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Sabbath Devotional :: Hope on the Border
“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.” –Jeremiah 17:7 In what was once a nightclub in downtown McAllen, Texas, a Catholic sister unapologetically lives out her religion. Every day, the Catholic Charities Rio Grande Valley Humanitarian Respite Center takes in scores of migrants who have been screened by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). Sister Norma Pimentel and her team provide floor mats for sleeping, donated clothing, diapers, over-the-counter medicine, a shower, warm meals, and help arranging transportation before they head out on the next leg of their journey, usually within a day or two. The shelter, with its blacked-out windows and…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Loaves and (Gold)Fishes
Abbie is officially a nursery graduate! I could gush for a good long while about how my last baby is growing up way too fast, but I want to take a little different direction with this post today.For the last 28 months, when I’ve dropped Abbie off at nursery, probably half of the time she has been the ONLY child there. Our ward is small and just doesn’t have very many kids her age. So for over two years, two wonderful nursery workers were often tasked with caring for a single child. My child.Did I sometimes feel a twinge of guilt knowing that two adults were missing out on class…
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Sabbath Devotional :: On FOMB, Open Doors, and Fleshy Tables
You’ve probably heard of (and experienced) FOMO–Fear of Missing Out. Sometimes I suffer from FOMO, but more often these days I experience FOMB–Fear of Missing the Boat. It may be a mid-life crisis symptom, but like a PMS emotional meltdown, I think the feelings are still real! Maybe you can relate? I worry that when I get to the end of my life I’ll realize I was chasing the wrong unicorns, that I really had no idea what life was all about, that I missed all the best opportunities to become my best self and do good things in the world. So I overthink, overdo, overextend, and end up overtired,…
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Sabbath Devotional :: “In Remembrance of Me”: The Sacrament of Root Beer Floats
True confession: I am visiting my parents for my father’s eightieth birthday. I thought that I would sneak off sometime today to write a devotional, but now it is late and my family is eating root beer floats, and I have not had an original thought all day. I did, once upon a time, write something about root beer floats, which might suffice. Please forgive me for recycling! ——— “In Remembrance of Me”: The Sacrament of Root Beer Floats I have a wonderful home teacher. He tries to visit every month, despite our frequent too-busyness; he remembers every child’s birthday, and mine; he shows up to baseball and basketball games…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Of Bricks and Mortar
In much of the world, Latter-day Saint houses of worship are traditionally constructed of brick and mortar. I believe those two things are a wonderful metaphor for how we serve in our wards. The bricks we use to build Zion are our callings — the defined jobs we are assigned that allow the gospel to function while simultaneously giving each member purpose and growth. What, then, is the mortar? I believe it is the many small acts of service that individuals perform, often unseen and unbidden, that secure the bricks together. In short, love fills in the cracks and binds us together. We are all familiar with the bricks/callings that…
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Awareness Wednesday :: Service With Intent
How can we serve with the intent to heal? When we serve, what is our focus? Is it to check off a holiday goal? Is it to feel the spirit of giving? Is it planned with the intent to heal? What does service with the intent to heal look like?
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How MWEG Members Engage
Throughout the year members of Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG) have been engaging in proactive advocacy, attending rallies, sending emails and making phone calls to their representatives, writing op-eds to their local newspapers, and more! The women of MWEG have included their family members and friends in their efforts to serve in their communities. No matter how big or small the contribution, our members are doing magnificent work. Take a look at some of your successes from the spring and summer: Many of you have been gathering with members of your state chapters and building relationships with state and federal representatives. For example, members of the Nebraska chapter met…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Spiritual Brothers and Sisters
When asked what I do for a living, I often give the tongue-in-cheek answer of Professional Volunteer. Whether it has been wearing multiple volunteer hats in my children’s school days or costuming shows for our local civic theatre, volunteering has pretty much been my vocation for the past 20+ years. One place in which my volunteering soul has found a home has been Stone Soup Community — a local organization in my city that assists those in need with paying their utilities, finding jobs, budgeting money, and family development. In my capacity as a volunteer, I sit and talk with clients about their emergent needs. Much of what I do…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Am I One of the People Who Helps?
One of my Jewish friends mentioned, ‘the Anne Frank game’, but I didn’t know it was a widespread phenomenon until I saw a video about it in the Anne Frank House and Museum in Amsterdam. It’s not an official game — that would be crass — but a conversation that crops up among Jewish friends all over the world originating with the question, “Who would be the five helpers in your life?” As you know, the Frank family and others were assisted by five beloved helpers who sacrificed their time, money, safety and risked their lives to protect friends and strangers. When rereading the diary this summer, I was amazed…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Feathers
“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield and protection.” Psalms 91:4 I love the image of Christ as Mother Hen. There are also verses in 3 Nephi 10 in the setting immediately after the Nephite destruction where Christ uses the same metaphor — rich, compassionate, consoling. We see ourselves as chicks threatened with spiritual attack but confident that we will be protected by our Redeemer. Christ as Mother Hen will swoop in, cover us with his feathers, and his sacrificed body and protect us from destruction, like a hen protects her chicks from devouring hawks. Christ…
