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(More customer reviews)There are few books that I have read that have hung around my mind and ruminated within my thoughts as much as Tim Kimmel's Raising Kids for True Greatness. This book is one of the most worthwhile reads available today. Kimmel's brilliant thesis dismantles the success illusion (wealth, beauty, power, fame) and simplistically brings us back to the heart of the gospel message: "True greatness is a passionate love for Jesus Christ that shows itself in an unquenchable love and concern for others." The qualities that identify a great life are humility, gratefulness, generosity, and a servant spirit. The brilliance in this is not that Kimmel had to mine through the scriptures for truths found only Greek lexicons; the brilliance is these truths are boulders that you can't help but stumble upon if your crack open any page in the Bible.
Have you ever heard someone conclude that the wealthy are blessed by God? Does that mean the lion's share of our population is not blessed? Our cultural filter has caused us to misinterpret prosperity with blessing. We equate prosperity, comfort, and a life of ease with God's blessing. Jesus did not say to the rich young ruler, "Just be happy that you have been blessed." Instead, Jesus redefined the man's life purpose and in the process showed that wealth has nothing to do with a life or true greatness. Our Christian culture has been tainted by our ivy-league mind set. Somewhere along the way, money, power, and fame has saturated the gospel that is preached in America; we see it on TV, we invite the wealthy Christian to speak to the business group, Christian CEO's retire to board positions for churches and para-church organizations. Often, the reason is the size of the checks they can write instead of the spiritual insight they can provide. Donald Miller, whose writing has captured the heart of new believers, writes in Searching for God Knows What "If I weren't a Christian, and I kept seeing Christian leaders on television more concerned with money, fame, and power than with grace, love, and social justice, I wouldn't want to believe in God at all." And we wonder why our kids have such a dispassionate faith.
This is where Kimmel shines. He addresses (us) everyday moms and dads and helps us disarm the success illusion that has worked its way into our parenting paradigm. Kimmel writes, "If you aim your kids at anything less than greatness, you'll set them up to miss the whole point of their lives." He succinctly shows us the difference between success and greatness with a 9/11 illustration: "As the successful rushed down the stairs of the World Trade Center, the truly great ran up." He enunciates his point by saying, "when it's time to bury our dead, we mourn the loss of those who were successful, but we celebrate the memory of those who were truly great." Kimmel then gives us the practical advice to "live large by thinking big." Abundant thinkers empower their kids to master fear and joyfully rest in God's limitless power.
Finally - the best part. Kimmel does not just give us a neat simple formula to raise truly great kids, instead, he shares with us concrete mandates found only in scripture that must transform the heart of the parent before they can penetrate the lives of our kids. This book is a great read for anyone - parents, singles, or grandparents. Raising Kids for True Greatness is a book whose time has come; a book that calls us to live out the great life Christ died to redeem.
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Sometimes greatness is measured by possessions or power and parents become preoccupied with raising "resume" and "pedigree" children. Yet true greatness is an internal evidence of attitudes and a heart known for humility, compassion, graciousness, and enthusiasm. Author and speaker Dr. Tim Kimmel identifies the three most critical and life-changing decisions that will make the difference. According to Kimmel, preparing your children to determine what they will do (their mission), who they will do it with (their mate), and who they will do it for (their master) is the greatest gift you could give them. Raising Kids for True Greatness will expose the shallow wisdom of the world, giving parents a road map to guide their children toward rich lives of eternal value and significance.
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