December 2004 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
December 2004 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
December 2004 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
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the two <strong>of</strong> us, helped set a pattern <strong>of</strong> obedience and got us<br />
into the habit early in our married life.”<br />
“Holding family home evening gives us a chance to<br />
discuss the gospel more <strong>of</strong>ten,” Brother McFarland says.<br />
“If the gospel <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jesus</strong> <strong>Christ</strong> is our foundation, it will<br />
see us through whatever we have to face in our marriage.<br />
I notice a real difference if we miss a week. When<br />
we don’t take care <strong>of</strong> the important things like family<br />
home evening, it’s hard to keep a healthy balance in our<br />
lives, because we lack the Spirit.”<br />
When the McFarlands moved into their previous<br />
ward, they were given a notebook from<br />
their bishop that included information on<br />
how to strengthen the family. <strong>The</strong>y sometimes<br />
draw from that notebook for lessons.<br />
McFarland family home evening favorite<br />
activities include home haircuts, game<br />
nights, throwing Frisbees at the park, and<br />
going on hikes.<br />
“I write ‘family home evening’ on my calendar<br />
and give it top priority,” Brother McFarland<br />
Family home<br />
evening can<br />
be a means<br />
<strong>of</strong> spiritual nourishment<br />
and fun at<br />
any age or in any<br />
circumstance.<br />
says. “I know we’ve been blessed with the Spirit and greater<br />
unity in our marriage.”<br />
Many couples find that consistently holding family<br />
home evening after all the children leave home presents<br />
new challenges and opportunities. William and Ruth<br />
Williams, <strong>of</strong> Jacksonville, Illinois, looked for and found several<br />
solutions that worked for them.<br />
“My husband and I found it difficult to keep having family<br />
home evening after all the children left home,” Sister<br />
Williams says. “Although we knew how important it was to<br />
our family’s closeness, sometimes it just didn’t happen.<br />
When we didn’t hold family home evening, I<br />
noticed we had less contact with our grown<br />
children. When we did have it, I personally<br />
felt less alone and seemed to have more contact<br />
with our children. My husband and I<br />
tried a variety <strong>of</strong> things to help restore our<br />
closeness to each other and to our children.<br />
Among our solutions were watching movies<br />
from the library, having the missionaries for<br />
dinner, inviting single mothers over with
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