Sometimes I wonder if everyone has the right to be a parent. Perhaps it isn't a matter of right but more of calling. Parenting is a ministry; you are supposed to raise these little people in a way so they will know God and be able to make responsible decisions about their faith on their own when the time comes. We make a big deal about people hearing their calling to ministry and mission work. Sometimes we talk about individual's callings to different vocations. How often do we talk about someone being called to parenting?
I think it is something we should consider. I am not suggesting that we should tell people who can and who cannot be a parent. What I am suggesting is that we take seriously the decision to become a parent (if a decision is involved) and ask ourselves where God might be in this ministry. That would be a great first step.
Here are some of the books mentioned in the podcast:
The Encouraging Parent: How to Stop Yelling at your Kids and Start Teaching Them Confidence, Self-Discipline, and Joy
by Rodney W. Kennedy
Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
From Watcha' Reading
The Great Influenza by John M. Barry
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
