How to Have a H.E.A.R.T For Your Kids - A TOS Review

Known for great Science curriculum, Apologia also offers some parent resource books such as

How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids by Rachael Carma, which I was sent to review.

From the publisher:

How well do you really know your kids? What has God shown you about who they are and who they will become? He has sent these children into your home at this specific time for His glorious purposes. Indeed, you have been invited on the adventure of a lifetime, a journey on which you will see walls fall, seas parted, and giants slain. You don't need special skills or training for this journey—you need only to seek God and hold tight to His mighty hand! As with so many things, the first step to having a heart for your children is knowing your heavenly Father. As you seek daily to share His heart for your children, keep this inspirational book close at hand.

This little $13.00 book teaches you through 5 chapters, one dedicated to each of the letters of the acronym, how to have a H.E.A.R.T. for your kids. This is achievable by Having a Heart for the things of God, Enriching your marriage, Accepting your kids, Releasing them to God, and Teaching them the Truth.

This came at a perfect time in my life.  It's as if God himself sent it to me.   I read "Though we have been given emotions, it is His desire that we keep them in check and rule over them instead of allowing them to rule over us," and I recall a less-than-stellar parenting moment from the morning.  Certain parts of this book are certainly convicting my poor sinful soul (and inspiring me to stick to those morning devotions and prayer time).

The end of each chapter has what the author calls a "Heart Checkup," a few questions to get you thinking about the things just read about.  Doing these little exercises at the end of the chapters helped put things in perspective and helped revisit the key points of each chapter.

I especially liked her reminders of the importance of teaching our children about God's Truth and that "this is the foundation upon which all other knowledge is built." Sure, as a Christian, I know that, but I think I've let that slip more than I would like and this book has brought to the forefront some things my family should be praying about and changing in our daily walk with Jesus.

The book certainly did not teach me anything I didn't know, but as I said at the beginning, it must have been sent to me by God and it was the book I needed at that moment.  It served as a mirror so I could really see myself and my family and see the states of our hearts. It served as an inspiration to do better.


I don't know that How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids would be the perfect fit for everyone.  However, I personally enjoyed it, was convicted and encouraged by it and would at least recommend reading the sample chapter available here to see if it would be interesting to you.




Disclosure: I am a member of TOS and I was given this product free for review purposes only. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. To see what other members of the Crew thought click the picture below.