Financial Management

I am taking a financial Management class and and also a parenting class, in conjunction with this class it has gotten me thinking a lot about what i can do to be a good financial role model. I feel that it is very important to be a good role model for our children because they will learn those traits from us, but only if we are actively practicing them. I know that it is my responsibility to provide for their physical means, and I can do this through budgeting and getting a good job that will allow me to provide for them. In My money management class we have been working on a family budget and how to have enough money for our needs. As I have done the assignments I have obtained the knowledge that I will need to be able to budget effectively. As I budget I will be able to show my children the importance of budgeting and saving up for things that you want and using your money for things that you need. I will help them to develop this by teaching them how to budget and giving them and allowance so that they can actively learn and practice this principle. I also feel that being a good financial role model means to know how to work hard. I will help my children to know this by working hard myself and taking pride in the work that I do. Really the only thing that we can do to teach our children and to be financial role models is to just do it. We can say that we will do things but we will always find things that get in out ways. The Only thing that will prevent that is to start making it a priority in our lives now. I will be able to do this as I Make a conscientious effort to budget now and actively make it a part of my money earning and money spending.

Family Relations...

When you have children it is not just about us. We have obligations that supersede our own desires and things that we want to accomplish. When children enter the world we can no longer be selfish we need to stop thinking about ourselves and focus on what is best for them. When we try and do what is best for our children we can better teach them the important stuff that they really need to know to be happy. When families are blended, through divorce and remarrying or through adoption or other ways in which two units become one. It is important to make everyone feel included, not just in blended families but also in nuclear biological families. Once you become a family we need to treat everyone like they are a member of the family. We never know when we may need their help and if we don’t treat them very well how can we expect them to treat us very well?

Adversity is sometimes hard to deal with, that is one of the reasons the family is so essential to our lives on this earth. When we need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on, most of the time our families will be there. The majority of our lives are spent at home with our families. It is where we are happy and where we are able to learn the important things in our lives that will bless us and help us to be happy. Sometimes we may not seem very happy or we may feel upset at a family member. But remember you will be with your family forever. If you can’t get along with them now, what makes you think eternity will be any better?

The relationships we form in this life will go with us to the next. Within our families we have a source for love and support that cannot be found anywhere else, our families teach us how to love and how to treat people, they treat us how to communicate and how to socialize with those around us. Sometimes we may hit a stumbling block with our families but in the long run we know that no matter what they love us. There is nothing too hard in this life that cannot be worked out with love and understanding. Harold B. Lee said "The most important of the Lord's work you will ever do, will be within the walls of your own home.” As you grow and start having families of your own make sure to always keep them close to the Lord and what is right. As you do this you will be more able to rear your children to what is right and to what they need to do to return to God again someday.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World states, “The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”

Fathers...

The Family Proclamation says that a fathers responsibility to provide preside and protect his family. When I think about that I think about the things in my life that either help me or prohibit me from accomplishing this. My father is a great example to me of exemplifying the “3 P’s”. Something that I really look up to my father for is his testimony. He has an amazing testimony in the church and has never sacrificed that for anything. I once asked my father “What are some of the most important contributions you believe you make to your family through your role as a father? He said, “There are a couple things, being a priesthood holder and always being worthy to exercise my priesthood. The worthiness is important so that I can have the companionship of the spirit and utilize the gifts of the spirit that I have been given for my family. If you have a physical tangible thing, like using the priesthood, then everything will fall into place.” Because of my father and his willingness to exercise his priesthood I have gained a better testimony of it and what it means in my life. When we have something we can use in our lives that helps us to “win” and defeat Satan, like the priesthood, and as we use it worthily we are become the men that our wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters need us to be.

Love is the Reason

I feel that there are a lot of important things in the world, but none more important than the marriage relationship. Recently I have been thinking a lot about worldly physical things we esteem or hold in high priority.  Some people may see their car as the most important thing in our life. When the  car gets a dent or scratch we probably get extremely mad without regards to the other party. This may not just be with worldly possessions but also possibly with arguments and other trials that we go through. In my Family Relations class we discussed the word "Crisis", and how when we are in a crisis it is an opportunity for us to grow stronger and work on our family relationships. This topic really hit me this week. I had an opportunity this week to work on this. If you know me you know that a prized possession for me is my iPod Touch. Well this week it got broken... My wife was using it and tossed it onto the couch, something that I do all the time. This time however, it hit something on the couch and the screen cracked. I didn't notice it at first but I saw little pieces of glass on the couch and my first thought was that our camera broke or something. When I picked up my iPod and noticed that it was broken, my first thought was not that y wife was careless or that it was all her fault. It was that when she found out about it she would be so upset. I was so worried that she would be mad even though it wasn't even her iPod. When I told her what had happened I started off by saying that I loved her more than anything, she looked at me and asked what was wrong and I told her that my iPod broke when  she tossed it onto the couch. She immediately started freaking out and crying and saying she was so sorry, but I just told her that it was okay, that it didn't matter because I love her more than my iPod.

I think this could apply to a lot of things in our lives. When someone in our family hurts us are we immediately thinking of a way to get revenge? Or are we realizing that it is okay and that we can forgive someone easily because we love them. Or are we making a bigger deal out of things that don't really matter? We should step back and take a look at what things really matter to us in our lives. Do we put such an importance on video games, movies, electronics, or other hobbies that we miss what is right in front of us? The gospel of Jesus Christ is plain and precious. It helps us and gives us the information we need to make informed decisions and realize what is important in our lives.

Most Important

By Lola H. Houmes

The fingers started to dispute,

And each one took his stand

To prove himself to be the most

Important to the hand.

Now, Thumb was first to state his case:

He asked the others whether

They realized 'twas he alone

Who held them all together.

"That may be true," First Finger said,

"But living day by day

Calls for a true and faithful guide,

'Tis I who points the way."

Then Second Finger rose in turn

To prove that he was the best. 

"Remember, I'm the tallest one,

And I protect the rest."

"It's long been true," Third Finger said,

"That I'm most worthy of

The highest honor, since I'm asked

To wear the ring of love."

Then Little Finger took his place

And told the others there

How useful was his smaller reach

When each one did his share.

And so they stopped their arguing,

For they could plainly see

That none is most important.

Now each serves happily.

We just simply need to understand that the relationships are the most important and nothing can take their place. Those relationships should be our utmost priority. We need to constantly be checking and making sure that we are are not replacing those important things with stuff that gives us momentary pleasure. The love that we have for others will last much longer if love is the reason for doing things.  

Communication in Marriage

“Marriage brings greater possibilities for happiness than does any other human relationship. Yet some married couples fall short of their full potential. They let their romance become rusty, take each other for granted, allow other interests or clouds of neglect to obscure the vision of what their marriage really could be. Marriages would be happier if nurtured more carefully.”

~Elder Russell M. Nelson~

Marriage is an important step that we all may choose to take. We make the necessary preparation to change our lives around and offer our hearts to the person that we love. I believe that the most important aspect of marriage is communication. By communication, I mean talking openly, not holding back your feelings, we should get to the point that we are more concerned with the other than with ourselves. We need to honor each other enough to realize that in the big scheme of things, we are not really all that important compared to the other person. When we work together to do what the other person needs a connection is formed and allows us to truly be happy.


Russell M. Nelson says in a talk entitled “Nurturing Marriage” and says, “Good communication includes taking time to plan together. Couples need private time to observe, to talk, and really listen to each other. They need to cooperate—helping each other as equal partners. They need to nurture their spiritual as well as physical intimacy. They should strive to elevate and motivate each other. Marital unity is sustained when goals are mutually understood. Good communication is also enhanced by prayer. To pray with specific mention of a spouse’s good deed (or need) nurtures a marriage.”

As we communicate it is important to realize that we are working together to build each other up. Discussing openly what is going on is extremely important. We should not speak/communicate/discuss with anger, trying to point out flaws, we should be trying to figure out what is going on and what needs to happen to be able to better communicate and work on your relationship with your spouse.

Nurturing a marriage is not just communication, Elder Nelson gave a few other things that help nurture a marriage, and he said that it is important “to appreciate, to communicate, and to contemplate.” As we work on nurturing our marriages it is important to just simply love each other. If we love each other every problem that arises will seem insignificant. 

Parenting

Parenting can be hard at times. I honestly wouldn’t know because I am not a father yet, 3 more months. Thinking about how close I am to being a dad I have started to worry about what kind of father I want to be. In a class I took at Brigham Young University- Idaho I learned about the different parenting styles. Those parenting styles are:

1.      Authoritarian Parenting
In this style of parenting, children are expected to follow the strict rules established by the parents. Failure to follow such rules usually results in punishment. Authoritarian parents fail to explain the reasoning behind these rules.

2.      Authoritative Parenting
Like authoritarian parents, those with an authoritative parenting style establish rules and guidelines that their children are expected to follow. However, this parenting style is much more democratic. Authoritative parents are responsive to their children and willing to listen to questions. When children fail to meet the expectations, these parents are more nurturing and forgiving rather than punishing.

3.      Permissive Parenting
Permissive parents, sometimes referred to as indulgent parents, have very few demands to make of their children. These parents rarely discipline their children because they have relatively low expectations of maturity and self-control.

4.      Uninvolved Parenting
An uninvolved parenting style is characterized by few demands, low responsiveness and little communication. While these parents fulfill the child's basic needs, they are generally detached from their child's life.

We know that the Authoritative parenting style is more effective because it allows the children to learn what is right and what is wrong. This creates an opportunity for the children to learn and to grow in a way that helps them to know that their parents love them.

The LDS church created short commercials that show perfect examples of how the way we parent can affect our children. They show that it is okay to play with children and laugh and have fun with them. This time together really strengthens the family bond and helps to build trust within the family.

What is Family?

What is the family? Wikipedia says, "In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children. Extended from the human "family unit" by biological-cultural affinity, marriage, economy, culture, tradition, honor, and friendship are concepts of family that are physical and metaphorical, or that grow increasingly inclusive extending to community, village, city, region, nationhood, global village and humanism. A family group consisting of a father, mother and their children are called a nuclear family." Since when did the family become so complicated? A family used to be a mother and father who were married and might have a few kids and a dog or something. The family is being attacked from all angles, which really complicates things. I am grateful for the knowledge that I have and for the testimony of the family, which the church has helped me to accomplish.

Becoming...

Our father in heaven have us an important stewardship. We have been given families to allow us to learn and to grow. He has aloud his children to come to earth and be our brothers and sisters, our husbands and our wives, our sons and our daughters, our relatives and even our friends. Knowing this we are all children of God and are thus entitled to a certain kind of respect. I know that I haven't always been the best person and am wracked with torment knowing that I may have hurt another child of God. Who are we, that we would feel that we could do something to another? Who are we becoming? Dallin H. Oaks said in a talk "Are the returned missionaries still trying to be converted or are they caught up in the ways of the world?" We need I continually try and be like Jesus, just because we may have a testimony of the gospel it doesn't mean our conversion is complete. At the beginning of this year we have an opportunity to change ourselves, to change our actions and show to our Father in Heaven that we love him. To show him that we are willing to be disciples and to follow his son, Jesus Christ, who died to allow us to live. We need to become the people that our Father in Heaven wants us to be, the people we know we should be.