Three years ago

This week marks three years since I started this blog!  That is a little crazy to me. I am glad I did it.  I have learned a lot.  A few weeks ago I did a little training for 7 Habits of Highly Effective people.  One of the things that was touched on is that one thing that helps us to learn is to teach.  That has been true with this blog.  Reading books with the intent to teach about what I've read has made a good difference.
The other day I gave a summary to a friend of what my blog is.

I told her that I didn't feel that a lot of marriages went bad on purpose, I just felt like they were neglected and if we gave them a small bit of attention everyday then we would or at least could have happier marriages.  Great marriages don't happen on accident and neither do bad ones.  The thing of it is though, to make a bad marriage, you have the help of the adversary and he doesn't want you to succeed.  We have to make a great marriage on purpose.  My feelings about this are summarized in this quote by Dear President Faust...


"My dear young friends, there is another great truth that you young men must learn. It is that everything has a price. There is a price to pay for success, fulfillment, accomplishment, and joy. There are no freebies. If you don’t pay the price that is needed for success, you will pay the price of failure. Preparation, work, study, and service are required to achieve and find happiness. Disobedience and lack of preparation carry a terrible price tag."

Another great quote on this theme is from F. Burton Howard, "If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don’t expose it to the elements. You don’t make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by."

I felt like I needed to renew my focus and my goals for the year.  Strengthening your marriage can feel like an "extra thing" sometimes and in a lot of ways I feel that way about this blog.  The truth of it is though, this is very, very important to me.  I started this blog in the first place because I saw, what I believed to be, really awesome marriages fall prey to affairs and divorce. I decided to do what I could to help my marriage and the marriages of those I loved to not have the same thing happen.  There is nothing worse in my eyes.

President Ezra Taft Benson said “Faithfulness to the marriage covenant brings the fullest joy here and glorious rewards hereafter”.  I honestly believe this and that is worth striving for!

In honor of the third year, I am out to make it the best!  Third times the charm right?
I also hope my children will get better at taking pics this year as well.  Ah well, at least we are documented as present. :)  Here's to a great 2013!