I think the most unexpected and humbling thing for me was my own struggle with anger. The Most Unexpected Thing about ParenthoodĪs you think back to those early days of parenting, is there anything that looms large as the most unexpected thing about the reality of being a parent-good or bad? And so we brought Nicole into our home and then a couple of years after Nicole arrived we had a Houdini-an unplanned pregnancy-and so then we had three boys and a girl, for which we are very, very, very thankful and we can't imagine our lives without any one of them. We wanted to adopt an otherwise unadoptable child and after examination the best match for us was a mixed-race child because they were hard in those days to adopt. We read a book written by a lawyer for the Philadelphia Child Welfare Department called Throwaway Children, and it was just story after story of how powerfully and negatively children’s lives are impacted by adult decisions and we began to believe that our home was a resource. We felt with a busy ministry life that was good. But we really felt that our greatest contribution to our children would be on the solidity and love of our relationship that would provide the kind of security that they would need. We were married for five years before Luella became pregnant and then that first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. Although as a couple we felt it was really important to get ourselves grounded as a couple, to develop some kind of normal pace and culture of our marriage that was workable and biblical. Did you always want kids? Do you remember back to the days before marriage-or even in those early days of marriage-were kids always a priority for you and your wife? Okay, so it's been a while since they've been at home, in diapers, requiring all-hands-on-deck kind of care. And roughly what ages are they right now?įrom forty-two to thirty-three. Your wife, Luella, and you have how many kids?įour kids. Paul, thank you for joining us on The Crossway Podcast.

Positive ratings help us spread the word about the show! Full Transcript Welcome If you like what you hear, consider leaving us a rating on iTunes, Spotify, etc. This book sets forth fourteen practical and gospel-centered principles that help parents view their role through the lens of God’s grace, radically changing how they interact with their children.

Parenting book paul david tripp