Sweeter by the Dozen: Making Jesus the Lord of Our Family Size

by Randall Hekman

As Christians, we are convinced of the importance of making Jesus the Lord of our life. But what does it mean for the number of children we have? In Sweeter by the Dozen, Randall Hekman shares the story of how he and his wife, Marcia, stopped trying to limit the number of children they would have and allowed the Lord to open and close the womb. He then gives his rationale for opposing the modern idea of family planning and responds to common arguments raised against having larger families. Here is a challenge to allow Jesus to be the Lord of everything, even your family size. Table of Part Nearly Missing the Treasure! 1.Where Would My Children Be? 2. God Shines Truth into My Heart 3. The Rest of the Crew Part God’s Perspectives on Childbearing 4. Biology Is Not God 5. Putting Sex in Its Proper Place 6. The Cream of God’s Crop 7. Marriage Is a Big Deal! Part Responding to Arguments 8. Introduction 9. The Financial Argument 10. The Intelligence Argument 11. The Career Argument 12. The Physical Argument 13. The Unfashionable Argument 14. The Selfish Argument 15. The Heartache Argument 16. The Inability Argument 17. The Medical Argument 18. The Irresponsible Argument Part Conclusion 19. Changing Our World Family by Family Author Randall Hekman is a retired juvenile court judge who has headed several Christian nonprofit organizations committed to benefiting families. He has been married to Marcia for more than fifty years, and together they have parented their dozen children. Endorsement “This is a book that needed to be written. Too many Christians today view children as something that gets in the way of what they desire out of life, so they end up living selfishly by striving to limit the number of children they bear to coincide with their all-too-frequently selfish plans. Too many Christians also fail to grasp the beauty and the joy of a large Christian family—if the Lord sovereignly provides for His own honor and glory!” — Joel R. Beeke, from the foreword

Genres: Parenting

195 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 27, 2020

Reviews

[sincerely · Rating 5 out of 5]

4-5 stars

This is the type of book I LOVE. Anecdotal and factual. Niche and sweeping. Biblical, bold, logical, opinionated. It runs the gamut and provided hours of thought and conversation for my husband and I!

Sweeter by the Dozen poses the question - What would it be like to allow Jesus to be Lord over the size of your family? (Gasp!) Many will stop reading right now 😅 but for those of you still here, wow is this a great book! The author starts with his own story of being maxed out at four kids and how he and his wife got to TWELVE. He shares his interpretations of God's views on childbearing and then answers almost a dozen arguments against large families. He addresses things like finances, career aspirations, fertility treatments, sterilization, euthanasia, population growth/decline, famine, selfishness, and more.

I highly recommend this one if you have any interest in this subject either for yourself, a friend, or instructing your own kiddos. I will be thinking about this book for a very long time! Thank you so much to Reformation Heritage Books for sending me this copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Mariah Fairfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5 stars rounded up) This book was very eye-opening. As a relatively young Christian navigating following Jesus, I am consistently encountering ideas and stances I had preconceived notions regarding. I think it’s beneficial to read books that convey a variety of perspectives (within reason) and this book portrayed a new idea for me to wrestle with. This book covered several arguments for letting “Jesus be the lord of your family size”. To me, the arguments varied in terms of how compelling and/or relatable/relevant they were. But I find the charge to surrender more of my life to the Lord to overall be a healthy consideration for any Christian.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent treatise on family size, detailing both the arguments for allowing the Lord to determine how many children we have and dismantling the societal reasons we have for preventing or murdering children. While most professing Christians would never consider abortion they perhaps fail to fully consider the implications of preventing pregnancy and indeed, whether the Lord wills for them to do so. This is the first book addressing this topic that I've found from a reformed perspective, and I'm glad the topic is being covered. Christians have largely followed society's lead in terms of family size, with little discernable difference in trends. Given the Malthusian and eugenicist ideas at the root of population decline it seems that Christians should have far more to consider in this area of life than most have ever examined.

[Wilma Dotson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting this book to kinda be a memoir or biography/autobiography, the first several chapters were about the authors family. The remainder of the book discussed what the author believes the Bible says about family size and then goes on to debunk myths or reasons why people feel they need to have few or no children.

[J Landon Light · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a short and easy read, and likely to upset many of even the most conservative Christians. That is not a criticism. The author is unapologetic, though not combative, in his defense of family fertility and opposition to pretty much all birth control. Recommended.