Dear Mr. Thomas,

I recently borrowed your book Sacred Parenting from our school resource center. I am an avid reader and thought that the book looked interesting. I had no idea what God had in store for me when he placed it in my hands.

I wanted to thank you for the path you have chosen. Thank you because it has given me the opportunity to see parenting as it is meant to be. Not the way the world conditions us to see it.

I have a phenomonal child who overwhelms me with challenges and awe at the same time. Thank you because through your book- God could speak to me over and over again. I have a special little leather diary where I keep favorite verses, quotes and highlights from important books. I have taken so many notes from this book that it is taking me alot longer to actually read it than my usual inhaling of a book. But this book isn't like that----you have to sip it and take breaths between the sobbing and praise!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

M.P.

Hello, mr. thomas. i just wanted to tell you how much i love your book, Sacred Parenting. i stayed up almost all last night reading your book and cannot stop talking about it to my husband this morning. we are on a overnight get-away right now.

i am a mother of three boys and my husband is the spiritual formations pastor of a multi-ethnic church... i am also a coach for our church's mothers ministry (like mops). all this to say that i was in need of much rest but last night... the first night i am away from my boys overnight in years, i could not put this book down. (thanks a lot)

i especially loved your chapter on sacrifice. i appreciate the perspective you give to think generationally about our families. the chapter on anger--wow! just that morning i was in a fit because they were dumping cereal here and spilling chocolate milk there... and when i got mad at my three year old, he was all, "mad, mad, mad. mommy is mad at everybody."

after my third child, i really got tired of "how-to" books on parenting that just left me feeling more guilty than anything else and so what an encouragement your book has been to me. don't worry i plan on rereading it... more slowly. ;) my husband is also a big fan of thomas kelley and trueblood. so many things in your book made me almost say out loud, i want to be friends with gary and lisa. then when i read about your pacific rim group too i thought we should definitely invite you to speak at our mostly asian church. i will be contacting your center for evangelical spirituality soon for more information.

thank you again and god bless you for the example you are setting for your children and other parents.

blessings, kate
California

Dear Gary -

I have finished reading your latest and I LOVE it! Every page there was a fresh insight into the season of parenting I am in currently (2 1/2 yr old boy and 7 month old girl). My only regret is that I did not get to hear you speak when you were in Holland, my hometown, recently. Some friends heard you and said you were excellent, both on Saturday and at the Sunday service.

So, I am recommending your book all over - and am making my husband read it too! Hope you are well and that you ministry continues to grow...when your taping on Focus on the Family hits (Sept?), that will be big. I am looking forward to hearing that broadcast.

Best wishes, Jessica
Michigan

Dear Gary,

I just wanted to thank you so much for your books Sacred Marriage andSacred Parenting. I have to say they are the best books I've read on thesetopics to date...and we have boxes full! :)

I am married to a wonderful Christian man and would not trade him foranyone on earth. Our marriage is an example to the many students he works within youth ministry. Sometimes, our home feels like a fish bowl, but Ifigure if we can give these kids an example of what a healthy marriage and family should look like, then that is a great gift we can offer--even if theytake nothing else we've tried to teach them.

I was so encouraged by what you shared. Specifically, the way you "tellit like it is" in that marriage can turn into a Midwest interstate...Ithought I was the only one who felt that way, and was afraid to speak of it to anyone because I thought folks would think my marriage is in trouble. Sometimes, each day can blend together because of the sameness, but I'velearned (with your help) to embrace that and actually seek it--it offersso much stability! We've just moved across the country and I'm longing for"sameness" to set in. :) It was wonderful to be reminded that samenessis not a bad thing.

Also, I was very encouraged to read how you describe taking care ofchildren as offering clothes, food and friendship to Jesus. In my heart ofhearts, I know taking care of our two children is the most important thing I canand will ever do, and I've never questioned that. But, truth be told, Ifeel as though every working mom out there looks down her nose wondering,"What can she possibly do all day?" What they consider "nothing" (smelling flowers, jumping in puddles, running "races") I consider to be of utmost
importance--building solid relationships with our two girls (20 months and 5 months). Your words helped me to mentally grasp a biblical foundationto stand on when Satan attacks me with the question above.

All in all, I just want to send a huge THANKS to you. Keep up the great work!!

Kate
Michigan

WOW! Gary, this was such an awesome book! I've talked it up to lots of people. I hope they buy a copy. The Lord really used the first half to speak to me about fear. I sensed a fear theme in several chapters-- it may have been how God wanted ME to read it. That may not have been your intent. He certainly has the ability to impact each person's experience with the book in an intimate and personally relevant way!

I loved the story about the little boy and the dad with the cookies! I cried as I read that. I felt truly loved and embraced by the Father for my efforts in parenting. I felt released from all the times I have "messed it up". What a tender picture of God's view of our earthly attempts in parenting...

I was finally able to finish the book this week. The Leaving chapter is obviously very poignant in my life. The comment on shifting from control to influence was well taken. Now, we'll see if I can actually implement it! The reference to trusting our child's driving ability but that we can't control the other cars really hit home!!!

Thank you for writing (with God's grace) such an inspiring and comforting book.

Donna

Dear Gary,

Thank you so much for Sacred Parenting. I am a first-time mom to a spirited eight month old. Oh, how life has changed! Every chapter of your book had me talking to myself ("hhmmmmm", "yes, yes!"), laughing
or crying. I'm still reading my husband sections at breakfast (which is taking a while since it's hard to do that while also juggling food and a curious Samuel:-) It has been months since I've read a book that hit me this profoundly. It is exactly what I needed during this season of tremendous joy and constant change.

Thank you so much for your honesty and humor. Please keep the books coming!

In Him, Janet

Dear Mr. Thomas,

Just wanted to express how very much I have enjoyed reading Sacred Parenting. I lead a small group of parents with special needs children at our Methodist church in Sugar Land, Texas (Parkway United Methodist Church). We were looking for a book to study this year as part of our time together once a month. That is how I found your book. I've turned it into a chapter by chapter study with questions for us to consider.

Sincerely, A.K.

Dear Mr. Thomas,

I have just about finished reading your newest (that I know of) book – “Sacred Parenting”, and it has deeply impacted me. You might think it strange that I would even bother, since I am 66 years old, no kids at home, and although we have seven wonderful grandchildren and one brand new GREAT-grandchild, none live in our town. But I heard you on Focus on the Family. Liked what I heard and thought I might be able to pass along some good advice by reading it. I must tell you, this book has given me great comfort and relief. I would also like to buy more copies of this “Sacred Parenting” for all my kids and a few good friends.

Thank you so much for your insight, your transparency, and for caring enough to write such thought provoking materials. I will treasure this book, and will be recommending it to my church family! May the Lord be with you and your family!

“Red”
Texas

Dear Gary,

I just finished your book, Sacred Parenting. All I can say is that I wish Iwould have discovered it much earlier in my career as a parent. My daughteris now 25, we adopted her when she was 5. In order to more properly parenther, I needed to get myself 'right' with God. Now I can see that so manystruggles that we had were due to my broken personality and her even more
broken personality. Somebody needed God! We BOTH needed God - He was therebut we weren't listening to Him. We were trying to do it our way. Soundfamiliar?

I highly recommend your book to all parents, especially those that are juststarting the journey. I have two nieces that are both expecting their firstchildren and I already know what my gifts to them will be. Thanks for making my shopping easier!

Sincerely,V.H.

Hi Gary,

I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your gift of writing. I've read all of your books and just finished "Sacred Parenting" last night. My husband and I lead a growth group made up of couples with teens and pre-teens and I am going to recommend that we do this book as our fall study. So many of your phrases struck a chord in me--it's rare for me to go back and re-read passages as I'm going through a book, but with your books I often get a feeling of "Wow! I need to read that again!" You do have an exceptional literary style, and I appreciate the fact that you are sensitive to single parents and blended families in your writing.

My husband is not a reader by any stretch of the imagination (although he IS a long-distance runner, so you two have something in common)! We got married a year ago and are "blending" a family of two 14-year-olds and two 11-year-olds (3 girls, 1 boy). As part of our pre-marital counseling our pastor had us read "Sacred Marriage" together. We both got so much out of the book as we studied the chapters together each Sunday evening.

After reading "Sacred Pathways" I told my husband we should do the book as a couple over the summer months. He reluctantly agreed (knowing this meant disciplining himself to read) and started the first chapter last night. After reading a few pages he put down the book and said, "How does this guy know exactly what I'm thinking and how to actually say it on paper?! I've been trying to tell people this for years, but I just haven't known how to put it in words." He's hooked! I can't wait 'til we start comparing our diverse worship styles through our chosen pathways (I come from a conservative Methodist background and he comes from a Pentecostal-Charismatic background--believe me, we've already had quite a few "intense fellowships" over theological issues!).

I'm sure all of this is way more than you needed to know, but I just wanted you to know how you've touched our lives with your Biblical teachings. Your scholarly quotes interweaved with scripture and anecdotes come across in such a humble, down-to-earth manner. I laugh and cry when I read your books--but mostly I think, "Wow--I've never thought of it that way before", and, to me, that is the hallmark of a great writer.

Thank you, L.L.
Pennsylvania

Hey Gary,

Just picked up your books on Sacred Marriage and Parenting. They were in Borders! SCORE! BIG TIME! Your work is so approachable and so profound. Thanks for adding your voice which thankfully overshadows the abundance of fast fix, how to and do-it-yourself Christian nothing happened before me Jesus books out there. Keep writing.

D.R.
Virginia

WOW! Gary, this was such an awesome book! I've talked it up to lots of people. I hope they buy a copy. The Lord really used the first half to speak to me about fear. I have been fighting the enemy on fear regarding [our daughter] and her move to …. I sensed a fear theme in several chapters-- it may have been how God wanted ME to read it. That may not have been your intent. He certainly has the ability to impact each person's experience with the book in an intimate and personally relevant way!

I loved the story about the little boy and the dad with the cookies! I cried as I read that. I felt truly loved and embraced by the Father for my efforts in parenting. I felt released from all the times I have "messed it up". What a tender picture of God's view of our earthly attempts in parenting...

I was finally able to finish the book this week. The Leaving chapter is obviously very poignant in my life. We leave [our daughter] at ESU on August 21. The comment on shifting from control to influence was well taken. Now, we'll see if I can actually implement it! The reference to trusting our child's driving ability but that we can't control the other cars really hit home!!!

I even identified with your desire to be there for Graham when the Lord takes you home. [My daughter] and I talk about everything and I, too, want to be there to help her cope with my death...

Thank you for writing (with God's grace) such an inspiring and comforting book.

Donna