By His Grace I Can.

A few years ago I was getting too caught up in the news and started worrying about raising my kids in this day and age.  As I was driving one day the thought came to me that I am not in charge of my children's salvation.  I can sure contribute to their gospel knowledge & happiness while on earth, and help point them to Jesus, but it is not up to me to "save them".  It is up to the Savior.  That is His role.  The eternal salvation of our Heavenly Father's children is a heavy and dear responsibility and He has not entrusted it to us His mortal imperfect children.  He allows us to take part in the process but He is not relying on us to make it happen.  He has wisely and carefully selected the One who can be entrusted with that, our elder brother Jesus Christ.   That thought brought me so much peace and relief.  I get to take part in that process, but it is not up to me. What a weight off my shoulders.  I started thinking of the Savior as being my Master and

One day as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Verdun, Québec, my mission companion and I were crossing the street.  As we neared the other side I glanced over and saw a girl crossing in the opposite direction, covered in tattoos and piercings.  Almost intuitively I uttered a silent prayer for her, "God please be with her."  I was surprised and touched by the immediate thought that came to my mind, "I already am."  Though over a decade ago, those few seconds have impacted my life ever since.  It was a strong witness to me of God's love for ALL of His children and the sweet presence He has in each of our lives.  He doesn't quit showing up.  He doesn't quit sharing His love and working on our behalf, offering us our best life. A few months ago I was catching a connecting flight home.  As I found my seat at the back of the plane I sat down next to a friendly older woman.  I said hello and asked where her final destination w

While we were in Europe for five weeks, our sprinkler system was out of commission. Needless to say that with the dry southern Utah Summer, we came home to a very pitiful & practically dead lawn.  For various reasons we decided that we'd re sod next year but got the sprinklers up and running and continued to water the dry scraggly patches.   Several months later, for those who didn't know the story and looked from afar, it would seem like we again have green & thriving grass! But with a closer look you'd quickly realize that it's 20% crab grass, 10% dirt patches and 70% weeds! Recently mowed, but a patch of weeds nonetheless! I wonder how often we glance at each other's lives and quickly ascertain that everything is taken care of and going smoothly. What if we knew the story? What if we took a closer look? I bet we'd actually come to understand the underlying stresses, unseen problems, and unruly areas that cause concern. And also re

Last Fall when I felt like my life was a mess and didn't know where to start making changes, I attended a Stake Conference at church and came away with 2 distinct promptings: Wake up at 6AM and go on a morning walk. It may sound simple, but I was used to rolling out of bed when my kids needed me in the morning and rarely made exercise a priority.  Over the next 7 months I kept to those two priorities as best as I could.  (Little did I know then that it would help pave the way for other important changes along the way, one of the biggest being the use of a Momentum Tracker starting in November.)  As the temperatures dropped and the Fall turned in to Winter I stayed the course.  Other than icy roads or pouring rain, you'd see me out bundled up in layers walking each morning before the sun came up.  It was empowering and satisfying to take better charge of my health. March came around and so did morning sickness.  As much as I wanted to continue, I just didn&#