Blended Families

I was taught in class really how difficult it is to start a blended family and how little discussion we have about it in our society. The factors, the people, the discipline, and the marriage itself are all things that need greater attention. I was grateful for the advice that Sister Williams gave us today on what things we should know concerning single women who are trying to date with children: put your children first. I think that is profound. If our children and the gospel came first in every single adult life that had been widowed, divorced or faced another challenge all things would work out and be put in their proper perspective.

Active Parenting

I recognized how important and crucial it is to be an ACTIVE parent!!! A lot of this I could tell was based on simple principles such as listening, empathizing, helping the child feel understood, and not only being part of creating a solution but more importantly helping your child come to their own effective solution!!! This is the same way that our Heavenly Father works with us. He is the best listener, the perfect empathizer, the one that truely can help you feel perfectly understood and creates solutions for us but most often does it through the spirit and helps us create our own solutions to problems in our own lives. It was so interesting to hear that a childs view of God is greatly effected by the way parents treat and parent their kids. Parenting is a heavenly responsibility we have.

I loved that we were able to talk today in class about the effects of finances on marriages. I think the most important thing was helping us recognize that Jesus Christ is our ultimate creditor. I think that once individuals and couples understand that, money for tithing, missions and other things that can help build up the Lords kingdom can be recognized as blessings rather than burdens.  Concerning tithing Elder Hales said that by paying tithing “It is one of the simple ways we show our obedience and faith to him.” Tithing also teaches us to control our desires. Elder Holland made the statement  that we should  “pay your tithing as a declaration that possession of material goods and the accumulation of worldly wealth are not the uppermost goals of your existence… we are God’s peculiar people. In a society that tells us money is our most important asset, we declare emphatically it is not.”  We value most the family unit and the time we spend with them. When things like money and worldly pursuits get in the way of that, Elder Holland might be suggesting that Satan is winning because we know that money is not our most important assets, family is.  I loved the advice given on budgeting and reserving a fund too. Elder Worthlin described, “All too often a family’s spending is governed more by their yearning than by their earning.” We should yearn to please our family and God. Once we do that, all other pursuits and desires can be aligned in their proper perspective.  Someone once said  “Overindulgence and poor money management place a heavy strain on marriage relationships. Most marital problems, it seems, originate from economic roots- either insufficient income to sustain the family or mismanagement of the income that is earned.” We need to learn to not let money be the source of our happiness within our relationships. One of the most important relationships being with God. Brigham Young stated, “The worst fear I have about this people is that they will get rich in this country, forget God and his people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church and go to hell. This people will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty, and all manner of persecution, and be true. But my greater fear… is that they cannot stand wealth.” Whether it be we become entirely poor to afford anything or we become too rich to enjoy the simple things, we cannot let the relationship between man and women, and us and God ever be affected by it in a negative way. 

The importance of WOMANHOOD

We just read an article in defense of womanhood and the role of the woman in the home for class and it astounded me the position that the world takes on stay at home moms. They suggested that the mother's intellect is more than susceptible to go in downward spiral by staying home than it is to be out in the workforce. Prager, the author of this article defended it by saying "So it is not only nonsense that full-time homemaking means swapping the mind for a mop. It is also nonsense that the vast majority of paid work outside the home develops the mind. One may prefer to work outside the home for many reasons: a need or desire for extra income; a need to get out of the house; a need to be admired for work beyond making a home; a need for regular interaction with other adults. But the development of the intellect is not necessarily among them." To me, there is nothing that stretches nor builds on the intellect of the mind then being home with children, whom we can learn from and become more like our Heavenly Father through. No work outside the home can ever compensate for the knowledge and experience gained inside the home.

What Matters Most

This week in our discussion we have been talking about and reflecting on personal family crisis' that we have faced. As I have done this and talked about each event with my Mom it has truely reminded both of us about the importance of preparation regarding faith and preparation in understanding "what matters most." I am grateful for the knowledge I have gained through various family crisis' and the refinining process it has become for both me and all members of my family to give us the opportunity to be better people. WE NEED TO STOP AND REMEMBER  THOSE THINGS THAT MATTER MOST.

Fidelity in Marriage

Our readings for class this week were about fidelity in marriage. I was so impressed with the thought that came from Gardner's talk and insight when he quoted President Kimball. "thought is the father of an act. No 

man ever committed murder who did not first become angry. No one ever committed 

adultery without a preceding immoral thought. The thief did not steal except he first 

coveted that which was his neighbor's.” It is important to remember "For as [a man] 

thinketh in his heart, so is he . . . (Proverbs 23:7).”  That is why we are told to be of one HEART and one MIND.To be faithfully emotional to one's spouse requires that your mind is only focused on them and pleasing and serving them first. Positive thought and active results in faithful and understood boundaries in a marriage. I am so grateful to know that it is through fidelity to our spouse that greater things can be accomplished and deeper love can be expressed. 

The importance of Marriage!

Our class discussion today made me really think about how the world views marriage and its importance and how the gospel views marriage and its importance. The world see's it as an opportunity to come together. The gospel see's it as a way to come together with God.  It is so easy, even in a gospel environment to consider booking your reception area before booking your temple ceremony. If we truely understood the importance of those covenants, commitments, and promises we were making in the temple that would be where our focus was. It's not to say that we should not care about the reception, the wedding cake, the company. Those are important. However, maintaining an eternal perspective through it all and WHY you're getting married in the temple is the most important thing we need to remember. As we remember WHY we're getting married,How it is part of fulfilling the creator's plan, and What this life is all about!