Book Review - Peacemaking for Families

Kathy had a great post on her blog about Peacemaking class her children had attended and the great effects that were showing up at home. When Kathy writes something like this, I sit up and listen. After browsing the Peacemaker Ministries website, I requested this book through an interlibrary loan.

I read too many parenting books, but that's because it's an area in which I know I have a lot of room to improve. My favorite book remains Scott Turansky's Say Goodbye to Whining and Complaining, but I'm always looking for more practical ways to apply its teachings.

Peacemaking for Families is written by Ken Sande, whose wife Corlette authored the children's version (which was used for Kathy's kids). The book begins with a focus on resolving marital issues, a little surprising to me as that's not what I was expecting. However, it laid the perfect foundation for the next section, titled "Family Conflict" and dealing with children. I liked the consistent, specific steps that the book gives to teach children how to resolve conflict. Over the past several years, I realize how important it is to get to "heart" issues--it's not enough for someone to change their behavior just because they "should." I want my children (and me!) to change behavior because we WANT to, we know it's not right, not what we are taught Biblically, not the heart that God wants us to have.

Only a portion of this book dealt with children and families as a whole. I want to read more, and I just made an interlibrary loan request for Corlette's book, The Young Peacemaker. There's a curriculum available, which includes this Young Peacemaker book, and an activity book. I'm definitely interested, so I'll be able to see if I want to give that a try.

Thanks, Kathy, for your comments about this book, which I highly recommend!