Stronger Through Him

 Sometimes I fail to appreciate the simplicity of simple truths.  Like "And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things." 1 Ne 16:29 Tonight I was walking out the door from work when I was reminded I had agreed to provide childcare for the PTO meeting tonight.  I genuinely didn't mind but I was tired.  I was thinking some rest would be just the ticket.  Or maybe a mind numbing couple of hours of Netflix.  But I  made a few phone calls on my way to pick up Ella and got her to her event. Then with 40 minutes to spare I stopped to visit with a friend who is battling cancer and who in spite of her chemo treatment today laughed with me as we connected and encouraged one another.  I decided I had earned (it doesn't take much for me!) a milkshake and pulled through the drive thru and got dinner and a raspberry milkshake.  Only it was obviously the kid's first or second day at most and he struggled with my order.  As I pulled away I realized the

  My daughter is home from college this week and was expressing some of her frustrations with her housing and roommate situation.  She is particularly tired of the exceedingly small space and lack of privacy.  She mentioned that it felt unfair that this year some students were in much larger dorms than freshman usually get because of the large number of deferrals from last year. I listened and agreed with many of her complaints.  There are certainly some aspects of it that feel unfair.  Then I got onto the social media page for parents of freshmen.  The newest post was a parent complaining that her son is in those bigger dorms.  It turns out that due to the layout and distance from other freshmen dorms, her son was struggling to make more than a friend or two and had been sharing with her that he sure wished he was in the more traditional dorms. I chuckled to myself and briefly read that part of the post to my daughter. She smiled and with a sigh said, "I guess the grass

  With all of our kids home this week, George decided to treat us to dinner at South Side Soda Shoppe.  As I looked at the menu, debating between the award-winning chili and noodles or a Philly cheesesteak, this announcement caught my eye.  "Have a problem? Tell a human, not a follower. Please tell us while you are here when we can do something about it! A human created the problem, and a human can fix it." It made me reflect on the disappointing and fruitless trend in our society today to complain, critique and run down others or our experiences with them instead of working with them for solutions.  This is especially true of our online behaviors and using social media to harm other people's businesses and reputations instead of giving them the chance to make it right.  Apparently this isn't a new human behavior, as Brigham Young counseled,  "And if we have difficulty of misunderstanding with each other, talk it over, canvass the subject thoroughly, serio

  To be truly thankful requires a pause,   Reflection to measure one's state. To tune in and listen and feel deep inside And not just to pile up my plate. Friendships and loved ones - imperfect as they are, Or hope for new ones to come, The whispers of nature, calming my heart Remind me of where peace comes from. The ability to walk, or be pushed or carried, The gift of being the one to carry along; The strains of the strings in a symphony Or the hum of a simple child's song.   The years of the turkeys, stuffing and pies Or maybe just a quick bowl of ramen; Thanksgiving is how we receive what we have, Not whether it's fancy or common.  Thanksgiving means appreciating each breath I  inhale; Finding the purpose  in pain; It's celebrating the glory of sunshine above But also the cleansing of rain.  It's looking up from my screens, To the Heavens above And seeking to know my own part; It's saying out loud, I thank you, Lord, And letting

 Friday night George stayed up late replacing the heating element in our dryer. Yesterday we had to end a shopping trip early when I ended up with a whole lot of some of the rankest dog poo you have ever smelled on my shoes.  And that pair of shoes has a thousand little tiny crevices perfect for holding on to nasty substances. When we got home George realized there was something wet under the kitchen sink.  Of course.  Sometimes that's how life goes- and usually when you are preparing for holiday company, right? As he tried to clean up the water, he made a grisly discovery.  The previous owners had at some point had significant water damage under the sink and rather than replace the sodden, damaged wood had simply covered it up with a new piece of wood.   Consequently we had a tiny leak that slowly seeped under the false floor and became the perfect breeding ground for mold and mildew and silent, invisible damage. I did get a new faucet out of the deal and I'm tremendously grat

 I watched two third graders pick up their pocket pencil sharpeners and pretend to vape this week. And my heart sank.  While it's not much different than when we were kids and my mom told us we couldn't "smoke" our green beans at dinner, it makes me angry. (And thanks Mom!) It's no big deal they say.  Everybody does it.   Vaping has increased 1800% in the last decade among teens (Truth Initiative). I remember my older kids, who graduated in 2016, lamenting  "And we were going to be the generation who kicked tobacco use." More than 5 million of our children used a vaping product in the last 30 days in the US. This week I heard about two teens who were found in a high school restroom unresponsive.  Paramedics were called and following successful treatment it was determined they had purchased vaping pods off the street which contained uncontrolled amounts of other substances which could have killed them.  D&C 89:4 warns us: "Behold, verily, thus sa

  In January, 2002 Kyrie started Sunbeams.   I was teaching Sharing Time on her first Sunday and had to interrupt my lesson to go fetch her after she got up and left. After bringing her back and resuming the lesson, she came up and pulled on my leg asking, "But Mommy, when is Sunbeams fun?" It took a bit for the new routine to grow on her😂.  It can take us a bit to find and recognize the fun and rewards of some aspects of righteous living.  Sometimes we miss out on opportunities that will, in fact, bring lasting happiness because we don't think they are "fun" enough or don't compare with other fun activities available at the moment.   Claudio R M Costa counseled, "Both fun and happiness are fine, but certainly happiness is the most worth seeking. Happiness can encompass fun as well, but fun alone will not assure us true happiness." When fun becomes our primary goal we shift off our spiritual centers. "But how well I know that w

  A Greek word for repentance   is Metanoeo which means a change of mind, thought, or thinking so powerful that it changes one's very way of life. It means to shift our thinking toward God, and to train our minds and bodies to follow. It means to help repair the damage we have caused and to trust in the healing power and grace of Jesus Christ.  President Nelson commented on the power of the roots of that word and encouraged us to look at repentance in a broader fashion than perhaps we have before.    Yes, it may be painful, and daunting, and perhaps embarrassing.  Humans are so very good at getting ourselves into messes, aren't we? But focus instead on what President Nelson calls the fruits of repentance.   "The fruits of repentance are sweet. Repentant converts find that the truths of the restored gospel govern their thoughts and deeds, shape their habits, and forge their character. They are more resilient and able to deny themselves of all ungodliness. Moreover,

  About a month ago I began to invite two struggling little kindergarten boys to eat in my office with me.  We eat and play a game or two, if there is a time, as we work on some skills to help them be more successful in their classroom. One of the boys came in last week and instead of his usual lunchable, pulled out a container of chicken fingers and potatoes.  Handing it to me he said, "Mrs. Potter, can you heat this up?"  I was a bit surprised, but obliged.  The next day he brought in chopped steak and corn.  While it's not something we can do on a cafeteria level, heating up his food in my microwave became part of our daily routine.  Earlier this week I met his mom and she thanked me for my efforts with her son.  She commented that he came home a couple weeks ago and said he wouldn't be needing lunchables anymore.  Confused, when she asked why he said, "We eat leftovers."  He had been watching my coworker and I eat our leftovers each day and had deci

 When I was in a college chemistry class I had a graduate assistant who frustrated me to no end.  No matter what questions we asked, he would answer back with a question or send us back into our textbooks searching for the answers.  If we were really lucky he would give us a hint as to where we might start our search. I sometimes had unkind thoughts for this guy who clearly knew the answers I needed to write down and GO HOME!!   Instead he let me labor for hours over the lab table, rerunning experiments and scouring my textbooks for understanding and explanations.   I can still see him standing there in his white lab coat saying, "I am not the student." In the end I learned a lot from him and was well prepared for the final which consisted of this prompt:  "Explain the periodic table".  Ten blank sheets of paper followed and as I picked up my pencil and began to write, I was suddenly very appreciative of all I had been pushed to learn on my own.   It wasn't just

  I was reading a particularly thought provoking book and in the afterward the author mentioned the "Faith Hall of Fame" - Hebrews Chapter 11. I am a bit embarrassed to say that I had to stop and look it up- but sure enough that's exactly what it is. Abel.  Enoch.  Noah.  Abraham. Sara. Isaac. Jacob. Joseph. Rahab. Moses. Batak. Gedeon. And so many more.   All imperfect mortals who acted on faith.  In the book, Charles Martin adds his own faith heroes to the list.   One is a Nicaraguan man named Moises whose family miraculously survived the mudslides of 1996 as result of Hurricane Mitch.   This man has nothing but gives everything.  He makes only $2/day but  uses what he does have to help others.  He shows deep gratitude.   He is honest to a fault.  He was entrusted with $200,000 in donations to help in the reconstruction and recovery of his community. 18 months later he turned in receipts for every cent of the money except for six bags of concrete he coul

 I don't believe in coincidences. I found myself earlier this week on my knees asking Heavenly Father if I really made a difference. I tend to overamplify the voices that point out my flaws and ways I haven't measured up, instead of those that affirm and build up.  That negativity bias is a real thing- it has been proven that we give much more weight to negative experiences than positive ones. Knowing it is one thing.  Combatting it is another. But I found answers coming in several ways.  Through texts of appreciation.  Online messages and gifts that warmed my heart.  Kind words from coworkers. New ways of looking at things.  Even challenges to step into new circles and look more closely at some of those flaws.  They are real, after all.   And today in a card that explicitly answered my prayer word for word. And on the very same day another loved friend sent me a link to a powerful message given by Julie Valentine,  a forensic nurse and professor at BYU.  In her words of hope a

My ringing phone quickly aroused me from my deep sleep.  As I sat up and fumbled for the phone on the nightstand, I glanced at the time.  2:03 am.   One of my adult kid's name flashed across the phone and my heart seemed to freeze.  Any parent of young adults can identify with that feeling.  "Hello?"  As it turned out she was  just burdened and stressed and needed to talk.  She shared her concerns.  I listened.  I reassured her.   Eventually she said she was ready to sleep and thanked me.  I told her I loved her and went back to bed.  Her burden was lighter because she shared it.   I  was glad I could be there for her and she knew she could always call at any hour.   You know who else is available at any hour? Our Father in Heaven.  And his phone battery never dies.  He never gets distracted and always has good service. How grateful I am that we have that promise.  He is really there.  He really listens.  And when we are obedient, and turn to Him we can find our own peace

  I was looking out my back, eastern facing window and noticed a faint pink tinge to the clouds.   It probably would have been imperceptible or at least unnoticed, but I'm in the habit of watching skies.  (I know, shocking.) Anyway, my experience told me to go immediately check the front view, as that pink was usually reflections of the sunset on the western horizon. Sure enough, because I've practiced and developed the art of finding beautiful skies, I was met by a beautiful sight. I knew what to look for so it was easy.  Similarly, I have found that when I am practicing the art of gratitude it becomes easier and easier to see the Lord's hand and the goodness of others in my life as well as others'.  President Bonnie D Parkin, described it like this. "Gratitude is a Spirit-filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things, which glad

The fall splendor is in its full glory.  It brings me pleasure and makes my soul smile.  Today I went down one of my favorite streets and looked in awe at the majestic maples richly red and orange.   When I got home and looked at my own yard, I found myself scowling at the small little trees we planted last summer.  Probably not more than 100 leaves in all, it's not much to look at. And then I caught myself.   We are planting those trees, not for the us of today but of tomorrow.  We are caring for these trees so that ten years from now they will be a blessing to us and twenty years from now that their leaf piles will bring joy to grandchildren.  Speaking of the walnut tree that he had nurtured whose wood was crafted  into the pulpit in the conference center, President Hinckley said, "It is an emotional thing for me. I have planted another black walnut or two. I will be long gone before they mature." He enjoyed the fruits of some of his labors but knew others were to be pl