Parenting First Aid

Parenting Kneeling Down, Not
Standing Up
Weary parents can find
peace in the midst of parenting trials
by trusting in a God who promises to
partner with them.
In today’s world of insta-porn on
electronic devices, the ease of access to drugs, and the ever-increasing
blurring of sexuality, families are assaulted with an unprecedented level of
trials and challenges. Parents are faced with disappointment and overwhelming
trials. They often blame themselves when their children struggle and don’t
recognize that God often allows trials to help parents lean on and trust him.
Parenting First Aid: Hope for the Discouraged by best-selling author Marty Machowski (New Growth Press/September 24, 2018) is designed
to point parents back to God. His goal is to encourage overwhelmed parents with
the Bible passages that encouraged him when he experienced trials as a parent. “The
best advice I can give parents in a major trial is don’t give up, and don’t
allow the enemy to discourage you or tell you God doesn’t care or won’t help. Galatians
6:9 has always encouraged me: ‘And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in
due season we will reap, if we do not give up.’”
Machowski knows some serious parenting
trials seem to refuse to be resolved and understands how parents wrestle with
weighty trials, from dealing with children involved with drugs or sexual sin to
teenage rebellion. In those tough times, many parents reach for parenting books
that provide to-do lists, techniques, or a solutions-based approach to child-rearing,
promising certain outcomes. But what happens when these parenting technique
books fail to deliver what they promise, leaving parents disillusioned and at a
loss for what to do? “God bridges the gap between parenting theory and
parenting reality,” Machowski says. “When I went through my own parenting
trials, I felt the Lord impress this message upon my heart: ‘I don’t want you
parenting standing up. I want you parenting kneeling down.’ In other words,
it’s not technique that is going to deliver you through the parenting years.
God instead wanted me to entrust myself to him. Only God can deliver us through
our parenting years.”
Parenting
First Aid is filled with
real-life stories of parents who face various trials and found their hope in
God through them. The devotionals are full of Scripture, personal stories, and
meditations aiming to reinvigorate the faith of parents and keep their focus on
a sovereign God and his ability to reach and rescue their children. Machowski is clear not all of the stories lead to
happy endings because God has not promised us happiness and ease. However, all
the people in the stories did find comfort in God and a peace beyond
understanding.
Machowski assures parents anyone who weary and
discouraged will benefit from the devotions, not just those walking through a
major trial. His goal is to encourage, uplift, and strengthen the faith of
parents in the midst of hardship. The book is divided into twenty weeks with
three devotionals and a real-life testimony for each week. While Machowski
designed the book so parents can complete Parenting
First Aid in five months, parents in an intense season can use the book
daily over two months.
By compiling unique Bible passages not typically
applied to parenting, Machowski hopes parents will be challenged by Scriptures
they have likely not applied to their situations. Through his biblically based
insight, he strives to remind parents they shouldn’t parent alone. “Parenting
is easy until it gets harder. God is the second watchman on the wall and the
second set of hands to help us build. God has uniquely crafted our parenting
trials to drive us back to him, the only one who has the power to save. Trusting
God through parenting trials doesn’t just help us get by; it helps us thrive.

He is the author of numerous resources for
churches and families, including The
Gospel Story for Kids series, The
Ology, and Parenting First Aid.
Machowski and his wife, Lois, and their six children
reside in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He is also the Executive Editor for
Children’s Resources at New Growth Press.
Learn
more at www.martymachowski.com.
He can also be found on Twitter (@MartyMachowski).
New Growth Press publishes
gospel-centered Christian books, small group, and kids Bible
resources for discipleship, biblical
counseling, and missional ministry. For more information about Parenting First Aid and other releases
from New Growth Press, visit www.newgrowthpress.com.
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