GREETINGS to some of the best parents in the world!!!!!
And why am I saying that? Well, if you are reading this article and searching the web for some parenting ideas then you are indeed some of the greatest parents and caretakers of the precious souls we have in the world today ¨C the children! You have the desire to search out the best of ideas and philosophies in the world today to help you in this great and wonderful experience of raising up a good, righteous and responsible generation. May God bless you in these endeavors.

DAD'S CORNER;

Walk along side me,
daddy and hold
my little hand.

I have so many things
to learn that I don't
understand.

Teach me things
to keep me safe
from dangers every day.

Show me how to
do my best at home,
at school, at play.

Every child needs
A gentle hand to guide
them as they grow.

So walk along side
me daddy, we have
a long way to go.

MOM'S CORNER:
WE WILL HOLD YOU FOREVER BECAUSE FAMILIES ARE FOREVER!

LET'S TALK ABOUT MARRIAGEĦ­..
Wait you say, I want to find out about parenting, not marriage! Well, guess what, a great family comes from the roots of a great marriage!
If we are having our little problems in our marriage it will greatly affect our family situations, environment and progress. If the roots of the basic family ¨C the individuals in the marriage partnership, are not strong we have the same situation that we have heard about our whole lives: the trunk which is the marriage and the limbs and branches of the tree will not grow properly and in the winds of life the tree will blow over. With the tree blown over we have B I G problems trying to get the tree back in the ground and mend the limbs, branches and leaves.

This simile may seem a bit simplistic but I just want to illustrate the importance of a good, happily functioning marriage. No marriage situation is perfect, most are far from perfect, but all can be good and we can work to make them become better. Marriage is a challenging situation with lots of giving, swallowing one's pride, etc. Marriage and parenting are probably two of the hardest tasks we will encounter while on this earth. But, these two institutions are two of the greatest and most fulfilling of all life's experiences.


Let us love, accept and have unconditional love for our spouses - let's accept their pimples and green hair as we do our children's idiosyncrasies!!

 

The divorce rate in our country is alarming. As you have heard, fifty percent of marriages end up in divorce! According to the latest statistics this is very true of new marriages but varies in certain instances, and hopefully, the trend is decreasing somewhat.

Various factors enter into the figures, for instance, if you make over $50,000 a year your risk of divorce falls by 30%. More statistics indicate that if you are over 25 when you marry, or you have a baby after being married at least seven months, your risk is 24% less than if you gave birth earlier. Your ethnic group is a factor, some groups have higher or lower rates of divorce. If you are religious your chances are lowered by about 14%. Also, if your parents stayed married the rates are similar. One sad item is that second marriages have a higher failure rate than first marriages.

As we have seen and experienced, divorce is a serious problem in our family life so I think it behooves all of us to work on first improving our own lives, our own marriages and family situations, and then let us help others as much as we can so we can do a our part in protecting the basic unit of our society.


As mentioned above, the individual and the characteristics, traits, etc. of each individual in the marriage partnership relationship are the roots of this family institution. The individual's strengths and weaknesses are brought to the forefront when we have a marriage and a family group. If there are problems in the marriage it behooves each of us to look to our own strengths and weaknesses and pursue the strong points and get help on the weak points of our natures.

When we strengthen our own lives out and not 'point the finer' at our partner's faults we WILL be able to help the marriage grow and maintain (the trunk), which in turn will strengthen the limbs, branches and leaves. (Most of us have seen a "Family Tree" genealogical chart and noted the similarities of my example.) .

We are so blessed to live in this day and age when we have so many helps for our 'hang ups', our dysfunctions, and problems, our marriages, and our family life. What a great opportunity to work on these things and help break the chains of dysfunction in our lives and work on building strong and binding chains for the future. What a time and what a great life we are privileged to participate in!


Dr.Jones has helps in some of his books and CD's for the individual and the family. Check out these ideas and by all means get help from clergy, councilors, books, of which there are many, and oiher helps, and let us help not only ourselves, our marriages and our families, but our families of origin, our extended families, our friends, our communities and our world!!!

The possibilities are unlimited. Let's take the time and DO IT!

God bless you all in all your endeavors in changing your lives, and helping to provide some wonderful people for our world!

Let us hear from you and how you are doing, questions you have, etc.

Love,

Lillie