Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
One of my favorite Psalms. :o)
In these kinds of discussions, why is the working assumption always that Mama doesn't want some herself?
The idea of chicks who don't "want some" themselves is just completely at odds with my own experience.
This family is completely self-supporting, so they’re just exercising their freedom in a what is supposed to be a free country. I don’t think it will catch on widely, so I don’t think we need to worry about the impact on society of excessively fast population growth. I’m much more concerned about all the crack and welfare addicts who keep popping out babies, who the taxpayers then have to support, and who mostly grow up to be crack/welfare addicts, gangbangers, and breeders of more of the same.
How dare they create these little parasites to suck up the resources from precious mother Earth!
/end sarcasm
The Duggars are indeed a BLESSED family!!
I understood that about 5 arrows fit in a quiver. Therefore, following the analogy, 5 would fit the bill. But, the real meaning is trusting the Lord to send the number of kids which He wants the family to raise. I know people who don't use birth control and only have 3 kids and I know people who don't use birth control and have quite a few more than that.
Or is it none of our business?
Yes, it is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS. I get very irritated at non-Christians defining Christian behavior and then getting mad at us for not living up to that definition.
Why aren’t welfare mammas with multiple kids to multiple sperm donors known as “quiverfuls”???
Would commenitng on those choices make it part of this writer’s business?
Although I cannot find the citation, one historian or anthropoligist claims that modern Greeks are entirely descended from Christian forebearers. The elite classical Greeks stopped having children and the Christians did not.
Demographics are the future.
I love these big families.
"Geeze Lady, I like a good cigar ... but I take it out of my mouth every once in a while"
I know a lot of families that are quiverfullers. All of those kids are the future conservatives of the US! Hopefully, the libs won’t catch on. :)
I know a lot of families that are quiverfullers. All of those kids are the future conservatives of the US! Hopefully, the libs won’t catch on. :)
Looks like a very comfortable retirement plan.
People vary tremendously in their ability to procreate. A lot of people just do not have the energy to even make and raise one child, barely enough to live, themselves. Others are fountains of energy, both for having and raising children. Most fall in between the two extremes.
Though it is seldom openly pondered, people seem to be inherently aware of both how much energy they, and those they want to marry have. A subconscious calculation of childbearing potential.
This begins with just appearance, males being adept at discerning “fertility beauty” in female body proportions, such proportions being indicative of degrees of fertility. Then personality and energy level come into play as well, couples measuring each others stamina and endurance in ordinary activities.
Much has to do with the “frequency” of energy as well. Some people seem to be designed for very different tempo in their lives. Some are grandparents around the age of 40, others in their 70s. Marrying someone with a different speed can be problematic.
And obviously, there is an age matching window for most people, which strongly limits the field of potential spouses, with a few exceptions.
All told, procreation isn’t easy.
I have seven kids, and I think I could find the time for a couple of more (definitely not in the works, however), but eighteen? I've read of a couple of other large families like this one, and think you have to be a bit nuts to have that many kids.
Frankly, I'm ready to enjoy grandkids, and wondering where we're going to put all the in-laws and grandkids when they arrive!
Do people with tons of kids bother you? Or is it none of our business?
Doesn't bother me, none of anybodies business, as long as they're supporting themselves.
5 kids here, BTW.
DING DING DING DING DING!
We have a winner!
Kids are definitely a blessing. Yet, there is more to the meaning of having a quiver full of arrows. In today’s world, we would think that obtaining an arrow is a simple matter, just go to a sports store and buy it. Back then, archers were always working on making arrows. It’s very difficult to make an arrow that is well balanced, has a sharp head, and with feathers perfectly aligned. A good arrow will fly straight.
Thus, the meaning is that parents who take parenting seriously, spend time and effort on their kids, are blessed.
I come from a “quiverfull family” - only seven of us due to medical issues but my parents had that philosophy. Me, I’d like 4 or 5. We’ll see. I doubt I’d want seven kids myself. I’m twelve years older than my little brother, it’s a big distance and I’d like my kids to all be close in age.
That said, really big families who support themselves are nobody else’s business and I’ll defend them any time. Except I feel sorry for the oldest girls. All the other oldest girls of large families I knew were overly stressed as mother’s helpers. I managed to escape that but...
It is none of the author's multiple deleted expletives business. Just as it is none of my business to wonder if the writer even has any interest in the opposite sex at all, if one knows what I mean ...
P.s., I define the 40s as "youth" :-).
Brett Singer, you are an Islamo-fascist Jihadist useful-idiot tool. What do you think this is, you blithering fairy, a garden party? THIS IS WAR. People win wars. People who have the courage to take chances, the courage to think of something beyond today's tv show or tonight's hookup, the courage to die. I've got five sons and three daughters. (Oh, darn we must be tax-suckers; better off the one who refused to do the dishes after lunch, and the one who listens to that Scandinavian thrash metal music ... just to be good citizens.)
They're being brought up to face the enemy with swords and guns and a bad joke, because the Scots-Irish know how to die, when there's no other choice. Black Jack Pershing is our ancestor, and Stonewall Jackson is our patron saint, and we crib our best lines from Jack O'Neill. Morgen rot, and it's a good day to die. If God is for us, who can be against us?
You're worried about the Duggars having too many children? The Duggars are going to save your pansy *ss. They know how to work, how to sacrifice, how to save, and how to live. They know what matters and what's trash. So do you, Brett Singer, and you can't stand it, because in your heart you know you're building your life on trash. The Duggars (and Anoreth, and Bill, and block-headed James) will save you anyway, because the people that are worth it always save those who aren't ... but you'll still hate them, and being you is its own punishment.
I'd offer you a Guinness, but you wouldn't appreciate it. Have a latte, you Morfordite.