Book Review: “How Many Times Do I Have to Tell You?” by Rachael Carman

You Can’t Judge This Book by Its Cover!

Don’t let the cute fonts and brightly-colored, busily-decorated cover fool you into thinking this is a shallow, feel-good-about-yourself parenting book filled with fluffy anecdotes and little depth. That’s NOT what this is. Rachael Carman’sHow Many Times Do I Have to Tell You? What God Wants Us to Hear When We Talk to Our Kids challenges the reader to pursue a more intimate relationship with the Lord by listening to the words coming out of his or her own mouth.

Rachael Carman’s premise is that God oftentimes speaks to us—His children—the same way (sometimes with the exact same words and phrases) we speak to our children. Throughout the book, the author demonstrates her thesis by sharing deep spiritual insights she’s gained through a wide variety of experiences she’s had as the mother of seven children.

Parenting 101

Whether we’re helping our son overcome lazy habits, teaching our daughter polite manners, or working with both children on sibling rivalry, Carman challenges us to prayerfully pay attention to what we say and listen for God’s voice in our own lives.

How Many Times Do I Have to Tell You? is a life-changing book. When you read it and take “the dare” mentioned in the introduction, you’ll see that what you think is for the benefit of your own child is often of as much, if not more, benefit to yourself. I definitely recommend this book.

 

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest, objective, and unbiased review. This is the first Rachael Carman book I’ve ever read, and I really did enjoy it. I gave it 4/5 stars on Amazon.com because I got the point early on, and I was ready to start listening to God in my own life rather than continue reading what God revealed to Rachael Carman about hers. However, that said, I gleaned a lot from what she shared, and I can see how it applies to me. I read it from cover to cover, and my spiritual life is forever changed. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”