A second book review in one day? Yep, folks. Tis the day to catch up with all things book review-ish. This one is a bit different from my normal reviews because I actually take a bit of time to explain in (some) detail why I didn’t agree with certain aspects of the book. Fun, right? 😉

FIRST OFF, SOME STATS:

Find the book on: Amazon and Goodreads
Pages: 240
Publisher: Chosen Books
Release Date: December 4, 2018
Title: Raising Giant-Killers
Author: Bill Johnson and Beni Johnson
Nonfiction

BACK COVER BLURB

With honesty, humor, and keen biblical insight, bestselling authors Bill and Beni Johnson help you discover the keys to successful parenting in God’s kingdom. “Parents, we rule for the purpose of protection, but we also serve with the purpose of empowering,” they write. “We want to release our children into their destiny–that’s the privilege of parenting.”

In these pages, you will gain the wisdom, kingdom concepts, and practical tools you need to help raise your children to their best.

You’ll discover how to parent to their uniqueness, gifts, and strengths, as well as how you can demonstrate and reveal who God is to your kids. The authors also address pressing issues parents face today, including how to

· be fully engaged in hearing what the Lord is saying over each child
· maintain relationship and discipline
· develop character
· train your children for worship
· fan the flame of what God has put in their hearts
· and more

No matter what age your kids are, you have an incredible opportunity to shape their hearts, minds, and values. Here is everything you need to help your children walk into the destiny of their lives and see them become the awesome people they were created to be.

WHY I CHOOSE THIS BOOK

My parents have done a great job of raising their kids with intentionality and a Kingdom mentality, and this book seemed like a great way to learn some practical tips on how to do that. I want to be the kind of person who helps all the children I interact with on a regular basis (not just my kids because I currently don’t have any) live the lives God created them for.

WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS BOOK

Raising Giant-Killers was a bit of an unusual read for me because so much of the book had great information that I was like Yes, this kind of thing needs to be taught! But then other parts of the book had me shaking my head in perplexment or disagreeing totally with a point.

Some of the things I really liked in the book include:
* Talking about how to raise children with intentionality. Parent’s have so many amazing opportunities to speak into their children’s lives and help them to prepare for living healthy, impactful lives. This book shares examples of how to do this in a practical, life-changing way.
* Speaking words of life. What we say really does make a difference. This is true when we say something directly to someone, and even when we’re just talking about them. The Bible is very clear that words have the power of life and death and we’re supposed to guard what we say. I’m so thankful for my parents speaking life to and about their children. This book does a great job of showing how important that part of parenting is.
*Exposing children to the right things. Parenting isn’t only about guarding your children from harmful things but also making sure they are exposed to the correct things. And by “correct” I don’t mean easy. The authors do a great job of showing how important it is for kids to see the needs of the world and develop helping, compassionate, and loving hearts.
*Learning about God from a young age and Praying over them. It’s never to early to start teaching your children about God and praying for them. One of my favorite parts of this book is where the authors talk about praying scripture over your family. There’s even a section in the back that includes a lot of scripture that can be prayed. That’s something my parents have done all my life and something that is really important.

And now I’m going to talk briefly about what I didn’t like…

The second page of the book had a statement that I disagree with, so that set a rather wary tone for me while reading the rest of the book, so I’ll address that with a bit of detail:

The authors say that we were all born into a war (which I agree with), but then they go on to say that even Adam and Eve were born into a war because in Genesis 1:28 they were told to “subdue” the earth. The authors say that this implies that there was disorder outside the Garden of Eden, then go on to use the word “chaos” to describe what life was like outside of the Garden. But this is during Creation Week when everything was still perfect. In fact, just a few verses later in Genesis 1:31 the Bibles says “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” Something that is very good isn’t full of chaos and disorder. (You can read more at Answers in Genesis which has a ton of good information about this type of thing.)

There were also multiple other, smaller things throughout the book that I don’t agree with or condone. Some of the things were just the authors being more dogmatic than I believe scripture warrants, or else them taking things out of context. There were enough of these things that even though I really liked parts of the book (as mentioned above), this isn’t one I would recommend to everyone.

CONCLUSION

The authors are parents to three grown children who all seem to be doing really well in life. That, to me, is a big selling point, because that means they are talking from experience and not just theory.

RATING

I’m giving Raising Giant-Killers 3 out of 5 stars.

((This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for me reviewing it, all thoughts and opinions are my own.))