The Shaping of a Christian Family Quotes

“The ordering of a peaceful home is not possible without the application of eternal principles. It is, after all, mostly little, common things that make up our lives. This is the raw material for the spiritual life. If we despise small things, regard normal household duties as burdens, routines as boring, rules too confining, we will never learn, nor can we teach our children, to live a life of holy harmony. This takes faithfulness in the troublesome details first of all, learning to do them well that we may make of them an offering to the Lord, for it is His work, after all, given to us. It is our daily bread for which we should learn to be thankful. Such faithfulness is the groundwork for all God may ever ask us to do.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“They did not think it a good thing to explain all of their reasons and actions to us when we were small. It is an unnecessary waste of time, for one thing, for the reasoning rarely satisfies the child anyway, but more importantly, it makes it difficult later on for the child to accept what God says without explanation. He must learn to trust the person, to believe the word, and to let the matter rest there, even when reasons are hidden, a hard but vital lesson for the rest of his life.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“Charity must begin at home.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“Love sees what ought to be done and does it.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“The price of the salvation of a home and family is sacrifice.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“When we give the first part of the day to Bible reading and prayer, we get our own hearts into tune with God and we can then work more smoothly and efficiently. It is like the tuning of an instrument before the symphony that there may be no discord. As we wait before God, He may point out to us sins that need to be confessed and forgiven, weaknesses that need to be overcome, failures that need to be corrected, and when these are made right we are ready for His use. As we consciously cast our cares upon Him, our minds are relieved of the burden of our own troubles and set free for dealing with the problems of our own work or those of others who may come to us for help.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“that the deck stewards of the old ocean liners used to tuck up around passengers basking on deck chairs) against the predawn cold, fell on his knees daily beside a threadbare old armchair in his little study to pray for his children. This was his primary duty, his priestly duty, and he gave it first place in his day.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“The process of shaping the child, as Kristin saw, shapes also the mother herself. Reverence for her sacred burden calls her to all that is pure and good, that she may teach primarily by her own humble, daily example.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“Down on his knees would be a better place to go. The One who fashioned the child and gave him to these two people is ready to give the wisdom they know they lack, if only they ask.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“When parents receive a child from the hand of God, they receive a life to be shaped and molded—most of that shaping and molding taking place, psychologists say, during the first seven years (and some say by far the most impressionable years are the first three).”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“On the other hand there is no higher height to which humanity can attain than that occupied by a converted, heaven-inspired, praying mother.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“The willingness to be and to have just what God wants us to be and to have, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else, would set our hearts at rest, and we would discover that the simpler the life, the greater the peace.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“Lateness is stealing, he said. You are robbing others of their most irreplaceable commodity, time.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“There was always enough money for unpretentious hospitality. There is no mystery about this—God promises it. The Philippian Christians had been generous in their giving to the apostle Paul, and he likens their generosity to “a lovely fragrance, a sacrifice that pleases the very heart of God.” So it always is, and always the promise is fulfilled. “My God will supply all that you need from his glorious resources in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:18–19 PHILLIPS).”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“My friend Arlita Winston tells me her method for keeping depression and demons away: sing hymns!”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“It was out of habitual rather than merely occasional early rising for prayer and Bible study,” writes Dr. Gaebelein,”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“My father did not push us to prayer; he led us—first by that consistent example of being a pray-er himself, then by asking the blessing (a phrase he thought more accurate than “saying grace”) at meals, and by gathering all of us together after breakfast for family prayers, as described in Mother’s article.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“Christ is the Head of this house, The unseen Guest at every meal, The silent Listener to every conversation.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“It is amazing how often children do what is expected of them when the example is consistently set by both father and mother.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“very seldom to us. If we wanted someone in another room or on another floor, we did not shout; we went where they were.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“If we had heard them complain, we would have felt deprived, for children are quick to pick up the parents’ attitudes to everything.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“God’s way of speaking to you and of getting at you will be through His Word. Dwell in it, therefore. Begin each day with a portion of it. Pray for grace to see when He is speaking to you, and for grace to adjust yourself to what He thus shows you. Do that and you will be a successful Christian and missionary wherever you are.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“Parents of young children (and older ones too, of course) should read the book of Proverbs frequently and soak up the wisdom given by the Spirit of God.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“Praying together for wisdom and standing together on all matters of discipline should be a rule for parents.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“Training must come before teaching. Before parents can train their children properly, they must first discipline themselves.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“In teaching young children, it is well to remember the words in Isaiah 28:10, “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” It is thus our patient God who has dealt with us; and so we must deal with our little ones, repeating often the Word of God so that it will be hidden in their hearts so they will “not sin against God.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“Lo, children and the fruit of the womb are an heritage and gift that cometh of the Lord.” How are we cherishing this gift? No time spent in this responsibility is lost.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“It is always possible to do the will of God.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“Ordinary work, which is what most of us do most of the time, is ordained by God every bit as much as is the extraordinary. All work done for God is spiritual work and therefore not merely a duty but a holy privilege.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith

“A Christian who is saturated with the Word,” he said, “is likely to have a calm, wholesome outlook on life; to be kept steady in the path of God’s will in neither joy or sorrow, wealth or poverty; he is likely to be a pleasant companion, not voluble in aimless talk; and he will not be overly disturbed by world conditions.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured My Faith