Heartfelt Discipline

If you’re a parent, your children need you to discipline them. There’s no debate about that in Scripture. They, and God, are expecting you to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” But there is one thing open to debate…how to discipline your children. What does the Bible really say? Is there a divinely-designed method, a promise of parental success? Or is there a better way?

There’s no formula for childhood discipline. No laws, no rules. God has provided a “way” that is better. It’s the way of life, the biblical picture of the path we walk with God. It’s all about faith, relationship, Spirit, and heart. As a parent, you’re already on that path of life with your children. You can lead them with three key principles of discipline:

• Direction—Guiding and showing them how to walk the path with God
• Correction—Getting them back on the path when sin leads them off of it
• Protection—Guarding them from temptations that could draw them away

In Heartfelt Discipline Clay Clarkson helps you understand what the Bible really says about childhood discipline. Drawing on twenty-eight years of parenting and his personal study of the Bible, Clay fully fleshes out God’s way of “path of life parenting.” It will change how you think about your responsibility to discipline your children. It will put you on the path to your child’s heart.

Table of Contents:

Preface: Biblical Discipline in the 21st Century
Introduction: Getting to the Heart of Discipline

Part 1: Heartfelt Discipline
1. The Heart of Parenthood—Finding a New Path for Biblical Discipline
2. The Heart of Childhood—Seeing Your Child through God's Eyes
3. Parenting by Formula—Correcting Your Vision for Correction
4. Parenting by Faith—Following the Spirit to Formula-Free Discipline

Part 2: Directive Discipline
5. Sympathy vs Strictness—Directing by Listening and Understanding
6. Encouragement vs Guilt—Directing by Believing and Affirming
7. Nurture vs Neglect—Directing by Perceiving and Helping
8. Instruction vs Information—Directing by Reaching and Teaching

Part 3: Corrective Discipline
9. Spiritual Correction—Correcting with Grace and Truth
10. Verbal Correction—Correcting with Wisdom and Word
11. Behavioral Correction—Correcting with Choices and Consequences
12. Physical Correction—Correcting with Authority and Control

Part 4: Protective Discipline
13. Protecting Against Unhealthy Appetites—Discerning What Controls Your Child's Desires
14. Protecting Against Undesirable Relationships—Discerning Who Holds Your Child's Heart
15. Protecting Against Unacceptable Media—Discerning What Captures Your Child's Imagination
16. Protecting Against Unseen Influences—Discerning What Affects Your Child's Choices

Epilog: The Promise of Heartfelt Discipline—Setting Your Children's Feet on the Path of Life

Additional Notes
Recommended Resources
Book Discussion Guide
Training for the Way of Life