In the Midst of Chaos: Caring for Children as a Spiritual Practice (Book)
Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore, Author.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2006.

In the Midst of Chaos challenges the idea that the cultivation of a faith life requires quiet, calm, and a retreat from the distractions of the outer world. Instead, it explores how parents can sustain—for themselves and their children—a life of faith in the midst of the turbulent, often overwhelming, and unscripted world of family life.

Bonnie Miller-McLemore, a professor of pastoral theology and the mother of three boys, borrows from scripture, child psychology, religious writings, and personal experience to present this fresh perspective on the faith life of adults with children. She invites readers to find God not merely through church services and moments of silent reflection but also in such activities as reading or playing games with their children and making decisions as a family.

Each of the chapters in the book explores one practice the author has found helpful in finding and cultivating the spiritual in the busy routines of family life—including taking children seriously, dealing with them justly, sanctifying the ordinary, and learning to contemplate amid chaos. She offers these practices not as a recipe for others but as windows into how families can grow in faith in the midst of chaos.

While Miller-McLemore addresses the spiritual formation of children by their parents, her primary emphasis is on the faith of adults. This book would be a good read for anyone seeking insight into how to live a life of faith while raising a family or caring for children in any other capacity.

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