Posts in Happiness & Self-esteem
Men of Faith: Love Your Enemies

When Dallin H. Oaks was called to have a leadership role in our church in 1984, I was delighted to begin hearing him speak again at every General Conference. In doing a little research about his life, I came across a cute anecdote by his sister Evelyn O. Moody:

“Whenever we got together for family parties, it was funny to watch because Dallin . . . was always the leader. He would tell who were the cops and who were the robbers . . . Before anyone else could turn two wheels in his brain, Dallin had the whole thing organized.”

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Living Life: To set Goals…Or to not set goals?

A few years ago, while pondering about setting a specific goal, this encouraging thought came to me, “A goal is not a cane to beat yourself with—it is a walking stick to help you climb the mountains in your life.”

Yes! Let’s not beat ourselves up for what we haven’t done. Let’s set a small goal and achieve it! Enjoy that sweet feeling of accomplishment for a few minutes and then set another small goal. Step by step we can climb all the mountains in our lives.

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Women of Conviction: A Place of Belonging

We all can be inclusive with other people as we reach out with kindness, caring, and real love to our friends, neighbors, co-workers, community organizations, church groups, and even strangers on the street. We all need to ask ourselves this question: How can I help others feel that they are important, needed, and appreciated—that they truly have a safe place of belonging with me?

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Reflections on Marriage:  K is for Kissing  

For the past few years, I’ve been writing posts about each letter of the alphabet, A-Z, from my book, ABC’s for a Happy Marriage. I didn’t write these posts in alphabetical order—I just randomly wrote whatever I felt like writing at the time. I wanted to have all twenty-six posts written by the end of 2020, but I realized this month that I was only up to twenty-four letters of the alphabet. So, I decided to combine the last two letters, “K” and “S” together.

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Women of Conviction: A Season of Strength

In 1983, Barbara B. Smith gave a talk entitled, “A Season of Strength” that inspired me when I first heard her speak when I was a young mother. Now, as a grandmother, I still find her words inspiring today. Whether we are single or married, young or old, the nurturing work we do as women can provide true friendship to the lonely, bring joy and love to a child, and instill hope into the hearts of discouraged souls.

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Reflections on Marriage: U is for Unity

Unity doesn’t come all at once, but it will come. Sometimes, you will need to “agree to disagree” on a certain subject, and that’s okay, too! Let time go by. Not all issues need to be resolved right now. Be loving. Be kind. Be patient. Keep your eye on the goal of unity as you each progress in your individual lives. Marriage should always be a “win-win” relationship.

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Women of Conviction—Honoring His Name

All of us who call ourselves “Christians,” have a sacred responsibility to follow in Jesus Christ’s footsteps and take upon ourselves His name. This not always easy to do. We wake up each morning with a desire to follow Him, but bad habits, over-busy lives, and a multitude of distractions get us off course by the end of the day. We often go to bed feeling discouraged with ourselves because we haven’t lived up to the righteous desires of our hearts.

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“A Seizure-Free Life Is a Structure-Filled Life”

February 25, 2020 is the three-year anniversary of when my son, Matt, had to have emergency brain surgery to save his life. Each year at this time, we thank God that Matt is alive and still with us. We are grateful he is doing as well as he is. The main medical problem Matt is still plagued with are occasional grand mal seizures. Once I asked Matt how he deals with all these problems. He simply answered, “This is my reality, and it’s all good!”

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