Sunday, February 6, 2011

Marriage and Family battle scars....

So below are the new additions to our wall and our lives. When Doug and I were just married we had created the "White Notebook". In this notebook were ground rules and ideas we believed in and ideally wanted to achieve. We were hopeful that we would keep to this notebook and were confident that it would lead us to happiness in this life and in the next. Of course it is easy to stray from the "white notebook". Satan and temptations...tired of trying...and many distractions have made it difficult to live every word of the white notebook. We have had our ups and downs like any other family and marriage. Recently we had another "awakening" of sorts and realized that we have become off track in a lot of ways in our family and marriage. We are coasting by and taking for granted our life. After many prayers and tears we came up with these two documents. They are now hanging on our wall with the Christ in the middle. We created these together as a family and as a marriage. This was not a quick write up...this took some thought. Eternal family is not easy. Today we tried to have some discussion and scripture time and by the time me and Doug were through--we wanted to kill and burn our creed. It is not easy to patiently give up our carnal appetites and passions for what is most important--and that is each other and family. I am a living testament to that. But what I do know that when and IF we do attain this "Nirvana" of family and marriage life...I bet it will be worth every bit of those tears. Good luck to all those troopers who are trying to win the fight too. (Scream when no one is listening while listening to some crazy music...my secret.) :-)

We believe....

Marshall Creed

Happiness in family is most likely to be achieved when founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ

1.We believe that our home should be patterned after the temple. It is a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, and a house of God.
2.We believe in loyalty and loving our family and placing each other’s needs before our own. We are slow to anger, not offended, quick to forgive, and resolve disagreements with love and respect.
3.We believe that we can maintain the Spirit in our home as we go to bed on time, wake up on time, have morning and evening prayers, daily family scripture study, and family home evening weekly.
4.We believe in honoring and supporting our parents and in being obedient to what they ask. Love is the foundation of everything they do.
5.We believe in being morally clean and in only allowing wholesome media to enter our home. We dress modesty and obey the clothing guidelines set forth in the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet.
6.We believe in building God’s kingdom on earth by attending all church meetings, accepting and magnifying our callings, and serving in the church when needed.
7.We believe that all our communication should build and uplift each other. We would not use names that degrade, we use tones that are pleasant, and volume that is appropriate.
8.We believe in wholesome recreational activities. We should have fun together, play together, spend time together, and have monthly family adventures.
9.We believe in being financially independent. We will pay a full tithing, live within our means, not rely upon credit, and will save money to pay for “wants”.
10.We believe in developing our talents in music and athletics and using those talents to nurture relationships and serving God.
11.We believe in educating our minds and spirits, in obtaining as much education as possible, in reading good books, and in creating a nurturing learning environment in our home.
12.We believe in being healthy, in exercising frequently, in eating healthy food, and obeying the Word of Wisdom.
13.We believe that Christ is the way to happiness in life and life eternal. We know that the greatest joys in life are to be found in righteous living and strengthening family relationships.

Setting some ground rules....

Marriage
We consecrate our lives to one another in establishing and maintaining a happy celestial marriage on earth.

1. Perfectly loyal
2. Let virtue garnish our thoughts
3. Focus on the eternal
4. Implicit trust and be perfectly honest
5. Always give the benefit of the doubt
6. Build and uplift each other in all we do
7. Counsel together and be one in purpose
8. Frankly forgive and take no offense
9. Couple prayer, scripture, and temple
10. Smile, laugh, date, and flirt ferociously