Previous | Next 

CURRENTLY IN BOOKS
Useful parenting lessons from MCC workers

Sharon Johnson

Parent Trek: Nurturing Creativity and Care in our Children Jeanne Zimmerly Jantzi. Waterloo, Ont./Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 2001. 190 pp. $18.79.

For years, Herald Press, in association with Mennonite Central Committee, has provided resources to help us live alternatively as Christians. Parent Trek is another such resource, this time helping parents pass on the value of “living more with less” to their children. One would imagine that this would be a constricting, joyless book. Instead, the kind of creative, intentional parenting portrayed through stories, practical ideas and resources is life giving and inspiring.

Parent Trek is a very useful parent’s resource book that covers life with children. Each chapter begins with a short meditation, followed by a closer look at the topic, thought-provoking questions, anecdotes and small, achievable first steps for families. At times, the content within a chapter seemed repetitive, but this becomes a bonus as the variety of approaches makes the message of the book accessible for any parent.

Commissioned by MCC, the author is actually one of many contributors who share a common dream. Zimmerly Jantzi and her family serve with MCC in Indonesia. The real-life experiences of all the authors as they live counter-culture, both in North America and on the mission field, gives credibility to the suggestions they espouse.

I recommend this book as a resource for an informal parent’s class or small group. Those groups that have studied the Life Steps Family Plan would find this an excellent follow-up discussion on “Christian Community” and “Servant Heart”. It will continue to stimulate their own modelling of a life of discipleship in the most practical arenas of life.

Sharon Johnson is executive director of Christian Education Ministries for the Canadian MB Conference.

Previous | Next 

Last modified June 14, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
Masthead and usage information.