By Trina Boice

Someone once said, “If you want to have spiritual experiences, do your genealogy.” There is something magical and unusually compelling about genealogy. Unlike playing golf or doing crafts or participating in any other pastime, researching our family history is something sacred that calls to us. There is a special something that tugs at the genealogist’s heart and pulls him to keep searching through dusty books and rolls of microfiche late into the night. You may be a professional genealogist or just a beginner trying to find a long lost cousin on the Internet. Your search may originate from curiosity, duty, or even religious dedication, but either way, you have felt that ancestral tug.

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By Brieanna Gould

It’s allergy season. Nasty allergies. All of yesterday, I fought with my body to keep it going. My family and I bought tickets to a country concert, and we were all excited! As I sat, though, I noticed my head began to gain weight. I could hardly keep my eyes open. Five sneezes came out, and I apologized, and looked at my mom, pleadingly. She told me to lie my head down on my sister’s shoulder. So I did. I fought more to keep my eyes open, but eventually I just gave in.

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By Todd Hollingshead

Fathers looking to bolster their relationships with teenage children don’t need to break the bank this summer for a major family trip.

A new study by BYU researchers says youth feel a higher level of family cohesion and functionality when dad simply spends more time playing catch, watching a movie or eating with them.

Marriott School professors Ramon Zabriskie and Neil Lundberg surveyed fathers and youth from 647 U.S. households of varying backgrounds for the study, with each family having at least one youth between the ages of 11 and 15.

“When fathers invest time in low-cost, home-based, spontaneous activities close to or in the home, youth notice the difference,” Zabriskie said. “It doesn’t have to be something big. In fact, our research shows the little activities are the most important.”

The BYU researchers looked at two types of family leisure: core activities and balance activities. Core family leisure is defined as doing activities that require little planning and little money, such as:

• Eating a meal together

• Playing board games

• Watching TV and movies

• Playing sports in the yard/park

• Playing video games

• Attending children’s performances

• Gardening

• Reading books

Balance leisure activities are those that take more time, planning and money, such as family trips.

The researchers found that the core activities contribute more to youth’s perception of family functionality and family cohesion than the balance activities. Of course, balance activities also had a positive effect.

“We spend so much effort on the big-ticket items thinking that it’s the most important thing for our families, when really, more time with our kids on day-to-day activities will suffice,” Lundberg said.

Studies have found links among father involvement and aspects of family functioning, but this study, published in a recent issue of Leisure Sciences, is among the first to examine that relationship on a broad scale with a large sample of families.

Surveyed families came from every major U.S. region and had annual incomes ranging from less than $10,000 to more than $150,000.

Lydia Buswell, then a graduate student in the Recreation Management program, was the lead author on the study. Alan Hawkins, a professor in the BYU School of Family Life, was also a coauthor.

“Too often when people think about family leisure, they think of the time they spend on vacations and neglect the leisure time spent at home,” Buswell said. “Family vacations and other balance activities can only help build a family if there is a foundation to build upon first.”

By Shawni Pothier

One of the things I remember was the way my Dad would sometimes tuck us up onto his lap as kids and talk to us about what we were good at. He’d ask us what we thought our talents were, and each time we suggested something, he’d wholeheartedly agree. He would write the first letter of each talent we named on one of our fingertips. For example, if I told him I thought I was pretty ok at taking care of babies (that was one of my greatest loves as a child), he’d write a big “B” on one finger for “babies,” then an “F” on the next finger for how I could do flips on the trampoline. He’d also add in what he thought we were good at when we got stumped.
It made me happy.
It made me feel capable.
It made me feel secure.

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By Staci Swinton Brooks

The month of May is a time to honor not only our own mothers, but all righteous women of God. He loves and honors women. They need to know they are special and loved; and they need to be encouraged to become all that they are destined to be.

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