The Awe-Full Privilege: This Thing Called Parenting

By K. Craig Moorman

FROM CHAPTER THREE

For a kid, every day should begin with Once upon a time Every moment of every day should be an adventure. Today, during this first century of a new millennium, are we in danger of scheduling our kids lives away? And, for what purpose?
I dont know about you, but years from now, I do not want to wake up and look back and realize that I missed out, that I was so consumed by my own life that I forgot to live in the moment with my children that I raised my kids to live like mefar from the present momentand, that I spent so much energy worrying about my tomorrows and my goals and my ambitions that I failed to receive and cradle a most sacred calling, this privilege of parenting.

The Awe-full Privilege is a heartwarming and personal account of the joy of parenting. It illustrates beautifully the importance of slowing down and enjoying our children while they are with us ... and giving them the most precious gift of all, our time.

ANITA HITTINGER, Director of Risen Lord Montessori School

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 27, 2013
• ISBN: 9781449777050

K. Craig Moorman

Craig and his wife, Nancy, live with their five children, Katherine, Sarah, Luke, Jacob, and Caleb in Mt. Airy, Maryland, along with a bunch of farm animals. He is passionate about the incredible privilege and honor of Christ-centered parenting and committed to helping lead a revolutionary movement towards that end.

Book preview

The Awe-full

Privilege

This Thing Called Parenting

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K. Craig Moorman

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Copyright © 2013 K. Craig Moorman.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version®. RSV®. Copyright© 1962, 1973 by Oxford University Press, Inc.

Cover Design: Jessica Rose Guinan

Interior Artistic Illustrations: Jessica Rose Guinan

The cover design and interior artistic illustrations can not be reproduced without the expressed written consent from the author and artist.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7706-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7705-0 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7707-4 (hc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013900004

WestBow Press rev. date: 3/4/2013

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1      This Thing Called Parenting

Chapter 2      Don’t Fight It—Delight in the Chaos

Chapter 3      Too Many Things and Too Little Time

Chapter 4      So Wonderfully Made

Chapter 5      The Home Base and Beyond

Chapter 6      When Dogwoods Bloom, Wisdom Shines

Chapter 7      Persevering in the Privilege

Acknowledgments

About the Author

List of Illustrations

About the Illustrator

Notes and References

Dedication

To my wife, Nancy, and our children,

Katherine, Sarah, Luke, Jacob, and Caleb,

who inspired this book and have

blessed me way beyond what I deserve.

To my mom and dad, who graciously

persevered in their parenting and

left a legacy of unconditional love.

To my dear cousin, Diane Banta,

who understands more than most …

the awe-full privilege of parenting.

"And this I swear to you … Your child will live

within my care … And I will raise her to the Light."*

(*Jean Valjean to Fantine on her deathbed, Les Misérables)

As we pursue this awe-full privilege of parenting,

may we be so bold to speak similar words to our

Heavenly Father

… to whom our children ultimately belong.

Foreword

I first met Craig Moorman in 1983 on the campus of Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. He was at Earlham to meet D. Elton Trueblood, where I was serving as Director of the Yokefellow Institute and Academy. Our mutual concerns for church renewal, and how to more effectively impact our world with the Christian message, made for a spiritual connection that has lasted to this day.

Recently, Craig and I have been discussing his wonderful new book, The Awe-full Privilege: This Thing Called Parenting. Our mentor, Elton Trueblood, had written a book with his wife, Pauline, entitled The Recovery of Family Life, and he had also written The Common Ventures of Life. Both of these volumes emphasize the importance of the family in society, and how our own spiritual growth is intimately tied to our life within the family. As I read Craig’s manuscript, I was reminded of Dr. Trueblood and how proud he would be of Craig. As one who believed in the small book style, and the succinct sentence, Elton would delight in reading The Awe-full Privilege.

We live in a society where the family is in constant danger of dissolution. Broken homes … parents working two and three jobs to pay their bills … increasing demands on children in school, both educationally and socially, have all contributed to the negative pressures that families are feeling.

With Craig Moorman’s strong voice, the danger and the pressures are lessened. Anyone concerned about the future of the family and the future of our society, will find in these pages a Christian manual for action. Filled with practical advice and sound wisdom on parenting, this volume is an important addition to the literature of hope. It is deserving of a wide readership.

Dr. James R. Newby

Director of the Trueblood Yokefellow Academy

Senior Minister of the Church of the Savior

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Preface

Over the course of developing this book, I’ve been wrestling with a great irony: Newer parents, particularly brand-new parents, really don’t have time to read, especially fathers. At least, statistically speaking, they don’t take the time—it seems to be in our DNA. Certainly guys will read, but they’d much rather be out doing the parenting thing than reading about it, even if they don’t know what they’re doing. How do I know this? Well, because I’ve been a guy for at least a few decades now.

And, what if you’re a new mom and finally stumble on some downtime in your schedule? You might think, Should I read this book on parenting or go take a shower? I’ve been informed that most would choose the latter. So, even though I know the odds are stacked against me, I still need to put this material out there. Why? Because I am deeply concerned about the sacred institution called family.

Today is May 1—May Day—and as I write this page, riots are breaking out across Europe and have become almost endemic throughout the western world and even the United States. Rioting is one of the many cultural indicators that the institution of the family is in jeopardy.

Melanie Phillips, a well-known British journalist and author, commented on the 2011 riots in London that, while the problems are many and complex, the lack of a father is a major factor. She continued, Of course there are many lone parents who do a tremendous job. But we’re talking about widespread social collapse. And there are whole areas of Britain, white as well as black, where committed fathers are a wholly unknown phenomenon. Even the bishop of London, Richard Chartres, noted that the background to the riots is family breakdown and the absence of strong and positive role models.¹

What would it be like for a child to be fatherless? How might a child be affected should he or she grow up parentless, or without the full presence and love of a parent? Could it be that many children in our time and age are left as orphans because we—as the mom and dad—are so busy with our own living that we’re not loving our kids with the attention they deserve?

The family, as we have known it for thousands of years, is changing. And, for the most part, this change is not good. We find ourselves in the midst of a cultural war with many battles on many fronts, especially as the institution of marriage and the sanctity of sexuality is under assault and being redefined. There is an overall media-generated cultural disdain toward traditional family values, stay-at-home mothers, homeschooled children, and other more conventional family ideals. The role of the father is often mocked and publicly paraded as pathetic parody. In our urban metropolitan centers, upwards of sixty-five percent of families live in a home with no father present.² Divorce in America is on the rise.³ In fact, the so-called family unit is in peril.

In his masterpiece, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,⁴ Edward Gibbon identifies five major causes for the cultural collapse. The first is the breakdown of the family. Decay began in the family unit and spread to society as a whole. Long before the barbarians showed up at the gates, the moral fabric of the Greco-Roman society had rotted from the inside out. History tells us that nations most often fall from within, and this fall is usually due to a decline in the moral and spiritual values in the family. There is a pithy but profound saying that strikes at the core of the matter: As the family goes, so goes the nation.

But there is hope! As the darkness grows darker, the Light will grow brighter. There is a Light that darkness cannot overcome.⁵ In John 9:4, Jesus calls His people to be His hands and feet and to work while it is still day. I believe that this good work, in bringing Light to the world, begins in our homes.

What will be our response? The answer won’t reveal itself in the first few pages of this book. What I am proposing is that we begin with the basics and consider, once again, the great and high calling of being a parent. Only through diligent and faith-based parenting is genuine hope and transformation found. If you desire to be part of such a movement, please read on.

So, why this book about this topic? Why am I so passionately engaged and speaking with such visceral conviction? To state it simply, I truly believe that we are smack-dab in the middle of radical and revolutionary change, and it is not for the better. We are presently losing this war involving families—our families. As a pastor for the past twenty-five years, I have been involved in too many pre-marital and post-marital counseling sessions to ignore the evidence. It is more important than ever that we fight for our kids, stand in the gap for their well-being, and push the revolution of change in the opposite direction. Now!

Again, I believe the kind of revolution we need is one that is life-giving and begins at home, not on the streets. It’s time to shift the tide. At the core of this proposed insurgency is this thing called parenting, arguably the highest and noblest of all life callings. It is a big deal and needs to be shared by both parents, if they’re available.

There is far too much at stake for us to pursue this parenting business alone. Quite frankly, I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to parent without my wife. Of course, if this pursuit is or becomes a solo endeavor, then a whole different set of challenges will be encountered. The plea of single parents as they walk a tough journey of parenting echoes the exhaustion of trying to do it alone. Somehow, we’ve got to figure out how to be community to those whose station in life is more difficult. We need each other for such a time as this.

The Awe-full Privilege is not exactly a how-to book on parenting, as there are plenty of those on the market. Besides, I still haven’t completely figured out the how-to piece of parenting. I suppose that by the time my five kids leave the nest, I’ll have only begun to truly grasp some of the basics. (Interestingly enough, that’s about when the role of grand-parenting will kick in!)

Instead, this is a book that helps identify and address common concerns and experiences shared by nearly all parents. After more than two decades of interacting with my children, I’ve discovered two prevailing themes: a daily awareness of my underlying shortcomings and the daily renewal of God’s extreme grace. This combination has actually worked out pretty well. For me, effective parenting has meant trusting in God’s grace and leaning on the support of a community of friends.

Madeleine L’Engle, the well-known author of many children’s books, has said that a writer’s primary responsibility is to radiate hope, to bring healing, to say ‘yes’ to life!⁶ It is my objective that this little book will do just that: encourage us to say Yes! to this supreme privilege and gift of parenting, which is wrapped up in the faces of our children.

Parenting is one of the most common human endeavors on the planet and remains one of the greatest challenges. In truth, parenting will, at times, become a most inconvenient reality; but, through the inconvenience, we’ll discover new priorities for living a more authentic and other-centered life. It’s strange, isn’t it, that when we’re in the midst of intense parenting, it can feel very lonely and frustrating? I believe knowing that we share this universal experience with so many offers hope.

My fervent prayer is that you will be emboldened as you delve into these pages to discover common ground with other parents, earthy and fresh ground that is made up of challenges, joys, frustrations, holy moments, sorrows, and just plain real life. May you begin to prioritize what is really important by placing your goals and ambitions in proper perspective.

By the end of this book, my hope is that you discover a gem or two that might contribute to your journey in the adventurous work of parenting, and a greater courage to stay the course …

(May 1, 2012, K. Craig Moorman, Ocean City, Maryland)

CHAPTER 1

This Thing Called Parenting

"Yesterday’s gone, and tomorrow may never come,

but we have this moment