Should mothers stay at home instead of work?

In the article, Does a full time Homemaker swap her mind for a mop, it says that those people who listen regularly to his talk shows now more about the economics, politics, current events, world affairs and so on compared to those who work full time. This is very intriguing to me because if I would be a full time working mom I would feel like I would know more about the world then someone who stays at home all day and take care of her children. I also really like how he describes that those who work aren't developing their mind as much as those who are in the home.

           I feel like it is very important for the mother to be educated because you never know what circumstances will occur in our lives. We need to be prepared for everything. But I feel like it is best to have a stay at home mom. I feel this way because we as mothers are the means to develop and teach our children. Yes they have school, but school can only go so far. They need the different type of learning that only a mother can give. I really like how even the prophets have also counseled that a women’s greatest work will be within the walls of her home. This testifies to me how important mothers are in the home. When we are home I still believe that we should keep ourselves updated in the worldy things because the trails that we went through in our lives will be different than what our children will have to go through and so I feel it is important to know about the world and the things that are currently happening. This information can be in books, articles, some television, community classes, blogs, newspapers you name it. If you are willing to learn for yourself and your children then you will be able to learn what is needed. 

http://www.dennisprager.com/does-a-full-time-homemaker-swap-her-mind-for-a-mop/

The Apostles Pattern of Communication that We Should use in our Lives

       The Apostles of our church have a specific order in which they direct there meetings each week. There order in which they follow is very important and we are able to learn a lot from them if we use this order in our lives whether it be marriage or with roommates. To start off the Apostles always have a specific spot in which they will meet and they have a certain time set aside for it. They hold their meetings every week in the temple. This is their holy area but we are able to conduct these meetings in our homes as well because they are a holy area. The specific order that they follow will be explained below in these six steps. I will also state the importance of using this pattern in our own lives and marriages.

1.       The Brethren always get to the meeting a little bit early so they are able to express their love for one another. They are able to really understand each other and get to know the things that are going on in their lives as well as their family’s lives. We should do this so we are building a strong relationship with our spouse and those around us. If we don’t truly care about one another then how are we supposed to get to a consensus?

2.       They then begin with a pray to start off the meeting. This brings the spirit into the room and makes it so they are able to follow upon what Heavenly Father wants them to do and not just there selves. This is very important because we need to be wanting what Heavenly Father wants for us and not be egocentric.

3.       After the prayer they talk about the agenda. They don’t just get to the meeting and say, ‘well what do you want to talk about today’. They have specific items that they need to talk about and cover. When they cover them they do it with openness and an objective. This is very important because we need to know what we are having the meeting for and we need to both be on the same page. This will make life easier. Brother Williams suggested having a piece of paper on the fridge and when we run into things throughout the week that we would like to talk about we should write them down. If as we go throughout the week and what we wanted to talk about has been fixed or taken care of we are now able to cross it off of the list. The list will help each other to understand better what each other’s feeling are and what principles they need to work on together. The Brethren have an objective and openness which is what we should have as well. Our objective that we should strive to get to it finding the truth in what the Lord wants to happen. Our openness should not be brutal honest but we should be open enough that we are able to accept what your spouse thoughts are with an open mind.

4.       The next step is to discuss everything to a consensus with regard to what the Lord wants. Consensus is different form compromise. Coming to a consensus means that everyone is able to come to the same decision rather than bending one another’s idea to get to a compromise. This is also shown by taking time to understand what everyone thinks and has a say. We are counseling together not just delegating to one person. We are all in this together and we should be happy in the answers that we come to.

5.       They also end with a prayer. This helps everyone to continue to have the spirit with them and we should be thanking Heavenly Father for giving us the answers and being able to come to a consensus about the items we talked about.

6.       Like at the first of their meeting they take time to be able to talk to each other about their personal lives and express their love for one another. To do this at the end of each meeting they have refreshments. This helps bring everyone closer and to understand each other better. We should always do something to express our love for our spouse at the end of meetings. This will help us to remain close and to build a stronger relationship with them.

This process is very important in communication and problem solving in marriages. We should all strive to follow this pattern that has been shown to us. It will help us in communication with each other.

How Do You Cope in Stressful Experiences?

It is inevitable to have stress in a marriage. We are all natural human beings. We take things to personal, we assume our spouse meant one thing when they meant the other or have the death of a child or loved one. Along with stress comes many feelings and we create our own way of coping with the stress whether it is negative or positive.

The negative ways we let our feelings show is we communicate less to our spouse and tend to shut down. When we do this most the time we turn inward and don’t speak about our feelings. This leads to feeling shame and doubt. We may start to blame ourselves or those around us for causing the stress.

The positive way we should interact and cop with this stress though is to turn towards each other for support. You are both going through the same struggle and helping each other out seeing each other’s sides or the experience can help greatly.  We need to also utilize our resources. This can either be other family members, church groups or having people come and babysit so your spouse and you can get away for a couple hours. We need to express our emotions and realize that this situation won’t last a life time. It will get better.

The most important thing to realize is that coping with a situation doesn’t mean that all of a sudden everything is going to be alright. Coping through a situation is making the necessary little changes so that in the future the whole picture and experience will all fit together better. Coping isn’t just trying to get by. 

Accomplishing our Wants will Never Lead us to Happiness and Satisfaction

 Have you ever been discouraged because you can’t satisfy your wants? Have you ever longed at the idea of being content? I have, but I have been able to realize that contentment can never come from out wants. Our ‘wants’ in life whether they are goals we have set for ourselves, money, cars, an education or a family can never be the deciding factor for our happiness and satisfaction. We will always continue to have wants in life whether they get fulfilled or not. But by searching through our wants we will be able to understand what we really need in life. We will be able to discern our wants from our needs. When we are able to achieve this, we will finally be able to satisfy our cravings. We will be content. We will be comfortable. We will be relaxed. But most importantly, we will be happy. This is what we all strive for in life. Happiness is one of the most important role in all of our lives. If we are able to be happy in our doings we are much richer than those people who strive for all their lives trying to reach this state of happiness that we have been able to achieve.

“You can never get enough of what you don’t need because what you don’t need can’t satisfy you.”