Autumn Cramer Kia Kaha

  Ch. 21 The Meaning and Blessings of Family Work I lived in a family where every Saturday was help mom and dad work inside and outside the house day! There were many times where the last thing I wanted to do on my Saturday was pull those weeds, deep clean the house, or sort through the recycling… but I did it anyway! Looking back, yeah it was hard work, but it taught me so many lessons. Lessons I am so glad I learned and if I could go back, I would do it all over again. I learned how to be a hard worker and how that work pays off. I loved being able to see and feel the final result of my efforts. That was so rewarding to me. It taught me that the good things in life don’t always come that easy and you have to put in the effort necessary to get there. It taught me to enjoy the times I am not working because I have already worked so hard to have those moments to enjoy. I also learned how to do things a lot of my friends do not know how to do because I was taught those things at such...

Ch. 20 Repentance and Forgiveness in Family Life There will be many times where we ourselves need to repent and ask for forgiveness as well as members in our family. Sometimes it may be for more serious reasons than others, but the principle is the same. Let me tell you about a time I felt the need to ask my little brother for forgiveness. I was about 18 years old at the time and my little brother was 16. One day we got into this argument over something super stupid. To be honest I can’t even remember what it was about. However, I do remember the hurtful comments and names that were being exchanged back and forth between the two of us. I remember feeling so angry… rage even! I remember feeling so mad I wanted not only to hurt him with my words (emotionally) I wanted to hurt him with my fist (physically.) Instead of getting physical I stormed off saying something along the lines of I hate you! I then got in my car and went for a drive. I was still fuming, but the more I drove the more t...

  Ch. 18 Faith in the Family Life I really wanted to focus mostly on dimension two from this chapter which is religious practices and family. I love how doing small and simple things can build faith within the family. Growing up, my dad was always really good about having regular family home evening every Monday night. There were times we as kids did not listen or care to really be there but we did it anyway. It was something that was constant and consistent. It was something we could count on doing every Monday. This small thing helped me in ways I can’t even comprehend fully. For me, family home evening was something I looked forward to. I loved learning more about the gospel in my own home. I was even given the opportunity to teach some Monday’s. This helped me grow my personal testimony. I will always be forever grateful for this simple constant in my life. “Religious practices are “outward, observable expressions of faith such as prayer, scripture study, rituals, traditions, o...

  Ch. 4 & 6 Equal Partnership & Honoring Marital Vows What does it mean to be equal? “Equality is all too often used to mean “identity”; that is, that two equal things must be identical to each other.” pg. 186 What would be the fun in that? Imagine living in a world where everyone was the same! We all had the same likes, dislikes, and did the same things everyday. That would be so boring. That would get old after a while! We NEED variety. We have been blessed with differences that make us beautiful and unique in our own way. These differences add to our relationships. Just because our roles as men and women can be different doesn't mean that one is better than the other. We are all equal in love. This kind of love comes from our Heavenly Father. Our identity is children of God. Our self worth is infinite! Men and women together are different but equal because equality does not mean identity. When we strive to have an equal partnership in our marriage, there is a bond of lov...

  Ch. 3 Foundational Processes for Enduring, Healthy Marriage I want to start out by talking about happiness. We create our own happiness! We are responsible for doing things in our lives that will either help us or hurt us. When we can understand how to be intentional with ourselves we can then be intentional with others. “Foundational processes are actions couples take in relation to each other to help their marriage flourish.” pg. 136 Within a relationship comes personal commitment to the marriage covenant, love and friendship, positivity, accepting influence, handling differences and conflict respectfully, and continued courtship. In a marriage, you become one with your spouse and one with God. This unity allows you to come together for all the good, bad, and ugly. Sometimes, life is going to throw you some curveballs and that’s okay. We must learn to lean on each other and the Lord during these times. I have seen my parents come together in this way. My dad has lost his job a ...

  Ch. 2 ABCs of Successful Romantic Relationship Development Let’s face it, dating is pretty rough these days! Eternity is a LONG time! That’s a lot of pressure to find one person you want to spend the rest of your life with. This is why building meaningful and lasting relationships is an essential part to this development. Not to worry, we are not alone and there are a lot of resources to help us out on this quest we call dating. In fact, a man named George Levinger (1983) created a five-phase development for romantic relationships he calls the ABCs. A. Awareness of or Acquaintance with another person. B. Buildup of the relationship. C. Continuation following Commitment to a long term relationship (which may result in marriage for many couples) “The issue for single Latter-day Saints is how to enter into phase A and move progressively through phase A into phase B and then to phase C, with the end point being a temple marriage that will grow into an eternal and celestial marriage.”...