Quote of the Day

“When in situations of stress we wonder if there is any more in us to give, we can be comforted to know that God, who knows our capacity perfectly, placed us here to succeed. No one was foreordained to fail or to be wicked. When we have been weighed and found wanting, let us remember that we were measured before and we were found equal to our tasks; and, therefore, let us continue, but with a more determined discipleship. When we feel overwhelmed, let us recall the assurance that God will not overprogram us; he will not press upon us more than we can bear."
Neal A. Maxwell

A Late Walk by Robert Frost

When I go up through the mowing field,
The headless aftermath,
Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew,
Half closes the garden path.

And when I come to the garden ground,
The whir of sober birds
Up from the tangle of withered weeds
Is sadder than any words

A tree beside the wall stands bare,
But a leaf that lingered brown,
Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought,
Comes softly rattling down.

I end not far from my going forth
By picking the faded blue
Of the last remaining aster flower
To carry again to you.

oh, by the way...

Bruce and I are getting married in October!

January 2010, Santa Barbara, California

The Life that I Have by Leo Marks

The life that I have
Is all that I have
And the life that I have
Is yours

The love that I have
Of the life that I have
Is yours and yours and yours

A sleep I shall have
A rest I shall have
Yet death will be but a pause
For the peace of my years
In the long green grass
Will be yours and yours
and yours.

Quote of the Day

Happy people are beautiful. Especially happy ones.
- Stephanie Nielson

Quote of the Day

“There seems to be a superstition among many thousands of our young [men and women] who hold hands and smooch in the drive-ins that marriage is a cottage surrounded by perpetual hollyhocks to which a perpetually young and handsome husband comes home to a perpetually young and [beautiful] wife. When the hollyhocks wither and boredom and bills appear the divorce courts are jammed. …
“Anyone who imagines that bliss [in marriage] is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed.
“[The fact is] most putts don’t drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. …
“Life is like an old-time rail journey—delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed.
“The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.”
- Jenkins Lloyd Jones  (“Big Rock Candy Mountains,” Deseret News, 12 June 1973, A4).

Quote of the Day

When we pluck the roses, we find we often cannot avoid the thorns which spring from the same stem.
- James E Faust

Quote of the Day

When we enlarge our capacity to love, other people become real individuals, not merely functions. Gospel duties cease to be mere routine and become, instead, doors to delight. Every doctrine of the gospel is a door to delight that, when opened, exposes us to a vista of things we have not yet fully comprehended. Joy not only helps us do our gospel duties but increases our individuality. It is sinners who reflect such a stale sameness. Righteousness lends itself to individuality.
- Neal A. Maxwell

Quote of the Day

When we are racked or harrowed up or tormented by guilt or burdened with grief, He can heal us. While we do not fully understand how the Atonement of Christ was made, we can experience “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.”


We know that some anxiety and depression is caused by physical disorders, but much (perhaps most) of it is not pain of the body but of the spirit. Spiritual pain resulting from guilt can be replaced with peace of mind.

We all make mistakes. Sometimes we harm ourselves and seriously injure others in ways that we alone cannot repair. We break things that we alone cannot fix. It is then in our nature to feel guilt and humiliation and suffering, which we alone cannot cure. That is when the healing power of the Atonement will help.


The Atonement has practical, personal, everyday value; apply it in your life. It can be activated with so simple a beginning as prayer. You will not thereafter be free from trouble and mistakes but can erase the guilt through repentance and be at peace.

- Boyd K. Packer

Emotional Integrity

Emotional integrity is the personal achievement of emotional strength, discipline, and completeness that remains constant no matter what others say or do. It includes both a control of emotions and an honest acknowledgement of them—pleasant or unpleasant. When we achieve emotional integrity, we are steady, consistent, and resilient. Our actions are not determined by the actions of our companions. We are emotionally resilient within ourselves, more enjoyable to live with, and easier to communicate with. We have put our own emotional “houses” in order and are thereby prepared for effective communication with others.

The Savior’s life is the one true, complete example of emotional integrity. The Latter-day Saints whom I have watched attain emotional wholeness have, of necessity, studied and strived to emulate the life of Jesus Christ. He lived in this world and experienced mortal emotions. He celebrated with friends and relatives. He experienced temptation in the wilderness. In righteous anger he drove greedy men from the temple grounds. He wept with joy at the purity of little children and with sorrow at the death of friends. Weary from teaching and healing, he withdrew to recuperate. In the closing scenes of his mortal life, he yearned for companionship as he suffered unspeakable pain for others’ sins. Viciously abused, he still forgave the soldiers who killed him.


Christ’s mortal experiences demonstrate an integrity that remained unchanged even when he was left without spiritual comfort and cried, “Why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46.)

His perfection ought not discourage us. Rather, we should be encouraged that he knows, perfectly well, what we are going through. Obedience to his laws helps us gain master of our emotions, and we, in so doing, are able more fully to express and receive love.

- Victor L. Brown

Quote of the Day

Some of the greatest battles we will face will be fought within the silent chambers of our own souls.
- Ezra Taft Benson

Pour some Skittles on Me !!

My FHE group did this video for our ward activity music videos. Enjoy!

How much larger your life would be

How much larger your life would be if [you] could become smaller in it. . . . You would begin to be interested in [others]. You would break out of this tiny . . . theatre in which your own little plot is always being played, and you would find yourself under a freer sky, in a street full of splendid strangers.
- GK Chesterton

This reminds me of the scripture in Matthew (10:39), "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

I have found that the times I look beyond the 'cell of my circumstance,' I am kinder and happier.

I have heard that children believe their experience is everyone's experience -- they believe everyone knows what they know and sees the world as they see it. I think that this is true often for adults (or at least for me), but I also know that God intends us to broaden our view, and open our perspective.

While God wants us to be childlike, he also wants us to be wise and increase the scope of our understanding. When I begin to see myself and others as we truly are, instead of players in the 'kt show,' I know I come closer to true wisdom, true compassion, and true love.

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. 

-1 Corinthians 13

Quote of the Day

There is a mighty power of healing in Christ, and that if we are to be His true servants we must not only exercise that healing power in behalf of others, but, perhaps more important, inwardly.
- Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Healing Power of Christ"

Did you know ... ?

...that you can do anything in the strength of the Lord?

Sometimes I get intimidated or discouraged. I have so many weaknesses, I've made so many mistakes, and there are some very daunting things that I think (maybe?) I want to do in my future. How is it possible that I could ever do these hard things?

Not to mention God wants me to be happy -- which sometimes seems like the hardest thing of all.

But God has told me that he will strengthen my mind and heart -- maybe even give me a new (braver) heart -- and that I can have joy.

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40: 28-31)

I think sometimes that the last line is very relevant to our own happiness -- that we can sometimes be weary and discouraged, but if we wait upon the Lord we can still have happiness even when it seems 'hard.'

I'm so grateful for the scriptures which provide so much strength and for the gift of prayer. 

Quote of the Day

Let the Savior be your “lead” in life. He has said, “I am … the Rock of Heaven … ; whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me shall never fall.” The Redeemer will safely lead you over the most difficult obstacles of life. His laws are absolutely secure anchors of protection that dispel fear and assure success in an otherwise dangerous world. Such a life will certainly provide you peace and happiness.
- Richard G. Scott

Quote of the Day

With consistent practice, faith will become a vibrant, powerful, uplifting, inspiring force in your life. As you walk to the boundary of your understanding into the twilight of uncertainty, exercising faith, you will be led to find solutions you would not obtain otherwise.
- Richard G. Scott

Quote of the Day

When sore trials come upon us, it’s time to deepen our faith in God, to work hard, and to serve others. Then He will heal our broken hearts. He will bestow upon us personal peace and comfort. Those great gifts will not be destroyed, even by death.
- Russell M. Nelson, "Jesus Christ--the Master Healer"

Quote of the Day

No matter who we are or where we live, there is much about our daily lives that is routine and repetitive. As we go about this dailiness, we must be deliberate about doing the things that matter most. These must-do things include making room first for the minimum daily requirements of faithful behavior: true obedience, humble prayer, serious scripture study, and selfless service to others. No other daily vitamins strengthen the muscles of our faith as fast as these actions. We also must remember that genuine fasting fosters strong faith. This is especially important as we faithfully seek to fix deeply embedded character flaws which go “not out but by prayer and fasting.”
- L. Whitney Clayton, "Help Thou Mine Unbelief"

The Firefly by Ogden Nash

The firefly's flame
Is something for which science has no name
I can think of nothing eerier
Than flying around with an unidentified glow on a
person's posteerier.