What makes life worth living? - Guest post by Chris Jeub

Last week I had the honour of being a guest blogger on www.jeubfamily.com.  Chris and Wendy Jeub are the parents of 16 children, grandparents and business owners.  They have also written and created a number of books and resources on welcoming children, family life and frugality.  


Today, Chris Jeub will be taking over the helm here at Larger Family Life as guest blogger for the day where he talks about their latest book, "Love Another Child" and their convictions behind writing it.  It's a great book, one I thoroughly enjoyed and if you haven't yet read it you can find it here as well as through other good bookstores.

People often ask if the cover of "Love Another Child" is one of our children. It isn't. The photo is perfect, though. It shows the acceptance of a husband and wife, their arms so nicely wrapped around their frail child. It is a perfect photo to reflect the intensity of our book.

"Love Another Child" is our most intense book. Some of the themes we cover cut to the truth of how society views children — and then gives a strong rebuttal to it. Unfortunately today, couples make the mistake of avoiding children, dreading them, fearing the prospect of parenting. Our book challenges couples to rethink the all-too-common persuasion that family life should be delayed.

Truth it, marriage, parenting, grandparenting — basically everything to do with family — these are the things worth living for. Jobs, degrees, travels, money — good things, perhaps, but they pale in comparison. They shouldn’t define your lives. Those who wrap their existence around that which is artificial and material are, in our opinion, missing out on the grand game of life. Family: this is what makes life worth living.

The cover of "Love Another Child" is Kendrick Rush Stauffer. He's the grandson of one of my hunting friends, Ron. Up in a mountain at 11,000 feet altitude, Ron received the first phone call from his son,
announcing the news of his firstborn grandson. My friend — elk hunter, Boy Scout leader, business manager, genuine tough guy around a campfire of macho rifle-wielding hunters — **wept** with joy.


These stages in life bring meaning to it all. These are stages no one should miss. These are the truths explained and defended in "Love Another Child".

Chris Jeub

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Today I'll be deciding which of my children I would rather not have had

And I'm going to the USA too.

Actually, today I will be getting ready for a photoshoot which is taking place this weekend and then I'll be off to the hospital for the twins' growth scan, so I won't really be in America.

I will be blogging from there though.  Later today I'm going be guest blogging over at www.jeubfamily.com where I'm going to be making a tough decision and trying to work out which of my children I would rather never have had.  Sounds harsh, does it?  Click over to the Jeub's website a little later to see what in the world I am on about.

In the meantime don't forget that there is only one day left to win a copy of Chris and Wendy Jeub's latest book, "Love Another Child".  I'll be picking two winners this time tomorrow so make sure you get your entries in fast.

And while you're here you can also enter to win a copy of our book, "Larger Family Life", which was only released this week and is still on its way to becoming available globally.  Both giveaways are open to entrants worldwide.



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Win! "Love Another Child" - A review and giveaway

Before you ask, it is not a child that I am giving away but a book.  Well, two books actually.

Too often we hear of the reasons why we shouldn't have children.  There is great discouragement and the reasons are many and varied.  Anything goes, from children being too expensive to being too demanding.  Or that the world doesn't need them.  Or that they'll ruin your figure.  Or that your house isn't big enough, you'll need a new car and  you won't be able to take off on holiday like you can now.

Once a couple has their perfect family of two children, preferably one of each of course, everyone asks if they are done and then the reasons not to have any more are reeled off.  This is how society works now.  This is "normal".

So what happens is that couple who may have been considering another child now think it would be greedy, selfish or downright irresponsible to actually go ahead and do it.  After all, people don't have big families any more - they don't need to, right?!

What if having children was encouraged?  What if somebody has sat down and told you that, actually, it is not only fine to want more children and to have more children but that it is also a good thing.  It kind of undoes what we've been led to believe.

This is exactly what Chris and Wendy Jeub have done in their book, "Love Another Child".  They have taken society's view of children being a hindrance and a disruption to an otherwise perfect life and have blown the reasoning apart, piece by piece.  They explain how children are a blessing, a gift and are precious and how, if you feel led, you too can accept them and offer encouragement and practical advice in a friendly manner.

Contrary to what some may think, couples such as Chris and Wendy and even ourselves do not believe that children are a right that everybody has.  Yes, we encourage you to have them if you want them and can love them but, as Chris and Wendy point out very eloquently, if you have no love in your home or marriage and you cannot love a child.  It's not a matter of simply having another child.  It's all about loving another child.

I can't rate this book highly enough.  I really loved it and found myself nodding along in agreement to so much of it.  If you haven't read it yet, I recommend you do.  If anything it will give you plenty of food for thought.

In addition to "Love Another Child", Chris and Wendy have written several books over the last few years including "Love in the House", "Love in a Diet" and two "Love in the Kitchen" cook books which are jam-packed with recipes and tips for filling yet frugal food.

You can purchase Chris and Wendy Jeub's books through Monument Publishing  or alternatively Amazon sell them too (both dot com and dot uk).  You can also visit them at the Jeub Family website.

However, lucky me has two copies of "Love Another Child" to give away to you thanks to Chris and Wendy (thank you!).  It's open to everyone worldwide and all you have to do is leave a comment saying you want to be entered to win and leave your email address for me to contact you on.

Oh and do feel free to spread the word through Twitter, Facebook or anywhere else you think anyone might be interested linking back to this post.  If you do, leave another comment below with a link to your Tweet or status or blog post for an extra entry.  You can also gain extra entries by becoming a Twitter follower or a Facebook friend.  Leave a comment for each thing you do.  Each one counts as one entry.

I'll be closing the giveaway at 6am GMT next Friday, 26th August and will announce the winners that day.

Good luck!

Edit:  A few people are saying they are having trouble leaving comments.  If you can't leave a comment (I think a lot of problems are in IE) then try a different browser.  If you still can't leave a comment email me your comment to enter or your extra entry methods to family@largerfamilylife.com and I'll put them on manually.  Don't forget to leave me your name and email address in your comment. 


The giveaway is now closed.  Winners will be announced shortly. 

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Subscribe to Larger Family Life and get the latest news directly in your inbox or reader.  You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter too!

Larger Family Life is also available on Kindle!