I read this quote when I opened up Timothy Smith’s book, Connecting With Your Kids: How Fast Families Can Move from Chaos to Closeness. From the very first page, I saw our family between the covers — he was talking to me. I’m the one who manages our family schedule, and it was the perfect timing to hear some straight talk from a professional family coach.

Smith uses the analogy of a runner finding the right pace throughout the book, which he calls “discovering your heartprint.” The four types of heartprints are the cruiser, the walker, the runner, and the biathlete. When members of your family run at different paces, you can see how it’s difficult to move forward together.

I think the material in this book is as revolutionary as Gary Chapman’s Five Love Languages, which is still on the bestseller list the last time I checked. People love reading books by counselors who regularly meet with families in crisis — we’re all looking for solutions, and it helps to see how others handle life.

I enjoyed learning how families all have different paces. As a mom, I’ve realized my pace has had to change in the past few years and sometimes it drives me crazy. I’m a “runner” — I like to move fast and get a lot accomplished. But the more our family has grown, I’ve had to slow down. Babies and small children get sick and have to stay home to recuperate; pregnancy can be nine months of exhaustion; and traveling with children requires days of planning and packing.

This book reminded me that it’s OK to operate in seasons. My main role is to help introduce our children to a relationship with Christ — even if they don’t become Olympic athletes, Carnegie-hall-bound musicians, or academy-award-winning stars. Do they know Jesus personally? Do they love Him? Will they obey Him on their own when they grow up?

Connecting With Your Kids is pefect for group discussions because it’s got “Parent-to-Parent” and “Parent and Child” questions at the end of each chapter. I’ve mentioned to several people this would be a GREAT book for Sunday School or Bible Study.

[This book was sent to me from Mind & Media as a gift from the publisher.]

I also put on my best Sunday-shoe words and wrote a spiffy review of this book for Christian Book Previews, which has been cross-posted on Amazon.

P.S. I must add:
THIS BOOK HAS AN ADORABLE COVER!! DON’TCHA LOVE IT?