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one christian father offers his personal feelings prayer in arabic is called salat what does salatabout his religious beliefs mean it means connection it is your time to

I1 connect with godeither you believe this stuff or yonyou dont and if

you do and isyouifyouif yon have a faith that is meaningful jessica a christian mother of four offers a

and dilualivealivalivethenethenthen religious faith is the most impor-tant

third example of the importance of a personalthing that exists if its not true its the most connection and sense of relationship with god

important lie that exists I1I1 am basing my life andmymyfuturefuture and eternity on thetbefactfact that this is true I1 think that time spent with the lord is essential

personal time we meet every week in meetings

this father s assertion that religious faith is the and learn scripture and things but I1 think it allmost important thing that exists for him illus-trates

comes down to our personal relationship withwhy clergy professional helpers scholars jesus and that has to come on an individual basis

and all informed people should be aware of the just like any otberfriendsbipothetother friendship isyouifyouif yonyou want to get toexpressions influences and meanings ascribed to know someone you need to spend time you need

faith by the highly religious in response to this to focus on him or her and listen to them and talkneed I1 studied highly religious parents from three to them and let them into your heart its the samemajor world religions christianity islam and thing with god we could go to church every day

judaism below I1 share some of my findings of the week but if we didnt make time when wejust getfaceget face to face with god alone I1I1 dont think

the frrofofcacafr3dtofdcial to aoqohoooooo rzelatfonsbiprelattoostaip our relationship with him would growin order to understand the meanings and

influences of religious practices at the family level jessica s tone like that of joshua and omar is

it is first necessary to convey the importance of very personal and focused on a private connectionthe individual to god relationship joshua 2 a with god note her phrases personal time withjewish father of two uses the words connect the lord personal relationship with jesus

connecting and connection five times to friendship and face to face with god alone

describe his personal relationship with his god although jessica is highly involved in her faith

community and has served as a youth group leader

I1 think theres three kinds of prayer public for more than a dozen years an intensely personalprayer privateprayerprivate prayer andfamilyand family prayer in each and private component of her faith is conveyedcase you are trying to connect with god which is here there is a shortage of social science research

very important for people who believe in god however that explores the impact of personalwe all want to connect with godgodanagodandGodandand sometimes relational connections with one s god as described

you are more successful connecting than other by joshua omar and jessicatimes occasionally ill have that extra specialfeeling that sometimes accompaniesprayeraccompanies prayer most influences opof theof the time when im praying I1I1 dontfeelbontdont acelfeelacci like im frmforoackiraciiraoi crociuroci al to gobiodgiod0really connecting but the intent of going through corinecticncoqqectl OQthe prayer is not just to say the words its to make kimkirnkimnkimm an asian americanthat connection mother of two has a hus-

band who had been recent-lyalthough joshua notes three different kinds of laid off from his job

prayer public private and family his intent is she explains when it isis a

the same regardless of the type of prayer to con-nect

difficult time I1 sing foron a personal emotional level with the divine god and I1 feel much bet-

terjoshuasjoshuaaJoshuas insight relates closely with that of omar inside note that kimu

an arab american muslim and the father of two does not say that she sings

MARRIAGE & FAMILIES

aaa2

0 0about god she uses the very personal phrase 1 I relational processes and like kimkirnkimnkimm s segment

sing for god indicating a strong sense of rela-

tionshipillustrates the calming influence of a personal yet

tion ship the reported effect from her singing for relational religious practice which rashaad feelsgod is that she feels much better inside in the may have saved him his job

language of the social sciences kimkirnkimm s relationshipwith god and her personal sacred practice of chethe contrcontrastostastosc between 900noodoohoo90 0singing for god reportedly serve as important onnoanoooo000 parnffyfcanyfcfeanyanybwy nelatfonsbipsrelatfonsbtpscoping resources the strength of the individual to god relation-

shipon this same theme of religious practices and at least for some is evident in explanations

coping rashaad an african american christian like this one from alisha an african americanand father of three shares the following narrative muslim mother of fifteen children all fifteen are

her biological children with her husband rahimthe other night at work this individual

picked the phone up and got nasty towards me I1 god or allah is real I1I1 talk to him just like

mean nasty irate and I1I1 dont know why 1 I was im talking to you one thing I1 say to people is

so angry that I1I1 wanted to go back there and con-front

let no man get between you and god your

thisthisjokerjoker thats what mymyfleshflesh wanted to do relationship with god is so important that we

now this is where mymyjaithadithfaithadeth kicked ininiI1 wanted to shouldnt let anyone hold us back not even

go back there and kick in his behind but my faith friends or a husband or a sister or brother wewouldnt let me do it the lord told me this is get stuff in our own time we walk at a different

a challenging time in your faith why you gonna pace we cant be looking atpeople who are not as

act like the world dont let something like that far along as us and judge them theyve got to

get you angry sometimes you have to pray for come at their own pace however I1I1 need to make

your enemies and I1I1 tell youlyouyomihouiyouiI1 was shakingshakingbutbut sure nothing gets between god and me

I1I1 put my head down and prayed ten years ago

there would have been no hesitation I1 would have alisha and other muslims as well as several jewsbeen on him I1I1 would have either gotten fired or and christians reference a profound personal con-

nectionat least been at each others throats with this guy to their god that exists somewhat inde-

pendentlybut ajustijustI1 just let it go I1 sprayedprayediprayed about it and the lord of family relationships it is essential totold me just let it go address and account for this quality of individual

faith if we are to understand the influence ofrashaad s experience illustrates the influence of religious practices on marital and intergenerational

his relational prayer with his god note the pat-tern

levels

of dialogue that rashaad reports first he felt

that his god told him three things this is a the importancefmportanceimpontar2cepoRtancefm ofop the spiritualspteftaalspir8tualchallenging time in your faith don t let it get beliefbellef chocthatchor i am a chilochildchido of04 googooyou angry and pray for your enemies second the belief of several participants that they and

rashaad obediently bowed his head and began to all persons are children of god reportedly impact-edpray third after he began praying he felt he both participants sense of self and the way the

received a second message telling him to just let it view their own children patricia a christiango rashaad s narrative presents both internal and mother of six states

in orzoraderorzderbepoep to ancianerstannbepoep srorstarsrokaz2z chethe meanings an000QQDanoood002oinfluencesinfluences 04opt042 rzeligiousreltgfoas practicespracttcesprzactices at chethe 40mrypamtltyleoelleuellevel ftit Tsis farstprstfrastfrzst r2ecessarzyqecessarynecessary to convey chetbetheabeimpolztancetrqportance of042opt chethe fr2frafqdtufocial0101onal to hoo900holodo rzelationshiprelatfoqsbfp

4 MARRIAGE &8 FAMILIES

M Ethe most important spiritual beliefbellef I1 have as drawn into and the circles that we stay out of I1I1

an individual and as a parent is that we are liter-al

think that knowing 11II am a child of god and thatspirit children olourofourof outourohr father in heaven and that I1I1 am not just a biological aberrationaberrationhasbashas badhad a

he knows each one of us As we get to know our profound impact on me and on the things I1I1 have

children we can almost guess what theyre going wanted to do my faith tells me far more thanto do in a lot of instances but our father in world tells me about who I1I1 am

heaven knows us even better than that he knowswhat our challenges are he knows what our william elaborates on the profound impact ofstrengths are and he loves us unconditionally his belief by delineating some areas of his life thatwe love our children unconditionally even when were duly affected including the things wethey do things thattbatjustjust drive us crazycrazythingsthings that choose to do the way we choose to spend ourare wrong you would do anything to help them time the circles that we get drawn into and theget back to where they need to be knowing that circles that we stay out of in sum this belief influ-

enceswe have a heavenly eatherfatheredtherether who cares even more much of what goes on in william s life ofabout us than we care about our own children is a note is william s use of both the singular and plu-

ralreal strength there is nothing that we willweilwillfaceface in first person pronouns 1 I and we to indicatethis life that we cant overcome with him that this belief has pragmatic applications on both

personal and familial levelspatricia links her belief in her father in heaven when asked how important his faith is to his

with a a deep awareness of the unconditional sense of identity and self concept joseph a

love that he has for her and all of us eg he christian father of four responds as followsknows each one of usushehe knows what our chal-lenges are he knows what our strengths are and jesusjesusiI1 dont know where id be withouthe loves us unconditionally 7 b a connection him well I1I1 do know where id be withoutwith and understanding of her heavenly father HimId probably be dead or insane or addictthat she experiences because she like her god is a ededndedededpdid be a mess ifreyifrnyif my relationship with godparent and c a strength in coping eg there is wasnt there I1I1 wouldnt know who I1I1 was I1 wouldnothing that we will face in this life that we can t be ungrounded I1I1 wouldnt be me without christovercome with him in me the whole way I1I1 construct my under-

standingpatricia s husband william also comments on of who I1 am is based in my relationshipthe profound impact of knowing he is a child to god really without that I1I1 dont know who I1I1of god am in relation to him I1 m his child ive been

adopted im his heir im his brother im hisoutourourfaithadithfaithanith teaches us who weivetue are and it teaches friend im his servant im his helper

us something very differentfromdifferent itomfrom what the worldteaches us and that has a profound impact on our joseph reports that 1 I wouldnwouldnt t be me withoutlives the things we choose to do the way we christ in me joseph cites many relationships withchoose to spend our time the circles that we get god eg heir brother friend servant helper

but the first relationship joseph establishes is 1 I mhis child

hyDocuhydocuby oc yonyoayoriyonayoki beltetebelteueaelfeoe to boogifolgcfolone interview question pushed a bit beyond

descriptions of god as creator father etc andasked participants why they believe in god omarresponds to the question by relating this arabicstory

MARRIAGE & FAMILIES

f ow

A bedouin who believed in god was asked by parents all invested on a variety of levels in this

a man who did not believe why do you believe search for a spiritual home including involvement

in god what can you tell me how did you get in their faith communities where the interviewed

to this realization the bedouin said when I1I1 parents rendered a reported average of more thanleave my camel in the desettdesert it goes back to where ten percent of their income and twelve hours a

it came from that tells me there is a god week of their time

omar s interpretation of the story is twofold the frafr2tadtui0ioisfl31lftystbilfty op sphzitackspi micnalrftaal 1elfe4sbellebelfe psfirst he explains those who wish to see god will orioarmorloorm pamypaayfamy perzspectfoesperspectnoessee him in everything on another level just as the although the highly religious parents I1

camel in the desert intuitively knew the way home interviewed strived for a personal connection witha person of faith is drawn though in a strange god as previously discussed this connection and

world toward his heavenly home similar analo-

gies

related sacred beliefs were powerfully linked withwere also presented to me by holly and her family relationships as well as illustrated by seth

husband miguel who are christians a jewish father who explains 1 I don t know howto draw a linelinebetweenbetween my family values and

miguel A desire to believe in god is innate my religious valuesits intuitive its a hunger and a relationshipwith god is what satisfies that hunger ctailorencb0op en parzentirparenttapaRentrattacra29

oadaadorfo spiritualspiritaalspitzitualspiRicooltaaL beliebelte13elfe4spsholly theres a hymn we sing at church that the connection between parent child relation-

shipssays AsMs a deer longsforlongs foyfor running streams so I1I1 long and spiritual beliefs regarding children were

for you faith is that longing and knowing that discussed with richness and depth by the mothersits god that you need some people dont have and fathers I1 interviewed william a christianthat but ive grown up with that and have the father of six offered the following response whenunderstanding as an adult that I need god in I1 asked if he had any religious beliefs that influ-

encedsome fashion and that its a natural instinctive his relationships with his children

thing As you grow and learn more about yourself

and your spirituality broadens and you under-

stand

we believe our children are an inheritance

certain things in relationship to god you unto us from the lord in our case none of them

learn that you need to feed that faith are accidental or unwanted they came as a gift

and as great blessings heavenly father has been

miguel As you go through life and its steps you very powerful in our lives relative to themseek fulfillment weiarelare would say when we finishmed school itll be greatgreal when I1 ifinisbfinish residency william s references to his children as anitll be great when I1I1 get my own practice itll be inheritance from the lord gifts and great

great but you get to each step and its cool but blessings seem to reflect a gratitude and respecttheres still that longing thats why we need our for the children god has given him

faith thats why faith is important to us because jackie an african american christian motherten years ago we were trying to make it but of three similarly describes her three adoptedmaking it is not what satisfies the longing children as gifts from god

faith is the only thing that satisfies that hungerand that longing that seems insatiable I1 always tell them that theyre aglitgiftgeftgiftfrokromfromkyomm god

I1I1 tell my kids that theyre a gift because god chose

while omar compares faith to a kind of homing me to be their mother literally it was the way thatdevice miguel and holly speak of a faith in god as it came about we Rasrashaadbaad and I1 were sitting

intuitive and as the only cure for an inner hunger there and we were discussing well we have been

and longing that seem insatiable even with pro-fessional

trying all these years ten years and we haventfess ional success muslim jewish and christian been able to have any kids lets adopt kids and

6 MARRIAGE & FAMILIES

aw 4w nolnow mr I1JAVWV A

rashaad was like okay were going to pray what god hath put together let no man putabout it we did lord give us some kids asunder I1I1 dont believe in divorce god has

now weve got three I1I1 always say that they are a engrained my marriage in me so deeply some

glagiftgiaglitgir they are special to me everybody says man womenwomenmightsaymight say 11II dont care if hebe my husband

you treat them just like they are yours well they is mad or not or 11II dont care if I1I1 spend all the

are mine because I1I1 always feel god gave them money up but in my mind im thinkingivethinking lveivelweto me I1I1 just have to do right by himhimtheyretheyre so got to get myself together and give god and myspecial husband the honor of what this relationship

means weve been together so long marriedjackie s sense of her children as gifts from god sixteen years and its not all been great but

is supplemented in her narrative by the correlating when they see jackie they want to know where

point that god chose me to be their mother rashaad is

jackie later explained how this sense of beingchosen by god to be a mother to her daughters jackie s commitment to marriage and aversion to

is a source of comfort when the parenting road gets divorce are apparent but these avowals can have a

rough as it often does in connection with one downside another member of jackie s churchdaughter who was adopted much later in life and explained to me that in her opinion there were sev-

eralcame from difficult circumstances that she is still marriages in the congregation that should havetrying to overcome ended years previously but due to this congrega-

tionanother interesting point relating to the s stigma on divorce these marriages continuedfaith parenting connection is mentioned by ouioutoul on for years and years islam in doctrine presentsa korean christian and father of two a different view from jackie s omar posits

I1 think children change things one thing islam is the first religion that gave women

from having a child is that we know how god tightsrights tightsrights of divorce rights of inheritanceloves usushowashowhombom bowhow we treat our children lovingly is rights in the house etc show me any other reli-

gionbowhowbom he treats us the good thing is that I1I1 under-stand

where a womanscomans rights are explained as

how god feels about me thats one good clearly and explicitly as in islam not until thething and I1I1 am always thinking that I1I1 have to 17tb17th or even 18tb18th century did the christianbe a good parent for my child in terms of faith church state the rights of women within thein god this keeps pupushingshingishingl my efforts to keep church

growing in my faith for my children this is agood thing as well angieangle discusses

divorce from the per-spectiveouioutoul explained his increased sense of how god spec tive of a muslim

feels about him due to his role as a parent he womanindicates that he feels a responsibility to be a goodparent in terms of faith and that this pushes him foyfor me A

to continue progressing and growing so that he can my worstbe a better father for his children peatfearrear before

martlagemarriagemattlageruciapdageroarrfage okioarlio spfrftaalspfnftack belfe ps was divorce

faith reportedly influenced not only parenting I1 bavehavebaoe di- p

but also marriage specifically faith based beliefs voicedvorced par-entspatentsin the importance of marriage and strong aversion and saw

to divorce were frequently expressed As one some thingsjewish father states divorce is just not on our that I1 didnt dem001dam

subset of values jackie an african american really wantmantchristian adds to see

MARRIAMARRIAGEGEust FAMILIESphoto credit LDS ch

W W aw9w r ftawataw V WP aw7w ai&ifc 0 C0 jw ft- c do W W 10a

M Nwhen I1I1 learned about islam it told me that of the relationship is not certain 3 for exampledivorce was looked down upon but that a woman some researchers have found that marital satisfac-

tionshould divorce her husband if she was being tends to increase religiosity4 while otherabused it tells youyoupointpoint blank ifyourifrouryourrout husband studies of longtermlong term marriages have indicated thatdoes this leave you have gods blessing similarity in religious orientation 5 religious faith 6

and religious beliefs 7 were frequently mentioned as

although angleangie drew some comfort from these key factors in marital success the married parentsrights afforded her by her faith she also mentioned in my sample similarly emphasized the importanceearlier that her husband s commitment to his faith of shared beliefs A jewish father said of hisand to her had alleviated the fear of divorce that marriage our values are always very very closeshe expressed before her marriage which is why we re so close it has positively

patricia a christian and mother of six presents affected our marriagea final perspective on marriages rooted in spiritual A more cultural aspect of the importance ofbeliefs shared religious belief was captured by seth a

jewish father of two he explainsin our religion isyouifyouif yohyou are married in the tem-

ple we believe that marriage is not just for this I1 knew very early on that I1I1 wanted to marryearth itsforits fotfor eternity and when you think ofofyouryoutyour jewish I1I1 never questioned thalthat I1I1 always knew I1I1marriage for eternity that has a very definite always knew that it was the right path to take I1I1impact on how you speak to each other homhowbowbom you always believed and still do that the culturaltreat each other bomhowbow you raise your children on upbringing of being jewish isis so deep that beingeverything you do its not something where you married to someone who isis not jewish they justsay inthisifthisif this doesnt work out then wewehustwejustjust wont do wouldnt get itit they wouldnt laugalaughlaugbtaugh at the same

it anymore this is a forever thing jokes they wouldnt enjoyenjoy the same foods I1I1 enjoyon the same levels you know such as the holidays

patricia s narrative reinforces the very definite and rituals I1I1 thought who would want to go

impact that spiritual beliefs can have on marriage through life not being able to share that andin thoughts words and everything you do the understand thatgravity of marriage as a timeless covenant forpatricia is also present through her discussion of seth outlines his desire to marry within his faith

marriage for eternity and as a forever thing in quite unreligious terms faith beliefs we arereminded are not only spiritual but also serve as a

chethecne sbcirfr30sboatog opof relfiocisyzelf9fous beliebellebeliefsps family framework and as foundations for cultureA correlation exists between religious and subculture indeed for those who are deeply

shared beliefs in marriage and marital satis-faction

connected to their faith faith s influence mayalthough the nature

azaz11

1 qwen44

V

literally carry into jokes foods holidays rituals in we have disagreements we have things we

a word life dont see the same sometimes andfaithand faith is a source

ofoftelpheiphelpbelp we can pray about things together and the

belfebelte p frafr2nmcinitaimaizltalmclmcinitai 4fdelftypoelttypoeLTty lord can help us work things outoul sometimes one

another influence of faith on marriage is person has to give in and accept the othetotherotberpersonspersons

exemplified by james statement on his belief in point of view it helps to hebe able to pray aboutmarital fidelity another theme that recurred things the lord hes the best counseloryoucounselor yonyou could

across interviews ever have I1I1 dont know bowhow marriages can work

without god im sure that there are people whointerviewer are there any religious beliefs that abesoaresodreare so compatible that they can still get along but

have helped in your marriage outourfaithour adithfaithanith has been really belpfulffiorhelpful fotfor us

james yes the belieftbatbelief that you should befaitbbe faith-

ful to the marriage covenant not committing both rashaad and jessica offer additionaladultery that beliefdoesbeliefbellef does a lot you take two insight as to why shared faith was often helpful

different individuals from two different back-grounds

in their marriages in addition to the earlierI1 comecomcomefromiromfromefromitom this type of ofbackgroundbackground and discussions of promarriagepro marriage beliefs the shared

she comes from that type of background and you values and culture and a mutual belief in marital

fall in love and put trust in that person you give fidelity couples felt that god helped them tothat person your all and you feel that the other weather the storm by serving as a counselorperson is doing the same thing you dont want this pattern of turning to sacred beliefs and prayerto have to go through your life wondering if this during the storms and disagreements ofperson is going to be palfaijaifaithfulthuithul to you you dont marriage was mentioned by many as a facilitative

want to worry about that kind ofmessof mess approach to conflict resolution

for james his wife and other husbands and centralitycentralftycentnalfty 0404 camlyfamllypamly tofr2fra matthloickpolchpafth4atthwives shared spiritual beliefs regarding the family is a central component of most world

importance of fidelity in marriage were reportedly faiths and particularly in monotheistic religions 8

a comfort and strength in an uncertain world angleangie a mother of two and convert to islam

mentions that it was her husband s families

beltedbeltep13elfep to gohooQOOgoo0 as a raarftalmanftal japportsapportsupporzsupportsappoRtC dedication to their faith and each other thatparticipants also reported that beliefs in god initially drew her to islam

offered marital support rashaad an africanamerican christian and father of three states I1 was mesmerized by bowhowhombom dedicated omar

and his brothers were to their mom andwe both feel that a marriage is a bonding thing daddadandedadandDadandand wasntwasntiustjust thelttheirtheirfamilyfamily thetbepeoplepeople who

As god says whatever I1 ijoinjoinloinbjoin together let no man were true to islam were the same

put asunasunderderlderIdeelI1 believe that my faith made me love

my wife a lot more we are very differentdifferenl if it angleangie s life now reflects this same inseparabilitywerent for faith I1I1 probably would have run a of family life and faith when asked how much

long time ago id have said you dont want to time she spent each week in faith related activitiesdo what I1I1 want to do we just dont see eye to eye and family activities she responded in a combined

im gone but when you believe in godgoddesgodyesGodyesyes the answerboat still gets to rockingrockingbutbut the bible says in meyou can weather the storm every minute of every day we devote to faith

our religion is our way ofoflifeollifeilfelife webefitwefitpitfit our life intojessica a christian mother of four similarly our religion not our religion into our life

discusses her faith and marriagealthough the faith and family connection had

become salient and positive for angieangle the connecconnect

MARRIAGE & FFAMILIESFLIESLIESlles 9

vay1rjwnvjraqwwft

wranmoonwramLNtion also carried pain for some oui and kimkirnkimnkimm both informed more sensitive and more aware of whatconverted to christianity as young adults in their others value and how they live the value and

native korea but none of their family members importance of this topic however extends beyondhave joined them in their newfoundnew found faith oui heightened awarenesssoberly explains

c0r2clrjsfor2coqcldsfoqwe have a deep problem with religion with our religious faith is the salient and inextricable

families so actually thats the reason religion is thread and fabric in the quilt of family life for

not good sometimes we cant have oatoarouroutohr relatives these families and they cannot be adequatelyprayingforpraying fotfor us thats a terribleterriblefeelingfeelingitfeeling it has been understood independent of their faith I1 hopea challenge that through this glimpse into the lives of these

mothers and fathers we will better understandwhile kim and oui had found a sense of joy and those of various faiths and that many will learn

meaning in their faith their faith had become a from these faithful parents who taught mevirtual line of demarcation between generations perhaps as I1 did you will feel a sense of brother-

hoodsimilarly seth a jewish father had two brothers and sisterhood with these parents whowho married outside the faith causing pain to him though different in denomination have souls thatand his parents and transforming their once shared are similarly seeking a sacred connection and

religion into a source of divisiondi vision two different communion with a real and relational god difdlfvisions whether accompanied by joy pain orboth however faith is integral in understanding all loren marks is an assistant professor of offamilyfamily childthese families and consumer sciences at louisiana state university

perhaps joseph captured the connection he and his wife sandra have three childrenbetween family and faith best joseph felt theconnection so powerfully that following our references

three hour interview he still expressed doubtsI1 G gallupgallupjrjr andandjandaJ castelli the peoples religion Aamericanericaderican faith

inin the 1990s new york macmillian 1989

regarding his ability to adequately communicate I21 pseudonyms are used throughout this article to protect partici-panthow profoundly faith influenced him and his anonymity

3 HG koenig ME mccollough and DB larson eds handbookfamily in closing he emphasized of ofreligionreligion and health new york oxford university press 2001

4 A booth DR johnson A branaman and A sica belief and

behavior does religion matter in today s marriage journal oftheres something tbalwbenthatwhenthat when as a family yourmarriage and the family 55719977 1997 661671661 671

hearts are pointed together toward the same thing 5 LC robinson and PW blanton marital strengths in enduring

and its god then parenting and economics and marriages family relations 42 1993 384538 456 LC robinson L C religious orientation inin enduring mar-

riagesandwoodandfoodand food and disagreements and hassles andspace an exploratory study review of ofreligiousreligious research 35 1994

joys and celebrations and all that other steffstuffsteggstuffitit 207218207 218

works different it seems different it feels differ-

ent

7 F kaslow and JA robinson longtermlong term satisfying marriagespeperceptionsrceprecep tionslons of contributing factors american journal of family

outour is all oriented in theourfamilyfamily same way therapy 1424 1996 154170154 170

christ is kengkingeinghing hes center hes what its all about 8 E agius and L chircop caring for future generations jewish

what iftbereif theyethere was no dinner what iftbereifthere was no christian and islamic perspectives westport conn praeger 1998

christmas it wouldnt be as fun and warm andfuzzy buti dont know bowhowhombom to convey to you

thatyesthathatiestyesyes ourfaithoutour adithfaithadeth informs our relationships andandeverything about us

when we seek to understand and even appreci-ate the struggle of families to answer life s mosttaxing and profound questions through theirindividual and familial walks of faith we are more

f

10

C 1