a whole generation of young men and women who are in need of hearing about God’s miracles in OUR lives. Psalm 71:18 says, “Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.” I was able to participate in some small groups and share ways God has transformed my life. The generations coming behind us need to know more than just “about God.” They need to know how He works in the lives of men and women! I pray that the personal testimonies from the counselors will nourish their faith. (In addition to the small groups, I also took my one and only copy of My Life, Unscripted … and one of the teen girls borrow it to read it. I still haven’t gotten it back yet. I think it’s being passed around!)
3. We all need direction for our day … and discipline. As you can imagine, we couldn’t let 70 kids run wild and do their own thing. We set clear boundaries and planned their day. And when they got out of line we did correct them, but we did so gently. “I know, Lord, that a person’s life is not his own. No one is able to plan his own course. So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle.” Jeremiah 10:23-24
4. We all need to take time in our day to fill our stomachs and our souls with the good things of God. And you can be sure EVERYONE comes running when they hear the dinner bell! “The eyes of all wait for You [looking, watching, and expecting] and You give them their food in due season. Psalm 145:15 (Amplified Bible)
5. At camp one’s eyes are open to see spiritual needs and their mouths are quick to speak truth to those with softened hearts. If only we were so in tune with God’s work in the lives around us all the time! “At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10:19 NLT
6. Today can be the day of salvation. And for two dozen kids at the camp, it was! It is a wonderful thing to know that these children accepted the greatest gift ever … Christ. “I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10
7. There is joy and excitement in praising God. If we were face-to-face I’d show you hand motions to some of the songs I learned! “My mouth’s full of great praise for God. I’m singing his hallelujah’s surrounded by crowds.” Psalm 109:30

Yes, everything I know about God I was reminded about at summer camp!