Category: Religion

  • Faith

    Tom and I spoke in church today. Our church is unique, I think, in that there are no paid clergy and it is run entirely by volunteers. As a result the sermons are given by people from the congregation. The bishop gives a topic, perhaps a talk to reference, and the rest is up to…

  • The Christmas season

    We had a long Christmas season this year. Typically Christmas feels so rushed, and I don’t feel like I have enough time to do all the things I want to do. This year was different. We decorated for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, and we started daily Christmas advent activities soon after. Then we celebrated…

  • Parenting contemplation

    Be the type of person you want your children to become.  I might go so far as saying the above thought was revealed to me. I’ve done a lot of praying/thinking/pondering about what divine motherhood entails. The stakes are high for me. I want my boys to reach their full, eternal, potential. So, how do I…

  • Choosing difficulty

    Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:5   I’ve been thinking about the benefits of hardship lately. I naturally waffle between choosing the harder way and striving for a “more gentle life” (as Tom puts it). I recently read, or rather, listened to, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the…

  • Parenting, from the Man with the Manual

    About a month ago, Scotland and I had a really rough week. His behavior was atrocious (to me) and I was completely at a lose for how to address it. As a result, I behaved embarrassingly myself, and there were many tears shed by both of us. After a particularly challenging morning in the midst…

  • I'm getting married in the morning. . .

    cue “My Fair Lady.” Sorry for the long absence. My younger brother got married on the 10th, and then I stuck around Utah to visit family for a week and a half, we returned and quickly all got the flu, and its just taken me some time to get back in the swing of things-you…

  • Mothering is hard- when I perceive it as such

    In my last post I spoke of needing to find more time to meet my needs. Then I left for the weekend at my folks, and returned full of desire to “get things done.” My return coincided with three days of GORGEOUS sunshine and warmth. And true to my “drop everything and enjoy the sun” rule, we…

  • Descendants

    My dad has been telling me for months that I need to check out Puzzilla.org. But I never got around to it until he actually showed me himself. I visited the site again a few nights ago and was deeply touched by this thought. Here is the display of the descendants of Ane Andersen. She…

  • Name and Blessing: Anders Cyril Foutz

    While we were in Phoenix we blessed Anders. In our church infants are brought before the church and given a name and a special blessing a few months after they are born. As I was thinking about the tradition the morning of, my mind turned to the Savior and how his parents took him to…

  • A letter to my brother- Modesty

    I’m blessed to have seven siblings. All of whom I’m very close to, and each of which enrich my life in different ways. My eldest brother, Derek, is keen on discussing ideas and making me think. He frequently sends me articles asking “What do you think?” Recently, he asked my opinion on the teaching of…