[erinee]

Originally Posted by firefighterwife

wow...I am really tired. Reading over what I wrote, it made NO sense to me ...so I will try to come back to this when I have had a little sleep.

Really? I thought it made PERFECT sense!

Hilary, we all believe we're to teach our children to love God and that they need him. But I think the way this is presented to a child, or to any new believer, is essential. I want them drawn to God out of love, not fear. While there may be truth in other components, I want the relationship to come first. The rest of it can come after they love and trust God. I do think children need to know they sin and need forgiveness -- I just don't want that to be the main focus that it is for so many evangelicals (I am an evangelical, but my thinking has changed in a lot of ways).

There are good things about the book -- I just think the good things can be found elsewhere, without having to read the part where he sends his daughter back up for another spanking because she's not "sweet" enough yet. That episode left me with such a bad taste in my mouth that it colored my view of the entire book. For a book that talks about the heart so much, it's odd to me that he spanks a child for not appearing the way he wants her to appear.