Giving Thanks--Day 20

 {Sunday} Wow! I can't believe that Thanksgiving is THIS.WEEK!!!wowza!time went by way fast.i guess the trip to AZ really made things go by much faster. This 24 days of thanks is also much harder to do than I thought. Well, like I said AZ really threw a curveball for me. Then I just got lazy. lol.Today, I am thankful for the class which we get to teach, as a couple, every sunday.It's called the Marriage and Family relations class.We LOVE it!It has given us an opportunity to get to know people better and has allowed us to be more open and share things with more people--other than just "small talk."We talk about difficulties with parenting and teaching your children. But we teach first about marriage and how important we need to be to each other, unity, the proclamation to the world, communication, prayer, forgiveness.Then we talk about children.Today's lesson was on Guiding Children as they make Decisions.It was a great lesson. We have a great class, with great people who come. Sometimes we might only have 6 people, sometimes...we might have like 14! But it is great that they do come. I love eveyone in our ward and am so thankful that I have had the opportunity to teach these wonderful lessons. They have helped me as well as helping them {well, I hope they've helped them}I have learned so much and it has helped to reinforce some things which we already knew we wanted in our marriage, just hadn't exactly stated them in those terms, or in certain situations.One of my favorite lessons was on the sacred roles of mothers and fathers:part 1...the father's role. We also included a talk from that prior confrence weekend by Elaine S. Dalton, the Young Women's General President called "Love Her Mother" I LOVE LOVE LOVE that talk {since we have 1 daughter and 1 on the way, it's perfect for our situation} *But I highly suggest you read it if you haven't already!*We are almost done with our 16 week course, and will probably just start it over again....Here is a copy of the Table of Contents for the Marriage and Family Relations Participant's Study Guide with links to the whole lessonsIf you want to read through the Instructor's Manual, you can as well...it's very different and has more quotes and stories. it's a great addition to use just for you and your spouse, if you have kids, or not.   

Part A: Strengthening Marriages
Lesson 1	“The Family Is Central to the Creator’s Plan”
Lesson 2	Developing Unity in Marriage
Lesson 3	Nurturing Love and Friendship in Marriage
Lesson 4	Responding to Challenges in Marriage
Lesson 5	Responding to Challenges through Positive Communication
Lesson 6	Strengthening Marriages through Faith and Prayer
Lesson 7	The Healing Power of Forgiveness
Lesson 8	Managing Family Finances
Part B: Parents’ Responsibilities to Strengthen Families
Lesson 9	“Children Are an Heritage of the Lord”
Lesson 10	The Sacred Roles of Fathers and Mothers
Lesson 11	The Sacred Roles of Fathers and Mothers
Lesson 12	Teaching Children through Example and Instruction
Lesson 13	Teaching Gospel Principles to Children
Lesson 14	Teaching Gospel Principles to Children
Lesson 15	Guiding Children As They Make Decisions
Lesson 16	Family Prayer, Family Scripture Study, and Family Home Evening