Write at the Heart

  12 Days of Christ: Day 8 “On earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14) On Christmas Eve we read the nativity story to the kids. They were comfy in their new PJs & full of excitement & Christmas sweets. Just before they headed off to bed, I had the idea to sing a song together: Silent Night. I sat at the piano & the family gathered round. As their voices rang out I thought- ok! This could be a new tradition! It was so special. Until. One kid accidentally did something to offend another kid right in the middle of the song. OF COURSE. Glares were exchanged, snide remarks made, & by the time the song was over they were both steaming mad at each other. Which made ME mad, & I let them know it! Way to ruin a special moment, children! Sigh. Well, my good husband, more patient & mature than me, talked gently to those two kiddos. Pride disappeared, apologies were made, & hugs were had. Then he suggested they sing Silent Night again- just the two of them. This

12 Days of Christ: Day 7 (Better late than never, eh!) “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, & saying, Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:13-14) We were getting ready to watch the first session of General Conference back in October when the little neighbor kid came to ask my 8-year-old son to play. My son begged to have him over to watch conference with us. I was hesitant. Moving here from Utah has definitely been different, as we are the religious minority now! What would his parents think? I told him he could stay, but there would be people from our church on the TV talking about Jesus & stuff, & it might get boring, & he could leave whenever he wanted. He was so excited to stay! They quietly played with magnets & cars, & once in awhile would stop & watch the screen. They were both so reverent! Suddenly his friend said, “I’ll be back!” I thought- ok he’s done, haha. To my surprise, he came right back- with

 12 Days of Christ: Day 6 “And she brought forth her firstborn son, & wrapped him in swaddling clothes, & laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7) The inn was full. Did Joseph & Mary look at each other & think- well… this is not ideal! What now? When they approached the lowly stable, did they think- really? how can we bring forth the Son of God here, of all places? This was not part of the plan. Why didn’t we make a reservation at the inn a week ago!? (JK) I don’t know what they really thought, but I’m sure they felt God with them & worked with Him to make sure His Son made it here safely. They knew whatever happened, it would be ok.  And it was. O, holy night. I’m curious what Mary & Joseph think of the way we tell their story? The details we’ve filled in for them? The many different nativity sets we display? When they laid baby Jesus in the manger could they have known people all over the world would have makeshift mange

12 Days of Christ: Day 5 “And [Elisabeth] spake out with a loud voice, & said, Blessed art thou among women, & blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” (Luke 2:42) Mary- a young maiden, engaged, never known a man. Elisabeth- “well stricken in years,” (1:18), married, barren.  Different circumstances, ages, life experiences. Until an angel’s visit changes everything. The impossible is made possible as they both find themselves with child. Not just any children- but spirits prophesied to change the world! Spirits meant to come down only a few months apart. Spirits eternally connected in purpose, one preparing the way for the other. My heart is tender as I think of Mary & Elisabeth! I love that the angel tells Mary her cousin is also pregnant! I love that she went “with haste” (39) to visit her! How comforted she must have felt knowing she wasn’t alone in this miraculous conception & divine calling! We don’t know how well they knew each other, how long it’d been since they’d see

  12 Days of Christ: Day 4 “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, & are come to worship him” (Matt. 2:2) She got in my car. I was giving her a ride to church. We were strangers. She told me she has spent most of her life not trusting people- mostly men- due to much childhood trauma.  She also told me she has spent most of her life not trusting religion- due to terrible past experiences. She had thought, if there was a God, why did all these bad things happen? So it was a surprise to her that when the missionaries knocked on her door, she immediately felt she could trust them. It didn’t make sense. She thought she’d try out church. Then she thought she’d try out more lessons. I was able to sit in on a few, & I saw something incredible. That negative, skeptical woman who doubted God, religion, her very worth… she changed before my eyes. I watched her mind blown by the plan of salvation. Her realization that God knew her & loved her.

12 Days of Christ: Day 3 “For unto us a ​​​child​ is ​​​born​, unto us a ​​​son​ is given” (Isaiah 9:12) The baby Jesus, the center of our nativity story. The Son of God willingly came down as a tiny baby. Think about that! A helpless tiny baby in need of food & clothing, love & care, soothing, swaddling! Learned to crawl & walk. Subject to harm. Did He cry? Did Mary kiss his owies better? Did He have a favorite lullaby? Oh how I’d love to see that Baby Jesus! Feel His little fingers wrap around mine. Cradle Him & sway. How surreal would that be? Savior of the world. Didn’t skip right to His ministry, didn’t fast-forward to get things over with- no. He started as an infant in the most modest of circumstances. Couldn’t the all mighty God have chosen another way? Couldn’t He have “whooshed” His powerful hand & saved mankind? He didn't have to watch His Son go through mortal trials & sufferings of the most harrowing kind. But He did. He sent us someone who woul

12 Days of Christ: Day 2 “And they came with haste, & found Mary, & Joseph, & the babe lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:16) I had a realization a couple weeks ago. An embarrassingly obvious one. I WAS DOING IT ALL BACKWARDS. Somehow I’d let the little things get in the way of the big, important things. AGAIN.  Enough! So I made a commitment to myself: the very first thing I would do every day is get my spiritual well-being back on track. Prayer, scripture study, journaling. Invite the Spirit in FIRST THING. Stop getting anxious about the rest of the “to-do” list. Work on the “to-be” list! I was “doing” many things without “becoming” much of anything. Upon hearing the good news, the shepherds HASTENED to see Jesus Christ. I’d love to see what their “haste” looked like! “Bob, will you watch the sheep for me? I gotta go!” Did they run? 😊 No wasting time, no distractions. Their to-do list put aside, their priorities realigned. Their focus on something else now. A child. They came t

12 Days of Christ: Day 1 “Fear not.” The message of comfort littered throughout the scriptures.  Throughout the Christmas story. To Mary. To Joseph. To the shepherds. Fear Not. Awhile ago my child was dangling off a metaphorical cliff.  It was terrifying. How did I let this happen? How could I save my child? It was uncharted territory. I had no idea where to turn. I spoke many desperate prayers. I found myself led to someone who could help. Really & truly help. The circumstances leading me to that point, to this specific person, was more than coincidental.  A literal God-send. More than once I have looked at them & thought to myself: “You are an answer to our prayers.” Months later & my child is finally on solid ground. We are working daily to step farther & farther away from the edge of that cliff. It is still too close for comfort. But that cold & sickening fear is being replaced with faith. Hope. Healing. I have seen miracles. My child, who was slowly disappearin

Anyone else ever accidentally throw your child’s big homework packet away cause you’re bombarded with school papers on the daily & sometimes it’s HARD TO TELL what should be kept or not? And then your child asks about it & you have to tell them you mistakenly CHUCKED IT IN THE TRASH? And your child panics & tells you he worked hard on that packet & it’s DUE TOMORROW? So you fish through two garbage bags until you come out TRIUMPHANT with the aforementioned homework packet? And then you see it’s got leftover dinner on a few pages so you gently take it apart, wash it off, & lay it out to dry? And then your child takes that crusty, wrinkled, & worn homework to school & turns it in? Or is that just me? 🤪 But you know what?  His homework, though thrown out, dirty, worn, crinkled… slightly smelling of lasagna… (could be worse ya know) Got 100%. It was still worth 100%. It still counted. The condition didn’t matter. The content did. The appearance didn’t matter. T

  One of the hardest songs I’ve ever learned on the piano is Fantaisie Impromptu by Chopin. What makes this piece difficult is 1) the speed 2) the four sharps, & most of all 3) the cross-rhythms! The left hand plays an entirely different timing (triplets) than the right hand (16th notes). If you tried to match them up mathematically, you can’t. You have to almost subconsciously play one hand while consciously playing the other. Should be utter chaos. And yet, it’s so beautiful.  Somehow it works & the accented melody shines through. Rhythmic tension.  Story of my life. The last few weeks have held some of the hardest & scariest moments of my mothering life. One day I hope to share my experience from the other side. But there is quite a ways to go & it will get worse before it gets better. Until then, it’s a fight. Until then, I pray we can get through this. It’s interesting that our scripture reading has been Isaiah- which has some of the most confusing, yet some of the

 Sooo… How’s your memory? One of my kids informed me tonight that they had to interview someone who has “memories & experiences” from 9/11. Due tomorrow. #ofcourse I began telling her the story I’d been telling for years. “Well, I had JUST started college. I woke up alone in my apartment cause I had a later class & all my roommates were gone. The TV had been left on a news station. As I ate cereal I tried to change the station, but they were all showing the same thing…” Then I said: “Actually, let me go get my journal!” And as I read what I wrote in my journal on 9/11, I was shocked to find my memory DID NOT MATCH what I had written! I did NOT wake up alone in my apartment. Wait, what?! My roommate was there. Like, the good friend I shared MY room with! The TV wasn’t left on. SHE was watching it! She & I watched the news together. Wondered what the heck was going on together. Hearts dropping together. 💔 Um. HOW did I forget she was with me?? THE WHOLE TIME? I had written h

“Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. “I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. “I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.” (Psalms 69:1-3) WHO has not felt this?! Help me! I’m in trouble! I’m sick of crying! God, where are you? And then the next part-  “O God, thou knowest my foolishness; & my sins are not hid from thee.” (5) You KNOW I’m weak. You see me as I am. How did I get into this mess! But please- “Deliver me out of the mire, & let me not sink: let me be delivered… out of the deep waters” (14) LET ME NOT SINK. You don’t have to take away the mud. Just let. me. not. sink. The other day my 12-year-old daughter was sinking. My husband & I were gone. She lay crying in our bed. My 13-year-old son had seen she was in distress. He went to find her. He heard her cries. Hugged her. Comforted her. Told her he was there for her, no matter what. As s

  In an effort to keep me motivated, I set a goal to cross 12 finish lines this year. I’m up to 8 races 😅 🙌 Some have gone better than others, but in every case I finish giving it all I’ve got, sweaty, exhausted, depleted, looking for water & the special finish line snacks (& MAYBE a porta-potty 😆) The BEST was after a super hard, super hot half marathon- they were handing out Wendy’s chocolate frosties at the finish 🥳  I THINK I HEARD THE HALLELUJAH CHORUS. NOTHING tasted better in that moment! And just like that, I felt rejuvenated & restored. LIFE WAS GREAT AGAIN. “Come & hear, all ye that fear God, & I will declare what he hath done for my soul.” (Psalms 66:16) What hath He done for my soul? So much more than a frosty! But do I declare it? I need to do better. Truly, in those times of struggle, exhaustion, numbness, helplessness, unworthiness… “He restoreth my soul” (Psalms 23:3) He’s there handing out bananas, granola bars, energy gels along the way… He is

Today my heart pounded that familiar drumbeat of nerves mixed with the good old spirit of God, but I did not stand. I did not speak. I did not bear testimony. Though I’ve struggled to keep up with the Old Testament reading, (caught up today though! 🙌) I’ve had many thoughts & feelings & highlighted phrases, intending to write about them. But I did not share. I did not write. What holds me back? Lack of confidence? Wondering if what I have to say is good enough? If it’ll even make sense? Yeah, I tend to overthink it. Yet when asked in our church lesson last week: HOW do we prepare our youth to share the gospel? What came to my mind was - help them be articulate! Help them express their feelings about the gospel, practice writing them down, practice opening their mouth. The funny thing is, I didn’t open my mouth. I sat there with my thoughts about how we should teach our youth to share their thoughts.🤦‍♀️😆 And I didn’t share my testimony today, though the prompting was there.

Today one of my kids needed to share a scripture in primary, so last night we reviewed the story of Elisha, the threat of the Syrian army, & the unseen heavenly army. Later that night as I got into bed ready to relax, another kid flopped next to me. I could tell she wanted to talk, which turned into an emotional conversation about a particular struggle. 💔 But then she hugged me, looked me in the eyes, & said with hopeful confidence, “I’m gonna get through this.” And the second she said that, the scripture I’d helped my other daughter practice for primary came to my mind with full force: “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” (2 Kings 6:16) Tears sprang to my eyes at her sweet faith in that moment! “I’m gonna get through this”😭 When we see the obstacles before us & cry to the Lord, “Alas, my master! how shall [I] do?” (15) how often are we unaware of the mountains full of “horses & chariots of fire round about [us]”? (17) And God is

This last week I found a newborn mouse in our garage. Courtesy of the cat I’m sure. To my surprise, it wasn’t dead. Its eyes hadn’t yet opened, but its hairless body still breathed in & out on the concrete floor. Since she was a little girl, my 16-year-old has brought all sorts of critters & bugs into the house to care for them. This was no exception. She gently laid it in a soft, warm place. She carefully fed it every couple hours- milk from a paintbrush. She listened to it squeak & watched it sleep. Then, after 36 hours, it died in her hands. And she cried. She took it outside to bury it. I watched her tears from the window, my heart tender for my sweet girl weeping over the tiny life of a rodent. I saw God in it. We recently visited Utah & went to the Church History Museum where artwork for the 12th International Art Competition is on display. The theme is “All Are Alike Unto God,” & I was touched by many pieces. One drawing caught my eye called “Gathering Under

My scripture study has been less than stellar lately & I don’t have any recent deep personal insights, to be honest. The month of May is crazy. Life is a roller coaster. So many good desires. Failing at most. Can’t seem to get it together. Last week halfway through our stake conference meeting, I realized I was not getting much out of it. I was drowsy. Disengaged. Disappointed. I prayed right then. “Please help me get something out of this. I know I should have been more prepared. Maybe it’s not too late?” I didn’t expect much. But to my surprise, there it was. Not a moment later. I felt it. WHAT CHANGED? Not the speaker. Not the subject. Not the setting. It was actually there all along. I just opened the way to receive it. And when we sang the hymn: “Where Can I Turn For Peace?” the 3rd verse hit me: “He answers privately, Reaches my reaching In my Gethsemane, Savior & Friend. Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching. Constant he is & kind Love without end.” REACHES MY

She didn’t want to do track & field. But she needed a gym credit. She was SO nervous & WAY out of her comfort zone. Week after week, running & more running. She started to believe in herself. The meets were even going ok! I loved watching her be brave. Then her coach put her in the 2-miler for the home meet. She cried. SHE WAS SCARED. She hadn’t trained for that distance! She knew she was going to be WAY last & completely embarrass herself! I knew she could do it. I prayed for her to know, too. In her words (that she shared in church today): “On the day of the meet, I was terrified & did not think I could finish the 8 laps. I prayed a lot & when it was my event, I felt a calm. I started running & I felt good. I knew the spirit was with me. I could feel it as I ran.  My Heavenly Father definitely helped me cross the finish line. As I crossed the finish line, I felt exhausted, & one of my teammates was there waiting for me & wrapped me in the biggest h

 Stuck at the seashore. The enemy behind & deep waters ahead.   “Entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut [me] in.” (Ex. 13:3) What do I do? Lately I am definitely feeling the “bigger kids, bigger problems,” & I have REALLY been missing the days when everything was fixed with a popsicle. Or a bandaid. Or a timeout. When mommy could kiss it better. Parenting is no joke. The responsibility is amazing & terrifying at the same time. One minute I’m a natural, the next I’m completely out of my element. It’s felt very heavy lately & I feel like I’m drowning. Or like I’m walking a tightrope, & the way I handle things right now is gonna make or break the future. Such a delicate, crucial balance. What if I mess up? What if I miss something? How can I be more deliberate? How can I be the best mom I can be for my kids? How do I not fail them? Those beautiful, incredible, imperfect kids… they’re everything. And the words spoken at the seashore sink in my soul: “Fear ye no

So my oldest is learning how to drive. And even though it is TERRIFYING to hop in a car with your teenager & let them take your VERY LIFE in their hands, I feel like I’m a pretty upstanding parent passenger. Well, APPARENTLY my daughter thinks this is NOT QUITE accurate. APPARENTLY, while I’m SAYING all the right things, my body language says something different. 🤷‍♀️ Ok, maybe clinging to the door handle, clenching my arm rests, tensing, gasping, squeaking, groaning ALL SAY OTHERWISE. Who decided we could legally put 16-yr-olds behind the wheel anyway?! 😉 (She really is doing great, btw!) Point is, she sees my actions no matter what I’m saying. I can imagine how crazy Moses felt every time Pharaoh said one thing & did another. With each new calamity came promise after promise: “I will let the people go” (Ex. 8:8), with apparent humility, “I have sinned this time” (9:27) & “forgive, I pray thee, my sin” (10:17) But when each trial ended & “he saw that there was respit

There was no burning bush.  But like Moses, the Lord had asked me to do something I was NOT looking for or particularly wanting to do… ever. UNLIKE Moses, I was not asked to, ya know, bring the Israelites out of bondage. I was asked to fulfill a church calling. But LIKE Moses, I was apprehensive. Ok, I was terrified. Just as Moses asked, “Who am I that I should go unto Pharoah, & that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Ex. 3:11), I agonizingly wrote in my journal: “What do I have to offer? What does the Lord see in me? What do I bring to the table here?” And UNLIKE Moses, I cried about it for days. Maybe he did though… 🤔😉 And LIKE Moses, who brought up the reasons why he WOULDN’T be good at this, “They will not believe me” (4:1) “O my Lord, I am not eloquent… I am slow of speech, & of a slow tongue” (10), I also thought of EVERY reason why I’d be bad at my new calling. But LIKE Moses, the Lord reassured me, “Certainly I will be with thee” (3:12) And I

 Go go go Joseph! 🎶 I grew up to the soundtrack of Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat- Any dream will do… Those Canaan days… Close every door… ahhh, musical gold!!  I know every word! But as I studied the story in Genesis these last couple weeks, I was like: WHY did I not know every word in the ACTUAL story? It’s EVEN BETTER. REASONS WHY JOSEPH IS AWESOME: -“The Lord was with him” (Gen 39:1, 3, 21, 23) & others could SEE that & trusted him! -FLEES from Potiphar’s wife! (39:12) -Turned to God again & again, even after being enslaved & then imprisoned. “Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?” (40:38) -He is kind! Ya know, the butler & baker would never have told him their crazy dreams if he hadn’t noticed “they were sad” (7) & asked them WHY? Being in prison at THAT time with THOSE people & caring enough to ask WHY THEY WERE SAD directly led to him ruling in Egypt & saving his family & countless others! -Giv

Recently I was at the temple with my husband doing sealings. It had been awhile & I kept getting flashes of a feeling throughout. What IS that feeling? I wondered. Then it hit me- Coming Home. Beautiful familiarity, security, belonging, peace. Even those words don’t quite hit on what I felt. And then when the sealer mentioned "Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob" my ears perked up & in light of my recent studies, I wanted to say excitedly, "I KNOW THEM!!" Cause I feel like I kinda do, really, for the first time in my life. And then when I carefully folded my sacred & symbolic temple clothing, I felt a rush of connection with ancient Israel! Their worship, my worship. Their covenants, my covenants. Their God, my God. With Sarah, who waited so so long to see promises fulfilled, but rejoiced knowing they were coming.  With Hagar, who wanted to be seen, & God saw her! With Rebekah, who said I WILL GO. Who inquired of the Lord & to whom the true birthright of

I’ve been reading scriptures for most of my life & never have I heard of, let alone cried at, this small story: Abraham loved his nephew, Lot. A lot. (Just a little Bible humor there) But they were different. There was strife between them. They & their herdmen could not dwell together in peace. And so, Abraham said to him, “Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me & thee” (Gen. 12:8) Something must be done. “Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me” (9) Abraham, a peacemaker & loving uncle, gives Lot first choice of land, & Lot takes the better side. And “they separated themselves the one from the other” (11) I’ll do my thing; you do yours. Lot packs up & pitches his tent toward Sodom- he eventually ends up living there. Abraham packs up & pitches his tent in his new land & builds an altar to the Lord. Yes, clearly each had different priorities. Space = good. Boundaries = good. Protecting personal peace = good. And yet. When war ensues & Abraham

I feel pretty good about the fact that out of 6 kids, I’ve only ever lost 2 at Walmart. And only ONE of them required a Code Adam, so, #winning 🤦‍♀️ #terrifying 
  
In the case of my then 3-year-old, she had taken off looking for Barbies. She solemnly explained later: “I was looking fow you, & I was cwying because I was so sad because I wasn't founding you, & I was looking fow you."  I told her, "And I was looking for you! I was so happy to find you!" She smiled, "Uh-huh! And I found YOU!"
 
Already a follower of righteousness, Abraham "sought" the blessings of his fathers, "desiring" great knowledge. Then GREATER knowledge & to be a GREATER follower of righteousness. Not one to settle, is he?
 
 Despite a less-than-perfect upbringing & other hardships, he SOUGHT. He DESIRED. GREATER things. No excuses!
 
 And the Lord responds in kind.
 
 “Abraham, Abraham, behold, my name is Jehovah, & I have heard thee..." (A

As they watched the floods rise around them, Noah & his family must have found such refuge in the ark they’d built. They were safe. With each other. The other day my daughter “accidentally” (it’s questionable) sprayed her little sister with silly string. They got in a fight that ended with one yelling, "I hate you! I wish you weren’t my sister!" 😬 The Sprayer Of The Silly String found me & my husband & told us what happened. She buried her face in me & sobbed, “I wish I were a better sister!” My husband then told her a story. When he was a teenager, he & his big brother Bry got in a pretty bad fight. He doesn’t even remember why, but he’d never been so mad at his brother! He went to his room all riled up! Then something unexpected happened. The anger left. He felt a rush of love & gratitude for his brother. He wrote him a heartfelt letter of apology & left it in his car to find in the morning.  They made up. They were both… changed. They never fou

They had arrived! Zion was established! A people pure in heart! A City of Holiness! Though wickedness surrounded, this beautiful pocket of righteousness & love was SO amazing it was gonna be taken right up into heaven! Definite points for God’s team! And yet, God was not satisfied.  He could not ignore the “residue.” (Moses 7:28) In fact, He wept over them. Enoch did not understand. “How is it that the heavens weep…?” (28)  Really though, “How is it that thou canst weep…? (29) I DON’T GET IT! “Thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from eternity to all eternity… how is it thou canst weep?” (31) God answers WHY: “They are the workmanship of mine own hands… I gave them their knowledge… gave I unto man his agency… & also given commandment, that they should love one another… choose me, their Father, but behold… they hate their own blood.” (32-33) I created them. Gave them everything. Taught them to love each other. But they choose hate. They choose to turn

In ep. 160 of the “All In” podcast, Britain Covey talks about his grandpa, a pilot in World War II, who always wore his temple garments, & “all the people that he used to fly with… used to make fun of him” for his “angel suit.” But then, “whenever it was time to go up in the air & actually fly, every single person wanted to fly with my grandpa because of his angel suit & because of how dedicated he was to that. And so it was all fun & games until it really mattered.” When my opa’s family lived in war-torn Germany, his sister said their neighbors “looked at us strangely & laughed at us on our way to Church. But then, when those nights of bombing came, they all wanted to be close to [our] family because they felt safer there.” My great uncle said, “They didn’t like us, & yet they liked us… When we had air raids day & night… all those neighbors… wanted to be with us to sit in the bunker because they knew we were… religious & prayed so they thought they woul

Writing: Keeping Erika sane since 1991. Well, mostly sane 😉 I have parents who are diligent journalers. They inspired me to keep a journal back in 3rd grade & I’ve written in some form or another since. Over the years writing has given me clarity & perspective, helped me process & problem solve, & remember things I’d for sure forget. And while there are definitely things I’ve documented that should have been best left NOT documented (like all of jr high?😬), for the most part, SO MUCH is a treasure to me, especially as I began writing about motherhood. They are my “book[s] of remembrance.” The importance of record-keeping & remembering is in the scriptures over & over, & is it any surprise it begins clear back with Adam & Eve? “And a book of remembrance was kept, in the which was recorded, in the language of Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration.” (Moses 6:5) WHAT should we write? A book to remember

My youngest child just turned 8, & I can hardly wrap my mind around it! I remember 8 years ago at one of my last doctor appointments, a lady looked at me & said encouragingly, "It is ALL worth it!” She did not know I had done this 5 other times, but I said thank you! And thought to myself, “Oh, believe me, I know!” After my appointment I headed to the store & there was a lady dealing with a screaming toddler nearby & as she walked passed me, she said, “Do you see what you're getting yourself into?” & we both laughed. And in my mind I was thinking, "Oh, believe me, I know!” Both ladies were right! When Adam & Eve’s eyes were opened “because of [their] transgression,” the Holy Ghost bears witness of Jesus Christ’s redeeming power. Adam realized that “in this life I shall have joy…” (Moses 5:10) We SHALL have joy! Even in our hard times. Even after we fall. Eve then brings up her realization: “Were it not for our transgression we never should have had

My 11 & 9-year-old girls share a room. One is very organized & neat. The other is… NOT. This caused quite a few problems until they found a simple solution: Painter’s tape. Down the center of their room. Dividing the order from the chaos. 👏 It has been magical, so long as nothing crosses over onto the clean side, at which point my one daughter turns a bit like Gandalf: “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” 😆 Well, the other day my sweet, uh, hoarder daughter was tired of her messy side. She began the hours-long process of organization (ahem, with the help of her mother), & we did it! We took her room, which was “without form, & void” (Gen. 1:2) & FORMED IT. We created order.  She was THRILLED to go to bed in her clean room.  So was her sister!😁 I loved the intro to the Come Follow Me reading on the Creation: “One thing the Creation story teaches us is that God can make something magnificent out of something unorganized.” Wow. Yes! “We will go down, for there is space there, &

My son went on a caving trip a few weeks ago. He was nervous about sleeping in a cave (I was nervous for him!), so I was anxious to hear about it when he got back. My tired & muddy boy survived! He had a great time exploring the cave! For hours! And then his cute 14-year-old face lit up as he told me about coming back OUT of the cave. He exclaimed, “It was SO beautiful! Everything looked so bright. It was just so beautiful!” The contrast was undeniable.  Coming out of darkness is a beautiful thing. Moses 1 is one of my FAVORITE chapters of scripture. I LOVE the raw, real, contrasting experience Moses had with God, then with Satan, then with God again, back-to-back-to-back. After Moses’ amazing spiritual experience, OF COURSE Satan’s first trick is to challenges WHO HE IS. “Moses, son of man, worship me.” (12) Moses is not fooled for a second. And he looks at Satan & says, Ummm who are you?!! Best response ever. 👏 “Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude