In celebration of Josh's 32nd birthday, his parents threw a little family party for him at their house. On another day, a group of Duggars met up at a bowling alley.
Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com
Mason Duggar, Anna Duggar, Maryella Duggar, Josh Duggar
Marcus Duggar, Michael Duggar, Meredith Duggar, Macknzie Duggar
Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com
Thay was so sweet of his parents!
ReplyDeleteI just can't believe hes allowed around children God forgives spouses forgives but you don't forget and abusers are usually repeat offenders I'd be afraid for his kids
DeleteHe was 14 and was not charged with a crime so legally he is allowed to raise his own kids. Just drop it already.
DeleteHappy joy filled birthday josh. Hope your birthday was fun for all!☉😊🎂
ReplyDeleteNow that's what love and forgiveness is about,people who keep bringing back Josh's past should learn from them,it will heal the soul.
ReplyDelete@4:01- I don't look to reality TV personalities as individuals to look up to or learn from. BTW, staying with a cheating spouse is not a situation that should be condemned or praised. Whatever the wronged spouse chooses to do should be respected, without accolades or criticism.
DeleteHow many times in repeat scenarios are people supposed to forgive before they lose trust?
DeleteSince you brought this up, actions have consequences. As long as people call for Josh's return to Counting On, people are going to bring up why he is not on the show. Bringing Josh back to television as if nothing happened would be excusing past behavior that was wrong. What he did as a teenager changed viewers' perspective on not only Josh but Jim Bob and Michelle's parenting. That Josh was then unfaithful to Anna during the years he was on 19KC abd that he could lie so proficiently and preach family values give many pause. I honestly do hope his soul has changed for the better and he treats his entire family with the same love and support they have given him.
DeleteAlso, saying you forgive and actually forgiving are two different things. It takes a long time to rebuild trust and truly forgive someone who has betrayed you multiple times throughout your life.
I can't look at this as a story of love and forgiveness. If anything, it's a story of a child who wasn't getting what he needed growing up, so he replaced it with the thrill of something forbidden. He felt emboldened enough to try it again after marriage. It was an obvious attempt to take control of his life in a way totally opposite from how he was raised, as well as a cry for help that went unanswered in the proper way. Add the family values being openly broadcast and money coming in from that at the same time, and you have a real moral quagmire for everyone.
DeleteForgiveness does not automatically resolve everything. If there's no proper counseling and true wanting to change behavior, then all forgiveness does is sweep things under the rug again, possibly leaving a back door open, too. I can't imagine poor Anna being hurt again like that.
Sometimes that trust is permanently destroyed and affects the ability to trust anyone. Speaking from my own experience.
DeleteHe has not betrayed his wife multiple times and you can tell she's happy now so she has truly forgiven him,you can see in the photos that she's happy,Josh has not sinned again and has earned his wife's trust,besides maybe Anna forgave him because his cheating was brought on by his feelings,he was going through a tough time when everyone found out about a mistake he made as a child and people were making out he was a monster.
DeleteTo me, the act of forgiving is a conscious decision to let go of feelings of resentment or anger towards someone who has harmed you. It is for the benefit of the person harmed, not the perpetrator and in no way excuses or condones bad behavior. It also doesn't mean that forgetting must be a part of the equation. Strong negative feelings can be very difficult to manage and human nature being what it is, we internalize the guilt and shame for having them. I will be honest here- religion has a way of fueling that guilt, in my experience. Something else, trust is something separate from forgiveness. It has to be earned. I'm afraid that in some circumstances, it can never be restored and it shouldn't be expected. My own feelings of unease toward Josh didn't start with the revelations of his deceitful behavior. Even from the early shows, something about him just rubbed me the wrong way. I certainly don't need to forgive him for anything, because he didn't hurt me personally. Would I trust him? In a word, no. I've dealt with a few people over the years who had similar issues with honesty, integrity and strength of character. They were very good at keeping up the charade and fooling people. Underlying personality problems are not "fixed" by love and forgiveness, or praying them away. For the sake of Josh's wife and kids, I do hope he's a changed person. However, I wouldn't place any bets on it. Considering the Duggars embrace a patriarchal family structure, I have to wonder if the tables were turned and Anna had been the cheating spouse, would she be afforded the same love and forgiveness as was expected that Josh receive?
Delete@4:13 Please, for the sake of victims everywhere, don't call what happened a "mistake." A mistake is something you do accidentally, usually once. You don't mean to do it. What Josh did was intentional and repeated. That moves it out of the "mistake" category and into something much deeper.
Delete@6:58 Good question at the end about what if Anna had strayed. If we can go by other examples given to us, I'd say there probably would have been a double standard for her.
@4:13- You are very naive if you think a photograph is an accurate indication of a person's level of happiness. I have known quite a few people who gave all the appearances of being well-adjusted and content with life, but nothing could have been further from the truth. I'm not saying that's the case with Anna, but you really have no way of knowing anything about her relationship with Josh or her feelings.
Delete@3:05- I wouldn't put all of Josh's problems on his parents. Some people are just born with personality propensities or disorders that are difficult to understand. I'd agree that the Duggars could have handled things better, like never putting their kids on TV in the first place, getting professional counseling and not assuming their IBLP culture had all the answers.
DeleteNeither Anna nor Josh has given details about what they think caused Josh's inappropriate behavior with his sisters or the infidelity in his marriage.....what I have read here is lots of speculation. His family, wife, kids, parents and all of his siblings were the victims of his acting out... We tv viewers were not hurt, offended but not not hurt. A large price was paid by his entire family and Josh himself. I would like to see Anna write a book about how she continued in her marriage after betrayal.
Delete11:11, why should they give details to explain what they think caused his behavior?
Delete4:13 - Josh admitted in a statement that he lived a double life for several years. His infidelity had nothing to do with the public response to his actions as a teenager, it was a series of thought out decisions he made to step outside of his marriage.
Delete12:05 what I think 11:11 was saying was, since Josh and Anna have not given details there is lots of speculation. When people don't know the story they tend to make up their own. It seems the TV viewers feel some sort of actual pain was inflicted on them by his actions, grow up they are just people, not perfect , just people. People do wrong things sometimes, people hide the wrong doings of their children and wives often stick by husband's that probably don't deserve it.
Deletei remember back in the old days when everyone attended everything. of course they were all younger but now with so many married and parents themselves, it must be so difficult to get everyone together. and with over 40 immediate family members, i got to say they sure do a great job of it!!
ReplyDeleteHappy belated birthday, Josh! Blessings to you and your beautiful family.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute family! They all look so happy! And so many balloons! Love the color coding between the family and the balloons! Anna is absolutely gorgeous; she is one of the prettiest woman I have ever seen!
ReplyDeleteAwe see thats lovely.. they celebrate their kids no matter the age. My family is like no we don't celebrate you after 18 til you're 40.
ReplyDeleteAw, that's sad. Every year is special.
Delete3:12- Most adults I know don't make a big deal over birthdays, unless it's a milestone year. I have never felt sad about not having a big hoopla every year. My husband and I spend the day doing something fun on our birthdays and that's fine with me!
DeleteYou don't have to have hoopla to make it special. For a family to say we're not going to celebrate you unless you're turning a certain age is sad. You can celebrate without "hoopla".
DeleteLove this picture! Beautiful family! I love you all!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Josh- Such a beautiful family!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Josh
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Josh.🎂🎉
ReplyDeleteObviously, nobody has a big enough house to have a party for 40 people other than Mom and Dad Duggar, so they can never catch a break and be a guest at a birthday party. Jim Bob and Michelle always have to be hosts. As parents age, it's nice to relieve them once in a while of their host duties, and serve them instead.
ReplyDeleteNot exactly - the warehouse on the side property has been the scene of many large gatherings. That would have made sense in this case.
DeleteI think JB and Michelle ENJOY hosting these parties. However, in 10 years or so the family will have grown so large it's not going to be workable. Eventually the new family units formed by the marriages of their children will probably start having parties of their own and invite JB and Michelle to them.
DeleteNice to see picture of the whole family. Miss seeing them on the show.
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful picture...The Duggar Family are one of my favorite christian families. I so enjoy their show. Do you have a date yet for when they will return to TV??
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christian families are the ones in my own community, quietly going about their lives, doing good for others, and not making headlines.
DeleteAnonymous @1:50 PM- Totally agree! Jesus talks about broadcasting your good works before men and the praise of men will be your only reward because you got the glory, when it should have been God's. In other words, the person marketed themself; it really wasn't done to glorify God.
DeleteMay God continue to bless you and your family and speak through your testimonies. ❤️ Happy Birthday.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Josh! Please no more kiddos. You have such sweet ones as it is.
ReplyDeleteAnd if he had any more, they just might be sweet too.
DeleteIt strikes me as very odd to ask someone else not to have more children. If someone had said that to me, I would have been pretty upset and offended. I love all my five kids and would have loved to have more. It makes it sound like there is something wrong with you and your family.
DeleteI have five kids too and I love them all. But it just gets harder and harder to support them all. “God will provide”just isn’t true....I think young people should be warned not to have too many kids.
DeleteNasty comment...
Delete"God will provide" is true for our family. I'm sorry you haven't experienced that, because it is exciting and even amazing at times.
Delete@9:20 Why does God only provide for certain families? What do you do to get on his provision list, because I know plenty of people who are struggling and need that provision. I just boxed up some food this afternoon to send to one of them. Can I tell them that God will provide from now on? I'd really like to know how it works and what these innocent families are doing wrong to be excluded from God's provision list like this, because it's heartbreaking to watch and I wish someone would help them more.
Delete2:36, the rain falls on the just and the unjust. Bad times happen to people who love God and those who don't. All I know is that God answers prayer, specific prayers, and that He has provided for is over and over. Sometimes he used people like you.
Delete@9:20- Your comment suggests that God rewards some people and punishes or ignores the rest. This defies the logic of a loving higher power, if there is one. Here's the thing- no one ever asked to be born into this world, let alone into the families into which they find themselves. I am of the opinion that if there is a God, he has pretty much taken a hands-off policy for a very long time. That is the only thing that would explain the atrocities and cruelty that plague the human race.
Delete6:40, have you ever read the Bible, all the way through? We can't understand God completely with our finite, limited minds, although He promises that for those who put their faith in His plan of salvation through Jesus there will someday be a time when we will know, even as right now He knows us in and out. The Bible is the best resource to answering your questions, along with praying for God to give you understanding. I can't explain anything to your satisfaction if you don't have an understanding of the Bible says and a level if faith that it's true. As to the hands-off policy, that doesn't align with my experiences at all.
Delete6:40, the thing you have to realize about Christianity is that it is faith-based. No faith, no understanding. With faith comes understanding. The Bible says that without faith, it is impossible to please God. He that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He rewards those who seek Him diligently. We have a human tendency to say, "Prove it and I'll believe it," but God's way is more like, "Believe it and then I'll prove it." Our humanness is a little afraid of things we don't understand, so we rationalize to make things understandable to our finite minds, trying to find comfort in that.
DeleteSo if you believe enough, there will be no poverty and no suffering in the world? That easy!
DeleteOf course not. That is actually not what the Bible says, and not what I said, either.
DeleteThat's a very nice picture of Anna and Josh and their children.
ReplyDelete