Parenting is Your Highest Calling
And 8 Other Myths That Trap Us In Worry And Guilt
The nine most common parenting myths are exposed and replaced with the fresh hope of truth. Through an eye-opening look at cultural beliefs and God’s example as a parent, Fields invites readers to let go of guilt and find freedom to love your children as God intended.
"Few things can cause a more steady stream of self-doubt, guilt, and fatigue than parenting. This book is a glorious light at the end of the tunnel! I wish Leslie had written this book twenty years ago. What she has written will free all of us to parent with joy, clarity, and freedom."-----Nancy Ortberg, author of Looking For God: An Unexpected Journey ThroughTattoos, Tofu, and Pronouns
"Quite apart from her deeply thoughtful, candid content, Leslie Fields' writing about the myths of parenthood is literally superb, full of nuance, anecdote, passion, and skill. Her book gives counsel that is authentic and penetrating."-----Luci Shaw, author of What the Light Was Like and Breath for the Bones;Writer in Residence, Regent College
“Do not put down or putt off reading this delightfully smart book! Leslie Leyand Fields manages to challenge, teach, and inspire with hearty doses of wise and doable advise.”-----Julie Barnhill, MOMsense columnist and author of One Tough Mother
“Leslie speaks directly to the heart of the issue: mom guilt. Guilt that we aren’t the moms we should be. Guilt that we’re getting it wrong. And what she provides is the assurance that through God’s grace and love, each of us is the mom our child needs us to be.”-----Trish Berg, author of three books including Frazzled: Surviving the Preschool Years Without Blowing Your Top. And national speaker for Hearts at Home.
"I could write a book about how much I love this book. Instead, I'll try to sum it up in a few words: Yes! Thank you! Hallelujah! Amen. Leslie Leyland Fields gives reason to cheer to all parents who've ever felt like losers, failures, or altogether bad Christians because of the destructive myths our culture and (gasp!) churches peddle about what good parenting entails. Flying right in the face of those lies, she offers a gracious, encouraging, and honest picture of what God longs for from us as parents-and as his children."-----Caryn Dahlstrand Rivadeneira, author of Mama's Got a Fake I.D.: How to Discover the Real You Under All That Mom and columnist for Today's Christian Woman
"Finally-a book that leads parents out of guilt and inadequacy to Worshiping God instead of the family and loving children instead of trying to be the perfect parent. My only regret is that this book didn't exist twenty years ago when I needed it."-----Jan Johnson, author of Invitation to the Jesus Life and Living a Purpose-Full Life
"After reading Leslie's book, I exhaled, hugely relieved to find out I wasn't alone in my private doubts about the 'be all and end all' of motherhood. I also rejoiced to learn the whole truth: that parenthood isn't just a series of warm fuzzy rewards but rather something deeper and much more complex. If you want to offload the false pressures and expectations of parenting, and find out what God really wants for your family, keep reading."-----Lorilee Craker, mother of three and author of ten books, including Through the Storm: A Real Story of fame and Family in a Tabloid Age with Lynne Spears
"Leslie Leyland Fields offers counsel to parents that is liberating and demanding and theologically profound: be faithful to God and trust in God alone. Especially in a culture that assumes we have the ability to fix everything, including the lives of our children. This is good news."-----Ben C. Ollenburger, professor of Biblical Theology, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana
"Thank goodness for Leslie Leyland Fields, who dares to speak a word of truth against a lot of nonsense. Christian parents burdened by guilt and shame will find here blessed relief, based in the Bible and in hard- won experience of God's grace. Let this book equip you to say a firm 'no,thanks' to these nine parenting myths and all the others like them."-----Debra Rienstra, author of So Much More: An Invitation to Christian Spirituality and Great with Child: Reflections on Faith, Fullness, and Becoming a Mother