What a WONDERFUL WEEKEND!!!

We want to THANK Joy and Gary Lundberg for a wonderful weekend worth remembering!! From the moment we picked them up from the airport Friday afternoon to our sorry-to-see-them-go goodbye Monday afternoon they were a JOY and delight to us and our whole stake! What a blessing it was to have them.

The Lundberg's have 'gone about doing much good' for many years now. We witnessed the power and influence a loving, committed, devoted couple can be on families first hand as they deeply enriched (and entertained! - their presentations were SO MUCH FUN!) us, married couples and youth alike.

Here are just a few of the most important points they gave us for a stronger, happier marriage:

*Keep a sense of humor! Laugh with (not at) your spouse!

*Men and women are different. CELEBRATE THE DIFFERENCES!

*Keep your spouse at the TOP of your LIST! (So easy to bump them down a notch or two...or more... by accident) One great way of doing this is by dropping everything to greet your spouse with a hug and kiss when they return home. Great results: your spouse will know they are number 1, your children know you love each other, and kissing is a great stress reliever! ;)

*Return to the beginning. Remember the reasons you got together and build upon them. I loved their thought, "People don't fall out of love, they FORGET to love!"

*Then they taught us some great things about communicating with your spouse (or ANY family member!).

Listen - give full attention
Listen - to emotions expressed
Listen - to needs being expressed
Understand from THEIR viewpoint

THEN you can have empathy, "That must really hurt Honey"... THEN you can ask, "What are you going to do?" Leaving responsibility where it belongs. Validating and walking beside your LOVE, not pushing from behind, pulling from ahead; they don't need to be fixed, just heard.

*FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE!!! Be specific in your complements.

With that I'll leave you with their challenge for the next two weeks: SEE EVERYTHING YOU CAN THAT YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR SPOUSE AND TELL HIM/HER. NO NEGATIVES!!!! TWO WEEKS! Watch what it can do!

AND my own challenge to you ...... look up more from Joy and Gary Lundberg! Their website is www.allbetter.net


On a very personal note, our family fell in love with these two and hope to keep them forever! Mike & I were so deeply impressed with the purity of their motives, their great desires and devotion toward strengthening families, and with their willingness to work hard and sacrifice in order to serve others. They have been part of many miracles as they have served as instruments in the hand of the Lord. Our children were impressed by their laughter and LOVE! (My daughters were also deeply influenced by Joy's experiences in writing songs for the youth of the church.) Thank you Dear Gary and Joy Lundberg! Our Love to you!