Comments on: Marriage, Children, Love, and Responsibility http://thepreacher.cac2.net/2007/02/16/marriage-children-love-and-responsibility/ Fear God and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man - Ecclesiastes 12:13 Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:49:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Charles http://thepreacher.cac2.net/2007/02/16/marriage-children-love-and-responsibility/comment-page-1/#comment-496 Charles Sat, 10 Mar 2007 20:06:53 +0000 http://thepreacher.cac2.net/2007/02/16/marriage-children-love-and-responsibility/#comment-496 Hi Tim, Thanks for stopping by and for the great comments. Kudos to you for seeking to connect with your wife. Living unselfishly is definitely easier said than done. Take care, Charles Hi Tim,
Thanks for stopping by and for the great comments. Kudos to you for seeking to connect with your wife. Living unselfishly is definitely easier said than done.

Take care,
Charles

]]> By: Tim Hastings http://thepreacher.cac2.net/2007/02/16/marriage-children-love-and-responsibility/comment-page-1/#comment-497 Tim Hastings Sat, 10 Mar 2007 03:23:20 +0000 http://thepreacher.cac2.net/2007/02/16/marriage-children-love-and-responsibility/#comment-497 Charles: I had just entered the following in my journal: "Dear God, my attempt at living a selfish life turned out to be not such a good idea." Then, the Lord brings me to your blog! My demographics: white, male, 52,married 26 years, father of two daughters age 24 and 17. Oldest daughter wed Feb.07. I joked with friends when I turned 50 that I had finally embraced adulthood. Rearing children was often a time of retreating from adulthood as I busied myself with the activities I had mastered at age 16: chaufering and busing tables. I do believe I glimpsed adulthood while reading the novel "Heidi." I have read it orally three times. Once to my wife before we had children, and once to each daughter when they were age 8 or 10. I connected with another human being [my wife and kids] during those readings. And, I do believe that is part of being adult; being truly connected to another human being. Being a parent has lots of traps to keep the parent from connecting to others [read: chaffeur, busboy]. So, parenthood in and of itself isn't the key to being adult. It can become just another hiding place. My schedule for tomorrow is to connect with my wife; i.e. more practice on being an adult. Blessings, Tim Hastings Charles:
I had just entered the following in my journal: “Dear God, my attempt at living a selfish life turned out to be not such a good idea.” Then, the Lord brings me to your blog!
My demographics: white, male, 52,married 26 years, father of two daughters age 24 and 17. Oldest daughter wed Feb.07.
I joked with friends when I turned 50 that I had finally embraced adulthood. Rearing children was often a time of retreating from adulthood as I busied myself with the activities I had mastered at age 16: chaufering and busing tables.
I do believe I glimpsed adulthood while reading the novel “Heidi.” I have read it orally three times. Once to my wife before we had children, and once to each daughter when they were age 8 or 10. I connected with another human being [my wife and kids] during those readings. And, I do believe that is part of being adult; being truly connected to another human being.
Being a parent has lots of traps to keep the parent from connecting to others [read: chaffeur, busboy]. So, parenthood in and of itself isn’t the key to being adult. It can become just another hiding place.
My schedule for tomorrow is to connect with my wife; i.e. more practice on being an adult.
Blessings,
Tim Hastings

]]> By: Charles http://thepreacher.cac2.net/2007/02/16/marriage-children-love-and-responsibility/comment-page-1/#comment-495 Charles Wed, 21 Feb 2007 15:10:09 +0000 http://thepreacher.cac2.net/2007/02/16/marriage-children-love-and-responsibility/#comment-495 Hey Ariel, I'm glad that these thought resonate. Sometimes I wonder, you know? Basically, I never know when I'm stumbling around in the dark by myself or with a crowd. ;) Thanks for dropping by, Charles Churchill Hey Ariel,
I’m glad that these thought resonate. Sometimes I wonder, you know? Basically, I never know when I’m stumbling around in the dark by myself or with a crowd. ;)

Thanks for dropping by,
Charles Churchill

]]> By: Ariel http://thepreacher.cac2.net/2007/02/16/marriage-children-love-and-responsibility/comment-page-1/#comment-494 Ariel Fri, 16 Feb 2007 23:02:36 +0000 http://thepreacher.cac2.net/2007/02/16/marriage-children-love-and-responsibility/#comment-494 <i>I realized that it is quite easy to have a pleasant marriage and remain quite selfish.</i> I think you've hit the nail on the head. Whatever vestiges of "independence" that I was able to maintain in the early married years have been dying a gradual death at the hands of our firstborn. God uses children to smother the illusion that marriage is "an arrangement for my convenience." Not that I'm no longer proud and self-centered...it's just much harder to maintain that aura now. ;) I realized that it is quite easy to have a pleasant marriage and remain quite selfish.

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. Whatever vestiges of “independence” that I was able to maintain in the early married years have been dying a gradual death at the hands of our firstborn. God uses children to smother the illusion that marriage is “an arrangement for my convenience.” Not that I’m no longer proud and self-centered…it’s just much harder to maintain that aura now. ;)

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