Eyres On The Road

Today Richard and Linda start with Family History and what they are doing to honor "Grandpa Dean" who would have turned 100 this year, and how a family's history and founders can influence children today. Then, the Eyres get into what goes into any institution that lasts and endures--traditions, rituals, mottos, laws and standards, mission statements--and how we can make our families unified and permanent by using these same approaches and methods.

On today's show, Richard and Linda, still in Hawaii, tell some family stories about how the islands became a part of their family narrative. The year they build a "nipa hut" from bamboo to try to teach their children hard work and to replicate how much of the world lives, the Christmases spent there, and how two of their children attended college on Oahu. But the main theme of this episode is the importance of creating family memories that endure.

The Eyres worry out loud in today's episode about the growing trend toward cohabitation in place of traditional marriage. Studies show that marriage relationships produce more satisfaction, more fulfillment, and have a significantly greater chance of permanence than cohabitation relationships. As you listen to today's program, ponder how you can increase the power of commitment in your marriage.

On this episode, the Eyres talk about their newest book and how to get it for free on line. Opening the Door to Family Revelation is a guide for parents to seek and find Divine help in raising their children, and Richard and Linda decided to forgo the usual publishing process and simply make it immediately available for free to all parents everywhere. They discuss why the wrote it and how they came to co-author it with their daughter Saydi.

Today on the show, Richard and Linda talk about spiritual stories related to the family--about prayers for children, prayers about family decisions like when to have a baby, prayers about helping children with decisions or with problems. A prayer from an earthly parent to a heavenly parent is a beautifully direct kind of spiritual experience, and our family-related spiritual stories are some of the most important stories in our lives.

Polls show that while only about 40% of Americans refer to themselves as "Religious", upwards of 80% call themselves "Spiritual." In essence a spiritual person is one who believes in something higher that he or she can connect with. On today's podcast, the Eyres talk about spiritual encounters of the common kind and tell "spiritual stories" of their own, concluding that, for them, the deepest spiritual connections involve Christ and center around family relationships.

On today's show, Richard and Linda tell us some stories about personal encounters they have had...at the White House, and with Oprah, Kathy Lee Gifford, and others and how people of real character, even though in the glare of the public eye, manage to maintain strong internal values and family priorities. The bottom line is that whether a person is famous and wealthy or common and unknown, what really matters is his or her family relationships and values.

For many weeks now, the Eyres have been telling personal stories about various aspects of their lives--people they have met, places they have gone, experiences they have had--always related to family, to marriage, to parenting, to grandparenting. But this week they tell a different kind of stories--stories of opposition, of hardship, of tragedy, of fear, of sadness. What did Shakespeare mean when he said ""Sweet are the uses of Adversity?"

The Eyres are casting from Maui today where they are spending time with their two sons who live there and working on some writing projects. This episode is a continuation of the "Prophet Stories" that they began on last week's show--personal stories about interactions they have experienced with spiritual leaders and what they learned about families and relationships from those encounters. The focus today is on Spencer W. Kimball and Gordon B. Hinckley.

After bidding goodbye to 2020 and welcoming the fresh start of 2021, Richard and Linda tell some personal stories about interactions with modern day Prophets. Richard indicates that when he is asked who his heroes are, instead of sports stars or business tycoons, he thinks of holy men of God. Linda agrees that it is spiritual qualities that she admires most. Then the Eyres begin to tell stories of how living Prophets have guided and influenced their lives in very intimate and personal ways.

In this additional episode of "travel stories" Richard and Linda discuss some special relationship-building travel with just father and sons and with just mother and daughters--and even travel exclusively with in-law children. But before they get into that, the Eyres summarize the challenging year just passed and look forward to 2021.

On today's show, Richard and Linda talk about how all of the classic Christmas stories are about giving and sacrifice. People old and young feel the Christmas Spirit as they give, not as they get. Then the Eyres tell us some personal Christmas Stories about giving, and challenge us all to help our children, for at least part of Christmas, to shift their attention from getting to giving. Illustrations for today's episode on Instagram @richardlindaeyre.

Richard and Linda Eyre discuss the value of Christmas stories and traditions, and how traditions can help us feel a sense of security.

In the final episode of their "travel stories," the Eyres advocate traveling more with our children as a way of getting them out of their comfort zone and awakening their sensitivity of other cultures and people. And family travel can actually be economical! During this time when travel is all but impossible, we can all think and dream about the traveling we may want to do when the pandemic ends. Today's stories are about family travel in Japan, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Europe, and Bali, with illustrations on Instagram @richardlindaeyre.

In the second of their three part "travel stories" Richard and Linda tell about the humanitarian expeditions they have been able to experience with their children, and about the perspective and sense of gratitude that third world service can give to kids. Specifically, the Eyres tell stories from their expeditions to Kenya, to the Yucatan, to Bolivia, to India, and to Romania. They have "illustrated" these stories with their most recent post on Instagram @richardlindaeyre

Today Richard and Linda start a three part mini-series on what they have learned about families, parenting and marriage from their extensive global travel. This episode focuses on travel stories from their speaking and book tours which have taken them to 45 of the more than 100 countries they have visited--and takes us on a virtual tour of presentations in Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi, Vietnam, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Moscow and Pakistan. For pictures to supplement today's show, go to the latest post on Instagram @richardlindaeyre.

The Eyres didn't get through all the "election stories" they wanted to tell last week, so they continue with Part Two on today's podcast, and this week's stories include Richard's work with President Reagan and his own run for Governor. The thread that runs through all of the stories is the importance of the family as the basic unit of our society, our culture and our economy; and the importance of being recognized as such by all larger political institutions.

As the U.S. waits for final election results, Richard and Linda tell some personal "election stories" from earlier times and comment on how important it is that all politics and all government recognizes that the FAMILY is the basic unit of society, of culture, of religion, and of our economy. The Eyre's interest in politics goes back to before they were married, and is interlaced with their professional lives over the decades. The election stories the tell today all relate back to family, and include everything from presidential campaigns to local elections. And since they ran out of time today, they will continue with more "election stories" next podcast.

On today's show, the Eyres return to their "stories" theme and talk about prayer stories, and how parents often pray in a very special and powerful way, acknowledging the true Heavenly Parent and asking that parent to help in their own "beginning parenthood." Richard and Linda tell their own stories of intense prayers in times of family crisis, and challenge all of us to make this pandemic-time an improved prayer-time, even to the point of keeping a gratitude journal and an "ask journal" keeping track of what we thank God for and what we ask for, and opening our minds to answers that we don't expect.

How will we all get together for the Holidays? What would a virtual Thanksgiving Dinner be like, or a Zoom Christmas. Many of us will find out this year. The Eyres, just back from London and the birth of their twin grandchildren, talk on today's show about families in Covid Time, and the joys and trials of staying close mentally and spiritually when you can't be close physically.