40-Day Devotional for Parents: A Parenting Doctor's Call to Fill Your Children's Lamp with Oil through Prayer and Action

"Throughout this devotional, you will feel the gentle aid from one parent to another as you gain insight and advice from not only Daniel's understanding, but also from the beautiful counsel in the Word of God." - Jeri Hill, President of Together in the Harvest & Ryan's Hope

In his introduction, Dr. Daniel van Ingen shares how his heart went from soft to hard. During the course of hearing 1,000+ trauma stories, many of them involving children, his heart hardened and became calloused. His empathy diminished as he over-analyzed and compartmentalized. Out of finally realizing this emotional pain and the healing process of Jesus softening him again, this parenting devotional was born. In the midst of deep emotional pain and the tenderizing by the Love of God, Dr. van Ingen came to realize that he isn't 'psychological superman.' He writes, "While it's a process, my numbness has transitioned back to empathy. My hardness has transitioned back to tenderness. Life has a way of hardening us. The hard things of life have a way of building up callouses around our hearts. Hearing stories of evil over and over built up callouses. My heart hardened. And as much as I want to point to a completely transformative moment, I have learned that my journey is a process of softening again." Allow the Lord to soften you. This 40-day devotional gives parents focused prayer on the 40 most pressing areas of parenting. As parents, we may often feel like we are a 'psychological superman' or 'psychological superwoman' as we try to do it all. Then we are hit by tough waves. Sometimes it's a tsunami. God has a way of bringing us back to what matters most-the Lord himself.

Daniel J. van Ingen (Psy.D., University of St. Thomas)is president of Parenting Doctors, and a clinical and sports psychologist in Sarasota, FL. He has been dubbed the Sarasota Parenting Doctor for his work with families. He is a published scholar in the areas of anxiety, disabilities, and parenting. Featured on ABC, he is a national speaker and author of You Are Your Child's Best Psychologist: 7 Keys to Excellence in Parenting.