Willis'
book is a revelation to this senior citizen raised in an era when
spanking was still considered an appropriate way to develop character in
children. The stories she shares of her sons actions are amazing.
Temper tantrums, misbehaving, arguing, and more. As a past bookstore
owner, I cringed at her story of her son's behavior in a Dollar Tree
store. Willis herself was disappointed, flabbergasted, and enraged by
the “out of control” behavior. (518/2421)
This
book is definitely one for young mothers, especially those with
rambunctious sons. Willis writes about her own four year battle with
anxiety and depression, finally healing with the help of a Christian
counselor. After a teacher complained, she took one of her sons to
see an occupational therapist specializing in behavior to get
professional help in improving his behavior.(1445/2421) Her son
learned how to behave in an appropriate way in school situations.
(1453/2421) Nobody even heard of those kinds of ways to change
behavior when I was young. Parents themselves took on the difficult
task of character development and raising responsible adults.
Along
with sharing many of her own parenting experiences are lessons from
those experiences and from the Bible. Willis helps readers deal with
peace stealing issues like the comparison trap, having a martyr
syndrome, desiring control, expectations, and more. My favorite
aspect of the book was her idea of helping a distraught mother, being
a burden lifter rather than a burden builder. I'll keep that in mind
the next time I am out shopping.
Reading
this book has given me a new sense of compassion for young mothers,
especially those of unruly boys. I have a new appreciation of the
difficulty of raising active boys when corporeal discipline is no
longer considered appropriate. No wonder young moms feel like they
are going crazy. Reading this book will help young mothers realize
they are not alone in their struggles and will give them some good
encouragement for their hectic days.
Food
for thought: “Our children are one of the greatest gifts God has
given us, but God never intended for us to raise them at the expense
of our own peace and relationship with Him.” (980/2421)
You
can watch the book trailer here.
My
rating: 4/5 stars
Ashley
Willis has a BA in Communication from Georgetown College and a middle
grade teaching certificate from Eastern Kentucky University. She
taught middle school English, Science, History, and Bible before
deciding to be at home with her four young sons, Cooper, Connor,
Chandler, and Chatham. She hit the jackpot when she married her very
best friend and favorite author/pastor/everything in the world, Dave
Willis. Together, they work to create marriage-building resources and
events throughout the United States and online. Dave was the teaching
pastor at Stevens Creek Church, a nondenominational church with the
roots of the church coming from the Church of God denomination, for
ten years. They often spoke together at church together, and Ashley
led women’s Bible studies and often did pastoral counseling with
wives and moms. Dave and Ashley also do initial pastoral counseling
for couples together. They both recently joined the team at
MarriageToday, an international marriage ministry, as content
creators and speakers. They live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in
Texas. You can find out more at
https://strongermarriages.com/start-here/
.
Photo by Ana Marie Photography.
FaithWords,
224 pages.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the
publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.
(My
star ratings: 5-I loved it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like
it, 1-I hate it.)
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