The author's name John C. Maxwell had attracted my attention in the first place. He is the founder of EQUIPE, an organization offering the MLM programme which I had been following for more than one year.
I was only familiar with his leadership series and had never associated him with the topic of parenting. Out of curiosity and of respect for this world renown leadership expert, speaker and author, I decided to buy this book, even though its title seemed to have nothing to do with me.
I clearly remember that before I was leaving Thai Kuang that Saturday, I saw two Calvary Care Home(CCH) boys in the same bookstore. They and others were having an outing with Albert P. To them at that time, I was just someone who often appeared two hours at CCH in Tuesday afternoons to supervise their homework, and who smilingly said hi to them at the church on Sunday mornings.
Never had I expected that God meant this book for me to serve these children better later. As I desired to establish stronger relationship with them, most of whom had become teenagers, John C. Maxwell's sharing, from his parents' experience as well as mistakes of his own, provided and still provides me with biblical parenting skills.
As a care giver to the CCH boys, now I see them as they could be, not only as they are.
Here is an excerpt from Breakthrough#1:
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Model Growth as a Parent
Nothing is better for encouraging children to reach their potential than positive growth modeled by their parents. People do what they see, and that's especially true for children. When our kids are young, they'll do what we say regardless of what we do. But by the time they reach their early teens, they begin doing what we do even when it differs from what we say.
Parents who are continually working to develop their own potential mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically have children who will see that process as normal. Parents who aren't growing won't be able to guide their children's growth effectively. They can't lead their kids down a path they've never traveled.
When it comes to personal growth, most people fall into one of three zones:
1. The coasting zone: The person in the coasting zone often focuses on what he has done in the past because he's not doing much in the present. For him, life is a series of bare-minimum days. This person keeps a low profile. And if it's possible to do less today than yesterday, the person in the coasting zone will do exactly that. He doesn't want to hear about his potential.
2. The comfort zone: The person in the comfort zone may work hard but may never grow. She sticks with what she knows because it's safe. She may acknowledge that growth is a good thing, but she's not willing to pay the price to grow herself. As a result, she'll never reach her potential.
3. The challenge zone: The person who lives in the challenge zone is constantly striving to reach his potential. He's not content to live on yesterday's victories. Nor is he content only with today's successes. He's constantly trying to do what he's never done before. He's learning and growing every day. He knows he may never fully realize his potential, but that doesn't stop him from doing all he can to reach it.
You may love to learn and grow. If you do, I commend you and encourage you to keep doing what you're doing. But if you look at yourself honestly and find yourself in the comfort or coasting zone, I want you to know you can change and become someone who is growing and developing his or her potential. At first it may be difficult, but with each step, the process gets easier and more enjoyable.
Consider areas where you would like to grow, and begin reading books and listening to tapes on those areas... You can become the person God intended you to be, no matter how old you are or what your personal history is.
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If you want "to make a breakthrough in the way you think about parenting, having recognized your ability to create life-changing breakthroughs in your children's lives", you should not miss this book.
1 comment:
Nothing is better for encouraging children to reach their potential than positive growth modeled by their parents.
Positive growth modeled by their parents.
I totally agree.
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