Raising Uncommon Kids

One of the greatest gifts of being a blogger is the opportunity to live in a vibrant community of writers. One of the tough things about knowing so many writers is that when they all write books, I simply don’t have enough time to blog about each one.

When blogger and radio host Sami Cone reached out to me about her new book Raising Uncommon Kids, however, I told her immediately to send a copy my way.

We all know that there’s seemingly no rhyme or reason to what Facebook decides to place in our newsfeeds, yet I can’t help but think that some divine intervention put Sami’s updates on heavy rotation on my Facebook over the last year or so. Sami’s got a scheduled feed of quotes from Oswald Chambers, author of My Utmost for His HighestIf you’re not familiar with my buddy Oswald or Utmost, this daily devotional was first published in the 1930’s and is not the kind of hand-holding, back-patting devotional some may be used to reading. To be brutally honest, Mr. Chambers tends to give me the spiritual butt kick that I need, just when I need it.

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Raising Uncommon KidsAnyone who is a friend of Oswald is a friend of mine, so I was excited to see what Sami had to say about raising children. Raising Uncommon Kids, subtitled 12 Biblical Traits You Need to Raise Selfless Kids, focuses far more on parent behaviors than on parenting techniques. The premise of the book is that the best way to raise our children is to model the adults we want them to grow into. When you think about it, it’s a pretty freeing concept. No more tips and tricks to follow. And the bonus is that it gives us as parents an excuse to focus on ourselves. Nice!

Sami’s book is rooted in Colossians 3:12-17 and looks at what she calls “twelve parenting dilemmas.” Rather than focus on the problems, Sami focuses on twelve characteristics that God calls us to model for our children: love, harmony, gentleness, bearing with, forgiveness, wisdom, patience, kindness, gratitude, peace, humility, and compassion. The work is a mix of personal anecdote, scriptural truth, mentoring and reflective moments, and practical applications.

Don’t let this simple to follow format fool you. This is serious work we’re doing, friends. Consciously choosing to better our lives in order to be the example we want our children to emulate is not for the feint of heart. It is, however, well worth the time and effort.

I knew Sami was all in when I first opened Raising Uncommon Kids and immediately came upon this passage:

So one night after our Celebrate Recovery Step Study group, my husband and I asked our kids if they knew why we were going to “Sunday night church.”

Without too much concern, our daughter responded, “So you can be a better mommy and daddy.”

I’ve been attending Celebrate Recovery meetings for about a year to deal with my own hurts, habits, and hang-ups (we all could use it!), and I’ve seen firsthand how some struggle to see beyond the stigma associated with the word recovery. Reading about SamRaising Uncommon Kidsi’s own journey with this ministry and witnessing her willingness to be open and vulnerable with her readers assures me that she’s poured her heart and soul into Raising Uncommon Kids.

Ready to check out Sami’s labor of love yourself? Stop by SamiCone.com/UncommonKids for more information. Don’t miss the free resources and printables while you’re there.

Thank you, Sami, for sharing yourself with other parents and for sharing your book with the Resourceful Mommy community!

(One copy of Raising Uncommon Kids was provided for review. No other compensation was provided. All opinions are my own.)

 

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