By Alan on Apr 18 in Blog tagged attack, body, commandments, eternity, Father, female, forgiveness, gender, Glory of God, God's plan, heritage, House of the Lord, Jesus Christ, male, marriage, mother, priesthood, proclamation, Proclamation To The World, responsible, selfishness, sexual purity, society, spirit, Strengthen, temple, The Family, together, transgression, under attack, warning, work | 1 Comment

By Alan on Apr 06 in Blog tagged Adam and Eve, body, choice, choose, commandments, enemy to God, eternal life, evil, God, good, Heavenly Father, Jesus, last days, multiply, natural man, overcoming, physical, physically, replenish, Satan, savior, spirit, spiritually, test, The Plan, The World, world | Comments Off

Overcoming The World

“The Lord created all things spiritually before he created them physically.” (Moses 3:5).

The fall of Adam and Eve was foreseen by God, our Heavenly Father, and “was a necessary step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us”. We lived as spirit children before this world and accepted this condition when we supported Heavenly Father’s plan of life.

Because of the Fall, we are were blessed with physical bodies, the freedom to choose between good and evil, and a commandment to ‘multiply and replenish the earth’ with the opportunity to gain eternal life. None of these privileges would have been ours had Adam and Eve remained in the garden.

“We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.” (2nd Article of Faith)

After Adam and Eve ‘fell’ from the presence of God and became mortal, we needed a Savior so we could live again and return to our Father in Heaven. Jesus Christ was chosen to be our Savior before the world was created.

In order to “choose between good and evil”, Satan, the father of lies who was denied a physical body, was allowed to exist here on earth and to tempt the souls of man to do evil and to live in everlasting misery with him thus completing the law of “opposites in all things”.  He teaches that there is no sin, that it’s natural and if it feels good, do it.

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”  1 Corinthians 2:14

“Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind.”  D&C 67:12

“For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.”   Mosiah 3:19

“And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation—that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe.”  D&C 29:43

We are blessed to be living during these last days; often called “a great and dreadful day”.  My brothers and I wrote a song for “The Plan” album called “It’s Gotta Be The Last Days.” The lyrics of what “some day it will be”, have now all been fulfilled!  The fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all righteousness has now been restored to the earth and so has the fullness of all wickedness!

This life is a TEST!  Just as answers to a test at school must be hidden, our memory of our pre-exisence life was hidden ‘for a wise purpose’.  Our ‘test’ in life is about our  freedoms and in choosing good versus evil.  We all will make mistakes and Jesus knew it. Thus, He gave His life to pay the price for our sins if we would but with faith come unto Him and repent, be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost, and to endure to the end, controlling the natural man and woman.

Marriage is ‘ordained of God’ and a partnership with God. It is most important.  When the union of man and a woman co-create a life, one of God’s spirit children enters that child’s physical body as well giving it life.  This brings responsibility and accountability for that spirit.  The misuse in causing or terninating a life has serious responsibility and consequences!

God is “the same yesterday, today and forever” and so are His commandments.  With His ‘Plan of Happiness’, our spirit bodies will one day return back to heaven. The body cannot live without the spirit and so when it’s time to return, we will physically die; but, we continue to live spiritually. Jesus is the way and reason we all will be resurrected because of His atonement.  When we do, our spirits will be reunited once again with our physical bodies never to be separated again. We will be judged by our hearts and those choices we have made and will be assigned to dwell in one of God’s mansions in heaven or sent to outer darkness or hell with Satan.  Those who have taken upon themselves further binding covenants in the House of the Lord, will be reunited as families for all eternity.

I have enjoyed many years of sharing my music and talents with many people around the world. I have great memories of traveling with my family and making so many forever lasting memories and trusting friends.  I still love and enjoy music, creating live events, productions and publishing, and  feel it most important ‘at such a time as this’ to ‘not fear man, but to fear God’, and to be honest and share with everyone those truths that last forever that give purpose and reason for living.  I have always promised myself to be ‘a publisher of truth’. To fear God is to love God; which I do!

Our success and careers in life are important but most importantly is the success of the eternal assignments of life from within the family as a mother and a father. We are born, nurtured, educated, we explore, experience and learn; we fall in love, marry, and with the proper union of a man and a woman and a partnership with God, we are able to bring forth life that lasts forever; a posterity.  Besides being a commandment, this is ‘God’s work and glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’, of which we are.   He is a Creator.  As a pony always becomes a horse, a chick a hen, and ‘like father like son’; ‘like mother like daughter’, we become like our heavenly parents; even creators of life.  This is why we are here.

We are not here by chance but by design.  As God’s spirit children, we experience life now housed within a physical body so we can create; learn good from evil, choose the way we wish to live, and work at overcoming the world ever progressing forward becoming more like our Heavenly Parents.  It is God’s Plan of Happiness.  Some may have trials in life and not get all of these opportunities and priveleges or be able to enjoy them but, God is mindful of everyone and as only He can, He has ‘the way’ and ‘the plan’ for them and all of us if we but trust in Him.  May we not lose our focus by only trying to succeed in life that we get caught up with the pleasures, honors, and greed of this world and forget why we are really here!

Ever since my brothers and I started performing music at a young age, we would always gather together and offer a word of prayer before we set foot on the stage and ask the Lord’s blessings to be with us and those in the audience.  We prayed that they might feel the love that we had for them and sence our purpose as a family in sharing the great message of the Lord through our lifestyle and music. As Suzanne and I publish various ways to help “strengthen the family”,  we ‘sanctify the Lord God in our hearts and are ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in us with meekness and fear’.

It is our prayer that we all will be seekers of truth, pray always, and “overcome the world” as we prepare for the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Again, God is the same yesterday, today and forever and so are His Commandments.  Let’s pass this “TEST” of life and turn this “TEST” into a “TEST imony” of Jesus Christ that we may live eternally with Him once again.  God’s doctrines are true.  If one does not agree, it’s only that they don’t understand them.  May we each seek the Lord’s words and ways by reading the scriptures, knock on His door through prayer with any questions with humble tears asking for help with our challenges, and receive through the Holy Ghost those answers and guidance knowing that with faith all things are possible to those that love the Lord is my prayer.

May God be with you till we meet again,

Alan Osmond
“Strengthening The Family” – Spiritually

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”  Romans 1:16

By Alan on May 25 in Blog tagged body, death, eternity, family and friends, four boyfriends, pleasures, posessions, prayer, spirit, the grave, when you die | 2 Comments

Four Boyfriends

Once upon a time there was a girl who had four boyfriends.

4. She loved the fourth boyfriend the most and adorned him with rich robes and treated him to the finest of delicacies. She gave him nothing but the best.

3. She also loved the third boyfriend very much and was always showing him off to neighboring kingdoms. However, she feared that one day he would leave her for another.

2. She also loved her second boyfriend. He was her confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with her. Whenever this girl faced a problem, she could confide in him, and he would help her get through the difficult times.

1. The girl’s first boyfriend was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining her wealth and kingdom. However, she did not love the first boyfriend, although he loved her deeply, she hardly took notice of him!

One day, the girl fell ill and she knew her time was short. She thought of her luxurious life and wondered, ‘I now have four boyfriends with me, but when I die, will I be alone.’

4. Thus, she asked the fourth boyfriend, ‘I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I’m dying, will y ou follow me and keep me company?
‘No way!’, replied the fourth boyfriend, and he walked away without another word.

His answer cut like a sharp knife right into her heart.

3. The sad girl then asked the third boyfriend, ‘I loved you all my life. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?’ ‘No!’, replied the third boyfriend. ‘Life is too good! When you die, I’m going to marry someone else!’ Her heart sank and turned cold.

2. She then asked the second boyfriend, ‘I have always turned to you for help and you’ve always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?’.  ’I'm sorry, I can’t help you out this time!’, replied the second boyfriend. ‘At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.’
His answer struck her like a bolt of lightning, and the girl was devastated.

1. Then a voice called out: ‘I’ll go with you. I’ll follow you no matter where you go.’ The girl looked up, and there was her first boyfriend. He was very skinny as he suffered from malnutrition and neglect.

Greatly grieved, the girl said, ‘I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!’

In truth, you have four boyfriends in this life:

4. Your fourth boyfriend is your body. No matter how much time and effort you lavish in making it look good, it will leave you when you die.

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3. Your third boyfriend is your possessions, status and wealth.When you die, it will all go to others.

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2. Your second boyfriend is your family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for you, the furthest they can stay by you in this life is up to the grave.

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1. And your first boyfriend is your spirit. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world.

However, your spirit is the only thing that will follow you where ever you go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of you that will follow you to the throne of God and continue with you throughout Eternity.

Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, you’re in the perfect position to pray.

Being happy doesn’t mean everything’s perfect. It means you’ve decided to see beyond the imperfections.

“God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage”

Kathy Hill
For The Family

By Alan on Jun 01 in Blog tagged body, charity, crafts, crochet, heart, need, warm, yarn | 1 Comment

Patricia E. Williams (cq) crochets between five to ten baby booties each day, with all different kinds of yarn. Last year, she made more than 1500 booties that were given to charities or hospitals.

Three balls of yarn unraveled steadily from the floor. Next to them sat a white garbage bag full of a rainbow of crocheted baby booties. Dozens of them. Patricia Williams, 59, sat on her friend’s couch, laughing and telling stories as her fingers worked quickly and meticulously. Numbers flashed through her head as she counted the stitches and rows.

“It’s 28 rows down,” she said. “Three up and then three up again and four loops across the top.”

She’s memorized the pattern after 20 years of crocheting the booties. But she had to. Growing up in an orphanage in New York, Williams was never educated enough to read, so the pattern was told to her.
Besides never learning to read, she grew up with cataracts, which only got worse as she aged. She started walking into walls, thinking they were the doors. She had double vision and her eyes could no longer focus. It got so bad that she was labeled as legally blind and finally had surgery in 2003 to correct her vision.

All of a sudden, she could see what she was crocheting. It changed the way that she crocheted. She could make booties even fancier and she could make them even faster.

Williams, of Orem, learned to crochet two decades ago by watching other people crochet and asking questions. Wherever anyone was crocheting, in the doctor’s office or church, Williams was watching. The more she practiced, the better she got. She uses any kind of yarn and can make two-, three- or four-ply booties. She admits that her perfection of the booties came with several years of making mistakes and ripping out stitches.

She prides herself on being able crochet anywhere, anytime. Even in the dark. Or in her sleep.

“We had a power failure once and she just kept making booties,” said her friend, Ellen Saling.

It only takes her a row for her fingers to get going, the rest of the time she watches TV or movies or watches the scenery from the back of the car. She even crochets while she’s grocery shopping — she puts the yarn in the front basket of the cart and moseys through the store.

Each day, Williams crochets five to 10 pairs of booties, 35 booties a week. Last year she made more than 1,500 pairs of booties. Never is one pair like another.

For several years she gave them to the LDS humanitarian services, but they could no longer take as many as she was producing.

Instead, she was put in touch with Alan Osmond, who takes 35 of the booties each week for his charity. She also gives some for hospitals to give to the babies born, even special premie booties. “They call me ‘The Machine,’ ” said Williams.

Williams cringes at the thought of not being able to crochet. It’s only happened once or twice in the past two decades. Two months ago she smashed her right hand and ended up with a total of 11 stitches. For several weeks she was out of commission. No one knew, because she had stockpiled so many of her booties that she still had enough to donate. Every day that she leaves the house she grabs a handful or two from her plastic sack filled with booties.”That’s why I like pockets,” laughed Williams. “You can stuff things in them like booties.”

She gives them to anyone who’s pregnant, even strangers. She hands them out at church or to people walking down the street. Anyone. Anywhere. For parents experiencing a troubled pregnancy, Williams make three pair of booties. One is pink or blue, depending on the sex of the baby, the second is a white set for the blessing and the third is gold and red, the Chinese colors for good luck. “It’s her way of giving back to the world,” said Saling.

Williams lost her first child only a few hours after birth. Ever since she started giving away her booties she has kept the baby boy in her thoughts. “I want all the babies to have something mine couldn’t have,” she said. “I feel like all the babies in the world need something to cover their feet.”

Of One Heart: “And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, an a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.” Alma 3:13

Beverly Orton is one of the Crafting Leaders in Orem, Utah for the One Heart Foundation that has many knitters and chrocheters like Patricia Williams who share their talents for charity.  ”With our many volunteers all across America, we encourage giving by sharing your talents with others, says Beverly.  We have given thousands of caps, scarfs, booties, baby blankets, scarfs, etc. to needy families.  We even made caps for five military crews in ships at sea, who were cold, worked with sponsors like Lands’ End in beating their goal of making 25,000 caps for homeless.  (We made 30,000!)

“And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.” Acts 4: 32

Learn more at http://thefamily.com and http://oneheart.org.

By Alan on Feb 14 in Blog tagged body, early, late, rest, sleep, tired | Comments Off

Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated. D&C 88: 124

Until the 1950s, most people thought of sleep as a passive, dormant part of our daily lives. We now know that our brains are very active during sleep. Moreover, sleep affects our daily functioning and our physical and mental health in many ways that we are just beginning to understand.

Nerve-signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters control whether we are asleep or awake by acting on different groups of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain. Neurons in the brainstem, which connects the brain with the spinal cord, produce neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine that keep some parts of the brain active while we are awake. Other neurons at the base of the brain begin signaling when we fall asleep. These neurons appear to “switch off” the signals that keep us awake. Research also suggests that a chemical called adenosine builds up in our blood while we are awake and causes drowsiness. This chemical gradually breaks down while we sleep.

These stages progress in a cycle from stage 1 to REM sleep, then the cycle starts over again with stage 1 (see figure 1 ). We spend almost 50 percent of our total sleep time in stage 2 sleep, about 20 percent in REM sleep, and the remaining 30 percent in the other stages. Infants, by contrast, spend about half of their sleep time in REM sleep.

During stage 1, which is light sleep, we drift in and out of sleep and can be awakened easily. Our eyes move very slowly and muscle activity slows. People awakened from stage 1 sleep often remember fragmented visual images. Many also experience sudden muscle contractions called hypnic myoclonia, often preceded by a sensation of starting to fall. These sudden movements are similar to the “jump” we make when startled. When we enter stage 2 sleep, our eye movements stop and our brain waves (fluctuations of electrical activity that can be measured by electrodes) become slower, with occasional bursts of rapid waves called sleep spindles. In stage 3, extremely slow brain waves called delta waves begin to appear, interspersed with smaller, faster waves. By stage 4, the brain produces delta waves almost exclusively. It is very difficult to wake someone during stages 3 and 4, which together are called deep sleep. There is no eye movement or muscle activity. People awakened during deep sleep do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes after they wake up. Some children experience bedwetting, night terrors, or sleepwalking during deep sleep.

When we switch into REM sleep, our breathing becomes more rapid, irregular, and shallow, our eyes jerk rapidly in various directions, and our limb muscles become temporarily paralyzed. Our heart rate increases, our blood pressure rises, and males develop penile erections. When people awaken during REM sleep, they often describe bizarre and illogical tales – dreams.

The first REM sleep period usually occurs about 70 to 90 minutes after we fall asleep. A complete sleep cycle takes 90 to 110 minutes on average. The first sleep cycles each night contain relatively short REM periods and long periods of deep sleep. As the night progresses, REM sleep periods increase in length while deep sleep decreases. By morning, people spend nearly all their sleep time in stages 1, 2, and REM.

People awakened after sleeping more than a few minutes are usually unable to recall the last few minutes before they fell asleep. This sleep-related form of amnesia is the reason people often forget telephone calls or conversations they’ve had in the middle of the night. It also explains why we often do not remember our alarms ringing in the morning if we go right back to sleep after turning them off.

Since sleep and wakefulness are influenced by different neurotransmitter signals in the brain, foods and medicines that change the balance of these signals affect whether we feel alert or drowsy and how well we sleep. Caffeinated drinks such as coffee and drugs such as diet pills and decongestants stimulate some parts of the brain and can causeinsomnia, or an inability to sleep. Many antidepressants suppress REM sleep. Heavy smokers often sleep very lightly and have reduced amounts of REM sleep. They also tend to wake up after 3 or 4 hours of sleep due to nicotine withdrawal. Many people who suffer from insomnia try to solve the problem with alcohol – the so-called night cap. While alcohol does help people fall into light sleep, it also robs them of REM and the deeper, more restorative stages of sleep. Instead, it keeps them in the lighter stages of sleep, from which they can be awakened easily.

People lose some of the ability to regulate their body temperature during REM, so abnormally hot or cold temperatures in the environment can disrupt this stage of sleep. If our REM sleep is disrupted one night, our bodies don’t follow the normal sleep cycle progression the next time we doze off. Instead, we often slip directly into REM sleep and go through extended periods of REM until we “catch up” on this stage of sleep.

People who are under anesthesia or in a coma are often said to be asleep. However, people in these conditions cannot be awakened and do not produce the complex, active brain wave patterns seen in normal sleep. Instead, their brain waves are very slow and weak, sometimes all but undetectable.

By Alan on Feb 10 in Blog tagged body, chastity, immoral, mind, modesty, pornography, thoughts | 6 Comments

Satan attacks the standards of modesty. He wants us to believe that because the human body is beautiful, it should be seen and appreciated. Our Heavenly Father wants us to keep our bodies covered so that we do not put improper thoughts into the minds of others.
Satan not only encourages us to dress immodestly, but he also encourages us to think immoral or improper thoughts. He does this with pictures, movies, stories, jokes, music, and dances that suggest immoral acts.
The law of chastity requires that our thoughts as well as our actions be pure. The prophet Alma taught that when we are judged by God, “our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God” (Alma 12:14 …our thoughts will also condemn us)

Jesus taught, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
“But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27–28).
Satan sometimes tempts us through our emotions. He knows when we are lonely, confused, or depressed. He chooses this time of weakness to tempt us to break the law of chastity. Our Heavenly Father can give us the strength to pass through these trials unharmed.
Prov. 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
D&C 6:16 God…knowest thy thoughts and the intents.
Mark 7:23 Evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Acts 8:22 Pray God…the thought of thine heart bringeth forth…good.
2 Cor. 10:5 Bringing…every thought to obedience of Christ.
Heb 4:12 Discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Mosiah 5:2 No more disposition to do evil.

By Alan on Feb 09 in Blog tagged additives, bleached, body, Chef Brad, cooking, difference, earth, friendship, grind, Osmond, purity, real, salt, salt of the earth, sodium, Suzanne | Comments Off

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Real Salt

This month we want to talk salt…….Real Salt.

Just pick up a bag of Redmond brand Real Salt and you will begin to understand the difference.
Compared to your regular table salt, Redmond brand Real Salt looks healthy, vibrant and well… “real”!

Regular white table salt that you find in most stores has been refined in some way, usually bleached and/or purified. Many experts point out that this robs the salt of all of its healthy benefits while also creating certain health problems through a higher sodium effect on your body.

Regular table salt also will often contain ferrocyanide, yellow prussiate of soda, tricalcium phosphate, alumino-calcium, which are all anti-caking agents. Many nutritionists feel that these additives prevent the salt from mixing with water, in the box or within the human body, thus preventing the salt from doing one of its important functions on the organism. By contrast, Real Salt is an all-natural, kosher-certified sea salt extracted from deep within the earth, crushed, screened, and packaged. It is not heated and it does not have any compounds added.

One popular brand of salt even contains dextrose! Is this an attempt to get you even more hooked on plain, stripped down salt?????

Real Salt contains over 50 trace minerals and iodine. These minerals are important for proper nutrition and support the absorption of vitamins and minerals found in other foods you consume. Food and nutritional experts also point out that pure sea salt helps to provide your body with a gentle alkaline food that helps regulate the body and helps support healing in the body. This is salt you can enjoy and feel good about eating.

The best part of all is that real salt tastes even better than white table salt and comes in fine, regular, kosher and coarse grind. So quit using salt and start using Real Salt!

Suzanne Osmond
Chef Brad
For The Family

Note:

Salt, this white substance, occupies an important place in our lives. It is essential to health; body cells must have salt in order to live and work. It has antiseptic, or germ-killing, properties. It is a preservative. It is an ingredient in many foods and products. And it is estimated that there are more than fourteen thousand uses for salt.

According to the historians, “Salt at one time had religious significance, and was a symbol of purity. … Among many peoples, salt is still used as a sign of honor, friendship and hospitality. The Arabs say ‘there is salt between us,’ meaning ‘we have eaten together, and are friends’” (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1978, 17:69).

The Organizer and Creator of this world understood perfectly the nature and importance of salt. More than thirty-five references to this substance are found in the scriptures. In the Old Testament mention is made of a “covenant of salt” (see Lev. 2:13; Num. 18:19; 2 Chr. 13:5). In the New Testament the Savior referred to his disciples as the “salt of the earth,” and charged them to retain their savor (Matt. 5:13). He repeated this charge to his chosen disciples on the American continent:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor, wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men” (3 Ne. 12:13).

By Alan on Jan 13 in Blog tagged accuse, advice, attention, body, ear, Family, feelings, foul, head, hear, heart, interrupt, judge, language, late, lectures, less, listen, mistake, mouth, music, opinions, prayer, strategies, talk, thoughts, tone, voice, words | 2 Comments

From the Publisher:  Families today are so busy trying to pack into each day so many things that they become distractions and really are not that important when it comes to having a successful family and a loving home.

I have invited some good researchers that are “Of One Heart” in “Strengthening Families to provide their research and tested information to help us have better communication among ‘The Family’.

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Many sounds in our world compete for our attention. As parents, life can become so hectic that we fail to truly listen to others, especially those closest to us–such as our children. The words of an anonymous author teaches a profound lesson about listening:

A wise, old owl sat on an oak

The more he saw, the less he spoke.

The less he spoke, the more he heard.

Why can’t we all be like that bird?

The ancient Greek philosopher Zeno of Citium said that we have been given one mouth and two ears that we might hear more and talk less.

Careful listening is one of the best ways parents can influence their children for good. It is one of God’s primary ways of influencing us. He has said, “Be still, and know that I am God.” He listens and responds to every heartfelt prayer.

Head and heart listening requires that we attend to more than mere words. To understand the full meaning of what a child is saying to us, we have to “listen” to tone, inflection, feelings, and body language. By truly listening, we are saying to our children: “You are a person of worth. I love you, respect you, and want to understand you.”

Unfortunately, we are often so eager to get our own point across that we interrupt our children with our own ideas and don’t pay enough attention to their thoughts and feelings.

For example, in the movie “Are You Listening,” a father is awakened in the middle of the night by loud music. He arises angrily and heads downstairs to find his teenaged son slumped on the couch, oblivious to the music’s volume. The father steps over to the stereo and switches it off. He then begins a tirade, rebuking his son for being up too late, listening to foul music, putting himself at risk for bad grades and impaired hearing, and every other mini-lecture he can come up with. The son repeatedly tries to explain himself, but his father interrupts and overpowers him each time.

How often as parents do we make a similar mistake?

The goal of listening is to hear, understand, and accept the other person’s feelings and views. Parents need to set aside their lectures and opinions and strive to truly understand their children’s point of view. No one can understand at the same time they’re giving advice.

Anytime we want to truly grasp our child’s thoughts and feelings, we have to give up lecturing (“What you need to do is . . .”), talking about our own experiences (“That same thing happened to me when I was a kid”), and playing down our child’s concern (“Everyone feels that way once in a while”).

Practical Strategies

Strategies for listening to your children with both your head and your heart include:

• Give your children your full attention. Put aside lectures, reactions, feelings, perceptions and judgments. Eliminate distractions such as the newspaper, TV or radio. Put yourself in your child’s shoes and try with all your heart to see the world through his or her eyes. The attitude and spirit you adopt is probably the most important aspect of listening. You can go through the outward motions of listening but not really be hearing anything if you don’t have the attitude and spirit of true listening. 
Physically, you can give your child full attention by turning and leaning toward him or her to show involvement and concern. You can also watch carefully his or her eyes, where emotions are often communicated.
• Acknowledge your child’s feelings. Sometimes we try to deny our children’s feelings (“You don’t really hate school”), give advice, judge, and accuse. We try to get them to see what we see or feel the way we do, and in the process we prevent them from fully understanding their own experience. As psychologist Haim Ginnott said, “Many people have been educated out of knowing what their feelings are.” Acknowledge and respect your child’s feelings and views. 
For example, suppose your child returns from school and says, “My teacher yelled at me and everybody laughed!” It would be easy to miss the feelings behind this statement and instead ask, “What did you do to make your teacher so upset?” A better response might be: “That must have been embarrassing for you,” or “It can hurt when people laugh at us.” After acknowledging feelings, you can help your child come up with solutions to avoid the same problem in the future. 
Some parents think that if they show understanding, their children will think they’re condoning bad behavior. But showing understanding doesn’t mean you agree with their behavior. Rather, it shows you care about their feelings. Children need to feel they are understood before any advice or correction can sink in. The following exchange between a father and daughter, given in Haim Ginnott’s book, Between Parent and Child, shows a father truly listening to his daughter and understanding her feelings: 
Daughter: My turtle is dead. He was alive this morning.
Father: Oh no. What a shock! 
Daughter: (Tears in her eyes) He was my friend.
Father: To lose a friend can hurt. 
Daughter: I taught him to do tricks.
Father: You two had fun together. 
Daughter: I fed him every day. . . . 
Father: You really cared about that turtle.
• Invite more discussion. Sometimes acknowledging a child with a sincere “Oh . . . hmmm. . . I see” is enough to invite more discussion. When coupled with a caring attitude, these simple sounds invite children to explore their own thoughts and feelings, and, if they’re trying to solve a problem, possibly come up with their own solutions.

Show understanding by paraphrasing. Paraphrasing means to restate or reflect what another person has said–but without parroting it word for word. Paraphrasing can be especially useful when you’re trying to help someone get to the heart of a problem. 
Remember the example of the father who blasted his son? In the movie, this same scenario occurs a second time, but this time the father reacts differently. As he enters the room where his son is listening to blaring music, the father calms himself, then notices a disturbed look on his son’s face. Instead of launching into a lecture, he turns the stereo off and asks his son, “What’s going on?” At first the son hedges, “Dad, you don’t want to hear this.” But his father persists, and the son ends up pouring out feelings and fears common to young men. As the father truly listens, he understands, and he’s able to help point his son in the right direction in a way that lectures and commands can never accomplish.

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Written by Stephen F. Duncan, Professor, School of Family Life, Brigham Young University.Portions adapted from Dr. Duncan’s article, Communication: Building a Strong Bridge Between You and Your Children , published by Montana State University Extension Service.

Forever Families

By Alan on Jan 01 in Blog tagged body, daily. urination, dehydration, drink, essential, health, liquid, loss, stool, sweat, water | Comments Off

Dehydration Defined

Dehydration can be defined as “the body’s excessive loss of water”. It can be dangerous for life. Next to oxygen, water is #1 in importance as the body is 75% water.  Salt is next. While doctors say salt is bad (which table salt is), unprocessed sea salt is extremely rich in vital minerals.

The human body constantly needs water. It loses water through the lungs When breathing, and with the daily urination, sweat and stool.

The human body has many signals of its needing  water, including the development of various pathologies, such as every health problem mentioned in this book.

Our bodies are 75% water, and the water inside our cells is salt-free, while the water outside our cells is salt water, which is the same as our planet.   The water that surrounds our continent is all salt water, and the water within our continent is salt-free.

Body and planet are much alike, so why have doctors been taught to tell people that salt is bad when, in the middle ages people were put to death by salt deprivation, a slow, agonizing death.  I know one thing, and that is if people don’t get enough unprocessed salt, they die. Read critical salt information in watercure2.org.

From the Publisher,

“We have run articles before about this but many are still ill because they don’t drink enough water!”

Bob Butts
For The Family

According to Watercure2.org :

“Lorraine Day, a famous M.D. dying of incurable cancer, refused radiation & chemo and only used  diet & lifestyle changes. She was healed without pain, side effects or cost other than food.  She said she couldn’t have gotten well without Dr. Batmanghelidj’s discovery.  Her story & more are on watercure2.org.”

Vision, recovery testimonials, including blindness, are on water cure 2.org tell of many people getting sight back after quitting diuretic drinks, caffeine, alcohol & soda while drinking water & adding a little sea salt to their diets.  That’s because eyes are 98% water and not enough water can cause vision problems.  More info at C-K auto.

Jim Post of Wilkes-Barre suffered from type2 diabetes & followed the water cure & got rid of it at no cost.  He’s happy to tell you how he did it as will  Jim Rising, former local radio personality who also got rid of diabetes and more.  Many more success stories are on water cure2.org even where people avoided amputations.

Suffer with acid reflux, chronic pain, including arthritis or RSD?  Countless testimonials on watercure2.org from people who got well at no cost will astonish you.   Read success stories of pets that quickly got rid of severe pain in days just by adding sea salt to their food and water.

Retired racing cyclist from England was rejected as too far gone for a heart by-pass or transplant.  Watercure2.org heart testimonials tell how he and others made amazing recoveries after given no hope.  Norbert at 77 is fully recovered  and rides his new racing bike daily.

Dr. Batmanghelidj said most birth defects, including autism are caused by dehydration of the mother of which morning sickness is the first sign.  That can have tragic affects on the unborn child.  If science checked Dr. B. ‘s findings,  they’d find there’s no mystery to the cause and prevention of most birth defects.

By Alan on Dec 29 in Blog tagged body, exercise, feel better, Fit attack, Heart attack, Heavy, living large, lose fat, move | 11 Comments

This coming year of 2011, I am going to

• Learn and teach my family and grandkids all of the things that are most important to do in this life so that they can Choose to do them or Not!  At least they will know what they are!  They will come from Jesus’s words from the scriptures and from the Prophets that God  ordained to speak in behalf of The Lord.
• I am going to live as bestI can the scripture given to us from the Lord Jesus to our Prophet for us which is found here:                  D&C 109: 8 “Organize yourselves; ^aprepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a ^bhouse of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of ^corder, a ^dhouse of God;
• Also this scripture:  D&C 88: 124 Cease to be ^aidle; cease to be ^bunclean; cease to ^cfind fault one with another; cease to ^dsleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary;arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be ^einvigorated.
• I am going to continue to set my mind upon the fact that, “You become what you think about”…and get better with my M.S..
• I want to get a “Fit Attack” instead of a “Heart Attack” by exercising and remembering the words to this song I wrote, “Get A Fit Attack”!  Yes, my sons recorded it for me!

Sing along and exercise with the Music!

February Contest coming for Best Fitness Family!

Fit Attack

Song:    “Fit Attack”

(“  . . . Here we go!”

16 bars  (Dancers enter, Athletes start exercising)

10, 9, 8, 7, 6 5   4 3 2 1

(Osmonds sing:)

Chorus:           “Get a Fit . . . Attack

I Want My Body Back

Fit…. Attack     Don’t

Like being heavy

Get in shape  . . . it feels great!

On the move . . . and

Lose the FAT  -  get a

Fit Attack . . . Fit Attack!   Get a

Fit Attack . . . Fit Attack!

Verse 1:          It is time . . . to be in charge

_ Aren’t ya tired . . . of Livin’ LARGE?

_ Exercise . . . will make you feel better

Come on now  . . .

Lets get together

( 3 bars – drums with strong accents)

Chorus:           Get a Fit . . . Attack

I Want My Body Back

Fit…. Attack     Don’t

Like being heavy

_ Get in shape

_ It feels Great

_On the move . . . and

Lose the FAT . . . get a

Fit Attack . . . FIT ATTACK

Fit Attack . . . Fit Attack!

Verse 2:          Pump that iron . . . and

Move those feet . . .

Your heart will love you

Just feel the beat

Every step . . . is in the right direction

Make it sweat . . . and you will get a

(3 bars – drums)  get a

Chorus:           Fit . . . Attack

I Want My Body Back

Fit…. Attack     Don’t

Like being heavy

_ Get in shape

_ It feels Great

_On the move . . . and

Lose the FAT . . . get a

Fit Attack . . . Fit Attack!   I said a

Fit Attack . . . Fit Attack!

Copyright (c) 2000  -  Alan Osmond