Clay and Sally are a fantastic writing team! I so appreciated this book which gives an intimate look into how they raised their kids in a verbal family culture. It's full of practical suggestions and tips, as well as personal stories. The epilogue contains testimonies from each of their 4 kids about how much of an impact growing up in a verbal family culture had on them which I thought was a great addition, and affirmation that Clay and Sally really know what they're talking about! (no pun intended!)
I particularly appreciate the "24 Family Words" appendix that gives 24 great discussion starters with a Bible passage to tie in and I can't wait to start using it during our family meals over the coming weeks.
Clay and Sally are quick to admit they are far from perfect parents, but any parent would be wise to pick up this book and glean from their wisdom, based on Biblical truth and God's guidance!
*I recieved a free digital copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Words matter. And how we use our words in our parenting really matter. As always, another great book by Sally Clarkson and her husband, Clay.

Wonderful book! Especially for parents who may not have been given such encouraging words growing up. I really enjoyed the journey of reading this book.

What a perfect book. Filled with so much encouragement. This might be my favorite book by the clarksons so far. Thank you for your words and encouragement. It really has filled my cup.

Sally and Clay Clarkson have done it again. This book is a breath of fresh air for parents. When you need the reminder to keep going and why it's important , they bring it home. Investing in our littles with our words is one of the most impactful things we can do and this book gives some great tools and examples of how to make a Kingdom impact in our home. Love it.

This topic of using our words to shape our families has been on my heart for quite some time, and finding this book and reading it has been an answer to prayer in asking God how best to steward my family. This book is thorough, engaging, enlightening and timely!

Another wonder Sally book! It encouraged and challenged me and I’ll definitely be reading this over and over again.

Giving Your Words by Sally and Clay Clarkson is an inspiring book about how important it is to be intentional with our words and speech to and around our children. I found many parts of this book to be encouraging to me as my son is now growing older. I appreciated the parts of the book that were reflections of what their own children appreciated. I find Sally to be very positive and encouraging and look forward to reading other works by her.

Giving Your Words is an essential tool for anyone in a family, to provide an atmosphere of faith, hope, and lifegiving power! I have read many books by the Clarkson's over the years, and this book is a culmination of their many years of ministry to families and parents worldwide. The hope expressed in this book will not only gift your family with tangible guidance in how to use your words to give life to others, but it also points you back to THE ONE who is the Giver of Words, the Word Himself, Jesus Christ. Being able to saturate your children and family members with the gift of encouragement and hope, is foundational in forming a firm foundation for one's faith. Being able to point all of our Hope back to Jesus Christ, is a redeeming quality within this book, and one that will ensure blessings in many generations to come! Thank you NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I have read a large selection of the Clarkson books, and when I finished Awakening Wonder in 2020, the only question that remained was, "How do you foster such a rich space for language?" This book, the next book from Sally Clarkson, answers that question in lovely writing and gentle illustrations.

A beautiful, practical book, it is another text I recommend for every family and purchase for friends. It is one that leans into language and the conversations that we have with oner another and fosters the health, flourishing, and gift of language from one to another.

This book was a good reminder of how our words make an impact, especially on our kids. I felt the first portion of the book was repetitive in explaining what the book was about. I liked the end of the book the most, where the kids share the impact of their parents words on them.

Giving Your Words
The Lifegiving Power of a Verbal Home for Family Faith Formation
by Sally Clarkson; Clay Clarkson
Pub Date 18 Oct 2022 |
Bethany House, Bethany House Publishers
Christian | Parenting & Families


I am reviewing a copy of Giving Your Words through Bethany House and Netgalley:


It is with words that we begin shaping the hearts, minds and souls of children.


As a parent, the desire of your heart is to guide your children to love and follow God. Yet there are so many voices are offering help and advice. Whose voice should shape your children?


Sally and Clay Clarkson suggest to readers that the answer is as simple as it is powerful: yours. They will show you how to use your own words to shape your child's life for Christ.



In Giving Your Words Sally and Clay Clarkson share with us Biblical principles and wisdom they offer, drawn from their years of raising four children and mentoring parents worldwide, will equip you as a word-giving parent.



Start here to gain confidence to personally and intentionally cultivate a verbal home, one filled with words of faith formation and spiritual nurture.

Then, when your children "take your words for it," they will hear God's voice.



I give Take Your Word For It five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Sally Clarkson is an influential person in christian mothers’ world. This book recalls the power of parents words in kids’ life. In a warm manner, the Clarkson couple encourage parents to focus on what matters.
You can’t go wrong with their writings!

Clay and Sally have a way of encouraging you right where you are. They give you hope for the future when you in the thick of parenting. They also point you to truth and provide helpful ways to raise our children. This book is no exception to that. What a helpful book!

Any book by Sally Clarkson I am all about reading it - it is just so, so good. Her voice is tried and true and her words are such an encouragement and grace to me as a mother. Giving Your Words not only is the culmination of decades of parenting (her children who are all incredibly successful and live wholesome lives as adults and professionals, themselves) but is also incredible wisdom about the power of our words, the way we speak to our children, ways to frame language, and how to speak life and humanity to our children. As a writer myself, I know the power of words - to tear down or build up, to speak life or death; It is about time we have a faith based resource for how to approach and encourage healthy, engaging, bright conversation in our households. I highly recommend it for any parent! I am grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to review.

What a powerful read. I wish I would have read this when I started my parenting journey many years ago. Words matter. They have the power to build up and to tear down. We must be intentional about speaking light and life into our homes and our families, and this is something I have been diligently and prayerfully working on. I feel so encouraged after reading this book, and have learned new tools to work toward leaving a Godly legacy instilled in my family.

I really enjoy this author and have read other books by her. This book gave me just what I was looking for which was encouragement in the importance of my words as a parent. She pulls from the Bible which is the best foundation to build from. I have the power in my words to build someone up or tear them down and this goes especially for my children. If you’re looking for this too, you’ve found the right book and the right author.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Sally & Clay Clarkson’s latest book, Giving Your Words is an ode to the life giving power of the spoken word. Consciously
speaking over, into and to our children and their lives not only shapes them, but empowers them with wisdom and confidence for later on in life as well as strengthens their own vocabulary. As the loudest voice in our child’s life, we need to be cautious of how we speak, what we say as well as when and how we say our words. In our role as parents, we can harm or help our children, so speaking wisely is key. Filled with practical suggestions to implement and personal accounts to inspire, Giving Your Words is a faith-over-formula, Scripture-rich primer for any parent who desires to speak truth, beauty and goodness into the hearts of their children.

Words are so incredibly powerful. They have the power to make or break someone's day. But do they have the power to shape a child's life? Sally and Clay Clarkson explore the idea of communicating with our children and how verbal communication has the power to form lifelong faith within our families. Based on Biblical principles and the Clarksons' own parenting journey through the years, Giving Your Words is an inspiration read for any parent wishing to pass on their faith and build up their family.

The Clarksons lovingly guide the reader in viewing the Lord as the original Word Giver. It was His own words that created the world, culminating with the creation of man. Now He passes on the privilege to us as we give our words in shaping how our children see the world and themselves. Sally and Clay Clarkson affirm that love is a verb. But it is also verbal... communicated in our words to others. The principles established in this book are meant to be guides and not formulas, providing flexibility for individual family cultures while still being life-giving.

This was a good title for me to read during this stage of life. Raising and homeschooling teenagers, we spend ALOT of time together. And our words and tone often veer into some dangerous territory. Giving Your Words is a great reminder that my kids learn how to communicate from me. Their tone and words have been modeled by my own. These kids are looking to me for approval, validation, encouragement, inspiration, uplifting, and so much more. How will my words affirm their place in the world?

Giving Your Words was convicting and inspiring. I came out of this read with fresh vision and encouragement to keep moving forward in raising my kids and to keep calling out all the gifts that the Lord has placed in them. I hope to one day look around and see that I enjoy a healthy relationship with my children through a vibrant exchange of ideas and words. This is a great book for any parent, or anyone mentoring children, either in ministry or within a family context. Simply wonderful.

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

As with the other books I have read by Sally I loved this one. Clay and Sally do such an inspiring and wonderful job of showing us as parents how to biblically parent. I knew words were powerful, but this book really emphasizes the impact words can have. Not just speaking but reading and writing as well. All the ways we experience words in our lvies is important and impactful. Reading the Bible gives us so much truth, goodness, and beauty. Yet we need to be careful how we are getting our words in other places as well. God tells us how to speak, and there are so many times God tells us to be careful what we say. Sally and Clay have really helped me to consider what I say and how I am saying it.

Here is one of my favorite quotes which pretty much summarizes why I enjoyed this book: "The long game of giving your words is to see your children to receive Christ and begin living by the power of the Holy Spirit, who will use those words to direct them, as they live by faith, to walk in the way of God's wisdom."