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The Lifegiving Parent  By  cover art

The Lifegiving Parent

By: Sally Clarkson,Clay Clarkson
Narrated by: James Anderson Foster,Ann Richardson
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Publisher's summary

From the family that brought you The Lifegiving Home and The Lifegiving Table, discover how you can become a parent who gives your child a life worth living for Christ.

In today's world, it's easy to become overwhelmed and even paralyzed by the constant flow of parenting advice. We're flooded with so much practical information that we wonder if we're choosing the right way. And we may be missing the one thing God really wants us to give to our children: His life. God doesn't include a divine methodology for parenting in the Bible, but he does provide principles that can enable any faithful parent to bring his life into the life of their home.

In The Lifegiving Parent, respected authors and parents Clay and Sally Clarkson explore eight key principles - heartbeats of lifegiving parenting - to shed light on what it means to create a home where your children will experience the living God in your family. Now parents of four grown children - each with their own unique personality and gifts - Sally and Clay have learned (sometimes the hard way!) that the key to shaping a heart begins at home as you foster a deep and thoughtful God-infused relationship with each child.

Filled with biblical insight and classic Clarkson stories, The Lifegiving Parent will equip you with the tools and wisdom you need to give your children much more than just a good Christian life. You'll give them the life of Christ.

©2018 Sally Clarkson and Clay Clarkson (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Lifegiving Parent

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Left me feeling overwhelmed and discouraged

I was excited to start this book after seeing Sally speak at a conference. She seems like the kind of lady it would be a delight to sit down and chat with.

The book, however, was a disappointment. I'll get to content in a minute, but first, the narrators deserve their own review. The narrators both seemed stiff and a bit commercial-like. The unfortunate result of which was a disingenuous overtone for the book. It felt a bit like being preached at by stuffy, legalistic Bible-thumpers, which I am sure could not have been Clay and Sally's intent for the book. Also, every time the female narrator said, "Sally's Memoirs," it sounded like "Sally's Mom-wars," often shaking me out of my immersion in listening.

The book itself was full of scripture, advice, and stories. The Scripture was very encouraging (though the applications were pretty questionable at times), the advice was alright, the stories were honestly a bit much. I felt as though I was watching a picture-perfect Christian family with no hope of ever achieving the same. Although the Clarksons readily admitted they weren't a perfect family, that's not the picture I saw presented (especially of the parents). I felt that the book put up an impossible standard, even while saying that we all fail. I left most listening sessions feeling exhausted.

Another concern was the way the Clarksons used Scripture within the book. There were several times when they attributed responsibilities to the parents that were either overwhelming or just plain extra-biblical. According to Sally and Clay, it is my job to guard my childrens' hearts (okay, fair enough - I can do that to some extent) and to renew their minds (hang on a sec... isn't that God's job?).

One other thing to note is that while I have small children, the Clarksons are speaking as parents of adult children and list many, many, many things they did over the years - most of which are not ideas I can implement for many years to come. Perhaps this is part of why I was overwhelmed.

There are much better parenting books out there that put less performance pressure on the parents and still give effective and godly wisdom for raising children. I do not recommend this book, but if you are still interested I advise finding a physical copy to read instead of listening to the audiobook version.

Other books I would recommend instead include: Boundaries with Kids by Henry Cloud and John Townsend; and For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay.

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5 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars

Dangerous misuse of Scripture

Besides the less than smooth writing style, this book contains heresy that outweighs the bits of truth in it. The Clarkson’s have sadly misused and torn down Scripture and turned it something very different than the Word spoken by God. It is a dangerous book. Aside from the heresy, they include many extra-biblical ideas as essential to child raising. According to this book’s expectations, no one could come close to accomplishing all the things one must do to truly parent.

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5 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Book, but the listen is grueling

I don't know if I can finish this. May just stick with my physical copy. The narrators are not excellent, let's just say.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

My favorite parenting book to date!

I love the partnership pictured between Clay and Sally as parents. I am able to imagine the things they talk about being implemented in my home. They are inspiring and encouraging. Their materials provide practical help and hope towards always growing in God, as a parent and a wife.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Worth Your Time

One of the best books I've read on parenting because Clay and Sally breathe life and inspiration into this weary mama's heart. I love my children, and this book challenges me to love them *well* and *on purpose,* not just because we live under the same roof.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Content win!

t
This book was excellent, very practical and helpful and Biblical! I felt like it was very relevant and inspiring. I really appreciated this book as a mother of four. As much as I highly value read-aloud and audible options, the readers for this book unfortunately were very difficult to listen to, their tones and everything. I had to check a couple of times to make sure it was not being read by a computer, but the content truly is amazing so overall I can give this all the stars I just wish the readers were more realistic sounding. I don't know if that means animation or fluctuation in tones it was just more mechanical sounding which is disappointing for the value of the content.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

great book about parenting and leading a family.

this book focuses mostly on how to use your time leading your family wisely. it has some great insights and tools that can help.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • MK
  • 02-07-24

I read this book first, then I wanted to read them all!!!

This spoke to my heart. It gives practical advice for parents to create a loving home centered on Christ.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Jewish parenting book

Good it was just hard to follow the narrator it was also based on doctrine I knew well! Overall good book

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Fabulous book!

This is a fabulous book for anyone serious about training their children up for the Lord. They give ideas, scripture, inspiration and encouragement for those of us who have any hand in training children. You can speak life into children regardless if they are yours or not. Our children are our future and this book will delight and inspire any Christian willing to put in the work to train up a child in the way he should go. Highly recommend!

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