There are a lot of books that offer us advice. That’s great. We need it. But when you keep pumping your mind full of suggestions and yet keep messing up, it can be demoralizing. In addition to more counsel, we could all use some more comfort. I can testify that as a father, I need the thrill of grace as much as I need the benefit of guidance

Most parents I know could do with a bit of good news. Though parenting brings many joys, it also brings its share of struggles and sorrows. Though parenting is a fulfilling task, it is often also an exasperating one. And often the source of the exasperation is the parents themselves—their flaws, their sins, their failures. Parents have a near-infinite capacity to feel lousy about their parenting and to limp along under the crushing weight of feelings of failure.

Adam Griffin has written a book for parents, but Good News for Parents is not the kind that is meant to offer a plan or strategy to help get kids from infancy to functioning adults. It’s not that Griffin sees no need for a how-to, or that he couldn’t write one. Rather, it’s that he sees the need for a different kind of book—a “how God” book. It’s a book about “How God sets you free. How God relieves your burdens. How God grows your faith. How God offers you peace. How God casts off what so easily entangles. How God made a way for you to be fully forgiven for your shortcomings and empowers you for what he has called you to do in your home. You don’t need just a list of more recommendations. I want to offer you some relief.”

This book is for parents who know they are flawed and who deal with the inevitable consequences of their imperfections. It is for parents who don’t always know what to do, parents who mess up, parents who are oppressed by self-torment and racked with guilt. In other words, it’s for all parents.

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