By Heather Lusk
As a guest speaker at many parenting groups, Marianne Miller noticed that audience gave their full attention when she spoke about raising children in a culture that has more than enough. Interest spiked even more after the economy took a turn for the worse several years ago, so she decided to collect her ideas in the pages of a book.
“The Gift of Enough: Raising Grateful Kids in a Culture of Excess” is the first book by Miller, a Zionsville resident whose children attend Carmel schools. The book is now available locally at Black Dog Books or through www.mariannemiller.com.
The book offers practical advice for ways that Miller suggests parents can help their children appreciate what they have and minimize the desire for more stuff.
“You can’t appreciate it if it’s too much,” she said.
Miller taught middle school before joining Crown Financial Ministries, which offers biblical-based solutions for managing personal finances. She runs a website and blog covering a wide variety of parenting topics and speaks several times a month to parenting groups.
Her speaking engagements brought her to Europe, where was concerned that the topic of excess might not resonate with cultures outside of America. She soon discovered that the topic was relatable to moms in many different countries.
“Our kids need to know that their joy will never be found in the stuff they own, so we must cultivate a family culture that is stronger than the false promises of materialism,” she said.
Minimizing or eliminating debt is also something she emphasizes and is part of her lesson.
Through this book and her presentations, Miller would like to give parents the tools to enjoy raising their children.
“As parents we want to bless our kids with abundance,” she said, “but they won’t recognize what abundance really is until they understand how much is enough.”
