TREASURING GOD IN OUR TRADITIONS

Treasuring God in our Traditions, by Noel Piper, with a Foreword by best-selling writer and husband John Piper, Crossway Books, 2007, 128 Pages, ISBN-13: 978-1581348330, $14.99

Best-selling author and pastor, John Piper likens his wife Noel’s writing to “velvet steel,” in her debut book, Treasuring God in our Traditions. She includes Piper family history, family customs, and biblical illustrations to emphasize the importance of traditions, in this family-focused, enjoyable book. John Piper’s poetry, inset throughout the book, complement Noel’s theme.

Scripture, and Noel’s thirty years of marriage and mothering taught her a Christian’s most valuable family tradition to pass on to their children and grandchildren, is their relationship with Christ. She writes, “We will not be here forever for our children, but God will…and only Christ matters.”

The author emphasizes that when our children “know they can depend on Dad and Mom, it will be much easier for them to learn to depend on God.” Our children can’t inherit God from us, but they can learn about Him through our daily life and family customs.

Noel asks readers to reflect on the traditions they will intentionally or unintentionally leave behind, and to consider whether the next generation will cherish them, tolerate them, or feel “stuck with” them.

In ten chapters, Noel explores what traditions are and why they are important. She divides customs into two categories—“Everyday” and “Especially” traditions. Everyday customs are daily routines, such as bedtime prayers, mealtime prayers, and Daddy’s night-time blessing. “Especially” customs are holiday celebrations such as Christmas, Easter, and birthdays. She writes, “Our ‘especially’ celebrations anchor us and our children in the harbor of our family, reflecting our true refuge—God.” While “everyday” traditions teach children what parents consider most important.

Scattered throughout the book are favorite family recipes Noel uses for holiday gatherings, such as “Breakfast Cake,” “Spaghetti,” and “Chocolate Éclair Cake.” Also included is a recipe for Play Dough to make a table-top “Easter Mountain” display for youngsters on Palm Sunday. Play Dough ingredients include pipe cleaners, toothpicks, sticks from the backyard, flour, water, salt and oil. The mountain is baked in the shape of a mound with an opening on one side that leads into the tomb. When Noel’s three-year old Karsten checked out the mountain Easter morning, he saw the miniature figure of Jesus on top of the Easter Mountain, His arms raised in triumph, and Karsten shouted, “He’s alive! Jesus is alive!”

She also includes an appendix on worship, a resource list, and pages to document personal family traditions. Noel’s “God-centered traditions, Bible-saturated family patterns, and grace-laden heirlooms” reveal inspired ways to reflect Christ in our homes and families. Her new release is a treasure house of creativity to re-read and recommend to others. http://www.crossway.org/product/9781581348330