Ohana Means Family: Fathers, Finances, and Favorites

Monday, April 1, 2013

Fathers, Finances, and Favorites

Fathers: Awesome!
Finances: If you have lots of money also awesome! ;)
Favorites: This video! Favorite video of fathers! It's seriously amazing!

Interesting isn't it, how father's are portrayed in media these days? Not just fathers, but men in general. You know, the clueless, easily made fun of, dopey, beer drinking-gut scratching-white tank wearing kinda guy? Or the slightly more flattering Phil Dunphy from Modern Family. My cousin's wife did a blog post about this topic exactly, just a few weeks ago! She makes some really great points! I want to use a quote from this post, she just said the most profound thing when she said, "When counseling Laman and Lemuel, Lehi's last advice to them before passing away was to 'Arise from the dust my sons, and be men.' Let's let our men be men and embrace our role as women. We have special talents and responsibilities and as much as feminists try to prove otherwise, we are fundamentally different. But equally important." How profound is that! I almost wish I could leave this post on that note, but I can't!

Parents have a divine and designated role. I don't know how this Earth, and the human population would thrive without parents, or at the very least role models to help guide and shape our lives. It is the adults in our lives that have huge determining factors in who we turn out to be.

Fathers are amazing. Really and truly. I cannot even begin to describe how much the two men in these pictures have meant to me. My father has been such a strong presence in my life. He has taught me so many important life lessons, including but not limited to I can do anything I set my mind to; the letter of the grade doesn't matter, what matters is that I am healthy and happy; Classic Rock is awesome, hard work will always pay off; and the best way to help someone is to serve them. My AMAZING Grandfather has been just as much a father to me as my own father. Growing up five minutes away from my mother's parents has been a HUGE blessing in my life! My Grandpa has taught me that love means service, daily scripture study and prayer help you to become the best possible person you can be, family should always come first, and find someone you can love and be in love with for the rest of forever. I cannot even begin to express the importance of parents. Currently taking a parenting class has opened my eyes to the fallacies and traps that we fall into, without even realizing it! You know how people tell you to do your research before you buy something? The same should be said before you become a parent. I'll give you a couple things that I have learned from my classes. As a parent, what is most important is love. No matter what else happens, your child should always know and always feel loved. The more a parenting book says behavior, the less effective it will be. Your child's needs should come first. This is not spoiling them, this is the essence of being a parent. Parents have a huge role in a child's life. Prepare carefully, and take a step back sometimes, and ask yourself, in relation to how you parent, if someone did this to me, how would I feel? If you would feel any sort of negative emotion, then why are you doing this to your child? Be a smart parent. Be a wise parent. Be a Godly parent. Most of all, just be a loving parent.