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...

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 d...

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 co...

Father's Day in Paris, France. Earlier in the year an opportunity arose for my husband to teach a 4 week college course in Austria this Summer. I know it probably sounds crazy, but when my husband first suggested that we take our whole family to Europe, I didn't want to do it.  It sounded like a ton of work with reason after reason to be anxious.  The thought of getting us all ready for a 5 week international adventure was daunting alone, without figuring in my fatigue and morning sickness of first trimester.  However, I've come to learn that when my husband feels prompted by God, it's a wise thing to listen and receive my own spiritual confirmation. As I pondered and prayed and opened my heart, an unusual and unfamiliar calmness settled upon me.  I knew that God wanted us to take our whole family on this "mission" and that it would be a great blessing for us.  I knew that God had prompted us to have this baby at THIS time, that He'd also ...

I wanted to share one of the reasons that I haven't posted in several months. September 2016, at 10 weeks pregnant, our fifth baby earned its wings. It was a really painful and poignant time for our family, yet through it we saw how God brings sweetness to bitter experiences.   At the time I decided to share some of my thoughts from that day in the hospital-- Well, a little over a year and a half later we are expecting again!  We are overjoyed and feel incredibly grateful.  As I write that, it dawns on me that this little one is due right around Thanksgiving and what appropriate timing.  We are indeed SO very thankful. In part I wanted to share this news here because my mental health has been part of the journey.  We wanted to try sooner for a baby but I felt strongly that I needed to take some time for myself to get my health in better order, especially my mental health.  How far the Lord has brought me this last year!!  I fe...

(See Introduction video here) On my journey for greater overall health, my sister introduced me to Lauren Daigle.  Have you heard her music before??  I fell in LOVE with it, bought her CD and have been listening to it on repeat for almost 2 months!  Her voice is beautiful, her lyrics are so inspired and uplifting and her music is energizing.  I've been buying copies and sharing them with close family and friends (in fact in my intro video I'm holding up a print out of her album because I recently gave my copy away too.) AND decided I want to share the love with one of YOU & one of your friends. SO, the Giveaway WINNER will get 2 copies of the album mailed directly to their house. TEN Ways to Enter the Giveaway: (You can enter as many times as is specified below BUT only comments listed below on this post will be counted) 1) Watch my intro video (linked above) and comment below on what brought you here to the By His Grace I Can Blog B...

TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2013 Letting Go a  Little. I feel like the Lord is tutoring me lately.  It's amazing how the Spirit can soften my heart and help me to change like no one else.  For as long as I can remember I've clung to structure and my way of doing things.  For the last several years I've worked so hard to become more of a scheduled, disciplined, organized person.  I love having my weekly menus planned out, staying within a budget, trying to keep my house in order.  Although these are all important things, I'm starting to realize that they are not the end goal...they are the means to a much larger goal. This week we were fortunate to have cousins over to play.  Their van wasn't starting and a morning play date was running into nap time.  I was trying to be flexible, but I kept thinking that the girls might wake up my sleeping boys...then what?  How would I get dinner fixed?  As these thoughts were running through my head the...

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2011 Yo-yo. Maybe it's just me, but I sometimes feel like such a yo-yo as a mom...especially with Brie lately. One moment we're laughing and having fun and the next I'm getting after her for doing something and it's time for another time out. The last little while has been especially challenging. It's one of those transitional times in my life (adjusting to life with 2 kids w/o help from family, a new calling, potty-training toddler who is currently the pro of talking back, Bry gearing up for Fall semester) and I'm trying to keep it all together, but today I put Brie down for a premature nap, sat down and cried while I ate lunch. I feel like it's so hard to juggle all the different roles. Some days I feel like I rock at being a house wife but belly flop in the mother department. Other days I feel like an awesome Mom but have still not showered (how many days has it been?) or picked up the house when Bry gets home at 5:30. Or it's...

About 3 years ago I gave this talk in Sacrament Meeting at church.  I loved studying the virtue of meekness (I honestly had never really understood it) and humility.  I feel like both tie in so closely with our journeys of emotional, spiritual and mental health.  Much of it has to do with expectations.  In this video I share a few experiences I had recently, one of which it came down to choosing Pride, Embarrassment and Humiliation or Peace, Edification and Humility. Wherever you are in YOUR journey, I want to applaud you and cheer you on! Keep going, you're doing better than you know!   Hold on to the angels in your life and any spark of good that you can see around you.  Find the source of your true strength and strive to stay connected.  Things will get better, especially when God is a part of the equation.  He loves you dearly and is there to help.  Call out to Him! SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2015 Learning Humility S...