"Lord Jesus, help us to change the world."
It's a simple prayer. But it's not always so simple to know how to raise our children to be world-changers.
Fortunately, we're not talking to ourselves. If we ask the Lord for help, He's going to send help! And so it seems, Julie Ferwerda's book, One Million Arrows: Raising Your Children to Change the World, is an answer to prayer.
To be honest, when I received the book (after agreeing to review it for the blog tour), I hesitated to begin it. From the first glance, I could tell it would be soul-reaching. Be careful what you pray for.
What does it mean to be a world-changer? What does it mean to be an arrow in the hands of God?
As Christians, we are called to share the Good News of Christ with the whole world. As Christian parents, we are called to train our children for that mission -- to shape arrows for Christ's bow. We know that His Love can change the world, and He will use His sharpened arrows to reach those who do not yet know Him.
The responsibility to share Christ's love beyond our own community can be overwhelming at times -- it's a GOD-sized mission! But the message of One Million Arrows, while certainly challenging in its call, is told with enthusiastic grace and love, and is full of inspiring examples and practical ideas.
Julie joyfully introduces us to parents who have successfully raised their children to be servants of Christ in a bigger-than-average way, and how those children have reached countless more -- specifically those with no parents of their own. Through Scripture and personal stories, she makes the way clear to open our hearts to orphans, widows, and others in need even if we don't have children of our own.
One Million Arrows is an inspired, encouraging vision of the amazing work that is already being done by arrow-shapers across the world, and a practical, Biblical vision of why and how we can join their ranks.
"Listen, far-flung islands, pay attention, faraway people:You can find more information about the mission of One Million Arrows at the website. All proceeds from the book will go to international orphan ministry.
God put me to work from the day I was born. The moment I entered the world he named me. He gave me speech that would cut and penetrate. He kept his hand on me to protect me. He made me his straight arrow and hid me in his quiver. He said to me, "You're my dear servant, Israel, through whom I'll shine."
--Isaiah 49: 1-3 (The Message)
4 comments:
I like to read books like this. But they sometimes give me the feeling that I'm not doing enough....*sigh*
I like the prayer you all pray together. I think I'll teach it to my kids.
I just saw this book recently and thought it looked interesting. It's such a huge task, to raise our children to "change the world".
Your little prayer is so nice. As I take my kids to school, I often tell them to "shine as stars (lights)..."
this referring to Philippians 2: 14-16. This is our motto verse.
shine as stars in a crooked and perverse generation!
Thanks for sharing your review.
Julie is a wonderful person; I know her from writer's conferences, and I remember when she went to serve overseas awhile back and how it impacted her, as it does all of us who are able to do so.
It is a huge task, but as with any other, done one person, one step, one arrow at a time is achievable.
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