frazzled & frumpy

"In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited...hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes." General Conference is in 20 days. (Twenty!) I love conference. It's the highlight of my year..half year? It happens twice a year, so whatever. It's a highlight. We get to stay home in our jammies and, as my kids say, "Watch church on TV." As I say- I get to sit at the feet of prophets and hear what they know I need. And I need it. Every time. Each talk is good. Each one inspired. But, there's always one or two that seem to have been written just for me . And when I hear that talk, and it touches the depths of my soul, and my question is answered, then I know- He's listening. In preparation for conference, I decided to watch a previous talk everyday. Today's talk was by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland on faith. I remember when he gave this ...

I am a woman of faith. This is what I believe. I grew up going to church, praying, reading scriptures, I even served a mission. All because I believed.  Throughout my life, my faith was tested. But, I always came out victor-through trials and tests, my faith got me through. One test though, I wasn't ready for. It happened when Sadie was a newborn. She was my sweet baby girl, a gift of ease after a couple of trying boys. Her birth was easy, she nursed like a champ, and slept only in her own bed. Then, one day, I woke with a strange hardness in my breast. The lump was red and hot. Just touching it brought me to tears. Without a computer, or the ease of the internet, I turned to our medical book, scouring the pages as I was too embarrassed to call my mom. What I found was that I had mastitis--a nasty breast infection. This terrified me, not because I feared medical treatment, but because I feared the cost. We had no health insurance and I knew we couldn't afford a doct...

My children's elementary school was evacuated today. They were told it was a fire drill and their lovely teachers led them as they walked down the street to a church. To them, an adventure. A chance to go home early. Exciting. That's the bliss of childhood innocence and ignorance. Me? I know. I know that it was 'what appeared to be a pipe bomb'. I know that police, and firefighters, and bomb-sniffing dogs converged on the school once the children were safely away. I know that they 'disabled' the device in the parking lot. I know what could have happened. I know . Because I know, I am fighting the brain-numbing, heart-gripping fear that threatens to completely disable me. Boston is too fresh in my mind. And Newtown.  I could consider the possibilities of today. I could sit and think and give in to the What-If's that blare at me like a neon sign. But, I won't. Because I don't believe in living in fear. There is no comfort in closing ...

I'm a bit of a news junkie. I watch it everyday.  Friday morning, of course, was different.  After a half an hour of coverage of the tragedy in Colorado, I turned it off.  There was nothing new to report and I was tired of them repeating the terrible details. Since then, one of the popular 'news' features has been 'What to Tell Your Children'.  Various psychologists have weighed in on how we should help our young ones deal with this.  I didn't listen to them.  I know exactly what I'll tell my kids. We all have been given a gift in this life. It's called free agency.  We each have the ability to choose every day. We choose what we think, what we say and what we do.  These choices make us who we are. There are people who choose darkness.  When given the options, they follow evil.  Their choices are to cause harm to others.  They are selfish, thinking only about their own desires and having no concern for the pain they cause. ...

"The past is to be learned from, but not lived in.  We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes.  And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future .  Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives."  -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland 'The Best is Yet to Be' Happy New Year

"...I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." -John 8:12 A couple months ago, there was a bit of buzz when a preacher said on television that Momons weren't Christian. This isn't the first time I've heard this, of course.  But, today, in church, as we sang Christmas hymns, I wondered again-why?  It doesn't offend me. It comes from misunderstanding and maybe fear of the unknown. It does, however, hurt my feelings. I believe in Christ.  I believe that He was born in humble circumstances.  That he lived a perfect life.  I believe that He atoned for my sins and died on the cross.  I believe that He rose on the third day, making it possible for all of us to, someday, do the same. I have pictures of the Savior in almost every room in my home. On Sundays, I teach the 11 year-old kids.  This year, we are studying the New Testament, and while I'm not a scriptorian, and in many cases a...

We all watched with bated breath as those miners were brought to safety in Chile. When the last miner got out, they asked him what helped him survive. He said, "Faith, hope and family." I thought that those three words were incredibly profound considering the situation he'd been in. None of us will ever be trapped thousands of feet below ground, but we do all have our times when life is dark, gloomy and lonely. This has made me think alot about the events of this week. My friend's daughter died as a result of complications after a simple ankle surgery. Her daughter is married and has a 7 month-old baby girl. She has joined her dad and I'm sure they had a wonderful reunion. Those left behind, though, are sad, and overwhelmed with the prospect of finishing their time here without her. The miner's words have application for all us in our lives. Faith - It's one of the 'first four principles' of the gospel and something we talk about pretty much from ...