Temple Blessings

I came to more fully realize the blessings of the temple and how actively we need to teach those priesthood principles to our children. I loved the quote from Pres. Benson. “The temple is an ever present reminder that God intends the family to be eternal.” That’s why it’s so important to go often. It reminds us of the eternal picture so the everyday irritants in our marriages or family relationships don’t become the focal point. When I go to the temple my heart is turned to my husband and my family so it’s good to go often.

The Village Marriage

This is a painting called

The Village Wedding that shows how a marriage impacts everyone in a village and is not just an choice between two people. In our society we have been decieved into thinking that personal freedoms are more important than responsible connections. The 60's were the height of marital stability but the feminist movement opened the door for women to leave the home for work. The sexual revolution changed the need of marriage for sex and led the way to elevating individual "Rights". What "I need" became more important than what was good for society. When adults are divorced, they can move on to other things but for children it is the loss of their support system and they have no control over where they go or with whom. Divorce not only causes problems for families but for society. The proclamation to the family states that children are entitled to birth in a home with a mother and a father. Communities need to unite in support of traditional families. Marriage is worth the effort!

Marriage class notes

The classes I'm taking this term are Interpersonal Communication and Marriage so I will be sharing some things I'm learning with anyone who wants to read.

Week one reflective blog:

There were a couple of quotes this week that really impacted my thinking that I want to share and preserve. The first was by Pres. Kimball. “The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us.”

I have felt more and more lately, that people who believe in family really need to step it up and share with the world the concepts found in the Proclamation on the Family. It’s not going to be enough to just live it ourselves, we will need to actively teach it and share those ideas and vote for leaders who share those same values. We will need to be a light to the world and set the example. This quote just confirmed that feeling. I think especially those who work with Young Women can have a powerful influence of righteous womanhood and a positive example of honoring traditional roles of being happy in homes designed to nurture children. I was amazed at the statistics that showed more educated people marrying at a higher percentage, but that they were not having children. Somewhere in the education process they are getting the idea that children are not a blessing or that having children in not something of value.

The other quote that impressed me was about transitional characters. “God intervenes in some destructive lineages, assigning a valiant spirit to break the chain of destructiveness in such families. Although these children may suffer innocently as victims of violence, neglect or exploitation, through the grace of God some find the strength to “purge” the poison within themselves, refusing to pass it on to future generations. Before them were generations of destructive pain, after them, the line flows clean and pure. Their children and children’s children will call them blessed. Such person’s, in some degree becomes as, “Saviors on mount Zion” by helping to bring salvation to a lineage.”

I am so grateful for transitional characters. Our latter-day church is based on transitional characters. People who were brave enough and had the courage to break out of traditional religious beliefs because they found higher truth. Others are in dysfunctional family patterns and have the courage to break out of those patterns so they can make life better for themselves and the generations to come. My mom was a first generation member of the church and she decided that she wanted to be sealed in the temple. That decision hurt her family deeply because they couldn’t come, but I know our family has been blessed, and will be blessed for generations, because of the faith she exhibited.

I hope you all will think about these things and do what you can to strengthen your own families and be a light to the world.

Thick of thin things

I found this great quote from the prophet. So True...
Important Causes

“We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what we’re doing, we may find that we have immersed ourselves in the ‘thick of thin things.’ In other words, too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting those more important causes.”
Thomas S. Monson, “What Have I Done for Someone Today?” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 85

Have you recieved his image in your countenance?

When Amy was just a little girl she helped me learn an important truth about faces. There was a lady in our ward who was old and wrinkly, her skin was leathery from too much sun and had bumps of some kind all over it. She was kind of scary to me but one day I noticed that she was smiling and flirting with someone. When I turned and looked who it was, I was surprised that it was this lady. Even at 1, she knew better than I did to not judge by appearances. There are all kinds of faces in this world but the light in the eyes can tell you much about the inside person. I love Alma Chapter 5 where it asks have your recieve his image in your countenance. What do our faces tell others about who we are and what we believe. I hope our faces express love for others and that when our children look at us they know how much we love them. When they look at us do they see the love our Savior has for them? I read a quote today from David O. McKay. "A child has the right to feel in his home he has a place of refuge, a place of protection from the dangers and evils of the outside world. Family unity and integrity are necessary to supply this need." I remember getting so mad and frustrated and yelling at you kids. I'm sorry I didn't always make our home a place of refuge. I hope that you will be able to do better at that and look at your kids with Christ's image in your countenence. We love you and think you are amazing parents and disciples of Christ.
Zacky was looking at Randy the other day and asked why he had all that saggy skin under his chin.Randy told him that some times when people get older their skin does that. Zacky looked at him again and said, Grandpa, you aren't getter older, you are already old. When you get to be our age, you don't want to look at your face too closely. :}

Motherhood:-An-Eternal-Partnership

Motherhood:-An-Eternal-Partnership
This is a tear-jerker so get your hankies ready. I love my girls and how they magnify and honor their role of mother.

Words of Wisdom from the old guys

Today our fifth Sunday lesson, taught by our new Bishop Madril, was about the older generation sharing their experiences and what they learned from them with the younger generation. We decided we would try to follow that council by writing a few words of wisdom about families on our blog (hopefully each Sunday we will take turns). This week is Randy's turn so here he is.

How do we create righteous desire in our children?

Zack Federkeil said something profound for a 6 year old Kindergarten kid.
He accompanied Grandma Brown to a recent ward dinner. They were both standing in line getting their food and Grandma noticed that a young child was trying to get a piece of watermelon but was having a hard time because it had saran wrap on it. Grandma, being the nice person she is, put down her plate and took the wrap off the melon and handed it to the child. As Zack and grandma were walking to their table, Zack said, "grandma, that was really nice, you are a nice person." How do you think that made grandma feel?

As they say, out of the mouth of babes comes some pretty wise stuff - funny stuff too. Obviously, Michelle/Gabe have been practicing the principle of positive reinforcement. Making a conscious effort to notice and say something positive when a child or young person does something good, especially when they do it on their own initiative, creates more positive desire to repeat the behavior. Wise parenting requires a lot of patience, positiveness and self restraint.

Wise parents develop a conscious habit to look for the good and are quick to reinforce it. Parents are also wise when they are slow to criticize or find fault. It's easy, even without realizing it, to develop a pattern of criticism, after all, isn't it a parent's job to teach and correct. Yes it is, but a wise parent leans heavily on the positive, which creates an increased desire to do and be good.

A child who reinforces an adult's good behavior is a rare thing, even heavenly - thanks Zack.