Don't Make Me Count to Three

As a stay at home Christian mama with three kids 3 and under I desperately needed to read this! While pregnant with my 3rd, I was extremely tired and exhausted the entire pregnancy and got pretty lax on disciplining. Once my third was born I was in over my head. Many days I was in tears by the time my husband got home because I could not handle my 2 and 3 year old. They would not listen to me (mostly my 2 year old - those second borns are trouble! Lol). I felt like I was battling them all day every day and could not get through to them. I ordered this book out of desperation for any help in disciplining I could get. Within days of reading this book I changed my discipline methods, and seriously saw a change in both my kids! Ginger Hubbard talks about worldy forms of discipline versus godly forms and I realized I was guilty of all the worldly forms of discipline. It was so eye opening to me because I thought I had it all figured out and was doing it all right, I just couldn’t figure out why what I was doing wasn’t working. I started focusing on my children’s’ hearts versus just an external behavior change. The Lord did some serious work in me and my children through this book. I cannot recommend this book enough! - I also purchased the behavior chart that goes along with this book to stick on my fridge, I would recommend that as well. It’s been a super helpful tool.

When mommy hood woes strike this book reminded me what my purpose is in raising my child; not to control them but to steer abd guide them in righteousness. Perspective shift has to happen and in these few short pages I managed to acquire and glean skills that don't have me questioning "what the heck am I doing"....at least most of the time anyways. The Lords work for sure.

But this book offers SO MUCH valuable resources and biblical perspectives to connect to the heart of your child that doesn't result in resentment. The goal in shepherding your child to Christ is to align their heart to Christ. Just because we successfully get an outward obedience doesn't mean we've met the goal. And this book unpacks all of that and properly aligns your mind to be in line with biblical discipline with grace, love, and heart connections. I specifically love the clear, real-life examples of sins needing addressed, how they were addressed, and the scripture to support each provided by the author. It's been a true blessing in our home and others.

I just finished reading "Don't Make Me Count to Three!" by Ginger Plowman. If you are a parent, especially of anyone age 7 and under, HURRY and get this book. Read it as fast as you can! You will want to apply what you learn immediately. I borrowed this book from the library 6 weeks ago when a newly met friend recommended something else written by Plowman (that's coming next after I talk about this book). I had to renew it after 3 weeks because I hadn't got around to reading it yet. When I did finally crack it open, I felt discouraged in Chapter 1 when she laid the guilt trip on me ("There's no higher calling than being a mother..."). As I read, I discovered she only had 2 children, and I was like, "Hmph...peanuts. What does SHE have to teach ME? She should walk a day in MY shoes!" So I put the book down and moved on to other things (my reading list was very long). Since it is due back at the library today, and I didn't want to renew AGAIN, I picked it up yesterday to give it "one more shot," "just in case." I couldn't read it fast enough. Seriously. It seemed like I would read two pages, then have to put the book down and apply exactly what I had just read to the real-life situation yelling/crying right at my feet. The good news is, it is very fast/easy to read. I certainly had many distractions (I am not exaggerating--I could barely read 2 pages before needing to use something I had literally just read), and still was able to finish it basically since just starting yesterday. This book makes an excellent companion to Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. This book fills in the gaps and makes Shepherding a Child's Heart a little more applicable by offering more real life scenarios, as well as more sample dialogues. Don't get me wrong, Shepherding a Child's Heart is a very complete, excellent parenting book. But "Don't Make Me Count to Three!" is easier/faster to read, and can be applied immediately. I felt like many different (wonderful) parenting books I have read came together as I read "Don't Make Me Count to Three!" It was a refreshing reminder of things I have read in other books. It was also a great encouragement as it offered solutions and methods in a way that I can apply immediately. It certainly calmed down this mother's heart and changed MY attitudes, setting me back on the right path. We all need that from time to time. It seems like I need to be "reset" every Monday or so. :) One of the most significant themes I found in this book that impacted me was the importance in training our children the right way to go. Not just pointing out their sin and applying discipline, but actually walking them through the appropriate behavior. It is giving them a way out--a means of escape. Plowman writes, "I am teaching them to 'put off' corrupt and deceitful desires and to 'put on' the righteousness and holiness of God." Chapter 5 ends with a memorable illustration of this. Today we have done many "practice" sessions, not without a few giggles. Which is good. I also recommend getting the pamphlet "Wise Words for Moms". It goes along with this book perfectly.

If you are a parent trying to raise your children in the Word of God get this book. If you know someone who is trying to do the same or maybe you know someone who is in need of guidance in parenting with God’s Plan in mind; gift them this book! It is hands down an excellent book full of BIBLICAL reference to help parents aid their children in becoming the people God has created them to be. In my opinion every parent, mothers and fathers alike should read this book. Thank you Ginger, what a blessing your book is to us, our children, and our family as a whole! God bless you and yours.

Warning: Ginger is not against spanking, this book assumes that the reader administers spankings. If you listen to Ginger’s podcast “Parenting”, specifically episode 27, you will know that she does not recommend spanking for every family in every situation, though this book (particularly part 3) recommends and defends spanking, to a degree (you will have to read the whole book [chapter 12 especially] to see what I mean). Our family has a personal conviction against spanking, but having listened to the podcast prior to reading this book the references to spanking are easy enough, for me, to ignore, though part 3 did leave me pondering if my conviction is truly from the Lord or just my fleshly desires. I recommend reading part 3 prayerfully, especially if you are “on the fence” about spanking, and listen to episode 27 of her podcast. That being said: This book is filled with a lot of wisdom. I love what Ginger has to say about getting to the heart of your child instead of just trying to correct outward behavior. I also love that Ginger probes the heart of the reader throughout the book, there was a lot that was very convicting for me, personally, and there was so much for my husband and I to discuss in raising our children for the Lord. Ginger is also very clear throughout the book that none of what she recommends will work without the grace of God. She does not claim at all that these methods are the secret to guaranteeing your children’s salvation. I definitely recommend this book, as well as “Parenting” by Paul David Tripp, I also recommend her podcast “Parenting with Ginger Hubbard and Katy Morgan”. The “Wise Words for Moms” chart is another helpful resource (she includes it in the book but you can get a larger copy on Amazon or her website)

I found this book to be very well rounded and so helpful in considering the needs of our children and our own shortcoming as moms/parents. We must trust God and follow the principles laid out in Scripture. I feel like this book does a great job laying that out and giving clear reasoning to each step of the way.

I would recommend this to any and every parent no matter what age their kid is! It’s been so helpful to me as I’ve been around and helped raise kids my whole life but want to make sure I’m parenting my own kids with solid biblical reasons and not just because I’ve seen others do it a certain way. This author uses scripture to back up what she is teaching and encourages us as parents to help draw out the deep waters (the heart motives) of our children and not just ask them “why” as that often is a difficult or impossible question to answer before they’ve learned discernment. I HIGHLY recommend you get this for yourself and others! Very practical and good for pre-parenting years or 15 years into parenting!