The power to do good flows from us and influences those around us when we seek to know how to use our light to do good. “We are the Lord’s agents and we are always on His errand.” We have the power to share the light within us. When we...
For anyone who is struggling to heal from a personal addiction or the addiction of someone you love, I recommend watching these 12 videos about recovery and change. Shawn and I spent the night watching them and we both learned a lot. I could relate to something in every single...
by Rob Weaver As I have reflected on my experience of loosing my wife, I have found an important principle that I have applied in my life that has made all the difference between surviving and living after the loss of my wife. I believe this principle is...
One of the hardest things about losing a loved one, especially a spouse, is the love and validation we receive from them. Every day my wife Ali would let me know I was loved, and that she supported and believed in me; I felt like I could do anything as...
A few months ago we had a landscape designer draw out a vision of what we wanted our yard to one day be. She drew up a rough draft and printed out a large copy to go over and discuss different options of layout and plant ideas. We spent hours...
Have you ever been stuck in the mud with shoes on? I have. Several years ago we had a water line break and we had a huge flood in our back yard. The water was running down into the window wells and seeping through into our basement. As the neighbors...
I have to say, that my heart has been feeling a bit more broken than usual lately. I have been trying to analyze why I have been feelings this way, and I can easily point to additional stressors and things that bring me back into grief. Although some of those...
Grief is like walking along the beach, always trying to move forward down the path of life. Sometimes the waves come up to your knees and you can still press forward, but sometime you get crushed and washed aside and it takes a little bit to get back up on your...
Experience is the greatest teacher. Over time experience has taught me many things. Some of them cause me to reflect back and understand how hurtful something I have done or didn’t do was to someone else. When we were expecting our first baby, a neighbor couple experienced a difficult pregnancy...
I find now more than ever before that I need the strength on a daily basis that comes from turning to God. The death of my husband has unequivocally taught me this. However, through this process I have at times become discouraged… I get frustrated at myself that I am...
Remembering this quote in those pivotal moments has often given me the extra energy to make a correct decision or to push through a period of trial or suffering. It is helps me to be patient with the learning process that involves the sacrifice of things that I want right...
There is not a person on this earth that doesn’t crave happiness, yet as we wander and try to chase it, it flits out of our grasp like an illusive butterfly. Much to our dismay, we find that… “Happiness is not given to us in a package that we...
In the past few weeks I have had the unique experience of hearing hundreds of personal stories of heartbreak and pain. I can tell you one thing—I have never felt so surrounded by support of those who have been where I have—but I also have never felt such a heavy...
There is a song by Hillary Weeks called, If I Only Had Today, that I heard this weekend at women’s motivational retreat. Quite honestly, it was really hard for me to hear. I struggled to fight back the tears and stay composed. I even thought of bolting from the room,...
We have spent the last several weeks traveling and visiting with family and friends. I am truly grateful for all of the wonderful people in my life and for the things that I learn when we share what we are learning from life experiences. I have also had a lot...
So we are back from the Grand Canyon… It was an awesome trip with my son and sister! While we were hiking I had a lot of time to think about the sale of our house and how I had handled the back and forth offers and...
It didn’t take long for Shawn to call again. Before I knew it, we were sitting on my couch spending another evening in non-stop conversation. The kids were asleep, and he hadn’t met any of them yet. I wasn’t really ready to introduce them to him, but I enjoyed talking...
Spring has come so late this year. The winter was so very harsh and cold, much colder and longer than is typical for Southern Missouri. I have a lot of plants in my yard that are very sensitive to the cold, and this winter I worried that the extreme temperatures...
So I spent last week in Utah with one of my young LDS widow friends that I met online. I had an amazing time with her as we stayed up late talking about our lives, sharing experiences and spiritual impressions. We had a three hour conversation one night with a man...
Today is Sunday and we are snowed in! So you may be wondering why am I talking about swimming? I had the day to do some pondering and studying and journal writing. At the one year mark of Scott’s death and then again on our 21st wedding anniversary and...
