The Love Dare for Parents

I’m honored to have been asked by LifeWay and Sherwood Pictures to partner with them again on another Bible study curriculum.  I’ve been very humbled to play a very small part in their ministry over the last couple of years, and I was humbled again that I was thought of to come alongside the latest project.

I was contacted about this possibility a few months ago, but I had to keep everything quiet until all the details came together.  Now that they are together, I’ve got to book it to get it done.  We are gonna need to get up early and stay up late to pull this one off – so that’s why I’m posting this – I would really appreciate your prayers!

Here’s the details about the new project:

Due to the success of The Love Dare from Fireproof, many had requested the Kendrick brothers to write something like that for parents.  After the powerful ministry that Courageous served to be, they took this challenge on.  The Love Dare for Parents is set to release July 1, 2013.  It is a 40-day guide for parents to win the hearts of their children.

The book is currently in the editing phase.  Even in its unfinished state, it’s incredible.  It really is a powerful resource for parents who are wanting some practical things to do to show love to their children.

Where I come in is developing a 6-week Bible study curriculum to accompany the book.  I’m writing it to where the study could stand alone on itself, or it could be reinforced if you read the book while doing the study.

Here’s how you can pray:

  • Illuminate the Scriptures.  The Kendricks and I share this passion: let the Word speak.  We don’t want to do a Love Dare study – that has no life-changing power.  We want to do a Bible study.  The Word is living and active and if you let it do its thing, lives change.  So, pray that God will direct me exactly to the right passages to use and allow me to teach them thoroughly through this curriculum.
  • Focus my thoughts.  There’s a lot of great stuff going on right now, but I could really use some clarity of thought as I work on this material.  Pray that when I carve out time to work on it, I would be free from distractions.  After much prayer and study, we were able to come up with a solid outline that works well with the book, so that’s a plus.  Now, we just need distraction-free time to get the study done!
  • Fresh approach.  This will be my 3rd project with the Kendricks (Honor Begins at Home, and The Resolution for Men Bible study releasing around September).  There is safety and danger in that.  I kinda get what they are wanting, and they know how I think, so that’s good.  The danger is we have done this before.  And we’ve done this on parenting before.  The Bible’s words for parents are clear and powerful.  But after 2 curriculums, the foundational passages on fatherhood and parenting are close to exhausted.  As I have prayed and studied, God’s Word still has some more powerful passages that need to be studied for this curriculum.  Just pray that God shows me a fresh approach for this curriculum.  This one really focuses on parents versus solely fatherhood, and I am wanting to challenge parents to show sacrificial love for their children.
  • Relying on others.  The challenge and the beauty for me is that I am not an experienced parent.  The challenge is I can’t share tons of my success stories and gleaned personal wisdom.  The beauty is I’m not relying on a person’s track record, I’m relying on God’s Word – that never fails to disappoint.  Stephen encouraged me to rely on the Word and also those who have gone before me.  Even as his brother and himself relied on others since they still have young children, he wanted me to do the same.  So, I might be needing some help from some of you!
  • Quickly quality.  Due to getting everyone’s schedule on the same track, we are at a break neck pace now.  The deadline is kinda crazy how soon it is, but I truly believe that with God, all things are possible.  So, please pray for some quality stuff to come together in a quick fashion.

I’ve been honored to have many of you pray for me before for different things in my family and ministry, and I would appreciate your prayer support over the next couple of weeks especially.  I’ll keep you posted.  Thank you!

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

From the authors of international best-selling marriage book The Love Dare comes The Love Dare for Parents, a 40-day journey of “dares” challenging one or both parents to understand, practice, and communicate Christ-like love to their children.

Easy to read and work into a busy schedule, The Love Dare for Parents is designed to “turn the hearts of parents to their children and turn the hearts of children to their parents” (Malachi 4:6) so that moms and dads can more fully enjoy and delight in their children while maximizing the positive impact they have on their lives long term.

Each day brings a promising key verse from Scripture, a biblical principle about love that applies to parenting, a specific challenge the parent does for the sake of their child, and space to journal thoughts and reflect on what happened that day.

The Love Dare for Parents even includes access to a FREE online parenting assessment, helpfully keyed to select material in the book.