My Blended Life

A couple are dating and discussing if they should just stay friends or could this person be my eternal companion? There is more flexibility with being friends and no actual commitment, but in marriage there is selflessness, love, protection, and more. They wonder what similarities they have and find out their pretty opposite, but opposites can attract right?                 My husband and I are opposites, but we love each other and know the importance of our covenants and have an intimate connection. We know to set boundaries with others and make sure we are both aware of outside friendships and relationships with family. We put God first and then each other. We have seen firsthand the challenges in past marriages where affairs and pornography have affected not only the previous spouses, but us individually.                 What are ...

It has happened…he has asked her to marry him and they celebrate just the two of them. I remember both times I was proposed to. The first time was at the Temple (I wanted to be proposed to at a Temple) and my roommate was there taking a photo of him proposing. My reaction? Are you serious!? Then the second time I was proposed to (by my 2 nd husband), I had come home from the gym, he was in pajamas, but the table was set up with dinner, flowers, and a paper. He would have got down on one knee, but I was hugging him while reading the paper he typed (of songs we had listened to which was his way of proposing). It was just the two of us, and of course I said yes!                                 Last week we went over the different steps of dating, courtship, engagement, and marriage. When couples are courting, this could be a make or brea...

Should people date before they get married, or co-habit to see if they are compatible? If they date, how long before they get engaged and marry? If they choose to co-habit will they ever marry? I personally feel that people should date. From life experience, dating for at least a couple of months will help you see how the other person is in different “seasons”. Ask yourself how are they with their family and yours, with decisions, are they able to plan and be financially stable? In marriage, two people are coming together bringing in their different resources such as giving their full attention when needed, being able to plan activities and help make financial and other decisions. I was married 15 years and in the length of the marriage, we weren’t communicating well, planning our lives well, or making big decisions together well. We didn’t date long before marriage and were only engaged for a couple of months. Since then, I got divorced and then re-married. My husband and I dated fo...

The first thing that comes to mind when I see Gender and Family Life, is The Proclamation to the Family. In the Proclamation to the Family a husband is to lead his family in love and righteous, and to provide and protect. A mother is to nurture their children and usually stay at home. In some families, this is not always the situation.                 As mentioned in the previous paragraph, men are to provide, preside, and protect. However, the world and Satan see this as you need to make more money to have everything you want to be happy. “You can have anything in this world if have money.” We need to make sure our families are provided for but need to make sure we know the difference between need and want. Men are also to preside over their families. If they are always out working how can they preside? We need to help them focus on the big perspective. Protecting our families especially now in these last da...

Here is a question to ask yourself, do you think the way you were raised and the traditions you have affected or influenced you while growing up? When we look at the people around us do, we pre-judge them with how they act and how they do things in their families?                 I will admit, I have pre-judged people before, and I realize I shouldn’t have. At first impression, I look at how others dress and the way they act. We all come from different social classes whether we were raised in a low class, middle class, or higher class. When parents give their kids what they want there is not only a lack of hard work but a lack of appreciation. True, we all come from different social classes, but that could change in their future. As I did my study, I was watching a couple of videos on different social classes. The first video was about a mom (no dad was in the video) was of a mom named Tammy who grew up poor ...