Hawks Family Motto

Recently I was listening to a discussion on the Mormon Channel about sanctifying your home.  It really got me thinking about how I could help fortify my home.  How could I make it a refuge from the world?  A sanctuary?  The discussion talked about how the world is so worried about the environment and keeping it clean.  They worry about what pollutes it and are careful to not let bad or toxic things into it.  But what about our souls, our bodies, and our homes?  We should be that careful with letting damaging things hurt us and our families.  While listening I looked at a picture of Brian and I outside the temple right after our marriage on my magnet board and as words were said or came to my mind I started writing them on the paper surrounding the photo.  Words like, "Safe, Wise, Vision, Fun, Work, Peace, and Duty.  Then I wrote in the corner, "How you FEEL in our home, not what we HAVE in our home."  Then the discussion mentioned the constitution and what it stood for to this country.  They guy said,  "What does it mean to be a citizen of our home?"  That got me thinking more!  He mentioned that his family wrote a constitution for his family.  I decided we needed to have a motto or theme for our family.  I asked, "What are we trying to accomplish?"  and "What does it mean to be a member of our family?"  I began to ponder on this and we talked about it at Family Home Evening. Then I attended a funeral of a young mother that had died from cancer.  On her display table they had a framed family motto.  It was simple and it inspired me more.  I decided to try and figure out a way to display ours in our home.  I tried to type it up in Photoshop three times and each time the program quit.  So I decided it must be a sign that I make something by hand.  After I finished making it, then the program allowed me to type it up, which I wanted to do so each child could have a small copy and a bigger copy in their room.  The motto on display in our family room has "we" in it.  The individual mottos have "I" in it.  I have decided that our motto may be more of a wish list, but if we read it together, learn it, and have it in our brains for when difficult times arise, it will benefit us as a family and individually.  Here it is:

Hawks Family Motto

We are honest, kind, and understanding.

We are a good friend.

We look for opportunities to serve others.

We work hard and finish the job right.

We have good manners.

We make the best of things and enjoy life.

We follow the prophet.

We listen to the Spirit and follow promptings.

We stick together.

We are divine sons and daughters of God.

We are appreciative.

I feel the Spirit guided me and lead me to write this.  I hope we can feel its effects on our home and family.

In another post I mentioned our happy home ideas (or no fighting)  I decided to make a display of those words to go with the motto.  Here is a link to that post.