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Why I Am Paying Attention
I’ll be honest — I haven’t always paid attention to what was happening in the world. There was a time when I didn’t care much about what was happening in politics or on the news. I was focused on my own life. What was happening in the White House or on the five o’clock news didn’t seem to affect me very much. There was a time when I would use the same excuses I hear many people using today: The news is too negative. Politics are a joke. The media is a mess. There’s nothing I can do to change any of it, anyway. I don’t have time for any…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Loaves and Fishes
Last Sunday my nine-year-old daughter gave a talk in sacrament meeting as part of our ward’s Primary program. She prepared her own talk and bravely stood at the pulpit in front of the congregation to share some of the things that she has learned from the scriptures this year. During her talk she shared that one of her favorite stories from the New Testament is when Jesus fed a multitude of five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fishes (Matthew 14:15-21; Mark 6:34-44; Luke 9:13-17; John 6:9-13). After commenting on what an amazing miracle this was, she said: “How this applies to my life is that whatever small…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Spiritual Gifts
For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God (Doctrine and Covenants 46:11). Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4). There are many people in my life who would tell you they have always had a testimony of the truthfulness of the restored Gospel. They have always believed or known the Church is true. They have never wrestled with overwhelming doubts or experienced a crisis of faith. This doesn’t mean they are blind followers or their testimonies aren’t valid. Rather, it indicates some of the beautiful…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Leap of Faith
While we were on vacation recently, my daughters and I spent an afternoon at an outdoor swimming pool. Of course, we were not the only ones who had decided to enjoy the sunshine and water on this hot summer day. There were at least a couple hundred other people there with us. The pool was enormous. Every area of the pool was crowded with bodies, swimming and splashing and shouting. More people were all around the outside of the pool, laying on the grass or stretched out on lounge chairs; soaking up the sun or enjoying the shade of the large oak trees. The pool curved from one end to…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Go Forward
A wise friend has often reminded me: “You pedal, and the Lord steers.” This counsel is not meant to dismiss the power of my own choices or suggest that I play a passive role in the direction that my life takes. Rather, this insight has been offered to me when I am worrying about the unknowns of the future. What if, despite all my best efforts and intentions, I end up making the wrong choice, taking the wrong path, and inadvertently throw my life’s plan off course? What if I don’t accomplish the things I am meant to do? This wise friend reminds me that the Lord is much smarter…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Just Because I Love You
Sheri Dew has said that there are two questions that we can ask that will help open the heavens: “First, ask the Lord to teach you what it feels and sounds like for you when He is speaking to you via the Holy Ghost, and then watch how He tutors you. And, second, if you’ve never asked the Lord how He feels about you, that is a great question to ask” (Sheri Dew, “Will You Engage in the Wrestle,” May 17, 2016). The first question is one that I began asking many years ago after hearing Sister Dew speak about personal revelation. I began diligently asking the Lord to specifically…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Come, Ye Disconsolate
Today I was at the funeral for my 17-year-old nephew, Zachary. Zachary had muscular dystrophy, which is a genetic disease that runs in my family. My younger brother had the same disease and passed away five years ago. I have another nephew, still living, who also has this disease. My brother and my nephews have faced enormous challenges and difficulties in life that are very visible. I have become acutely aware that most of us face enormous challenges and difficulties that are not so visible, but no less significant. At the funeral today, my niece sang a beautiful arrangement of a hymn that I was unfamiliar with. The words can…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Light of the World
As I was driving my girls to school early one morning, we noticed how beautiful the sky was. In the time since we had left our home in darkness, sunlight had been creeping over the horizon, displaying varying shades of glorious hues on a canvas of clouds. I commented on how beautiful it is to watch the sun rise, and my 8-year-old daughter corrected me: “Mom, don’t you know the sun isn’t really rising? The sun isn’t moving at all!” She was correct. Indeed, the sun wasn’t moving at all. We talked about how strange it was to think about the fact that we were at that very moment spinning…
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Sabbath Devotional :: This Glorious News
January has always been my least favorite month. After several weeks of excitement and anticipation for the holidays, suddenly it is all over. The tree needs to be taken down. The decorations need to be packed up and put away. Life resumes the normal day-to-day routines. Winter no longer feels festive — it just feels cold and dreary and long. The widely spread messages of love and goodwill that are so abundant during the holiday season seem to disappear, forgotten, until Thanksgiving comes around again. In addition to the after-Christmas letdown, January is also a time that holds particularly painful memories for me, which has resulted in each New Year…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Hair Bows and Cookie Cutters
Several years ago I attended a Relief Society activity where we were learning how to make hair bows. The women who were teaching the class displayed dozens of beautiful bows they had created and gave us a quick demonstration. They made bow-making look like the easiest thing ever. I am here to tell you that bow-making is not the easiest thing ever. As time went on, I started to feel increasingly frustrated at my lack of bow-making skills. All the women around me were creating one adorable hair bow after another. I had not been able to finish a single bow and was obviously struggling, even while others were trying…
