I appreciate your effort. But the question I have is, why not just not have kids? Wouldn't that save alot of that financial trouble? They are very expensive, the current estimated cost is 300,000. Obviously thats not a very popular opinion. But I want to know why not. Why does the church seem to look down on me for not wanting children and wanting to work? What if that is my calling as a woman? I believe God's calling is individual, and not gender limited. I don't believe that just because I am a woman, I am called to have children and make a home. Why does the church not emphasize this greater calling over the limited gender stereotypes it seems to propogate instead? Why can't women serve as ministers in some denominations, without having children if that is their calling? Why must women always feel bad in the church whatever they do or don't do based on their gender?

This is very true. We become so trapped in keeping up with the Jones's that we forget why God created us in the first place. Money and material things should not be our focus in this life, so much that we neglect the needs of our children, especially the spiritual needs. I believe the parents are in the best position to train children spiritually, and that is not very effective when they are out "making money" all the time. Now, if only my husband felt the same way!

I have to applaud this author.We have chosen a prosperity gospel in this country over an authentic relationship with our spouses and more importantly God. How I long and pray that as American Christians we would just "get" what really matters in this life.

That nothing compares to knowing Christ - NOTHING. And that in order to do that, one of us needs to stay home if at all possible.

What is the cost of knowing Christ and how do you pay for it? You pay with the sacrifice of giving up your worldly rights to dreams and career and stuff and say:"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" Phil3:8

Not that we can't have dreams; not that we can't have goals - but unless they are HIS goals, His dreams it's all just stuff that will melt away in flames having accomplished nothing.

I agree with the basic idea behind this article - that we don't always need as much money as we think we do, and that it's important to prioritize one's family above one's career. However, I have to take issue with the sentiment expressed at the end of the article: "Even if she doesn't think she wants this, she does." This sentence implies that a husband can judge better than his wife what she wants, and encourages him to make unilateral decisions about his wife's career. To do this would be neither respectful nor loving.