Average Is The Enemy Of Excellence
Sometimes I make grilled cheese for dinner, use paper plates, and am just glad we’re all alive for one more day. Other times I have to hold myself back because over training killed my knees, over scrubbing ruined the shirt worse than the stain, and trying too hard...
Starting Over
Starting anything over again can be so hard. Finding your way back to that straight and narrow path can seem so daunting, and impossible. My dear friends, it can be done! Like anything, it takes work and commitment. One of my biggest fears in going back to church...
The Greatest Men I Ever Knew
Growing old is the best. I never thought I would say that, much less believe it, but it is true. My whole life, I have admired the elderly—old men in particular—I just haven’t always been able to articulate why. Lest you think I have lost my mind, I acknowledge that...
Like Mother, Like Daughter
Today I am writing about an experience I had two summers ago. It was a surreal experience, and it was one that left me extremely secure in the knowledge that Heavenly Father knows his children and cares about them. He is indeed in the details of our lives. I grew up...
5 Lessons Learned From Judas Iscariot
I have to admit that when I first chose to address this subject I was not feeling very charitable towards Judas, son of Simon. I was all prepared to talk about the failings and sins of the man who betrayed Christ. But the more I read in the scriptures, the more I...
Fathers Provide
“Thank you, Dad, for providing for me” I was one of the lucky ones—I had a father who fulfilled his role as a provider quite well. As a child I didn’t even know what this role was, I just trusted each day would be as happy as the last. Little did I know, it was his...
Children Of Our Heavenly Father
This past week I have been to Girl’s Camp. This particular activity is distinctly different from any activity experienced through church. Fifty or more young women between the ages of 12 and 18 come together for a week or so of camping, singing, laughing, eating,...
Okay In The End
Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end. ―This has been attributed to John Lennon, as well as Fernando Sabino, but more recently dialog in the movie Best Exotic Marigold Hotel attributes it to Indian proverb. Are you a worry wart? Does...
One Last Request
One last request: Fathers and Mothers create and celebrate your success. Have you seen the Coke commercial where the guy is tied to the stake before a firing squad? He’s given one last request. He asks for something and after a slight pause, when he is about to die,...
Divide And Conquer
Over dinner one night there was discussion about the vicissitudes of life with my Down syndrome son and his level of cooperation in our household comings and goings when my sister-in-law asked: “There hasn’t been that many times you’ve missed doing something you...
The Candy Cane Miracle
One Christmas our finances were very tight, and I was struggling. I love Christmas, and having so little money to spend on the holiday was putting me into a bad mood. I gave myself the usual lectures about how Christmas isn’t about money or shopping, but it didn’t...
The Mistake About Mistakes
Oh Mistake, you are so misunderstood. You are so feared. You are so under-rated. Who has not been afraid to start something for fear of making a mistake? Who has put off achieving a goal or dream for fear of failure? Who has expected perfection right from the start?...
Spiritual Knowledge Comes and Goes
There have been times when I have had wonderful insights into gospel topics. I have had vistas of information open in my mind and I suddenly was able to comprehend things I had never even considered before. Then there are those times when I feel as dull as a rock, and...
When The Student Is Ready…
If the Holy Ghost bears testimony of the truth of all things, why then do so many people ignore the gospel message? There is more to the equation—faith precedes the miracle. When the student is ready the teacher will come. Anyone who has ever taught children knows how...
For The Strength Of…Everyone
Hypocrisy! That’s what I call it, hypocrisy! We teach our children from the “For The Strength of Youth” pamphlet (a set of standards to follow for our youth) but when we, as adults, become single ourselves many times we completely ignore what we teach our own...
God’s Spirit vs. Man’s Frail And Feeble Minds
My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is...
Hustle While You Wait
You don’t sit around on the basketball court waiting for the ball. If your feet aren’t moving, you’re not really in the game. You are looking ahead, watching, and always preparing for the ball. Even on the bench your mind is on the court.. moving, ready. My coach...
Overcoming Feelings Of Failure
I never expected to become inactive, but I allowed it to happen. I was in college, and I had taught in the Nursery and then the Sunbeams two years in a row. That was almost three years of being in Primary right out of High School. I loved it, but the last year and...
Mormonism: How Being a Mormon Woman Empowers Me
Being a Mormon woman forced me out from behind my books and into a world of leadership and confidence.
When Actions And Consequences Collide
After a long and stressful week of early mornings and late nights, shuttling kids to and fro, doing and redoing chores, and making of the dreaded lunches, I received a phone call. I was on my way to pick up my husband from work. The car was chaos—radio blasting loud...