This week we talked about fatherhood. The importance of fatherhood is often over looked. Many people say that single parent and same sex marriage families are just as good as traditional families for children. However studies have shown that this is simply not true. The presence of both a father and a mother who lovingly and thoughtfully parent for their children's best interest is the best way to raise children. This isn't to say that it's 100% but studies show that this is true and that the children from these families are best off in the long run.

Communication. It is so, so important, and yet it's so often forgotten. There are many forms of communication. In fact only about 15% of communication is verbal. what we do and how we do it is extremely important. Actions truly are louder than words. Between spouses communication must be clear and frequent in order for a couple to be happy and healthy.

This week's topic was one that can sometimes be taken too lightly in our society. Its literally every where and if your a guy it one of the #1 things you think about. Yep, its sex. Now this isn't going to be anything "R" rated. Just some interesting facts about the differences between men and women in relation to sexual activity and how society has kinda corrupted its meaning. First off guys and girls are different. (sorry to all those of you who think differently, but they are very different) Ever wonder why every competitive sport, bathrooms, clothing, even careers are generally gender segregated naturally, without government influence? In general we have different interests, strengths and weaknesses. This isn't to talk at all about individuals, but there are general trends that exist. To ignore them is the definition of ignorance regardless of whether you are a feminist, misogynist or whatever you are. Men typically have greater awareness of their sexual feelings and in general are more aroused by visual stimuli. This is more than likely due to the fact that their genitalia are on the outside. While women may not be as aware and thusly rely on other stimulants (i.e. touch). In addition men generally get to climax much faster than women ,for whom it take longer and even not happen at all. In addition men usually have to wait before they can climax again, where as women can climax multiple times. So in conclusion, there are a number of differences which make it so that men and women must work together in order to satisfy the needs of the other. There's something to that. The fact they we are different, but complementary. The strengths of one are the weaknesses of the other. All in all, I think its pretty cool.

Hi there everyone, we learned so really interesting stuff this week going off of what I talked about last week. I talked about some common practices today like living together and having sex before marriage and how this can be detrimental to a couple as they move toward the marriage phase of their relationship. But it occurred to me that I didn't even talk about love. I know right!? What a loser. Anyways, there are many different kinds of love and many different ways of expressing it too. To start with I especially like a comment our professor made today about the phrase "falling in love". He said "I really am rather against the idea of falling in love, as failing in love opens up the possibility of falling out of love." I think this is so true. If we treat love like something that just happens without any choice of our own, then consequently we have no control over wether or not we stay "in love". Conversely if we choose to love someone, accepting both their pros and cons, then we can control how long we stay in love with them. Anyways, just a few thoughts for this week. Remember, doing your part in any relationship is the one thing you can control 100%. Don't worry about that which you have no control over. Peace.

This week we talked about marriage. It was super interesting! There were a lot of different aspects to marriage that I didn't realize were important. For instance, I hadn't realized that cohabitation and premarital sex actually make divorce more likely. I had always sort of assumed that it was the opposite.  When two people begin their married lives after having lived together it actually is much harder on the couple. The two have been used to living together, but not being one. Money and responsibilities are often kept separate prior to marriage. So when they do marry the dynamic changes drastically, or rather it should. When the couple fails to change this idea of two separate people living together, they remain just that. They don't become one. This puts an extraordinary amount of stress on both of them and often leads to separation. Kinda crazy right? Any ways I guess I just wanted to say that there's a reason some traditional values exist, they work. For thousands of years and in almost every culture sex and cohabitation were things reserved only for those who married. I won't say that all traditions are good, but they certainly aren't all bad either. Anyways, just food for thought.

  Hey there! So this week was cool, we talked about a lot. Everything from gender roles to depression to same gender attraction, it was rad. We looked at some of the underlaying causes, both social and biological, for homosexuality which I found fascinating. There was actually quite a bit more attributed to the social side than I had been led to believe. With all the talk going around about "the gay gene" and with people talking about how some are just born gay I think that as important as opinions are, closer attention to research is the better way to determine this touchy topic. The fact is, is that there is a lot of opinion and conjecture out there and in my opinion we're probably better off doing this by the numbers.
  Undoubtedly there are points in favor of both sides, but I see no reason why the truth can't be some where in the middle. Rarely are these things ever black and white, so why treat it as such? Why can't it be that a predisposition for what is conceded in our society as gay, masculine, or feminine behavior mixed with ones complex life experiences lead one to question traditional sexual orientation? Just because a man likes to dance or has a more delicate voice doesn't make him homosexual... it makes him different. And different is good! Different is what makes culture so interesting. I digress, I'd rather not cause a fuss but we as a society certainly don't make it easy for those who are different to fit in. Especially with those of our same gender.
  So I guess that the message of the day is this, don't be so stubborn. Be open to new information. This doesn't mean you have to relinquish your point of view, it just allows you to have all the information in order to form it.  I think Jesus Christ said it best, "the truth shall set you free"( John 8:32). So why not? Anyways thats all for now, as always feel free to leave a comment below. Id be happy to share the sources on what we talked about this week!

This week's topics were really interesting, we discussed family structure and roles. The most interesting part for me was on the barriers. Wether they be "rigid", "clear" or "defuse" we all have certain types of boundaries that define how we interact.   Just like we would be hesitant to approach a house surrounded by 10' cement wall with barbwire on top, rigid boundaries can deter us from interacting with someone. Conversely a house with no fence might seem insufficient to maintain ones privacy. However a white picket fence might be both inviting and allow for a clear established boundary. We should be conscious of of the walls we put up in our lives. In this way we can avoid crossing lines we don't want to. Well thats all for now, see talk to ya next week.