Wonderful Christians #3: The Duggar Family!

Did you guess it right? I know everyone was dying to know and here is is: The Duggar Family are Wonderful Christians #3! I'm pretty sure you have heard of them, from their television show 19 Kids and Counting (Formerly 17 Kids and Counting and 18 Kids and Counting)! I am a hardcore fan of their family. I can't help it! They are the most wonderful you will ever meet (or more accurately, watch on t.v!) This family is probably the most wonderful Christian family I will ever blog about!

Now, I could go on and on for hours about the Duggar family, (and truthfully, I wouldn't mind that one bit!) but I will try to give everyone the more abbreviated version!

Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Ruark married in 1984. They were a good Christian family, getting along with no more than they needed, and trusting God with everything. Four years into their marriage, Jim Bob and Michelle decided to try and have a baby. On March 3, 1988, they were blessed with their first child, Joshua. About a year later, Mrs. Duggar found out that she was expecting again! She was ecstatic, until she suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage. The miscarriage came as a devastating blow to the small family. Mrs. Duggar had been on birth control before having Joshua, and she had gone back on after having Josh, feeling they weren't quite ready to have more children. She had gotten pregnant on the pill, and that was the reason they believed she had miscarried. Mr. and Mrs. Duggar felt that their selfish decisions had caused them the life of that precious child. At this point, Michelle and Jim Bob resolved to trust God with the timing and amount of children they would have. Just a year after this big decision, on January 12. 1990, Michelle was doubly blessed with twins!

Since then, Michelle has given birth to 19 children, including 2 sets of twins! It hasn't always been easy, but they have always gotten through it with their strong faith in God. They have raised all of their children to have a strong dedication to the Lord. Even throughout the challenging times, such as their recent year-long struggle with Josie (She was born at only 24 weeks and spent the first half of last year cooped up in the hospital), they have stayed strong by His grace. Everyday, this wonderful family continues to be an inspiration to many others all over the world.
If you would like a chance to admire this amazing family, tune in to TLC! Reruns of their show run at 7:00am and 7:30am on weekday mornings, and season 6 of their show premieres on February 1st at 9:00pm. If you are more of a reader, then drop by your local bookstore and pick up a copy of The Duggars: 20 and Counting!: Raising One Of America's Largest Families- How They Do It. If you can hold off until June, then grab a copy of A Love That Multiplies, their latest book out on June 7, 2011!
Until then, you can instantly check out this colossal family on their family website at http://www.duggarfamily.com/ . Another great place to go for the hook-up on the latest events in the Duggar family's life is the Duggar Family Blog: http://www.duggarsblog.blogspot.com/ . I love to recommend a good blog, and this blog is probably my favorite of all! Lily and Ellie will supply you with great information, recipes, updates, and fun facts about the entire Duggar clan! Visit them!
I will leave the Duggar family blogging to Lily and Ellie. I just wanted to introduce everyone to these Wonderful Christians! I have no doubt that Jim Bob, Michelle, Josie (1), Jordyn (2), Jennifer (3), Johannah (5), Jackson (6), Justin (8), James (9), Jason (10), Jeremiah (12, Jed's twin), Jedidiah (12, Jer's twin), Joy-Anna (13), Josiah (14), Joseph (15), Jinger (17), Jessa (18), Jill (19), John David (21, Jana's twin), Jana (21, John's twin), Josh (22), Josh's wife, Anna (22), Josh and Anna's daughter, Mackynzie (1), and Josh and Anna's second child due June 2011, (Wow, try saying all that in one breath!) will continue to inspire and amaze you!

Fun Fact: Yes, in case you didn't notice, all of Jim bob and Michelle's children's names start with a J! They picked the biblical name Joshua for their first child, and for their twins they just liked Jana and John. When Michelle got pregnant with her fourth baby, she wasn't sure if that would be her last baby or not. She didn't want the baby (Jill) to feel left out so they gave the baby a J name and on the tradition went!

Thanks for reading! (I know I said I would try to publish the short version of the story but... I guess I got carried away! Hope I didn't bore you TOO much!)

God Bless,

Sydney