Lead Me

I like this song.  It's "Lead Me", by the band Sanctus Real.

Click on the link below:

Lead Me

Me and My Sweetie

This is a picture of me and my sweetie.  It was taken many years ago.  (Click on the picture to see it larger.)

Life After Death

I believe that there is life after death.

I believe that we can be with our families after this life is over.

There are temples on this earth where we can be sealed together forever.

One of these temples is my favorite, which is San Diego, California, U.S.A.

I think it is so majestic.  I love the design of it.

I took a picture of it in 2006.  Here is the picture.   : )  (Click on it to see it larger.)

Here is a link to a page that explains my beliefs on life after death.

Click on the link below:

Life After Death

Children

Matthew 18:6 says, " But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."

Sadly, there has always been child abuse in the world.

Our children are going to misbehave, make wrong choices, have accidents, spill things, break things, etc...  We need to correct their behavior, help them to clean up messes, and sometimes take away privileges.  However, there is never a time when abuse is warranted.

If you need to calm down before disciplining your child, then either send them to their room or go to your room for a while.  Then come back or have them come out when you are more calm.

Personally, I believe in starting the discipline at around 3-6 months of age, or whenever they start understanding the word, "No.", which is pretty early in life.  If they do something they shouldn't do, tell them, "No.".  If they understand you, but they do it again, give them a quick, firm slap on the hand or thigh, remove their hand from whatever they're doing, look them in the eye and say, "No.".  When my son was little, that usually got his attention and helped enforce the "No.".

Little ones are smarter than they look.  They understand more than we think they do.  They certainly understand what "No." means at a very early age.

If they need to be removed from whatever is causing them to misbehave, then pick them up and move them, or move the item of interest.

Be the parent.  Don't let their cuteness or whining prevent you from being firm and sticking with your decision.  Don't let them tell you "No."  Don't let them squirm away from you if you are holding them back from doing something that you told them not to do, or if you are in the middle of talking to them, and they are trying to go back to doing what they were told not to do, or if they are trying to get away so that they don't have to listen to you.  Make them sit and listen.  Teach them to respect your authority.

This will save you so much trouble in the future!  If they learn early that they need to listen to you and respect you, then when they get to be 3, 4 and 5 years old (and beyond), they will already know what is expected of them.

If you need help figuring out how to discipline a child, then pray to Heavenly Father for help.  He will help you decide what to do.

When your children learn to discipline themselves and to obey authority, they will grow up to be happier people than if they do not learn those things.

My suggestions above are mine alone.  I am not speaking on behalf of the Church that I belong to.

May we turn to our Heavenly Father as we attempt to interact with others and accomplish all that we need to do.

O.K. -- Now to lighten things up a bit -- Here is a video of a little girl dancing in a competition.  I love this kind of dancing.  It's called "Lyrical dancing".

Enjoy!

Click on the link below:

A Little Girl Dancing

Doing What Dad's Do

Elder D. Todd Christofferson spoke during the 2006 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  In his talk, "Let Us Be Men", he said, "Some act as if a man’s highest goal should be his own pleasure...  We must arise from the dust of self-indulgence and be men!  It is a wonderful aspiration for a boy to become a man -- strong and capable; someone who can build and create things, run things; someone who makes a difference in the world. It is a wonderful aspiration for those of us who are older to make the vision of true manhood a reality in our lives and be models for those who look to us for an example."

In his 2012 talk, "Brethren, We Have A Work To Do", he said, "You adult men—fathers, single adults, leaders, home teachers—be worthy models and help the rising generation of boys become men. Teach them social and other skills: how to participate in a conversation, how to get acquainted and interact with others, how to relate to women and girls, how to serve, how to be active and enjoy recreation, how to pursue hobbies without becoming addicted, how to correct mistakes and make

better choices."

Other ideas that I have are -- if you know how to fix a car, invite a young man over to help you fix it.  If you are an expert chef, PLEASE invite several young men over and show them how to cook!  If you're really good at finances, again -- invite some young men over to learn how to keep a budget and save their money.

If you have sons, share your wealth of knowledge with them!

By doing those things, it will serve two purposes.  1) It will pass on important skills to a future generation and bless their lives.  2)  It will give the boys something to do!

Below is a video, taking a look at some of the things that Dad's do.

Enjoy!

Click on the link below:

Dad Life 

A Spoonful of Sugar....

As I've mentioned before..... In a family, we need HUMOR in order to survive!

So......

Here is Anita Renfroe, singing, "MOM-isms", with the William Tell Overture.

Enjoy!

Click on the link below:

Anita Renfroe singing

Join the Choir!

Great things are often accomplished with the help of many hands.  Our small contribution is added to everyone else's small contributions, and it all adds up to become something even greater than all of the members individually.

Help your Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, Aunt, Uncle, Grandpa, Grandma or whoever is in charge -- whenever they ask you for your help, or even when they don't ask for help, but you know they need it.
Look for ways that you can help the people you live with.

If it's dinner time, and the table needs to be set, set the table.  If dinner is over, then help clear the table and wash the dishes.

If you've been asked to clean your room or get in the car, or stop watching TV, or stop fighting -- DO IT.

We all need people to work at the grocery store, the bank and the gas station so that we can go to those places for things that we need.

People in those places stock the shelves, count the money and keep fuel available for us.  If they didn't do those things, then we wouldn't be able to do what we need to do.

When we all do our part in our family, we are able to be happy, and everyone will get what they need and want more quickly.

Here's a song that I really like.  "Glorious."  When we work in harmony with each other, it's a beautiful thing.  Enjoy!

Click on the link below:

Glorious

Teaching our Children

As parents, it is important that we teach our children the moral values that we hold dear, and which we believe will help them to return to live with our Father in Heaven.

Below is a link to a pamphlet for youth that talks about proper standards for dating, dress and appearance, friends, gratitude, sexual purity and language.

Click on the link below:

Proper Standards for Youth (and everyone else too)

If You Can't Say Anything Nice.......

Ephesians 4:29-32 says:

"29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you."

Sometimes, as we're here living together as families, it is easy to quickly be angry with one another, and say unkind things to those we love.

In this talk from 2007, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, talks about watching what we say.  It is good advice to everyone, in any situation.

Click on the link below:

Shhhhhh...............

The Don't Song

When my husband and I were dating, we drove in his car to visit a friend.  My husband came around to open my door, I got out of the car and I don't remember exactly what I said, but I made some kind of sarcastic comment about how he wouldn't care about something regarding me.  He gave me a really confused and disappointed look, as if to say that what I had just said was NOT true, and why in the world would I say such a thing.

After that look, I realized that he doesn't joke around like that, and I decided that I wouldn't either.

In a marriage, it's vital to have a sense of humor.  Just remember that you can be funny without hurting anyone's feelings.

Here's a song I like -- "The Don't Song".  Enjoy!

Click on the link below:

Don't

Marriage 101

The following is a speech that I gave in Toastmasters a few years ago.  (Toastmasters is a speaking club that has members all over the world.  You gain confidence as you practice speaking in front of others who are supportive of you, and who give you constructive feedback about the delivery and content of your speech.)

I wrote this speech about marriage and what I have learned from being married:

In the late 1980s, I got married.  Eight and a half years later, I got divorced.

Three years after that, I went to a Single Adult fireside, where I met a guy I had known as a teenager.

He was sitting in the room where the fireside was going to be, and as I walked past him he said, “I know you.”  I thought to myself, “I don’t know you, but I’d like to!”.  I didn’t recognize him at all… but when he told me his name, I immediately knew who he was.  It was exciting!

After sitting anxiously through the pioneer video that was shown, we got caught up on the last 15 years of our lives.  Then before leaving, we exchanged phone numbers, shook hands and said, “Good-bye!”.

Soon after that, we went out on a date, talked to each other on the phone for hours, and three months later, we got married!   : )

Too soon?  Not really.  We had known each other when we teenagers, and had even written to each other for a while.

Besides that, he will tell you, I had a LONG list of what I wanted in a man!

Handsome.  Check!  Respectful.  Check!  Can sing..... well....... he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, but he was VERY handsome!   : )

That was all many years ago.  A lot has happened since then – good and bad.

We’ve both learned a lot.

He’s probably learned that I’m a pain in the butt to live with.

I’ve learned…….

He doesn’t always want to do what I want to do!

He doesn’t always agree with me!

He likes chocolate.  I could live without it.

I’m somewhat of a germ-o-phobe.  He is most definitely not a germ-o-phobe!

We aren’t perfect at being married, none-the-less, I’m going to give you some “Rules to Live By” if you want to remain on Cloud 9 after marrying the man or woman of your dreams:

Rule Number One:

Do not insist on always getting what you want.

Let’s say, for example, one night, you want to know if the love of your life is… “in the mood”.  Ask once – maybe twice, but if “No” is the “final answer”, it’s OK!  You’ll live.  Just lovingly accept your sad fate, and hope for a better tomorrow!

Remember – You’re either working toward a better marriage, or working toward a bad one.

Rule Number Two: 

If something is bothering you, tell them.

Be direct.  Women – if you keep giving subtle hints, thinking they’ll eventually “get it”.  They won’t get it, and you’ll be frustrated.

Be direct and just tell them.  Nicely.

Rule Number Three:

Decide what things can just slide, and which things can’t.

I often don’t understand what my husband is trying to tell me.

In the beginning, I would keep questioning him until I understood what he was saying.  That didn’t work out so good!  It only led to frustration for both of us.

Now if I don’t understand something, I decide – is this something I really need to understand?  If not, I just let it go.

Rule Number Four:

Be forgiving.  If you can’t forgive your spouse, the marriage won’t last long.

A few years into our marriage, I was frustrated, worn out and out of answers, and I asked my husband, “What do you want to do?”.

He replied, “Try again tomorrow…?”.

That was the best answer he could have given me.  It meant that he wanted to keep trying, so I wanted to keep trying too.

It’s not ALL a walk in the trenches, but it does take effort.

Several years ago, we went to a wedding where the bride and groom said in their vows, “I promise to love you when it’s easy, and when it takes effort.”.   : )  I like that -- "...when it’s easy, and when it takes effort.".

Make the effort to have the kind of relationship you’ve always dreamed of.

Don’t insist on always getting what you want.

If something is bothering you, tell them.

Decide what things can just slide and which things cannot.

Be forgiving.

Remember – You’re either working toward a better marriage, or you’re working toward a bad one.

Love

There are 7 kids in the family in the video below.

SEVEN.

That must take a lot of love, patience, work and prayer.

Click on the link below:

Family

Being a-Pod of a Family! (Like Peas in a Pod)

I remember that when I was a kid, I hated eating vegetables, but my Mom made us all eat our age in peas, green beans, or whatever vegetable it was that we didn't like.  One time, I thought that I had escaped having to eat peas for dinner, and that my Mom had forgotten all about it.  But lo and behold -- when I asked to be excused from the dinner table, my Mom said, "Well, before you go -- you have to eat 8 peas."  Aaaaaaa........... Mooooommmmmmm..............  Do I HAVE tooooooo?

Being in a family is NOT easy all of the time.  Sometimes it's like having to eat icky vegetables.  For the times when it's not fun, we need to pray to our Heavenly Father for help to have patience, forgiveness, strength, etc...

He will help us through the rough times, and help us to have FUN times!

Click on the link below to read all about being in a family!

Strengthening Families

Be Nice to Each Other.

This link is a talk by Gordon B. Hinckley.  It is titled, "The Women in Our Lives".  It focuses on the importance of the union of a husband and wife, and how their roles complement each other.

Click on the link below:

Gordon B. Hinckley's Talk

"God's Handiwork"

It is important to believe that God exists, and to know that He is our Heavenly Father.  By learning about Him, and that He loves me and wants to help me, gives me courage.  I know that with His help, I can do anything that is good.  I can accomplish my righteous desires. 

Below is a video of a viewpoint from a chemist/scientist, who believes in God.

"The universe is God's handiwork."

Click on the link below:

"A Great Thought"

In the Beginning...........

Since my blog is about marriage and families, I figured it might be a good idea to mention that I believe in a loving Heavenly Father, and that this earth was created under His direction.

Here is a video that I found a while ago, which has a song that echos my feelings about the divine creation of this earth and everything on it.

Click on the link below:

 The Earth

Here We Go!

The very first post always seems SO important!   : )

In my online religion class, we are required to choose a project that we will work on for the rest of the semester.  One of the choices was to create a "Marriage and Family Blog".  I love to write, give my opinion, and tell personal stories, so that is why I decided to create this blog for my project.

The criteria for my blog is "to share truths you may be learning from the class; your own family experiences; talks, memes, and/or videos from the Church that teach and defend the family".

That will be my focus here.

Hopefully we'll all learn something or be inspired here as we go.

The first video I will share is a Father's Day video.

Enjoy!

Click on the link below:

Fathers