Celebrating Family

 I believe in families. I believe that the Lord placed us here on this earth in families to help us learn and grow. The family is a unit that you can rely on to protect the weak and give reprieve to the strong. Everyone needs a family. As my mom always said "Family are the ones who love you even when you are being stupid." Everyone has their moments where they are less than brilliant. Even dysfunctional families can provide love and support.  As a mother it is my greatest responsibility and blessing to provide that love and support to my family.

This month marks 15 years since The Family: A Proclamation to the World was announced. Now I'm not sure what percentage of my blog readers are LDS, but even if you are not, if you follow my blog you probably believe in families too. If you've never read the Family Proclamation before, I encourage you to do so.  And if you have read it, read it again. It contains so much truth. Here are a few of my favorite lines:

• Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. 
• Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.  
• Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In celebration of the anniversary of the Family Proclamation mi amiga Jocelyn, of We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice In Christ is having a blog party. (Every time I hear that phrase I think of the last few pages of this book. That's just the stage of life I'm in. :D ) Every day she will feature a different blogger talking about families. And Cocoa of Chocolate on My Cranium is getting in on the party too. (In addition to great insights and encouragement, there are prizes for commenting on these two blogs.) As part of the celebration, I thought I would join in by writing a post about family each week. Come join the Celebration of Family. Hope to see you there.