Q&A with Ken Swarner
Author of "Why Did God Give My Kids Free Will?"
Q: How would you describe your writing style?
A: Easy going, narrative, and funny with a focus on everyday anecdotes that any Christian parent will find relatable. I compile real-life events in my life into common themes, then look for strong epiphanies that emphasis the hope, healing and humor moms and dads need to hear.
Q: You use humor to ultimately discuss some important topics. What are some of the parenting and marriage issues you talk about in the book?
A: 1) I explore God’s plan in creating imperfect parents. 2) I shine light on the fact that when we are judging other parents, we are really judging ourselves … and we should stop doing that. 3) We should show not tell when modeling good Christian values to our kids. 4) Every child deserves to have someone in their lives who doesn’t pass judgement on them, no matter what decisions they make. 5) I am at my best as a spouse when I remember that the irritations I sometimes have with my wife are equal or greater to the number of ways I irritate her. 6) Our teenagers pushing away and often rejecting our advice is mostly the biological forces God put into place to make sure our children actually move out and find employment.
Q: How do your kids feel about you sharing some of their personal moments?
A: They are supportive, mostly because I don’t do anything to humiliate them in the stories I tell. My kids are some of the funniest people I know, and they have a great appreciation for humor. I also believe they are honored to have contributed to the themes in this book.
Q: What will parents learn from this book?
A: I hope that they’ll stop judging themselves for not attaining perfection in their parenting, because, as we know, only God is perfect. It is our job to love our children unconditionally, and model what it means to be a good Christian adult. Our children were given free will by God, and He created them to be the stewards He wanted. We should trust God in this, and instead of trying to control our kids, we should have faith that our Lord has their back (just like He has ours). Readers will also see things aren’t so bad in their own homes when they see the chaos in mine J.
Q: There have been a lot of parents getting involved with their local school boards of late. Talk about your background as a school board member and working with as a PTA president.
A: I served many years on the PTA at my two oldest children’s elementary school, finishing out my service as president, where I earned the coveted Golden Acorn award. My two youngest attended a private Christian school, where I served on the school’s board of directors for the standard three-year term. I was also both a Cub Scout Den Leader from first to 5th grade for all three of my boys and served concurrently as the pack’s Cub Master for roughly 70% of that time as well.
Q: If you could give new parents one piece of advice what would it be?
A: Love your kids unconditionally because God created them to be who they are, no matter how difficult that can be to watch some days.
Q: You were honored with being named to the Civilian Hall of Fame. Talk about that.
A: The command at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, one of the nation’s largest Army bases, chooses civilians in the community who, in one way or another, have gone above and beyond to support the bases’ mission and taken care of its soldiers and families. It’s been my honor to have developed several programs that supported families at JBLM during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A: Easy going, narrative, and funny with a focus on everyday anecdotes that any Christian parent will find relatable. I compile real-life events in my life into common themes, then look for strong epiphanies that emphasis the hope, healing and humor moms and dads need to hear.
Q: You use humor to ultimately discuss some important topics. What are some of the parenting and marriage issues you talk about in the book?
A: 1) I explore God’s plan in creating imperfect parents. 2) I shine light on the fact that when we are judging other parents, we are really judging ourselves … and we should stop doing that. 3) We should show not tell when modeling good Christian values to our kids. 4) Every child deserves to have someone in their lives who doesn’t pass judgement on them, no matter what decisions they make. 5) I am at my best as a spouse when I remember that the irritations I sometimes have with my wife are equal or greater to the number of ways I irritate her. 6) Our teenagers pushing away and often rejecting our advice is mostly the biological forces God put into place to make sure our children actually move out and find employment.
Q: How do your kids feel about you sharing some of their personal moments?
A: They are supportive, mostly because I don’t do anything to humiliate them in the stories I tell. My kids are some of the funniest people I know, and they have a great appreciation for humor. I also believe they are honored to have contributed to the themes in this book.
Q: What will parents learn from this book?
A: I hope that they’ll stop judging themselves for not attaining perfection in their parenting, because, as we know, only God is perfect. It is our job to love our children unconditionally, and model what it means to be a good Christian adult. Our children were given free will by God, and He created them to be the stewards He wanted. We should trust God in this, and instead of trying to control our kids, we should have faith that our Lord has their back (just like He has ours). Readers will also see things aren’t so bad in their own homes when they see the chaos in mine J.
Q: There have been a lot of parents getting involved with their local school boards of late. Talk about your background as a school board member and working with as a PTA president.
A: I served many years on the PTA at my two oldest children’s elementary school, finishing out my service as president, where I earned the coveted Golden Acorn award. My two youngest attended a private Christian school, where I served on the school’s board of directors for the standard three-year term. I was also both a Cub Scout Den Leader from first to 5th grade for all three of my boys and served concurrently as the pack’s Cub Master for roughly 70% of that time as well.
Q: If you could give new parents one piece of advice what would it be?
A: Love your kids unconditionally because God created them to be who they are, no matter how difficult that can be to watch some days.
Q: You were honored with being named to the Civilian Hall of Fame. Talk about that.
A: The command at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, one of the nation’s largest Army bases, chooses civilians in the community who, in one way or another, have gone above and beyond to support the bases’ mission and taken care of its soldiers and families. It’s been my honor to have developed several programs that supported families at JBLM during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
About Ken Swarner:
Ken Swarner is president of The Ranger Publishing Company, Inc., and wrote the syndicated column, The Family Man. In his previous book, “Whose Kids Are These Anyway?”, he was lauded by Publisher’s Weekly as “finding humor in any parental situation.” He has served as a school board member, PTA president, Cub Master, and soccer coach. He was named to the Civilian Hall of Fame at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, one of the nation’s largest Army bases, where he developed programs to support soldiers and their families during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He received his B.A. in Communication from the University of Washington and has been married to his high school sweetheart for thirty-three years and counting while raising four children and three pets. For more information visit www.KenSwarner.com.