The Key is Communication

Within the family they only way that you can be the most successful is when you have communication and compromise engrained into your daily life. It should be the main thing that you work on because most of the time this is the reason couples and families fight. My relationship with my parents has suffered a lot, especially with my mom. But as I have grown up and talked through my issues with my mother, we have developed a stronger relationship. We use to fight about everything and wouldn't agree on anything. But as time went on we realized that the only way we could get along is if we both compromised things. This led to easiness within the home, creating less conflict and a better relationship. It had been affecting my brother and dad, so that was something that changed as well. With maturity and compromising we have become a happier family who can work through our problems with ease. 

Surviving Through the Tough Times With Family

My family use to have it easier then it is now. For the past 9 years we have struggled with the money aspect of things. My dad lost his job about 10 years ago and actually decided to start his own business. Obviously it has made things a lot harder now that we don't have a normal amount of money coming in. It has caused a huge amount of stress in our family and it seems like a lot of our problems always connects back to the shortage of money. I know that it has made us stronger, especially as a unit, but it causes conflict that we wish didn't exist. Money is a common stressor within the family along with many others. This is just my personal experience that I have noticed within my family. 

With Love Comes Intimacy

Marriage involves the most sacred and amazing thing that we can be apart of. So many times has this world made sex look like a common, every day thing that happens between any couple that gets together. The media has destroyed the sacredness of this relationship. Men and women are suppose to love each other enough to get married and then be apart of this scared intimacy. Many people think lust is actually love. Many girls and boys have had their hearts broken because of rushing into it too soon. So many teenagers have just thrown this intimacy away and destroyed their future relationship with their husband and wife. This is suppose to prevent future affairs and even pornography. Lust is the one of the biggest reasons that relationships end up in break ups and marriages end up in divorce. It is something that my whole like I have wanted to mean something more then what the movies portray. This moment is special between a man and a wife. Lets make sure that we keep our thoughts and actions inside and not act on things that will make us have regrets later on!

Marriage Isn't The End of Change...

I use to think that everything I do in life leads up to the final step which is marriage. But I've realized that life continues to change and be challenging even if I am just a stay at home mom. Marriage takes constant effort and trying. Each new step in marriage is called a transition. There are lots of transitions during this time of your life and it can either bring conflict or happiness we just have to know how to deal with it. They are the greatest times of our lives and we want to be full of joy during it. Obviously you will learn more the longer you are married about how to deal with these new and coming changes.

Finding Your "Forever"

All my life I have been pretty boy crazy. But I have had my share of bad relationships and am still dealing with that. Last year though I was dating a boy that stole my heart. He was the first guy ever to make me feel special all the time and who I could really feel comfortable with. We dated for a little more then year and I was in love. I still am. All of high school I dated boys that were after the wrong thing or were guys I learned from. I found qualities I liked and disliked. Dating helps to prepare you for the future, when you are ready to settle down with someone who can be your "forever." Since I had dated so many guys I new that this special man was The One. Unfortunately he still had to go on a mission. So here I am 10 months after he's left dating around. Every guy I am meeting is now helping me to make sure that my missionary is definitely The One and only for me. So far, after dating here and there, it has been reassured to me that he has all the important qualities I am looking for. No one yet has matched up or exceeded our relationship. I will continue to keep dating and pray to our God to know if he is the right one. It takes quality time to find the quality "Forever." 

Dear To My Heart...

Recently it was made known to me that my brother use to struggle with same-sex attraction. As a young boy he was molested by a member of the church, someone that he trusted for a long time and since then destroyed his mind. My brother has questioned himself for many years now I guess and got in his own mind because of his past. But I guess the last couple years he has been fighting hard to not let himself feel that way. His attraction to women is becoming stronger now since he is allowing himself to feel sexual towards them.

The Lonely Bulgarian

My family has a family friend that is dear to our heart. My dad was the one who met him in a church parking lot one day. As my dad got to know him more and more he found out that he came illegally from Bulgaria so that he could make money for his wife back home. Throughout his whole time in America he has struggled constantly. He works for a trucking company that treats him horribly. The pay is terrible because they take advantage of him being illegal and know that he's desperate. When he has medical problems he gets poor treatment for it because it's all he can afford. His wife will visit him like every year or 2 but other then that he never sees his family and is always lonely. He lives on the road for the most part but when he gets a break his apartment in Chicago is so small and dirty. It has been so hard on his relationship with his wife and wants to return but can't yet. This is just a personal example of the hardships of being apart of a culture where your social class is so low and you don't get the care and respect that any other average american gets.