Danielle, I could not agree more!  I think that Michelle Duggar is to the 21st century who Ma Ingalls was in the 19th, just an amazingly strong woman who knows who she is, what her calling/vocation is, and runs with it no matter what.  I happened to see a bit last night when she was (ahem) attempting to get some of her more rambunctious children to sit & homeschool…surely didn’t look or sound like me when my children are hyper or arguing back.  Made me REALLY stop & think ... and I have her book on my summer reading list to hopefully glean some of her apparent wisdom so I can apply it to my own life (which is BY FAR smaller & less intimidating as hers!).  God bless!!!

I really admire Michelle Duggar.  I am inspired by her kindness and gentleness.  I think she is sharp & wise and much more sophisticated then her fashion style would lead one to believe.  As my DH says the Duggars are nobody’s fool.

We’re also impressed by their eldest son - recently married and expecting his first child. I think he’s only 21 (?).  He’s so capable, cheerful and devoted.  We can’t help but contrast our 23 year old cousin who lives at home after dropping out of college (“the professors were idiots”) and spend much of his time on Facebook posting about sex. 

I thank GOd for the Duggars and the peek into their life.

What I like about Michelle, which is such stark contrast to another infamous reality tv mom, is that she genuinely loves her husband.  I can’t help but get the feeling when I am watching the show that she and her husband are one, and that they are on the same page.  She may laugh about Jim Bob’s hairspray addiction, but she doesn’t put him down on national tv.  They truly are an inspiration.

I don’t home school and I don’t have 18 children but I respect Michelle Duggar.  Their family values, morals and their “unit” as a whole is very refreshing in our world today.

Great post, Danielle! Michelle Duggar is a woman who values marriage, is open to life, sees every child as a gift, instills Christian values in her family, honors her husband, speaks gently and soothingly with great charity and is an awesome homemaker. Their beautiful home is filled with peace and joy and beauty. She is an inspiration for her efforts to be a faithful witness to the Gospel. Her modesty is also to be admired. She cares not what the world thinks; she cares only what her Lord thinks. I pray for this family and encourage others to do so.

I caught the show for the first time about a month ago after having listened to people tear her apart for years. I was so impressed by her (and I’m ashamed to admit surprised that I was) that I forced my husband to sit and watch with me. You’re right, she absolutely exudes patience, sweetness, joy and humility.

Your post is lovely, Danielle!  I couldn’t agree more with Michelle’s ability to run her faith-filled household with charity, humility, patience, and meekness.  These are all virtues that I strive for every single day, yet I fail time and time again.  I admire her so much for her ability to mother her children with a quiet voice.  Its very imspiring.  I am thankful that we can get a small glimpse into their lives via their TV show. 

I have read their book and highly recommend it.  It will leave you with an awe-inspiring feeling in regards to their strong marriage and deep love and respect they have for one another.  It also completely amazed me at the numerous business decisions that Jim Bob made over the years in order for them to live deft-free.  That alone is a huge accomplishment.  I want my husband to read those sections of their book, too. 

I guess it just goes to show you how the early sacrifices in their marriage end up reaping them huge rewards in the long run.  I’ll keep watching as my time allows!

Pat

I’ve liked the Duggars for years now (used to watch the specials they did before the series).  She’s just very gentle and kind to her husband and children.  I don’t know that I’ve ever heard her utter anything negative about her family (or others, now that I think about it).  I may not agree with all of her parenting choices,  but I think she’s a great mother.  Her patience and gentle disposition are what stand out the most to me.

Can someone tell me when the show is on? Thanks!

This link shows when it airs, TCMom: http://tlc.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=2.15573.127526.37943.x

I watched one of their tv specials a few years ago and I was also struck by her humility but also her total trust in God’s will for them. They have a beautiful family and I wish them all the best.

My husband can’t believe I want to watch that show during my “down time” after dealing with my own bunch of kids all day, but they really are quite inspiring.

I’ve never watched the TV show, but I have been to the Duggars’ website.  I think they are a lovely family.  I really admire Michelle Duggar for being a testament to the fact that a woman with so many children can be fulfilled and happy in her vocation.

And what a great article, Danielle!

I’ve followed the Duggars for a while now. I watch their show and I’ve read their book. My mother worries about me. But the bottom line is I find them to be a remarkable family and Michelle to be a remarkable woman. Not many women today, whether they approve of her or not, could do what she does and yet she is not inflated by it.
As a Catholic, I find it so wonderful to see Protestant families like the Duggars really living out their Christian faith. They don’t make issues with those who choose to do things differently than they do, but they do take their faith seriously and I wish I could see more of that in modern America.
That said, I wish Michelle had her own blog. Anyone with 18 kids must have enough experience to help almost any other mother.

I don’t watch the show very often, but I like Michelle’s positive attitude. I certainly don’t have this. I’m a bit on the gloomy side especially in the morning. Watching her reminds me to smile more at my children and speak kindly about them and to them.

I just wish someone would cut & style Michelle’s hair.  She has such a pretty face and the hair does nothing to accentuate her features.  I understand she prefers long hair for herself and her daughters, but it should still be trimmed and styled.  I think her daughters are really cute though.

I was initially neutral on the Duggars when I saw their tv specials.  A few months ago, we started watching their show.  Again, I wasn’t sure what I thought initially, but i did know I loved how their kids treat each other and how they have such positive discipline even for rambunctious children.  I decided to make the shows required watching for our kids in hopes their good example would impact my own children.  I especially enjoyed watching their shows dealing with courtship and marriage so we could discuss it with our teens and decide where we fall as a family in those lines (not the same page but not on society’s page either!).

Over this time, Michelle has really won me over with her gentleness.  At first, I thought she was being super sweet just for the tv, but I’m finally getting that this is who she genuinely is.  I watch her hoping her gentle positive nature will rub off on me.  Not sure it will.  Sigh.

My main criticism of their show is the way they portray being open to God’s family size.  They had a guest family on who also had many children and I remember him saying that he was nervous to be open to God planning their family because he didn’t want to have 20 kids.  Well, they were on their 17th or 18th so he is nearly there!!!

I have known dozens of families over the years who are open to God’s family size and use no child spacing methods at all.  Some of them have zero children.  Some have one or two.  Others have 6 or 8.  A handful have 10 or 12.  I know one other family who has 16.  But seriously, having an incredibly large family is NOT that common, even when being completely open to life 100% of the time. 

That’s not the only time I’ve seen this misrepresented on their show.  I wish they would address that many families who are completely open are much smaller than theirs.  I would think it would make couples really nervous to be open to life because they do believe that if they take that leap of faith, they WILL have a huge family.  Now, to be clear, I do not think it is preferable to always be open to life.  We have used NFP to space and there are strong graces to be found in periodic abstinence.  I’m just saying, I’ve heard many times the comment “we don’t want to become like the Duggars” as though making a decision to be open to life this one time is going to immediately bring on 18 children!  Oy!

The only other drawback I see is that their religious views sometimes cause me to cringe.  Their explanation of why we can’t drink wine was ... not satisfying.  I am not going to believe any time soon that Jesus really meant “grape juice”.

I’m so glad to read something positive about the Duggars! I think they are a terrific family and I love watching the way they interact with each other. Their love of God and of each other shines through and that is so inspiring to me.

I wish I had had her as an example when I was raising my own 3 children. I learn something new each time I watch the show and feel awful that I missed the last one. But then again, there are always repeats, right? God bless them. And all of you. Thanks for a great post, Danielle.

Hi Michele,

If boys want to wear shirts with their bathing suits then that is fine if they don’t want to wear shirts it is not immodest:)

And if girls chose to wear pants they should not be labeled as immodest either.

I know everyone feels Michelle is so sweet but to me she comes off as very fake.  Real people do have a range of emotions.

I don’t think everyone needs higher education.  But I think for the Duggar children being exposed to thought outisde of their family belief set might help them to realize that the world is more than 6000 years old (and help them to examine many of their other fundamentalist beliefs as well)

One of the things that really strikes me is how Michelle speaks to her children, even when they’re “acting up.”  I’ve never heard her raise her voice to them, and even if the kids don’t immediately listen, they are respectful and obedient to her.

It reminds me of a story my husband’s maternal grandmother told me.  She was friends with my husband’s paternal grandmother.  My father-in-law (British Canadian) is the youngest of three boys, and my mother-in-law (Italian) is the middle of three girls. Maternal Grandmother asked Paternal Grandmother once how she handled three boys and never even needed to yell at them, while Maternal Grandmother felt like she was always yelling at her girls in order to be heard. Paternal Grandmother said that she purposely spoke in low tones because then the boys had to quiet down in order to hear her.

That’s some of what I see in Michelle Duggar, as well.  She knows that if she raises her voice, she just contributes to the chaos, so she works to be the calming force in the household.

I hope I can be a calming force in my family, as well!

I don’t think education is ever wasted. I loved college. But I also completely agree with the comments about debt, which I think should be avoided if at all possible. My husband and I met in college and we were very lucky that we both had parents who paid our entire tuition, so we both graduated debt-free. One of the main reasons we were able to do this is because we went to an in-state school. In-state tuition is much, much cheaper. We also had parents who planned well and started saving when we were young.

Also, my husband’s company paid for most of his master’s degree. We just had to pay for one semester out of pocket when he changed jobs. So we have no debt from that, either. In addition to attending college in-state, I would strongly recommend that people don’t go to grad school immediately after college. You really need to be certain of what you want to do if you go to grad school, and that often only comes with work experience. Also, some companies will pay for grad school, like my husband’s did.

We are already saving for the college educations for our two daughters, and they are *definitely* going in-state. Of course, if either decides they don’t want to go to college and wants to pursue a trade or something instead, that’s fine with me, as long as they’re happy and can support themselves.

We are already saving for the college educations for our two daughters, and they are *definetly* going in-state. Of course, if either decides they don’t want to go to college and wants to pursue a trade or something instead, that’s fine with me, as long as they’re happy and can support themselves.

oops - that comment was supposed to go under the college/debt discussion

I have never watched the show….but the book is worth the read. I came away from it realy impressed by the Duggars. She had some great tips in it - like how to manage laundry! 

I also really like how they truly pray about each decision and where they have “jumped” the gun and made decisions in haste without prayer.

I went into the book thinking these two had to be “nuts” and finished admiring these people and hoping to incoporate some of their ideals into our family.  The book is worth the read (even is the writing is a little awkward - just focus on the content).

I am disheartened to see that in our own little Catholic community here we cann dish out criticisms regarding Michelle Duggar, including her hair.  Really?  Her hair?

I suspect there might be a bit of jealousy in this stream labeling her ability to control herself as “very fake” and teaching the children the VALUE of modesty and saving oneself for marriage as too much.  Would God say following the word of the Bible is too much?  We would do the world a favor if more people embraced the old world values of the Duggars instead of putting them down.

Best wishes to you all.