Instead, He gives us instructions on how we as their parents are to set them on the way they should go. Yes, we live in a fallen world, and sadly people act like fallen people — a lot. Were that not true, we would never see any exceptions to the inspired Proverb in which we are told to “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). But we can take heart in that God’s perfect plan for our families is that our children will be trained well in their youth, and that when they start choosing their own way, they will continue in what they have learned. The One who knows our hearts and our children’s hearts best is the One we should trust. And it is exploring that role, in His great design for our families, that this book seeks to do.

I pray that after the last page is turned, you will walk away with a better vision for parenting your children the way God intended, with an actual game plan, and that you will have a much deeper trust in Him, confident in His ability to hold your children close as they grow. He is strong and mighty, and He loves them with an everlasting love.