Cleaning House--getting rid of the Me generation

As parents, we long for our children to be the best they can be but are we hindering them from becoming that by doing things for them and giving things to them constantly?  Why do we try so hard to make their lives easy?  How can they grow up to be strong adults if we are consistently treating them like children rather than helping them find the strengths God has gifted them with to use serving the world which includes their very own family? Our role as parents is to teach, not to do for.  If we don't change our ways as parents, giving our children more responsibilities, not rescuing them every time things don't go exactly as hoped, allowing them to determine our family schedules, and manipulating circumstances to insure our children's success just to name a few, we are simply raising a generation who wishes to be served rather than serve nor ever reaches their full potential.  Who is at fault?  In the instance of my own children, I am! 

I don't know about you, but I want my children to be productive, responsible citizens with a strong work ethic and think of others first rather than thinking the world revolves around them.  I hope I have been successful but only time will truly tell.  Kay Wills Wyma in Cleaning House:  A Mom's 12-month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement offers good, practical suggestions to help me (and you if your goals are similar) accomplish my goal.  There were no earth-shattering WOW kind of suggestions.  Just good practical tips and reminders. Mrs. Wyma decided there were twelve essential skills her children needed before leaving home, and she was determined they would have those skills by introducing a new task each month that would help them reach their full potential. While she doesn't consider her job complete after the 12 months passed, she feels that her "experiment" was well worth her time and gained her far more than her children simply knowing how to cook and clean, run errands, get a job,  complete odd jobs around the house, and host a party.  The book isn't at all about her children learning to do things for themselves so that she didn't have to.  She desires to prepare them for adulthood and the real world.  The added benefits of having a more close knit family, confidence, creativity.... perhaps even outweigh the essential skills.  To read the first few pages, see
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307730670/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img#reader_B007WKFM7C.
I thoroughly enjoyed Mrs. Wyma's book.  Her humor and wit are evident and makes it an easy and fun read.  I do wish I had the opportunity to employ some of her ideas years ago but perhaps it isn't too late.  After all, my kids are home for the summer!  We might just have to complete the crash course and introduce one task a week!

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and was in no way obligated to leave a positive review.

The Fiddler

Amelia Devries wishes so much to please her father who had an early ending to his career when he was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease.  He wants only what he feels is the best for her and pushes her to be the best violinist she can be.  Amish born Michael Hostetler feels the same pressure from his family.  They too want what is best for him and, for him, that means joining the Amish church.   Both are struggling for answers regarding what is truly the path they need to take rather than the path others think they need to take.   As a pleaser myself, I found it very easy to relate to both characters.

When a flat tire on a mountain road throws the unlikely pair together, they find a very comfortable friendship.  Even though raised worlds apart, there is an ease in their conversation and perhaps the opportunity to help each other find who God made them to be.

I have been reading Beverly Lewis books for almost twenty years and none of them have failed to leave me with a sense of  "all is right with the world".  While some readers may find that a bit frustrating to have a simple story without a long rise in action, I don't mind it at all.  Life is full of conflict and stress and so, when I read, I prefer something that doesn't make me tense but has a sweet interesting story as presented here.

For over ten years, Ms. Lewis has authored books based around the Pennsylvania Amish.  Having visited there, I could almost see some of her fictional characters working in the shops and restaurants we visited.  Nothing in my visit surprised me because Ms. Lewis has done an amazing job of painting an accurate picture of the Amish lifestyle.  The Fiddler is no exception.  While this book does appear to begin a new series, this story is completed in The Fiddler which I love.  I rarely enjoy reading a series that leaves the reader hanging to see what happens to the  main characters, sometimes having to wait more than a year before the next volume in published.  I suspect that Amelia and Michael may appear in future Home to Hickory Hollow stories but only as minor characters.

I did receive this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review and was not require to leave a positive review.