I don’t know about you, but when it comes to learning something, I want a teacher (or two or three) that speaks not only from personal experience, but from some level of success as well. Plus, I want an instructor that can model well.
For instance, this summer I tackled a sport that I had never tried before—kiteboarding. If you’re unfamiliar with this activity, the short explanation is this: A person using a board similar to a wakeboard or snowboard flies a huge kite in order to harness the power of the wind to transport said person across a body of water (lake, river or ocean). Think of it like a parachute on a drag racer—but instead of using the chute to slow you down, it’s meant to carry you along.
When I made the decision to learn to kiteboard (also called kitesurf), I quickly realized that I needed to seek out an expert, and not some novice who was just a step or two ahead of me. I wanted someone who’d been kiting for years and had the type of experience that made it likely they could kitesurf as easily as most of us drive a car. I found such a person in Texas named Petra (Petra, if you’re reading this, thank you!). I still have a lot to learn, but thanks to my expert instructor, I’m well on my way. Not only did I learn what to do, but I learned a lot about what not to do!
The same can be said about two books published last year by Focus on the Family: The Best Advice I ever Got on Marriage and The Best Advice I Ever Got on Parenting. Both were the results of one of those simple but profound book ideas: Interview approximately 20 people in the Christian community, ask them about the best advice they ever received regarding marriage and/or parenting, and then ask them to write about it.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I need to say that I was privileged to be one of the contributing authors on the Marriage book. But that has little to do with my enthusiasm regarding these volumes. Take myself out of the mix (and I’m the virtual unknown here), you’ve still got great advice coming from the likes of Andy Stanley, Gary Thomas, Greg Smalley, Lee Stroebel, Kevin Leman and Tim and Darcy Kimmel. On Amazon, the marriage book garnered a perfect score and the parenting book grabbed four out of five stars. Here’s what one top reviewer had to say about the former:
This was an interesting book that really makes you look at your own marriage and what it means to you. I loved the tone of the book and how practical the advice that the authors provided was. The book itself was an easy read and each chapter brought forth great tips for how to make your marriage that much stronger. I loved the chapter on Communicating How Much Your Mate Means to You. Each chapter was written by a different author which made the book easy to read and each chapter fresh. All-in-all this was a great book that added much to my own marriage and I know it will add to yours as well.
So, if you’re married or a parent (or praying to be), may I suggest picking up a copy or eBook version through our store at store.focusonthefamily.com.
Oh, and if you’re looking to kiteboard, look up Petra on South Padre Island and tell her I’m planning a part-two lesson (Lord willing!) next year.
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