This topic held specific interest to me since my parents divorced when I was young. I also found out that the time my parents divorced was one of the most common times that married people get divorced since it is one of the most difficult times in the marriage. Divorce did not separate me from one of my parents as I was able to see both regularly. However when I get married and have children one day I will avoid divorce at all costs simply because I believe it is better for the children to have both parents around in the house.
I found this website relevant to the chapter. It has some strategies in preventing divorce. http://love.ivillage.com/lmn/lmngetcloser/0„nn4k,00.html
This week’s course materials were very insightful. One thing that was very interesting to me was that family values vary between cultures and households for that matter. Your family values greatly determine the upbringing you were brought up in. When you get married and have children, you and your wife will combine values and come up with your own way to raise the children.
Teaching your children family values is integral in their development. Without values a child is lost and unable to make good decisions. I found this website helpful in discussing teaching children family values.
http://www.parenting-child-development.com/family-values.html
This whole course has made me look at the bigger picture in life. I have been guilty for a long of living in the present. Sometimes I do things without any thought of the future ramifications. The entire course has taught me to be responsible for my actions. This week’s material made me think of my childhood and how my parents raised me. I began to think about how I would raise my children in the future. Two things stuck in my mind more than anything. As a young child my parents got divorced and I was also the only child. I didn’t have a bad childhood or anything but these are two parts of my life that I wish could have been different. Aside from being a good role model I want to always be there for my children. I also want to have more than one child.
I found a website that helped me along with the readings. It discusses how parental roles should be defined but are always evolving as your children grow up.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/552356_12
I am adding this entry in late as I have realized that I forgot to add it during the week it was discussed. I found this material very interesting as it clarified to me many of the perspectives different religions had toward marriage. I was very fond of some of the elements that the different religions contained.
The Buddhist view on marriage views the institution as a union between man and women where equality exists in the relationship. I thought this was a view well ahead of its time. Equality is something that our society is striving for. The Buddhist religion has been around for hundreds of years yet this has always been one of their views on marriage.
As I was highly interested in the Buddhist view on marriage I found this website helpful in presenting the Buddhist views on marriage. http://www.purifymind.com/ViewMarriage.htm
As we all know abortion is a very controversial issue that surrounds our society. I found the materials from this week’s lesson persuasive. Many of the arguments made against abortion were solid points supported by evidence. I had previously held a stance that since I am not a woman I should have no say on whether or not abortion should be legal or illegal. Reflecting back on that now and I think that I was very ignorant.
I have been fortunate enough to have never been put in a position where I have had to choose between life or an abortion. I think as young people the most important thing we can choose to do is be safe. It’s important to always be prepared for the consequences of sex. If we are worried about getting pregnant then precautions should be used. I think using the neccessary is much better than having to abort a child.
I found this website to be very relevant to the topic we discussed this week:
http://www2.franciscan.edu/plee/pro.htm
This week’s material forced me to think about the total scale of the instituion of marriage. When you begin to consider that marriage not only brings two people together, but it also brings God into your relationship. I think marriage should be respected since it is a covenant involving you, your sponse, and God in a Trinity. The lesson changed my previous views on the institution of marriage. I felt previously it was just a title, and one of those things that is expected from people. I believe now that marriage is more than that. It should be taken extremely seriously as it is a relationship involving God.
It was interesting to learn some of the statistics on living with your partner before getting married. I previously believed it would be a good idea long term to live with somebody you thought of marrying. The statistics from the reading changed my mind on that perspective. The insight from the course has been substantial and hopefully I can begin to pattern the rest of my life on what I have learned from class.
I found this website to hold significant meaning when discussing marriage as a covenant: http://www.thebiblespeaks.com/Articles/Miscellaneous/Marriage/marcov.htm
After reading through the class discussion I began to look around to see other views on sex in our society. Most of the people in discussion including myself felt that sex is promoted in our society. I am studying in abroad in Italy right now, and I am trying to figure out how the values and morals are different from the States. It’s difficult to identify since I don’t speak the language, but from my experience the first few days here I believe Italian society is similar to ours in our views of sexuality. The media is similar here, movies are taken from America and played in the theaters here. They even have some of our television shows. America has a broad influence across the globe and I think our views on sexuality are spreading. I found this website insightful on the emphasis of sex in society.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/straight_talk_about_casual_sex.html
After doing the readings this week I was able to apply some of the concepts into my daily routine. I tried to listen to people and give the positive reinforcements. The outcome resulted in positive communication and a better connection. The discussion was interesting because alot of people mentioned how they stereotyped with being poor empathic listeners. I know that some of guy friends are poor listeners, but I believe this is also true for plenty of women I know. This is just an opinion of what I’ve seen and I hope to learn more about the differences in listening styles between men and women. I thought I had fully grasped the concept of empathic listening, but I chose to look for other websites with information on it. Here’s the URL to a website that offers some info on empathic listening. http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/empathic_listening/
As I previously stated in the discussion group it’s very difficult to change your listening habits. However consciousness of these principles for empathic listening can definitely improve your ability to become a better listener.
As I have read through the chapter I am learning more and more about the true meaning of intimacy. Prior to this class, intimacy is a term I thought only pertained to sexual relationships. I was unaware that intimacy exists in all relationships that we have. While reading into the chapter I was also able to see the distinctions between the levels of love. Every relationship I have contains different levels of intimacy and love. The chapter helped me characterize my relationships and determine what level of intimacy and love existed in each of them. It is relieving to know that there is no single level of love that exists. Rather, there are many levels that we can experience in the relationships we form with others. As I read on in the text I hope to be able to understand my relationships and the levels of intimacy and love I hold in them.
