Quotes From "Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids With The Love Of Jesus" By Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

Idolatry, like all sin, is devastating to the soul. It cuts us off from the comforts of grace, the peace of conscience, and the joy that is to be our strength. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

Everything that isn't gospel is law. Let us say it again: Everything that isn't gospel is law. Every way we try to make our kids good that isn't rooted in the good news of the life, death, ressurection, and assension of Jesus Christ is damnable, crushing, despair-breeding, Pharisee-producing law. We won't get the results we want from the law. We'll get either shallow self-righteousness or blazing rebellion or both (frequently from the same kid on the same day! ). We'll get moralistic kids who are cold and hypocritical and who look down on others (and could easily become Mormons), or you'll get teens who are rebellious and self-indulgent and who can't wait to get out of the house. We have to remember that in the life of our unregenerate children, the law is given for one reason only: to crush their self-confidence and drive them to Christ. . Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

The one encouragement we can always give our children (and one another) is that God is more powerful than our sin, and He's strong enough to make us want to do the right thing. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

We need days of failure because they help humble us, and through them we can see how God's grace is poured out on the humble. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

Pure, unadulterated, consistent love for God and pure, unadulterated, consistent love for others is the summation of all the law God has given us in both the Old and New Testaments. Of course, the problem is that we never obey these simple commands. We always love ourselves more than we love God or others. We are always erecting idols in our hearts and worshipping and serving them. We are always more focused on what we want and how we might get it than we are on loving Him and laying down our life for others. The law does show us the right way to live, but none of us obeys it. Not for one millisecond. Even though our children cannot and will not obey God's law, we need to teach it to them again and again. And when they tell us that they can't love God or others in this way, we are not to argue with them. We are to agree with them and tell them of their need for a Savior. . Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

We want our children to know and believe the one good story. Every other story is a copy or shadow of this one. Some copies of it are quite good and shout the Truth. Others see only the faintest whisper of it, or, in its absence remind us of the Truth. We want our kids to know the one good story so well that when they see Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Frodo, Anne of Green Gables, Arielle, or Sleeping Beauty, they can recognize the strands of Truth and deception in them. Saturating our children in the one good story will enable them to discern Truth and error as it comes to them from the world. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

Believe that God is strong enough to save your children, no matter how you fail. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

We are partners with our children because we are just like them, dearly loved sinners. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

The Lord teaches us of His grace and the Gospel through difficult children. We learn what it's like to love like He loved. It is there, in our personal upper room, where we learn to wash the feet of those that are betraying us. It is there, kneeling before our rebellious children, that the real power of God is demonstrated. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

Because we don't know the state of our children's souls, and because they might simply want to please us by praying to be saved, we must continue to give them the Law and encourage them to ask God for faith to believe that He is as good as He says He is. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

We don't need to pray to prove that we're properly pious or really serious. Instead, we pray because we are completely assured, and because the Father hears our prayers because they come to Him through the lips of His dear Son. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

I did my best parenting by prayer. I began to speak less to the kids and more to God. It was actually quite relaxing. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

I admit that at times my prayer for my children is nothing more than vocalized unbelief aimed at God. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

God never encourages self-reliance. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

I thought parenting was going to reveal my strengths, never realizing that God had ordained it to reveal my weaknesses. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

Idolatry is always subject to the law of diminishing returns. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

God is too great to be glorified only through the lives of His victorious children. He is glorified by our suffering and even by our sin. His sustaining strength is glorified when we walk through the furnace of affliction. Elyse M. Fitzpatrick