When my husband and I became Eastern Orthodox eight years ago, I knew that I had come home. However, I wasn’t quite sure how to make my home a “little church” that reflected my new faith. So I did two things: I listened and I read.
- I listened to our priests, to my godmother (who is raising 5 beautiful children), to mothers in our parish who were older and wise than me, and to other spiritual mothers.
- I read as many books as I could get my hands on that might provide some insight into raising godly children. (You can read more about my Top 10 Best Resources for Orthodox Parents.) I read blogs, articles, writings of spiritual fathers, and more.
And they were all extremely helpful in forming my understanding of our faith and creating a little church in our home.
However, I wish I would have had Blueprints for the Little Church back then!
A Review of Blueprints for the Little Church
Blueprints for the Little Church by Elissa Bjeletich and Caleb Shoemaker is the most recent book put out by Ancient Faith Publishing. The book provides practical ideas for creating an Orthodox home that will benefit any Orthodox Christian, but especially parents of young children or recent converts.
Blueprints for the Little Church begins by providing a theological underpinning for and explanation of the little church within the home. Creating an Orthodox home, the authors argue, is really about raising saints. I love this quote:
“It’s not about manners–it’s about holiness. It’s not about ‘good behavior’–it’s about a life given completely to God in loving humility and peace.” -Blueprints for the Little Church, page 32
However, just telling parents that they should “raise saints” can lead to frustration if there is no guidance. The book, using the wisdom of the Church fathers, provides that guidance. Organized by the three major disciplines of piety–prayer, fasting, and almsgiving–Blueprints for the Little Church walks families through practical ways they can involve their families in the life of the Church.
What I Liked
Real Examples from Real Families
One of my favorite things about the book is the way that it uses real examples of real families. In every chapter there are several block quotes from Orthodox mothers and fathers about how they actually live out that particular principle (fasting, creating a routine of prayer, etc.) in their own families. This is exactly the kind of advice and encouragement that I need! It also helps readers realize that there is no one “right” way to incorporate Orthodox spirituality into the home. Each family is different and, therefore, their home lives will look different.
Quotes from Saints
I also appreciated the quotes from saints that were scattered throughout the book. I’ve even typed up a few and placed them around my house! One of my favorites was from St. John Chrysostom:
“If the man who buried his one talent gained nothing, but was punished instead, it is obvious that one’s own virtue is not enough for salvation, but the virtue of those for whom one is responsible is also required. Therefore, let us be greatly concerned for our wives and our children, and for ourselves as well, and as we educate both ourselves and them let us beg God to help us in our task. If He sees that we care about this, He will help us.” -St. John Chrysostom”
The Appendix on the Church Calendar
Finally, I also really appreciated the appendix on the church calendar. In this part of the book, the authors provide a short explanation for each feast of the Church as well as a sample craft that children could do. While I’m not a particularly crafty person, I did get some ideas for my church school class.
Who This Book is For
I wholeheartedly recommend Blueprints for the Little Church as an excellent resource for Orthodox families. If you are an Orthodox Christian or interested in Orthodoxy:
-the book would make an excellent edition to your home library and be referred to constantly as you create an Orthodox home
-this book should be included in every Church’s library and bookstore as a resource for parishioners
-Church school programs could consider starting a book club for parents in which families discuss the ideas in the book and ways to implement them in their own homes
-Churches could give the book to those in convert instruction classes preparing to be received into the Orthodox Church
–Blueprints for the Little Church would make an excellent gift for baby showers or upon a baby’s baptism
The Giveaway!
I’m excited to give away a free copy of Blueprints for the Little Church to one lucky reader! Follow the directions below for multiple chances to enter! I will announce the reader via e-mail in one week on July 1st. Good luck!
-Leave a comment below letting me know one thing you’re excited about learning in Blueprints for the Little Church.
What additional resources for Orthodox parents would you recommend?
(I received a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. All positive opinions of excellent writing are completely my own.)
(This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and purchase a product, I will receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. Thank you for supporting The Orthodox Mama.)
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As a fairly new Covert, I’d love to learn more about creating an Orthodox home.
I would love to have a copy of this book!
I would love to see what the book has to say about praying with toddlers. That is my biggest struggle right now.
As a mother of a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old, I hear you, Juliana!
I would love to learn how to be more interactive at home; also, I think this would be a great mom’s book club book!
It would definitely be a great book club book!
I would read this and donate it to my parish library, as we have many families with young children.
Great idea, Diane!
Sounds like a great book! I think the real-life examples would be especially great to read. I love hearing other peoples ideas and realizing that we are not alone in our struggles to raise children who love the Church. Thanks for hosting this giveaway!
~Karina
I am looking forward to the practical advice, as hearing real life examples helps one sort out one’s own way of parenting.
I would love some advice on being consistent, or how to pick up the pieces after a long stint of not doing the right things!
Really looking forward to getting my hands on this book! As a convert I feel that I will never learn all that I need to in order to run my “little church” properly. This book is a great idea and sorely needed.
My husband and i (and our two young boys) are catechumens. I’ve tried to read as much as possible from multiple sources, but I would love to have one solid resource (besides our priest) in practicing our orthodox faith as a family. I’m so excited they made this book!
This sounds just lovely. Thank you for the review and the idea to use it as a discussion springboard. I’m looking forward to the real family examples.
This sounds wonderful. It is so easy to get overwhelmed by all the everyday hustle. And then the devil has a very easy task of making everything that has to do with one’s spiritual life seem unrealistic or unattainable. Thank you forsuch a great opportunity.
I’m interested to see what advice the authors have to offer about incorporating the church year into every day life. I felt like we did okay through Lent and the Pascal season, but now that we’ve passed Pentecost I’m trying to think of ways (other than morning prayers) to keep our faith visible to the kids.
As a convert & mom of 9, I would love to read more about creating an Orthodox home for my family.
As a Church School Director, encouraging parents to take a part in their children’s Orthodox education by becoming the primary examples of living an Orthodox life is a huge part of my job. As a cradle Orthodox Christian, though, I don’t always see the confusion about praxis that those new to our faith or the practice of it have. This book would help me see common areas of confusion as well as having real life examples of how people handle this in their own homes. I’d love to do a reading group with this, put it in our parish library, or in our parish bookstore.
I would love to hear Orthodox perspective on how best to lead my four little ones!
I would love to just learn from Elissa. I love listening to her podcast and just want to know more of how she does it!
I would like to learn about how to help my friends raise my godson in the church
We have been looking at this book as we are looking at converting (our teen daughter has recently become a catechumen) 🙂 Thanks for your review & for this giveaway 😀
I’d love to learn more about helping kids to participate in church!
As a fairly new convert and new mama I’m excited to read this book and find out how to make it all work together. Sometimes it seems so unnatural and overwhelming. It sounds like this book takes it all step by step.
Wow this book sounds amazing for all. I hope our church bookstore will get some
We are new to Orthodoxy, going to our first liturgy this Sunday, so I am excited to learn anything. With three kids our house always seem so chaotic so any help in creating peace in the home would be great too.
I would love to learn about how to help my kids keep the fast, and get ideas for almsgiving with my small children!