Monday, June 25, 2012

Council Method

Last week in class we talked about the council method. It was very interesting to find out how the first presidency of the church council together.
All of their meetings have an agenda, and they meet every week. At the start of every meeting they express love and concern for each other, then pray, discuss to consensus of the lord's will, then pray again and have some type of dessert.
I really like the idea that everyone has the opportunity to speak their own mind and everyone has the ability to receive personal inspiration.
I really think this is a great idea for every family, and I hope to implement this method when I have my own family.
I think it would have made a big difference in growing up if I would have had this relationship with my mom. I see how it can be really beneficial to every family.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Family Crisis

I have really enjoyed learning about family crisis this week in class. It is really interesting the ways in which family deal with crisis and the effects that it has on the family dynamic.
We discussed the ABC's of family crisis.
A- Actual event
B- Behavioral response
C - Cognition
X- total eXperience

We are not able to control the actual event that occurs but we do have power in over how we think about the event and the actions that we take because of that. I think it is super important to know that we all have the ability to choose what we think and how we react to every situation. It seems that we often take ourselves out of the situation thinking that we really have no control over anything. But, the cool thing is, is that we really do. Thoughts lead to actions, so it is important to make our thoughts what we want them to be then we can control our actions.
It is awesome that we can take from these stressful family situations and make something better out of it. Another concept is to learn from what is going on and prepare ourselves for stressors in the future.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Friends, and Fidelity

For this week in class one of the topics that we discussed had to do with friends and fidelity.
There is a friends model and an eternal companion model. Here is a list of the two different model types:

Friends model
- cross-gender buddies without consequences
- flexible boundaries
- endless fun, few responsibilities
- perpetual hangout sessions

Eternal Companion model
- total allegiance to spouse or there will be consequences
- firm clear boundaries
- limits to fun; seemingly endless responsibilities
- perpetual growth opportunities

A couples relationship really needs to focus on the eternal companion model. This way the couple can be a strong couple and stay together with these mutual understandings.
I think what I have really learned through this class is the importance of communication. I think communication is where relationships are built and broken. Also, many things need to be discussed before marriage and boundaries need to be set. Because there isn't much time once a couple is married and starts having children to discuss these things and set proper boundaries. Following steps like having boundaries and not spending time alone with anyone from the opposite sex is really important in helping to prevent infidelity within the marriage.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Avoiding Baby Blues

I wasn't too surprised when we learned in class this week that marital satisfaction decreases with the birth of the first child and then continues to decline with each subsequent child. It makes sense that this is a reason why couple decided to not have any children or to put it off for years. I really liked how we discussed ways in which couples can prevent the decline in marital satisfaction. Here is a few that we discussed in class:
- involving the husband in prenatal check up
- involving the husband in the babies kicks and movements
- thinking of the others needs
- making the pregnancy about the couple not just the baby
- planning how to raise the child before the birth

I really like that there are ways in which a couple can continue to have marital satisfaction with each child. I think its great that we discussed this, because now in the future I can definitely apply it in my own life when I eventually get married and have children.