Know Your Spouse's Love Language

It is really important to know what your spouse's love language is. A lot of times it is even a different love language than yours. Once you know your spouses love language you can better show your love to them.

Does Your Hubby Know That You Appreciate Him?

I guess it is true, our men can't read our minds. Sometimes I have found that my husband doesn't always get the appreciation or encouragement he needs from me. In my mind I think that I show it, but it doesn't always show.
rachelwojo.com created this list of things that you can say to encourage your husband. I am trying to implement all of these into my communication with him! I love him and am grateful for him and this list is a great start to better demonstrate that love! I also found this "love challenge" posted below! Both so fun and so good.

Wholesome Recreational Activities

lds.org states that, "Families that play together stay together, especially when their play is uplifting and wholesome. Family vacations, holidays, birthday celebrations, and other activities build strong bonds and feelings of self-worth. The phrase “Remember when we…” is sure to bring love and laughter in the years to come."

 
"Wholesome recreation is part of our religion, and a change of pace is necessary, and even its anticipation can lift the spirit."

Do Not Despair Ezra Taft Benson

  

"Create meaningful family bonds that give your children an identity stronger than what they can find with their peer group or at school or anyplace else. This can be done through family traditions for birthdays, for holidays, for dinnertime, and for Sundays."

What Matters Most Is What Lasts Longest M. Russell Ballard

 "Plan and carry out meaningful vacations together, considering our children’s needs, talents, and abilities. Help them create happy memories, improve their talents, and build their feelings of self-worth."

Strengthening Families: Our Sacred Duty  Robert D. Hales

Some of my favorite memories are those with my family growing up. We used to take family vacations every summer with my grandma. Our favorites were St. George, Las Vegas, Disneyland, and Bear Lake. We loved being in the sun together and spending time in the water. We laughed and loved each others company. I hope to carry that tradition of family vacations into my future family. My family has also always been very supportive of each other. We have attended many dance recitals, football games, and track meets. We are very big on celebrating birthday's in my home. We make it a really big deal and try to make it the most special day. 

Blessings of Family Work

lds.org has a category called Happiness in Family Life. There is a category for work, where it says, "There is no substitute for work. Building a strong family takes hard work, and part of that work is teaching our children how to work. Though some may see work as something to avoid, the gospel teaches that working for and with our families brings great blessings. God Himself calls His plan for His children “my work and my glory” (Moses 1:39)."

 

 Our beloved prophets and apostles have said these things regarding family work,

"Work together as a family, even if it may be faster and easier to do the job ourselves. Talk with our sons and daughters as we work together."

Strengthening Families: Our Sacred DutyRobert D. Hales

"By work we sustain and enrich life. It enables us to survive the disappointments and tragedies of the mortal experience. Hard-earned achievement brings a sense of self-worth. Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God. A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires."

Reflections on a Consecrated LifeD. Todd Christofferson

"From the very beginning, the Lord commanded Adam to till the earth and have dominion over the beasts of the field, to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow. I have always been interested in how often the scriptures have admonished us to cease to be idle and to be productive in all of our labors. … Teaching children the joy of honest labor is one of the greatest of all gifts you can bestow upon them."

The Joy of Honest LaborL. Tom Perry

"To this day, I am deeply impressed by the way my family worked after having lost everything following World War II! I remember my father—a civil servant by education and experience—taking on several difficult jobs, among which were coal miner, uranium miner, mechanic, and truck driver. He left early in the morning and often returned late at night in order to support our family. My mother started a laundry service and worked countless hours doing menial labor. She enlisted my sister and me in her business. With my bike I became the pickup and delivery service. It felt good to be able to help the family in a small way, and though I did not know it at the time, the physical labor turned out to be a blessing to my health as well."

Two Principles for Any EconomyDieter F. Uchtdorf

 Photo from https://society6.com/

Growing up, my family always had chores to do. My mom would say that it was "just part of being a family." As kids, we dreaded chores. We felt like it was so unfair and treated it like we were dying. My parents had to set so many rules that we just never followed. Sometimes it would work for a week. In the summer they would say that we had to finish all of our chores before 10:00 am and we weren't allowed to be with friends or watch TV until they were finished. Looking back at it now, I wish that when I was younger I would have been more cooperative with my parents. There were weekends when we were required to do yard work as a family. The times that we did so with a smile on our faces (which was a very rare sight) we enjoyed being together as a family. I know now that my parents were trying to teach us hard work and I wouldn't change anything about that. 

Forgiveness in Families

Mathew 18:21-22

"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."

 In the "Teachings of Presidents of the Church: George Albert Smith," President Smith writes in chapter 23 "Of You it is Required to Forgive, "At times we find little difficulties arising among us, and we forget the patience our Father in Heaven exercises towards us, and we magnify in our hearts some trivial thing that our brother or sister may have done or said concerning us. We do not always live that law which the Lord desires us to observe in regard to these matters. We forget the commandment He gave to the Apostles in the words of the prayer, wherein they were told to pray that they might be forgiven their debts even as they forgive their debtors [see Matthew 6:12]. I feel that we have to learn a great deal in this regard. We have not complied as completely as we should with the requirements of our Heavenly Father." 

I think that forgiveness is never something that is very easy, especially when we feel that we have been very wronged and the person didn't apologize. What is sometimes even more difficult is forgiving our own family members. Our family knows us best. Sometimes because we are so comfortable with our family, we aren't always our best selves with them. Sometimes it might even be harder to forgive our family because of this. Maybe we feel that since they belong to us, since they know us, and since they love us, it is that much worse when they wrong us. This could be true, but it doesn't change the fact that none of us are perfect on this earth. 

We're all working on something and we all make mistakes. It might even be harder to apologize to a family member than it would be for anyone else. This could be because we are stubborn, but it doesn't mean that we can't forgive them or shouldn't. There are instances when family members do things that really hurt us, whether it is intentional or not, direct, or indirect. When this happens, we are expected to forgive. It is even required of us. 

I had a family member who really hurt the family with a wrong that they had done. It impacted many directly and some indirectly, but either way, it was and still is almost impossible to come to terms with. For some family members it was not even a thought to attempt to forgive. For others, they prayerfully and humbly found their way to forgiveness. We can't control what other people do, but we can control how we react. It might take months or years to forgive, which is okay. What is important, is that we are trying to forgive. "Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin. I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men. And ye ought to say in your hearts—let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds." D&C 64:9-11.