Organic Outreach for Families,

"Something is very wrong if we reach our neighbors with the love of Jesus but our children feel forgotten and marginalized. We have confused our priorities if we invest more time in our church than we do in our own children. Our first priority as parents is to love, teach, and lead our children toward an authentic and life-changing relationship with the Savior. Jesus called His followers to be His witnesses to the very ends of the earth, but He also told them to start right where they lived. (Acts 1:8)" What a thought provoking way to start a book - a challenge laced with scripture, based off the heart of God to reach everyone with his love. As a mother of 5 I want more than anything to see my children grow in the grace and love of Christ. I want them to see Jesus in our home and to reach out to the world. I want the to be driven by the spirit to reach a lost and dying world, and to know for certain the love of the God who knew them before they were formed and who loved them at the beginning of time. Our home is anything but quiet on most days. With 3 boys and 2 girls and another boy on the way there is always noise and movement. And with that many people there are personality conflicts and different views of the world. This is a challenge as a mom in general but especially so when you home school and have committed your life to serving the Lord in ministry work. This book is not for the perfect family, it is not a cookie cutter book to make all families the same. Rather this books is an encouraging look at God's heart for the family and missions. I appreciate the fact that the authors explore different ways to witness to your children, to train your children to shine the light, and to help your children develop in the Lord. I especially could relate with the author's goals set out for the home. They stated the home should be 1) a safe haven - our children should know this place is a place of peace and security and they should feel comfortable bringing others into it, 2) an emergency room - a place for healing and help, 3) a playground - a place of joy and relaxing entertainment, fun and full of laughter, and 3) a place of prayer - yes, a place where parents pray on their own, parents pray together, parents pray for children, children pray, and the family prays together. A place where prayer is second nature, natural, expected, done. These are goals that my husband and I set when we began having children. We decided it was not enough to talk about these things, but we knew we must demonstrate them and invite our children to be a vital part of them. This book is great for parents seeking practical ways to help their family be a light in this dark world, to be hope for lost people, to be a safe-haven for the hurting. Thank you to the publisher for this review copy. It was greatly appreciated and will be passed on to others in our church.