Woven

Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn't Have to Heal From

By: Meredith Miller

Narrated by: Meredith Miller

In this inspiring parenting book, learn how to create space for your children to get to know God in a way that focuses on trust instead of a list of rigid rules.

Most Christian parenting books are ready with exact practices every family should follow in order to raise obedient children. In this obedience-training model, faith is a wall, constructed brick by brick, as adults tell children what to believe and how to behave.

But what if obedience is not the goal of Christian parenting? What if it’s our job as parents to instead help our kids get to know God and discover that God can be trusted? And what if faith is not constructed brick by brick, but rather woven strand by strand?

Much like a spider’s web, in which anchor strands and internal threads combine to form a unique web, Woven can help children anchor to who God is and have faith practices that are rich, textured, and all their own. Kids need space to explore the Bible, ask big questions, and even change their understanding of God and faith along the way. With Woven, families can nurture the kind of faith that can flex and grow, be broken and repaired. This is the sort of faith that can stand up to the life a child will live, the doubts they will encounter, and the questions that will come up along the way.

So many parents want to pass along their faith, but know that God is so much bigger than the list of do’s and don’ts they were taught about as children. They want to pass along a faith their child doesn’t have to heal from. Woven is the guidebook parents have been looking for. With a deep reverence for scripture and suggested activities to help your family grow in faith together, Woven is for parents who want to go beyond a list of do’s and don’ts and pass along a resilient faith based on genuine love for and trust in God.

©2023 Meredith Miller (P)2023 Worthy Books

Critic reviews

"The compassionate, experienced guide we needed all along as we reimagine faith formation with generosity and love."
—Sarah Bessey, New York Times bestselling author of A Rhythm of Prayer and Jesus Feminist

“Woven is for every parent who feels overwhelmed and undertrained—meaning all of us. Based on her stellar research and real life experience, Meredith Miller offers parents of children a winning combination for family faith formation: Biblical wisdom translated into everyday ideas that you and I can try at home.”
—Kara Powell, PhD, Chief of Leadership Formation at Fuller Seminary and co-author of 3 Big Questions That Change Your Teenager

“Woven took my shriveled, prune-like confidence in raising my kids within a healthy Christian framework and nurtured it into a big, fat, juicy confidence plum. If you are someone who is actively re-learning and re-engaging their faith alongside their children, Meredith's words will give you the tools and courage to have challenging, faith-based conversations with your kids, even when you yourself don't have all the answers.”
—Kelly Bandas, author of Rookie Mistakes: A Grown Up's Field Guide for Getting your Act Together

An incredibly hopeful resource for parents wanting to pass on a different faith tradition

I loved this! I grew up in an extremely conservative Baptist family, and in adulthood have struggled to let go of some of those cultural restrictions while keeping my faith.

Miller offers a gentle, thoughtful look at how to introduce our kids to God in age appropriate ways. The goal is not a “foundation” of faith (which can break), but a “web” of faith that can be stretched and strained and still retain its strength.

HIGHLY HIGHLY recommended.

God Centered Learning for Children

Woven is a refreshing and useful approach to God-Centered parenting that makes more sense than the puritanical tradition prevalent in the "Evangelical" or "Christian" community. As a parent of faith, desiring a child to know God, and come to faith, most of the resources for children and parents are woefully inept.

Thank you for the refreshing perspective. My only desire would be if a pdf was included to help illustrate some of concepts discussed. With an audio book it can be challenging without the benefit of highlighting or tabbing of a traditional printed book or e-book.

Highly recommend for parents of Christian faith who desire children of Christian faith to develop a REALationship with God and have the anchors of a characteristics of God to keep them grounded to that faith through the many seasons, and environments they will enevitiably enter.

Healing and encouraging

I have only one critique … the reading was rather fast and I enjoyed listening to it much more after slowing it down to 90%.

I found this book to be refreshing, encouraging, and healing.

Excellent!

Insightful, helpful and easy to understand. Anyone who is trying to raise children in faith or working with children should listen to this book.

must read

This book is a must read for Christian parents. Meredith gently guides us to examine and interrogate how and why we pass our faith to our children and gives us permission to let go of rituals and traditions that may not bring us closer to Christ. She offers personal insights and practical ways to live our faith with our children, even when we haven't got it all figured out ourselves. She promotes the dignity and humanity of each of our children, as whole people created in the image of God.

Loved the first half

The first half of this book was wonderful, with several interesting revelations. The second half felt like political preferences were being shoved down my throat. I couldn't finish.