Parenting can bring the best of days, when all the kids are healthy & happy—like LA in the picture above. And parenting can bring the hardest of days.
It is a tremendous privilege & calling given to many couples. But its costs are high.
Tedd Tripp has said: “Parenting is your primary calling. Parenting will mean that you can’t do all the things that you could otherwise do. It will affect your golf handicap. It will mean your home does not look like a picture from Better Homes & Gardens. It will impact your career & ascent on the corporate ladder. It will alter the kind of friendships you will be available to pursue. It will influence the kind of ministry you are able to pursue. It will modify the amount of time you have bowling, hunting, television, or how many books you read. It will mean that you can’t develop every interest that comes along. The costs are high.”
On Sunday, we recommended two books to parents.
Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp is a wonderful introduction to the overall objectives & goals for parenting. It is an invaluable resource & a must-read for parentings (in Walt’s opinion). It is highly recommended for young parents but is beneficial to all.
Age of Opportunity by Paul Tripp (Tedd’s younger-but-also-mustached-brother) is a very helpful book for parenting teens. Rather than seeing it as a season to dread, Paul encourages parents to see it as a season of opportunity, even though parenting day in & day out looks quite different.
May the Lord help us as we seek to raise up the next generation to love & follow Jesus!