Faith

Here is THE FABULOUS PLAN FOR RAISING SPIRITUAL, WELL-BEHAVED AND CIVILIZED CHILDREN. This is the Faith installment. Of course, this plan is still in the beginning stages and is as yet completely tested, but it's better than nothing. Let me know how it works for you.

Develop a Testimony of Jesus Christ

Scripture Study

Age 0-3 – Be there during scripture study, tell stories from the scriptures

Age 3-5 – Read scriptures with family repeating after parent

Age 6 – Read as much as possible with family on own during family scripture study

Age 8 –

1. Receive first copy of scriptures with much pomp and circumstance
2. Personal scripture study begins with Book of Mormon – Reads with a buddy (devotional with older sibling or with mom or dad) Can be on own next to buddy. Buddy teaches child how to study properly, marking, journaling, praying. Set a time daily to do this and set timer so it only takes a set amount of time (10 minutes)
3. Continue Family scripture study

Age 12 – Continue personal scripture study on own

Age 14 –

1. Begin Seminary
2. Start a Seminary journal if haven’t already and write thoughts about what you are reading
3. Memorize Scripture Mastery (10 minutes a day following scripture study time, set a timer)

Prayer

Age 0-3 –

1. Pray for them
2. Allow them to be there during family prayers
3. Tell them often that Jesus and Heavenly Father love them
4. Show them pictures often of Jesus telling them who it is and that they are loved

Age 2-6 –

1. All the above
2. Parent pray with child, giving them words to repeat.
3. Parent models proper prayer terms and things to pray for; 3 things to be grateful, 3 things to ask for self, 3 things to ask for someone else
4. Include child in family prayer queue
5. Give them opportunities to pray for food, etc

Age 6

1. All the above
2. Pray aloud at bedtime and in the morning

Church Attendance

Age 0-3 –

1. Taken out of meetings only if very fussy.
2. Sits on lap in hallway, no playing in Nursery.
3. No snacks during Sacrament Meeting

Age 3-7 –

1. Attends Primary activities
2. Quiet drawing and sew cards, etc allowed after Sacrament
3. Reverence expected during Sacrament, may lean on Mom or Dad but not lie on bench

Age 8-12

1. All of the Above
2. Faith in God –  at least15 minutes every Sunday
3. Sits up during Sacrament Meeting. No leaning.
4. Scouts or Achievement Days Attendance

Age 12

1. Personal Progress/Duty to God
2. Attend all mutual activities and service projects
3. No reading or activities during Sacrament Meeting. Quietly listening to speakers. May take notes

***Confession: No, I don't do all of these things with my children, but I do some of them and I think I would like to do all of them, but as mentioned earlier, there is simply not enough time in the day, so try a few. It can't hurt***

The three most important things you can do with your family to increase faith is
1. Family Prayer
2. Family Scripture Study
3. Family Home Evening
Actually, I would probably add Family Dinner to that as well.

Tips for Successful Marriage

So, Robert was giving me a hard time the other night about trying to give people advice on marriage and family. I've stopped writing in my blog because of that in the past. I never wanted anyone to think I had it all figured out and I never wanted anyone to feel that I thought I did. But, recently, I’ve come to the determination that if everyone felt that way, only the arrogant would ever publish a book, write a talk or a lesson. So, at the risk of feeling as if I've come off as being arrogant, I'll share the few things that have helped me in my marriage, realizing that no two people, nor two marriages are the same. Still, if nobody ever wrote down what worked for them, nobody would ever benefit except the person it worked for (does that make any sense?).

1. Your spouse cannot make you happy. - I learned this shortly after I was married. I thought once we were married, I would blissfully trot off with Robert into a garden of perpetual joy where he would shower me with praise, think all my ideas were the best he had ever heard, agree with me on everything and do everything he could to make me happy. Well, the truth is, Robert did everything he could to make me happy. And, he continues to do everything he can to make me happy. Then, why was I not always blissfully happy? It came as quite the revelation to me one day in the depths of my despair that Robert wasn't in charge of making me happy. Only I could make myself happy. Happiness is a choice. Sometimes people may say unkind things to you or sometimes even your spouse will disappoint you, but it is how you react that makes the difference in your life. If someone hurts your feelings for some reason, so what? Will it make anyone feel any better to belittle or make them feel bad about themselves? Let it go! Choose to be happy.

2. Selfishness always kills the relationship. The golden rule applies here. Try it for a while and see what happens. If you want him to show you more respect, show him more respect. If you want him to speak more softly to you, speak more softly to him. If you want him to be more tender with you, be more tender with him. Think of his needs before you think of your own. You might feel in the beginning that you are getting walked over, but don’t despair, unless you’re married to a tyrant (and then sometimes, even if you are), it will be reciprocated. You don’t have anything to lose for trying it out. Be less selfish. Charity is the antithesis of selfishness. If you serve and care for a person with all your heart, you will love that person. It doesn’t always matter if they love you back, but it will make you happier to have good feelings for that person.

3. Never stop flirting! Remember what it was like to fall in love with your husband, and use some of the same tactics you used then. They will still work. Send him love notes in his lunchbox or work bag. Call him during the day just to say “I love you”. Sometimes when Robert kisses me, I’ll say “Can I have another please?” Do it, even if you don’t currently feel that way about him. There was a time in my marriage when things sort of started to go stale. We’d been married for about 10 years and with 3 young kids around, I wasn’t really flirting and not even that interested most of the time. I read a book by Merrilee Boyack-Browne called “Strangling Your Husband is Not an Option”. I highly recommend this book to anyone in the same predicament. It reminded me among other things to fall in love with my husband again. From that moment on, our marriage continued to improve and continues to get better with the years.

4. Practice Communicating. Find things that are interesting to both of you and talk about it together. Stay up to date on news or books so you feel smart, and talk about the things you’re learning with your spouse. Caution: Men can only concentrate on one thing at a time (i.e. Men have boxes in their brains and women have a ball of wire--See Mark Gungor’s talk on Men’s Brain, Women’s Brain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BxckAMaTDc). So, if your husband is busy working on something else, wait until he has finished and then talk to him. If you’re not interested in anything he is interested in, choose something!! I read The Wall Street Journal and discuss articles I read with my husband. It comes in handy too, when I’m talking to professional people who think I’m “just a mom”. I think I sometimes surprise people that I know something about current events. If he’s more into sports, get into sports. I have sisters and sisters-in-law that are bigger sports fans than their husbands and they are able to share the passion with their husband. Yes, you may have to sacrifice some of your passions to get to know his, but isn’t a good marriage about sacrifice? And, yes you will think it is one sided, but it’s not. He is sacrificing for you whether you always see it or not.

5. Don’t ever sleep on the couch or make him sleep on the couch. Have a rule that you will always work it out before you go to sleep. This was Robert’s rule, not mine. But, he is right, and even though I generally need a little more time to let it go, I am always glad to wake up next to him in the morning after we’ve worked things out.

6. Even if you don’t feel like being intimate, do it anyway and decide to enjoy it. If you are enjoying it, he will. ‘nuff said!

7. Learn your spouse’s love language and use it. You can refer to a wonderful book by Gary Chapman “The Five Love Languages”. It really does work.

8. When arguing, try to avoid using infinitives like always and never. They will always come back to haunt you.

9. You will not agree on everything. Pick what is really important to you and work towards a compromise, listening to your spouse’s arguments and being humble enough to adjust when necessary. Surprisingly enough, I wasn’t always right and my ideas weren’t always the best idea. I also went through a period where I felt I was never right and that was frustrating. I shared this with Robert and he has since tried to help me see when I am right.

The one thing Robert wants more than anything is for me to be happy. When I’m happy, he is. When he sees me happy, he does more things to continue this pattern, thus improving our marriage. Don’t ever manipulate your husband, (remember charity). But, understanding this pattern can change things around for you. Don’t worry if everything isn’t completely fair. Life is not fair from our vantage point. In the end things will even out though. You can’t give without receiving in the end as long as receiving is not the reason you give.

One of the best books I have ever read on relationships is “Bonds that Make us Free” by Terry Warner. What I got from this book was that charity is the key to all relationships. If you look at a person in the very best light, give them the opportunity to change and become better, you will develop better relationships because people tend to try to measure up to your expectations. I know that I am constantly working on ways to improve myself. I believe everybody is doing the same thing. Whether it’s true or not is irrelevant. If it changes your view of that person, you will come out better.