Future historians may look back on the Arnold Pent family and describe them as the “first modern home school family.” Long before there were any state home schooling organizations or curriculum fairs, Arnold Pent declared his independence from government education and his dependence on Jesus Christ in the training of his children.
No one told him to do this. He simply read the Bible and determined to follow the clear principles found within its pages and to be obedient to God — regardless of the consequences.
Like all great visionary leaders, Arnold Pent was a man with many wonderful directives for his family. The world would probably describe these initiatives as eccentricities, but they were not. In fact, Arnold Pent discovered something that all fathers would be well advised to consider: True Christian leadership in the household is born in the fire of adversity. The noblest and most God-blessed expressions of biblical fatherhood are cultivated always and only by taking the path less traveled.
I feel a special kinship to the Pent family. As a boy, I traveled constantly with my father, having visited forty-nine of the fifty states by the time I was eighteen. I sat with him for tens of thousands of miles and listened to books on tape, sermons, histories, and theology lectures. They were glorious times. We discussed everything, we saw great sights, and I always felt like I was a part of my father’s life mission. There is no doubt in my mind that my life was shaped by a father who made it his commitment to have me by his side and to daily speak words of life and love into my heart.
As Beall and I seek to raise our own children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, I daily think back to the example established for me by my father, and desire with all my heart to be for my children what my father was for me. Ten P’s in a Pod has not only filled our house with laughter, but it has reminded me of the mission that God has set before my bride and me. For this, I am truly grateful.
Over the years, many readers have been attracted to the endearing stories of family life found in such classics as Kathryn Forbes’ Mamma’s Bank Account (also called I Remember Mamma), Clarence Day’s Life with Father, and Frank Gilbreth’s Cheaper by the Dozen. The beauty of this book is that it combines the very best elements of those classics, but with a distinctive and uncompromising Gospel message. As a publisher, I consider it the highest honor that the Lord and His servants, the Pent family, have allowed Vision Forum to bring to press what we believe will be a new classic for twenty-first century families.
- Title: Ten P's in a Pod
- Item#: B24187
- Weight: 0.4