Each morning, the kids and I have been going through this excellent book, Know Who You Are, Live Like It Matters by Tim Tebow, and we have loved every page. I wanted to tell you about it because I think it is a powerful resource for kids in today’s culture.
Tim Tebow, a favorite of our family for many years now, has written this book to be “an interactive guide to discovering your true identity.” He writes,
“Nobody said your life would be easy. And the older you get, the more difficult it seems to become. Deep down you may know your value as a person isn’t defined by wearing cool name-brand clothes, scoring points for a sports team, or even by having a huge number of social-media followers. The only identity worth having is found in Jesus Christ.”
Yes! As a mom, there are so many hopes that I have for my kids, but this, “to know that they only identity worth having is found in Jesus Christ,” is the most important thing that I hope they can know about life.
Each chapter includes either a story from Tim’s life, or a story from another inspirational person’s life. For example, in this morning’s chapter, Tim told the story of the injustices that Jackie Robinson had to overcome to pave the way for other Black athletes to succeed. And yesterday we read about Eric Liddel’s faithfulness and how God greatly used his life. Each chapter contains a theme verse, a response section called “In Your Own Words,” and a “Something to Think About” section which gives an inspiration quote or a thought to chew on. I especially loved this quote from a few days ago: “Only life lived for others is worth while.” -Albert Einstein
Each chapter encourages the reader to think about how he or she was created by a loving God for very specific reasons. Tebow writes about the opportunities that he’s had simply because he has confidently obeyed a God whom he knew had a great plan for his life. Tebow has truly had such an exciting life, and most of his favorite memories are not on the football field. He writes that most of the excitement has come through serving in the Philippines and in serving the special needs community in the United States. The stories are so encouraging and compelling, and my kids and I are really enjoying them. More importantly, they are getting us to think about the meaning of life, giving instead of receiving, and seeing the value of each opportunity.
If you’ve got some special young people in your life, check this book out. Or grab a copy for yourself. I think you’ll learn so much just like I am!
A few other great books for elementary aged kids:
This looks like such a good recommendation for any pre-teen boy, homeschooled or not. I will be passing it on to some mom’s of boys. There is such a lack of good studies for boys especially this age. It looks like something my boys would have enjoyed when they were younger. I think it looks like something this mom of 20 somethings would even enjoy! I loved his book Shaken and have recommended it to so many people.
Hi Lynne,
Thank you for your comment and for passing this recommendation on to other families. You’re exactly right; this is a great resource for homeschooled and traditional schooled families. In fact, I’m kind of surprised that it has the word homeschooling on the cover because Tebow doesn’t talk about homeschooling much in the book. Yes, I think you’d enjoy it, too! Blessings to you!