I’m grateful to have had the chance tonight to go with Caleb to a movie night at his school.
Earlier today, as Becky and Chloe were getting ready to go to school, I had the urge to write a little note to Caleb to tell him how excited I was to go with him to the movie.
I don’t know if it was really that big of a deal, but I think he liked it and we had a fun time at the show.
I’m reading a talk right now from the Women’s meeting of General Conference titled “Defenders of the Family Proclamation.”
This is one of the quotes that caught my attention:
The sanctity of the home and the essential purposes of the family are being questioned, criticized, and assaulted on every front.
I feel that, in the past, for a lot of our marriage, Satan has subtly attacked this very thing – my family. He’s done so with lust, pornography, social media, and distraction.
I like what this sister shares here too:
The proclamation on the family has become our benchmark for judging the philosophies of the world, and I testify that the principles set forth within this statement are as true today as they were when they were given to us by a prophet of God nearly 20 years ago.
I remember handing out that very proclamation in Rome, Italy on a super-hot July day as we walked with handcarts and danced on the streets with the missionaries. I didn’t even really know what the proclamation said, but I know now how important it is.
This quote reminds me of what I’ve put Becky through:
Life rarely goes exactly according to plan for anyone, and we are very aware that not all women are experiencing what the proclamation describes.
I haven’t been the best husband or father in the past. I haven’t lived up to the covenants I made at the temple or at my baptism. I’ve lied to myself and justified, and I’ve believed all those lies.
As I read her suggestions about how life doesn’t always go how you plan and about how it’s a good idea to have faith and patience in God’s timetable, I’m so grateful that Beck has given me a chance to repent and change. Sister Oscarson gives this recommendation too:
It’s a good idea to have an alternative plan in mind, which helps us to be covenant-keeping, charitable, and righteous women who build the kingdom of God no matter which way our lives go.
This is scary to me, but it’s true. Becky can’t rely on me to make her happy, nor can I rely on her to make me happy. Together, we have to look to God, have faith in His plan, and do our best to row our own boats.
I like what she shares about the home too – it reminds me of the talk about filling our lives with light and truth:
Our homes should be places where the Spirit of the Lord is felt in rich abundance and where the scriptures and the gospel are studied, taught, and lived.
I’ve felt really good about the attitude and tone in our home lately. I’ve been trying hard to keep my cool, especially with Caleb, and I feel it’s paying off little by little.
I’m grateful for the Spirit that can be felt in our home as we live the gospel, study it, and teach it in day to day living and conversation.
What Does the Family Proclamation Say?
…marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.
Marriage between a man and woman is ordained of God.
The family is central to the plan of happiness.
We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.
We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.
Procreation and life are important parts of God’s eternal plan, and, for this reason, dabbling with these things, setting them as a thing of naught, disregarding their sanctity, comes with it serious consequences.
Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.
This is one of the most important parts to me right now. It’s so important that I love and care for my children and teach them the principles of the gospel, especially by example.
I will be held accountable before God if I don’t live up to the obligations I’ve agreed to take upon myself.
The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.
It can’t be much more clear than this.
I’m grateful for my study tonight.
It’s hard, sometimes, to be the best husband and father. I feel Satan has a way of coming at me in a variety of different ways. Tonight wasn’t any different.
We had a good night (Caleb and I) and I got home and the kids were down. I got home about 8:15. So they all went to bed, I let them read, and at 9:00 lights were off.
Then I kept hearing little voices. I warned nicely, then I warned a bit more firmly, then I yelled that if I heard them again, they would be grounded for a day. Silence finally.
Then Becky gets home and all the discipline and rules I’ve tried to establish seem to get swept under the rug.
I don’t feel it’s her fault, but I don’t know how to handle it. At times I don’t necessarily feel like she’s real supportive of me disciplining them when she gets home. I may be reading in to it too much.
My goal tonight was to have a good study, feel the spirit, and enjoy the night with Becky.
I feel frustrated right now.
I feel a bit resentful.
I feel like the work I was trying to do as a father was spit on.
But I know that Heavenly Father doesn’t want me to feel this way.
I know that He wants me “…to press forward, feasting upon the words of Christ, and endure to the end.”
I look forward to a good night’s sleep. I look forward to exercise in the morning. I look forward to starting my day out on the right foot by studying, writing, and praying.
I know that these are the things I can do to show Heavenly Father that I’m submitting my will to Him.
I look forward to living in recovery for the rest of today.
Hasta luego!
Nate
Recent Comments