Thirty years ago, Andy McQuitty, who pastors the Irving Bible Church in Texas, started writing down parental words of wisdom in five separate journals — one for each of his five children.
Covering topics such as relationships, faith, discipline, work ethic and even politics, McQuitty’s handwritten journals were written over some 18 years, up until the day his children went off to college.
Now those journals have been compiled, digitized and published into a single devotional format titled, Your Best Life Later, which the pastor says features deeply personal insights written straight from the heart of a Christian father to his five children.
McQuitty told The Christian Post that despite having written three other books, he never intended to publish this one.
He says the idea was originally inspired by his own father, who wrote him a letter when he was young about the life he envisioned for his son.
The book — which has both parents and young adults as its target audience — features practical methods for raising serious Christ-followers.
Using Proverbs 1:7-9 as the project’s biblical underpinning, McQuitty calls on parents to examine their own walks as disciples of Christ and how they can influence their children with eternity in mind.
Because people’s lives are inundated with various forms of media, Mcquitty says that’s precisely what makes personal writing so powerful.