Write at the Heart

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 th...

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 similit...

On the 12th day of Christmas, Christ gave me… Everything. How could I choose just one more gift Christ gave me? I have so many more I haven’t written about: the gift of Becoming, Endurance, Purpose, Forgiveness, Understanding, Perspective, Strength, Charity, Truth, Possibility, Eternal Life… And so I end with Everything. Is that a cop-out? 😉 Shortly after I had my 6th baby we took the kids to Temple Square in Salt Lake City. It was springtime & the flowers were blooming. We decided to tour the conference center, & our guide was a cute little old man with a hunched back. I remember being glad we didn't give him a heart attack as we tried to control our little brood who wanted to play on all the escalators, in all the fountains, jump on every couch, & climb all the statues. It was a little stressful. Then we walked the kids up to the Christus statue where I held my baby & watched the other 5 kids gather at the Savior’s feet. They gazed up at him, calm & reverent....