Stronger Through Him

  The kids were gathered around us for family home evening. And by gathered around I mean rolling on and off the couch, feet in the air, poking each other and generally being young children. I was teaching a lesson on prayer and how we can pray anytime, anywhere.  We posed the question, “When can we pray?”. 5 and 6 year old Colton and Kyrie began volleying the expected answers.  For the food. Before bed. If Grandma is sick. At church. If your teacher tells you to.  Whoa! What? My initial reaction was “Group prayer in school? You can’t do that!” We pressed for more details.  “Sometimes if kids are having a bad day, Mrs. C (her kindergarten teacher) tells us to stop for a minute and pray for them so they can have a good day too.” I caught myself.   And I corrected myself.. No matter the faith.   No matter the words. When does Heavenly Father ask us to pray?  In Alma 34 we learn our prayers are heard in the wilderness, the field and the closet. In our houses, cities and anytime we are tur

  Desiderius Erasmus was a 16th century philosopher who championed tolerance, and especially religious tolerance. He had seen the severe maltreatment and deaths of common people at the hands of bishops and other religious leaders. He lived in abject poverty after his parents had died from the bubonic plague and entered a monastery where he spent much of his time studying in the library. He spent time translating  texts so that more people could access them. In his text “Colloquies”, he called out the greed of the clergy and affirmed “if the Gospel were truly preached, the Christian people would be spared many wars.” He helped make the Bible accessible so people could study about religion on their own. I am afraid this is something I too often take for granted. We have personal access to holy scriptures!  Holy scriptures, that as Erasmus shared, can help us to be trained in the philosophy of Christ. And we have personal access to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. A

  As I was riding a bike down the former train route along the Idaho-Montana border, I had hours to quietly reflect and appreciate the lush mountain landscape extending around me as far as I could see.   I was in a prayerful state, open to the promptings of the Spirit.   At one point I came to the edge of a meadow and needed to sit and rest for a bit.   There I found a lovely rustic bench made from a tree right there in the forest.  And it occurred to me how often the things we need are right there in our lives around us. The people, the resources, our talents and gifts. Psalm 34:8 lovingly promises “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him”. He will provide.   And as we learn to recognize that help, we will become more grateful and happy. 

 I paused at the edge of the meadow and pulled out my camera.   The bright yellow flowers carpeted the field in beautiful contrast to the deep evergreens. The warm sun shone down and I could feel at one with God.  Filled with love and gratitude. I offered a quick prayer and thought about how easy it is at a moment like that to want to do right. “Let us do right when we are behind the house, in front of it, or in the inside; when we are down in the cellar, upstairs, in the meadow, or in the field; and whatever we do, let us do it in the name of the Lord our God.” Heber C Kimball.   No matter where.  Let us do right.

  In Alma chapter 23, the sons of Mosiah preached to the Lamanites. The law was declared that the word of God could not be obstructed. Note that the law did NOT say that everyone had to embrace and follow it, but their synagogues and temples and homes should be open to them. And then in verse six, something stuck out to me. Something that applies to our day. “They were converted unto the Lord and never did fall away.” NEVER DID FALL AWAY?? That sounds  like an important need in our day.   My immediate question was HOW?  So I read more closely. Verse 7: “For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren.”  They became a righteous people. They did lay down the weapons of their rebellion. They did not fight against God. They did not fight against their brethren. So what does that mean for us?  BECOME a righteous people.  Be willi

  I saw this kitchen towel in a quilting shop on a recent trip and my Mom bought it for me. It reminds me of the importance of keeping my sense of humor.   Laughter can be a safe way to let off some of the steam and pressure of life, especially if you are able to laugh with someone else.   Elder Steven E Snow agreed when he shared, “Laughter and a good sense of humor can soften the bumps along life’s journey.”

  Anyone who has followed me, knows us or has seen our meager garden would know we aren’t adept gardeners. We both grew up with parents who were gardening experts. But skills built by thousands of hours of practice and effort don’t magically float their way to the next generation.....but that’s a lesson for another day. This year we were planting out of seeds left from last year’s failed efforts and George had planted the beans and carefully placed the stakes and wires for the beans to climb. Only they didn’t. They grew about 18” and appeared to give up. We waited and waited and decided we had failed again. But then I looked closer and discovered the plants were loaded with beautiful long green beans. Those of you who are adept at this craft probably already figured it out, but we had planted bush beans.  In the past we had only planted pole beans so it’s all we had considered. And because we were measuring the plant’s worth by our own faulty expectations we nearly m

 Today I was sitting in our church service, keenly aware that across the country, my dad was undergoing surgery for his ankle injury sustained a little over a week ago. As my mom posted updates, I felt far away. There were some complex issues they had to face and I was, of course, worried and praying for him. Then our closing hymn was announced and I smiled. Hymn #252.  Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel. It was the song my dad chose for us to sing in Family Home Evening every time he was song leader.  We sang it SO many times.   And today it made me feel a little closer to him. Elder David A Bednar once shared a similar situation in which a hymn comforted him. “A loving Savior was sending me a most personal and timely message of comfort and reassurance through a hymn selected weeks previously. Some may count this experience as simply a nice coincidence, but I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence.” And tender merc

  Just a quick reminder that when the Lord said he would use small and simple things to bring about great things, that has countless applications. And one of the best is in creating memories.   Traveling can bring wonderful shared memories, (both positive and negative!) but Disneyland doesn’t have the monopoly on happiness.   Visits there can bring excitement and wonder to children’s eyes- but so can fireflies and puppies. Or splashing in puddles or a picnic in the park. Family pictures on the beach can help bring back memories of shared moments bodysurfing and building sandcastles. But backyard candids after a day working together in the garden that spawned a water fight will bring just as many smiles in remembrance. Or board games and dance parties in the living room.  It’s ultimately not about the location, the cost or the extravagance.   Success comes down to love and time together.  Perhaps what we need is “s’more” of the simple things!