Christie Thomas is the Christian mom mentor we all need. Over the years her blog and social media posts have offered me so much practical wisdom, and her authenticity is a breath of fresh air.
That’s why I was just tickled when I found out she was releasing a book, and thrilled when I was approached with the opportunity to review it.
Little Habits, Big Faith will help Christian parents cultivate a home of faith with confidence and hope.
Book Summary
Little Habits, Big Faith seeks to guide families is starting and maintaining simple spiritual disciplines to grow their children’s faith. Christie continually encourages the cultivation of ‘familial warmth’ as a key component of building a legacy of family faith. As well as empowering families in the wisdom of starting small. Often times when we seek to start a new spiritual discipline (Bible study, prayer, giving as a family, gratitude, etc.) We get caught up in the idea that we need to ‘go big, or go home.’ We buy a new devotional, with promises of spiritual growth. We set aside an hour every morning to pray as a family. We set an intention to sing a hymn before family dinner. And these all are good things, but the average parent may find themselves met with eye rolls, resistance from children and environment, and/or may feel discouraged after a week or so when they realize their well layed plans just haven’t stuck. Ultimately, they end up with one more unread family devotional collecting dust on the shelf.
Christie encourages us to scale back. Start simple, with habits. She uses the science of habit forming to help parents see where they can develop faith habits in their family life. Some readers might feel wary, hearing the concept of habits brought to faith. After all, doesn’t that sound like legalism…or mindless religion. But Christie offer tips and wisdom so that these disciplines don’t just become lifeless words, and rote Bible reading. But they become life-giving ways of being that grow with our children as their faith grows.
She encourages us to see our family faith as a garden, that we have been so entrusted to care for. Planting seeds, and being faithful to water day by day, so that roots grow deep and fruit is plentiful.
Things I Love
Things I have consistently appreciated about Christie’s teachings (and is evident in this book) is her emphasis on finding what works for your child. Yes! Some children will find joy in sitting down quietly for some Bible study and prayer time. However, many children need to move, and wiggle. Most have short attention spans (especially younger children). What works for one child, may not work for another, and may not work in every stage of life. She encourages us to realize that family faith habits are made to serve us, not the other way around. So we must find what our family needs in this season, and start small.
She encourages families, instead of purchasing the latest devotional, why not start by reading one verse at breakfast. Or saying a quick prayer in the car. Using the science of habit forming, she offers that we can start small and simple, making the habits sustainable. This also makes them easier to build on as children age, or grow in this season.
As always, I love Christie’s relateability. She does not shy away from the grips of parenthood, but embraces and shares the load with her readers, offering anecdotes as well as the wisdom she has gleaned as both a parent and children’s minister.
Tools I especially love about this book are the reflection questions in the back. I could see this being used for a parent’s discipleship group, as well as personal reflection.
My favorite part of this book is maybe the appendices in the back. They are full of brilliant tips for habit forming, as well as recommended resources for both parents and Children in regards to specific habits. Many of the books I have read myself and recommend.
Anything I would change?
To be honest, I really love this book, and would recommend to any parent. In a culture swamped with messages saying ‘do more, be more,’ this books holds an important message that sometimes it’s better to start small. Be simple. It’s what’s sustainable.
I’m really hoping a leaders guide or some sort of resource for small groups to accompany this book is in the works.
Baby Devotions 