936 Pennies - Review

I just recently finished reading 936 Pennies: Discovering the Joy of Intentional Parenting by Eryn Lynum. This book really challenged my thoughts on parenting and gave me the encouragement to make some changes to how I interact with my girls.

The author, Eryn Lynum, was given a jar of 936 pennies on the day of their baby dedication at church. Each of the 936 pennies represents one week out of the 18 years that child will hopefully live in their home. Each week, she would take one penny out as a reminder to use that time wisely. The purpose of the book, 936 Pennies, was to help parents see how to invest the time a child lives in your home in an intentional way so that when they leave the home, they are prepared to live their lives according to the god-honoring example set during each of those weeks.

Eryn presents realistic and practical ways of "investing" those pennies in a child. From spending more time outdoors and less in front of a screen to relying on God when fears in parenting threaten to overwhelm us. Through stories with her own children she shares insight into the ups and downs of parenting.

As I mentioned before, many parts of this book really challenged me. I know I'm not always intentional with my time. I give into my laziness and selfishness and don't take advantage of enough opportunities to spend quality time with my children. I've recently found myself saying yes to my kids more often when they ask me to play with them because I know that is time I'll never get back. This book was a great reminder of the blessing my kids are in my life, and I would strongly recommend it to any parent.

The main issue I had with this book was how child-centered it made the family. And while she mentions the need for Jesus in parenting, she still sometimes makes it sound like how your child turns out completely relies on your parenting. What a terrifying thought! She wouldn't say that, I don't think, but she could have made it more clear in some cases. (For more of my thoughts on how important Jesus is in our parenting, see this post.) In spite of that, I highlighted many parts of the book, and I look forward to seeing how I transform my parenting through the principles I learned.

Have you read 936 Pennies? If so, what did you think? Do you have any other awesome parenting books to recommend?



I received this book for free from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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