Woven - by Meredith Miller (Hardcover)

About the Book

"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."--

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"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

"A clear and kind guide for those of us attempting to disentangle our faith while raising kids in that faith. Meredith helps parents hand down a faith not based on obedience to a checklist, but trust in a God who desires a relationship. If you are searching for a way forward after deconstruction or disenchantment, there is no better co-pilot than this book, and truthfully, anything Meredith puts out into the world."--Erin Moon, co-host of the Bible Binge podcast

"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

"At last, an alternative to confusion and fear. Woven is the new classic we've been waiting for. Meredith Miller gives us practical tools, presents a clear path forward, and reminds us it's never too late to change course. I want to put this book in the hands of every Jesus-loving parent I know."
--Shannan Martin, author of Start with Hello and The Ministry of Ordinary Places

"I've never read a Christian parenting book quite like Woven - and I'm so grateful to have it now. Woven is a guiding light for our times and our real lives.... Woven helps us untangle Christ from culture and reminds us who God is - and how that can inform how we nurture and care for the faith lives of our families. I highlighted and underlined my way through this thoughtful, theological, and highly accessible book."
--Kayla Craig, author of Every Season Sacred and To Light Their Way; creator of Liturgies for Parents on Instagram

"Parenting is difficult and beautiful, and adding faith to the mix just makes it more of both. When I started reading Woven, I wept with relief. Literal tears. I didn't realize the desert I was in until Meredith Miller offered me water. This book is an absolute gift, and I will now aggressively press it into as many hands as possible."
--Kendra Adachi, New York Times bestselling author of The Lazy Genius Way and The Lazy Genius Kitchen

"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

About the Author

Meredith Miller is a pastor and a parent who has spent most of the past twenty years helping families follow Jesus. She has been involved with Fuller Youth Institute since 2007 and from 2014-2019 she was Curriculum Director for the children's ministry at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, Illinois. Meredith holds a Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary, as well as a B.A. in Religious Studies and Spanish Language & Literature from Westmont College. She is pastor of Pomona Valley Church and calls Southern California home.