starting too soon

Sex in a relationship (one connected through marriage preferably) is what literally makes a family and is the glue that keeps a family together. But when you have premarital sex it is like super gluing your fingers together. It never quite fits and when you pull apart it physically hurts. And once you become intimate, it makes easier to jump to that step the next time, and harder to go without.

Along with sex, and the spiritual and nature of it, it is important that I teach my children the right things about it. So here are some rules that I am going to follow about teaching my kids about the birds and the bees.



AGES 0-4
- Teach them the correct name for body parts
- Talk to them about abuse, teaching them that in any case someone touches them they come to Mommy or Daddy.







AGES 5-10
- Make sure they know a little more about child abuse and about pornography. So they know that if they are given porn that they do not look at it.
- Begin to tell them about what sex is and the importance of it, so they know why.
- Start telling them about drugs and what to do if they are offered any.
- Teach them how to say no to porn and sex.



AGES 12-18
- Take everything that I have taught them in the first two stages and go into more depth. I want to make sure that they know why you shouldn't have sex before marriage, why porn is damaging and the affects of drugs.
- I also want them to know that they can trust me and their father in any situation.

So all you parents, let me know what you think and what you have seen work with your kids.

McIntyre Team Roster

For our midterm we had to create our own Family System, an analogy of how our family operates and works together. I chose a football team, if you know my family at all, you will understand how well this fits!

Here is the picture I created for it, each player is a family member.

learning to select a mate

My mother is going to be excited that I was learning about this topic; Dating and Courtship!

When we begin to date that are three different models that people tend to follow:
1) hang out, make out, drop out: this is when we have an initial attraction to a person, but we begin to have non-committal physical interaction and after that happens there is no further contact. Here at BYU-Idaho we like to call this a NCMO, a non-committal make-out. Speaking from experience I think this is the most dangerous. It happens mostly when people are feeling insecure and look for attention in the easiest route possible.
2) date 'em till you hate 'em: this is when you get over committed from the beginning and you are exclusive until you can't stand them any longer. You start dating before you know how old they are or when their birthday is. And from what I know these are the bonds that so easy to break, you begin to date so quickly that you are not able to set up a foundation.
3) dating & courtship: now this is the best one! You take the time to get to know each other, you go on dates, not just hanging out, and you then you become exclusive.

Now when I speak about dating maybe I should define that for some people. Dating should follow The Family: A Proclamation to the World. It states, "Fathers should preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families." And with dating it should follow the same lines.
1) PLANNED AHEAD:
Have an idea of the plans for the night, this show he can preside. He can stand up and take action when needed not just when he is pressured.
2) PAIRED OFF:
This shows that he can be attendant to you, not the herd. But this brings in the idea of protections stated in the Family Proclamation. He makes sure that anything negative will happen, and is protecting you from others and outside forces.
3) PAID FOR:
This is him showing you that he can take responsibility for you, just like he will be if you get married. It also is a foreshadowing of what your financial situation will be if you get married. It sets a pattern.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

innocent desires

I remember when I was first grade and the new boy in class sat right next to me. I got so excited and then nervous! My first crush. When I was that young I really didn't act out on those innocent desires. We would chase each other on the playground and I even was invited to his 6th birthday. When we have those innocent desires most of the time nothing is done about it, and it is the same for people with tendencies to being homosexual.

When they have those innocent desires like day dreaming, nervousness or increased heart beat. It is when they begin to act on those desires that it is a problem. One wonderful thing that I learned in these lessons about homosexuality is that usually these people are just simply misunderstood and when they find acceptance with people that aren't straight, then they themselves believe they are gay. And instead of fighting those tendencies they believe the names they are being called.

What I truly learned from my class this week is to be a lot more kind and understanding to young people who are struggling. They really just wanting to belong.