Building a foundation at home.

Good morning friends I pray you are all doing well. I'm going to be writing about relationships today. These are some things I have learned and things that I constantly have to put forth the effort to do. Sometimes it's tough but I have realized IT'S WORTH IT! I pray you are challenged today by this blog post. Here we go!

Building a good relationship at home is like building a wall: It’s done brick by brick. And the mortar that holds it together is UNCONDITIONAL, UN-CONDEMNING, UNSELFISH LOVE. The only way you’ll know how good a job you’ve done is when it’s tested by the storms of life. One of the most important keys to succeeding at home is- communication. So:

• (1) Become creative. Spend time together as a family. Call your spouse during the day and plan date nights. Send her flowers love on her all the time instead of just one flipping day a week. Treat her like Christ treats us. As for your kids, communication with them is also huge. Build your relationships with your children on a solid foundation. Spend quality time with them instead of buying them whatever they want. Stuff will fade but the time you spend with them will never be forgotten!

The next thing is one that I will say takes work because it’s so easy for it to work its way in to your family time.

• (2) Identify communication killers. Internet, cell phones and TV are the worst ones! The average couple spends less than 1 hour a week communicating with one another, and we wonder why the divorce rate is skyrocketing.

• (3) Encourage one another at home; build each other up instead of tearing one another down. Differences of opinion are very healthy for building a great relationship with your family members if handled right WITH LOVE. The final one is very important.

• (4) Be conscious of how you interact with your family. You may have unwittingly adopted a style of communication. Stop and consider; do you: (a) retaliate- that has a degrading effect; (b) dominate- that has an intimidating effect; (c) isolate- that has a frustrating effect: (d) cooperate- that has an encouraging effect. If you’re in the habit of using any communication style other than a cooperative one, start working immediately to change it. You’ll have to, if you want to build a good relationship with your family. The most important thing when building family relationships is to keep JESUS CHRIST FRONT AND CENTER IN EVERYTHING! I pray this helps you realize just how important building relationships are. I love you all..with love, Jason Ashley