Verdict on some books

For your reference:

Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp: The best parenting book, hands down. Biblical and practical. I like Tedd Tripp because he doesn't take so much time talking about providing the best "shaping influences" for your children which parenting books can tend towards (I feel that this can often lead to works-righteousness, both for parents and children). Providing the right shaping influences is important, but it is not the crux of the matter: your child ultimately has the responsibility to repent and follow Jesus. I love his scripture-based suggestions for parenting methods as well. I would recommend this to anybody.

Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs: Half-way through. An insightful and practical marriage book which helped David and me to understand ourselves a lot during the first months of our marriage. The premise is Eph 5:33, an excellent Biblical principle. He is rather silent on sin, which I am not too fond of. A lot of the book is devoted to making the husband understand the wife's language, and vice versa. Practical tips for communication is important, but I think it is dangerous to ignore the spiritual realities behind marital conflicts. I can almost hear Dr. Eggerichs say, "No wife or husband truly messes up... they are just misunderstood!" Also, although the principle is excellent, I find the book a bit redundant. Maybe I will update this verdict when we are finished though.

Bringing Up Girls by Dr. James Dobson: Lots of social commentary on how evil this world is, and lots of practical suggestions for shaping influences. Some notable ones are stay-home motherhood, involved fatherhood, and teaching good manners. It was a good book to be exposed to, but again, I feel that it is another book filled more with man's practical wisdom than scriptural pointers for parenting. Not necessarily a bad thing, I suppose, since Dr. Dobson does have many years of experience under his belt. Strong on how to provide the best environment possible, weak on how the gospel should affect our parenting. An interesting commonality between Love & Respect and Bringing Up Girls: they are both by Focus on the Family. Hmm...