On a bad-mood day, I discovered the need to just show up. I had just finished day two of presenting at a major conference on a college campus. The beautiful spring day didn’t match my mood. I had done a lot of processing and prepping for presentations focused on heavy topics. I was starting to fear that perhaps I would just show up and not be able to inspire my audiences in ways I desired. Flowers, Smiles, and Loneliness The... Read more
“A friend loves at all times,” we read in Proverbs 17:17 (ESV). Certainly friends are to be highly valued, and not lightly or carelessly chosen. We choose to befriend, an action. Friends and friendship are things—they exist. Friendly and friendlier are descriptive words—they are attached to other things. Befriending involves choice and effort. Recognizing a Need Years ago, at age 5 or 6, our daughter came to us with a young but sincere plea for help: “Mom, Dad, how can... Read more
“God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be even more sure that God will clothe you.” Matthew 6:28-33 in the NCV Bible emphasizes grass, “the most common food in the world” and the livelihood of 800 million people. Grass is evidence and symbol of God’s great love. We are surrounded by blessings. Providing As we enjoy the fresh spring grass with the beauty and wonder of... Read more
“In all thy ways acknowledge [God] and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-5). As with most Proverbs, we receive brief, specific, clear, powerful counsel. But our path will be our own, as our decisions must be our choices. Our Savior knows where we are, where we should be, and where we might eventually advance to be. And He guides and guards our way in His perfect vision and knowledge. Recognizing and Committing My BYU students often ask why their... Read more
A Christian school high school teacher staged his own parable to help students understand Christ's Atonement. A boy did 10 push-ups to earn each of his classmates a donut. After 350 push-ups, he was exhausted and in pain, the students were angry and rejected the donuts, and everyone was in tears. Read more
The only gift my wife wanted for Mother’s Day that year was to take a “little journey” with our little family. Our kids were small and our bikes were old, but we had a perfect plan. We would bike 25 miles from our home outside Kalamazoo, Michigan to our Lake Michigan destination. We expected a few inevitable slight imperfections, but certainly not disaster. A Challenging Perfect Plan In Southwest Michigan, the beautiful Kal-Haven Trail follows the path of an old... Read more
In a world where lifetime guarantees and 90-day warranties fade as fast as the latest newspaper headline, trust can be hard to find and difficult to depend on. But we have Someone who enables us to trust and grow as we move forward in our lives. We read in the Book of Mormon a beautiful teaching about trust: “O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the... Read more
Jesus Christ is a God of miracles. He created this earth, with all its features and creatures from matter not yet organized. With His Father, He provided physical bodies for spirits to live on the earth. During His time living physically on earth, Christ miraculously healed, fed, taught and inspired individuals and multitudes. These were not merely happenings he brought about. They were miracles of love. Christ’s Loving Miracles in Scriptures Scanning our minds for miracles, many of us quickly... Read more
Many years ago, during a worthlessness spell (which many of us seem to occasionally suffer), I heard a song that changed my life. I did not hear it again until a few days ago, sung by the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. But these words have echoed in my mind: “His eye is on the sparrow/And I knew he watches me.” Like a sparrow, we have falls—as part of the mortal experience. I’ve learned to trust in God, who watches... Read more
(Fev/Unsplash) Many of us might recall going to sleep with “hallelujah” echoing in our minds. Perhaps we had been singing Easter hymns or Christmas songs, listening to Handel’s sublime Hallelujah Chorus, or joining a choir or congregation singing hymns of joyful praise to God. Our memory is singing a triumphant song of praise to the God we love—part of a tradition as old and as continual as our worship of and gratitude to Him. To sing praise is our privilege... Read more
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