Rebekah is the most determined and energetic of the matriarchs in the Old Testament. Not only does she seem to RUN everywhere, but she shows incredible resolve, wisdom and strength many times throughout her life. One of these times is when, only a few hours after Rebekah watered his camels at the well, Abraham’s servant…
We have a beautiful historic library. The building was built in 1901. The whole bottom floor was built to be the children’s section and it is a wonderful space. Out of all the cities we have lived in this by far the best children’s library that we have ever had. There is a back entrance…
I had a good long bawl this morning. Once I let myself go it surprised me how much emotion I had stored up inside those tiny tear ducts. After buying a house, a new car (out of necessity), and moving half way across the country in the last few months we can see the bottom…
I once had a friend post the question, “What is your greatest pet peeve?” on her Facebook page. Most of the responses were the type you’d expect– people who don’t park straight, people who leave their shopping carts in the parking lot, putting the toilet paper roll on upside down, people who put the…
Lately I am feeling a bit like I imagine Sarah felt when she and Abraham left their home in Haran to go into the wilderness of Canaan, to“.. the land that I will shew thee” (Genesis 12:1). Or how Sariah must have felt when Lehi asked her to leave the comfort and the beauty of…
We are gearing up for flood season in my neighborhood. Granted we aren’t any where close to the type of flooding they are having in Mississippi… but the rivers around us are already really high and the spring melt off hasn’t even really begun in earnest yet. Sandbags have become the newest lawn decoration…
I was scrolling mindlessly through my Facebook feed tonight when I happened on this news article posted by a friend and my heart skipped a beat. I hungrily read through the article, which talks about how CES (the Church Educational System for the LDS Church) just recently changed its policy and will now hire female…
“Mary and Baby” by Liz Lemon Swindle Please understand this is my story. It comes from my heart. It isn’t meant to make anyone feel bad or to influence anyone’s decisions. It is just my story, my experience, and how the Lord has softened and changed my heart. I am only sharing this because I…
Several weeks ago I was asked to write about my personal journey with the temple, about how I felt the first time I went, how I have learned and progressed in my understanding and appreciation of the temple, and how I have handled questions or concerns about temple worship. This was really a beautiful thing…
Our car broke down a few weeks ago. We were on our way to Idaho to visit my family, in the middle of a bad snow storm, when our car started to make strange noises. Jon exited at the nearest exit and as soon as he turned off we heard (and felt) something snap and…
Last Sunday was Father’s Day here in the United States and since it always seems like I am three steps behind in life, I am once again going to post a belated Father’s Day post. I have lots of good stories about my Dad but my very favorite story happened when I was about 15-years-old…
I don’t really like making New Year resolutions. Unless they are something I’ve already been working on I never remember to do them. They just don’t work for me. Instead my husband and I write down New Year miracles. Each New Year we write down three or four things that we’d like to see happen…
I’ve been feeling sort of low lately. It seems like Satan has been working hard on me to make me feel small, worthless and hopelessly flawed. There are days when life, and all the suffering, pain, and heartache that comes with it, seems so meaningless and I really begin to wonder why I am here…
Have you ever seen the movie “Labyrinth“? It is a very odd Jim Henson movie from the 80’s about a young girl who has to rescue her baby brother from the Goblin King (ie. David Bowie). When we were younger my cousin and I loved it. I distinctly remember spending a whole summer afternoon making…
I feel spiritually filled after General Conference this last week. I don’t think I even realized how much I needed that spiritual nourishment until it was over and I felt so much better. There were so many wonderful talks and I could probably write a post about most of them, but I was especially touched…
In March Iowa was covered in snow and the temperature was still in the single digits. I was despairing that spring would ever come and so, in a burst of optimism, I went to the garden store and filled my cart with seeds, potting soil, and containers. I came home and spent the afternoon planting…
I was eight months pregnant with Tabitha when the royals, William and Kate, had their royal baby. At the time I was nesting and trying to carve out a space in our house for the new baby. Babies don’t really need very much, but the one thing I really needed was a new dresser to…