This week marks the 100th week of the Ten Things of Thankful Blog Hop. It's party time!
I'm not quite sure I understood the directions, but I think that I was supposed to box up my thankfuls, then share them with you. (Kind of like opening a present!)
I knew just the box to use. My biggest thankfuls are wrapped up in family: family of God, and family here on earth. For John and me, this box contains mementos from our life together, but the physical items are merely symbolic of deeper meaning.
Twenty years ago, The Family: A Proclamation to the World was presented in a General Women's Meeting of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I remember hearing it read for the first time, and every part of it resonated with my soul. For this post, though, I'd like to specifically comment on the following excerpt:
My marriage is a covenant between John, me, and God. Thankful #1 is for Jesus Christ and his Atonement, which made it possible for individuals to return to our Heavenly Father, and for families to be eternal.
Did you notice that second sentence in the quoted paragraph above? There are nine principles listed that contribute to successful marriages and families. The memories in my marriage box include thankfuls for each of those principles. We are not perfect, but the more we apply these principles, the more strength we feel in our life together. My comments will primarily focus on marriage, but all of these principles apply to parents and children, as well.
Thankful #2: Faith. John and I share in our confidence that by following the teachings of Jesus Christ, our marriage will continue beyond the grave, and our children will forever be part of our family. That shared faith gives us purpose and direction.
Thankful #3: Prayer. We pray together as a couple, we pray together as a family, we pray individually. We express thanks for our blessings and opportunities. We pray for our children, individually and collectively. We pray for extended family members. We pray for friends, acquaintances, and those we don't know, but who are in need. We pray we might know what we should do. Prayer is a great source of strength.
Thankful #4: Repentance. This is a constant, because life is a learning experience. Repentance is change, and how wonderful that we can be a little better each day!
Thankful #5: Forgiveness. This goes hand-in-hand with #4 and #2. Because we are not perfect, and because we share common goals, we can be patient with ourselves and each other as we strive to become better people. John's great at recognizing that my intent is usually good, even if I do sometimes cause more work for him--like the time I built a dog house in the basement.
Thankful #6: Respect. John and I see eye-to-eye on practically everything, but we are not clones. We listen to each other, talk things over together, and come to conclusions together. Not only does John show respect in big things, but in little things, too. For example, whenever we go anywhere together, he opens doors (including the car door) for me.
Thankful #7: Love. What more can I say? Ideally, love drives all the other principles.
Thankful #8: Compassion. When one of us is having a hard time, the other is there to support, encourage, and help. Kindness contributes to a strong relationship.
Thankful #9: Work. I love getting projects done together! From planning and decision-making, to actually carrying out the task, working together creates unity and a sense of accomplishment.
Thankful #10: Wholesome recreational activities. I'm so glad that this made the list! I've often heard, "Marriage is hard work." Too often, that implies drudgery. I'm thankful that preventative maintenance in marriage means taking time to have fun together. I'm a firm believer in weekly date nights, family home evenings, and fun family traditions.
What is in your thankful box?
Now, this is the week you will want to write your own thankful post and link up! Our fearless leader, Lizzi, has promised that there will be prizes. The other co-hosts and I have been busy putting together boxes of prizes. That's a total of 10 boxes--one each for 10 lucky winners. Go visit Lizzi's blog for more details, and be sure to link up your post!
Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group
I'm not quite sure I understood the directions, but I think that I was supposed to box up my thankfuls, then share them with you. (Kind of like opening a present!)
I knew just the box to use. My biggest thankfuls are wrapped up in family: family of God, and family here on earth. For John and me, this box contains mementos from our life together, but the physical items are merely symbolic of deeper meaning.
Twenty years ago, The Family: A Proclamation to the World was presented in a General Women's Meeting of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I remember hearing it read for the first time, and every part of it resonated with my soul. For this post, though, I'd like to specifically comment on the following excerpt:
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.
My marriage is a covenant between John, me, and God. Thankful #1 is for Jesus Christ and his Atonement, which made it possible for individuals to return to our Heavenly Father, and for families to be eternal.
Did you notice that second sentence in the quoted paragraph above? There are nine principles listed that contribute to successful marriages and families. The memories in my marriage box include thankfuls for each of those principles. We are not perfect, but the more we apply these principles, the more strength we feel in our life together. My comments will primarily focus on marriage, but all of these principles apply to parents and children, as well.
Thankful #2: Faith. John and I share in our confidence that by following the teachings of Jesus Christ, our marriage will continue beyond the grave, and our children will forever be part of our family. That shared faith gives us purpose and direction.
Thankful #3: Prayer. We pray together as a couple, we pray together as a family, we pray individually. We express thanks for our blessings and opportunities. We pray for our children, individually and collectively. We pray for extended family members. We pray for friends, acquaintances, and those we don't know, but who are in need. We pray we might know what we should do. Prayer is a great source of strength.
Thankful #4: Repentance. This is a constant, because life is a learning experience. Repentance is change, and how wonderful that we can be a little better each day!
Thankful #5: Forgiveness. This goes hand-in-hand with #4 and #2. Because we are not perfect, and because we share common goals, we can be patient with ourselves and each other as we strive to become better people. John's great at recognizing that my intent is usually good, even if I do sometimes cause more work for him--like the time I built a dog house in the basement.
Thankful #6: Respect. John and I see eye-to-eye on practically everything, but we are not clones. We listen to each other, talk things over together, and come to conclusions together. Not only does John show respect in big things, but in little things, too. For example, whenever we go anywhere together, he opens doors (including the car door) for me.
Thankful #7: Love. What more can I say? Ideally, love drives all the other principles.
Thankful #8: Compassion. When one of us is having a hard time, the other is there to support, encourage, and help. Kindness contributes to a strong relationship.
Thankful #9: Work. I love getting projects done together! From planning and decision-making, to actually carrying out the task, working together creates unity and a sense of accomplishment.
Thankful #10: Wholesome recreational activities. I'm so glad that this made the list! I've often heard, "Marriage is hard work." Too often, that implies drudgery. I'm thankful that preventative maintenance in marriage means taking time to have fun together. I'm a firm believer in weekly date nights, family home evenings, and fun family traditions.
What is in your thankful box?
Now, this is the week you will want to write your own thankful post and link up! Our fearless leader, Lizzi, has promised that there will be prizes. The other co-hosts and I have been busy putting together boxes of prizes. That's a total of 10 boxes--one each for 10 lucky winners. Go visit Lizzi's blog for more details, and be sure to link up your post!
Your hosts
A Fly on our (Chicken Coop)
Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting
Literal, I Want Backsies, The Meaning of Me, Thankful Me, Uncharted, The Wakefield Doctrine
Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group
I like your thankful box and this glimpse into your religion and the role it plays in your relationship. Happy 100!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you are part of this 100 party!
DeleteOh my, just read your 27/almost 28 year post as well... great dog house story...and I remember the email story from before! This post was lovely as well... I like what you said about prayer... and what you said about acceptance in your marriage post... Happy 100! And just out of interest... what kind of maple syrup do you buy now?
ReplyDeleteForgive me if this is a duplicate; I wrote a reply, but it doesn't seem to have posted.
DeleteI still buy pure maple syrup; after all these years I just can't seem to stop. :-)
I hope you know you are one of the people in my prayers.
I hope you know I am really grateful for that!
Delete:-)
DeleteOh Kristi! What a perfect way to embrace your thankfuls!! I love that quote, and those attributes and principles you shared!
ReplyDeleteAMEN to them ALL. <3
The Family Proclamation really is a wonderful document, isn't it?
DeleteSometimes in the daily busyness, couples forget that marriage should be fun. We've had periods of time that we forgot. It is so important to keep the fun intact with continual maintenance. It is clear that you and john have plenty of fun together.
ReplyDeleteHappy 100!
Happy 100 to you, too!
DeleteYou and John are such a fine example of a loving, Christian marriage, and I think your 100th TToT post is just perfect!
ReplyDeleteOK. This is seriously the 4th time I'm trying to post this comment. I honestly don't know what is going on.
DeleteYou are so sweet! Thank you. :-)
Glad to know you have such wonderful understanding and synchronization in your marriage! Glad to finally join in this year!
ReplyDeleteIt's always nice to have new participants in the TToT!
DeleteCouples, especially I notice couples with young children, really do forget to make time for themselves as a couple - it sounds like you do a good job of making sure that doesn't happen in your household.
ReplyDeleteOur dates had to be creative sometimes when the kids were little, but we always made time.
DeleteI love how much you love and are thankful for your marriage - you and John are a wonderful model of a good, strong, and faith-filled couple. And I love that you always remember to have fun together. When all the rest fades - kids grow up and move on, looks and things have altered with time, and so on, that ability to enjoy one another and laugh together will be the best gift ever.
ReplyDeleteOh, we're already seeing some of that. It is nice to know we can still carry on a conversation that doesn't revolve around child-rearing (though we still discuss our children often, even though they are grown.)
DeleteYour faith exudes from the page and the love and respect you and John have for one another is beautiful. Happy 100th post of the TTOT
ReplyDeleteGlad you joined in the TToT party!
DeleteThank you for sharing a beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post. Much to be thankful for here.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteYour list is a perfect recipe for a happy life. I love the idea of a thankful box. This is a beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteThe Family Proclamation really is a concise outline of happy living.
DeleteI think it was probably more a case of "I think this is how we are supposed to do this" rather than a purposefully creative post, but in any case, I'm glad you approve of how I boxed up my thankfuls. :-)
ReplyDelete…and thank you for the co-hostinae support these last 100 posts and such! It's been my pleasure… and (also) very beneficial to a certain lesser-known personality theory!
ReplyDeleteI think your personality theory is as important to you as my faith is to me, and how nice that this blog hop allows us the chance to express our gratitude for each.
DeleteYou and John ( and God ) are a wonderful team and an inspiration to others. I am so thankful that I have Richard to share everything with -- makes it twice as nice!
ReplyDeleteIt is nice, isn't it?
DeleteExcellent post Kristi. Geez, I read it, then went back to #5 and clicked on the post about building the doghouse (I would have been so angry with myself but probably would have laughed as well!) and in general got lost in reading other of your posts lol
ReplyDeleteThank you for being a part of this blog hop. You've been a most amazing hostess :)
One nice thing about being married so long is we can now laugh at lots of the "Someday, we'll laugh about this" stories. Of course, we generally laughed then, too.
Delete:-)