Children & Youth, Faith, Foundations for Eternity, Testimony

Perception vs Reality

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If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. — Wayne Dyer Have you ever been completely surprised to find out that someone else has an entirely different opinion about an experience you shared together? Or maybe they remember something in a completely different way, or have a different take on a specific social issue. We each get so caught up in our personal narrative of life and the world around us that we can easily forget that so much of that narrative is determined by our personal interpretation of things. We bring a…

Children & Youth, Foundations for Eternity, Personal Improvement

Bring on the Pressure

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No pressure, no diamonds. — Mary Case Most of us don’t choose to take on hard times. When faced with hard times, most people look for relief. We seek for a break. We try to find ways to relax or otherwise distract ourselves from the challenges we face. This is a natural response. It is natural to want relief from trouble. To want the easy road. However, this approach to life can rob us of our best opportunities for growth and improvement. Diamonds aren’t formed with ease. They are formed to pressure and heat. They are rare and they are…

Children & Youth, Faith, Foundations for Eternity, Repentance

Tiny Trips

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Men stumble over pebbles, never over mountains. — Emilie Cady Lately I have been thinking a lot about the little things in my life. Little things that have good effects and little things that have bad effects. As I have been thinking on this, I have come to believe the statement above even more deeply. When I have struggled in life, it has always been over pebbles and not over mountains. Mountains are big obstacles. They can appear impossible to overcome. Yet, often when we come to a mountain, we find a way over or around it. Small problems are…

Children & Youth, Faith, Foundations for Eternity, Personal Improvement

The Climb

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It’s easier to go down hill than up, but the view is much better at the top. — Henry Ward Beecher This last summer, our youth group when on a high country backpacking trip. We started at the trailhead full of energy and excited for a new adventure. The hike was long and uphill the whole way. It was hard. At times it was really hard. But when we got to top, the view was amazing. Climbing takes effort, but brings great rewards. It can bring pain and frustration and a host of other feelings as well, but it will…

Children & Youth, Faith, Foundations for Eternity, Personal Improvement

Ready… Aim… Fire!

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The odds of hitting a target go up dramatically when you aim at it. — Mal Pancoast Have you ever experienced beginner’s luck? We have probably all had the experience of trying something new and having had what felt like immediate success. Maybe you shot the basketball and saw it swish cleanly through the net. Or maybe you won a new game the first time you played. When this happens it can feel amazing. You feel like you are a natural and have discovered a new hidden talent. But this feeling often fades when the luck wears off and we…

Children & Youth, Faith, Personal Improvement

Reaping and Sowing

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Pray for a good harvest, but keep on plowing. — Nancy Otto Faith is an important part of all we do. Whether or not you believe in a higher power, your efforts are directed by your belief in a bigger and better outcome. If you do believe in a higher power, you can seek to have faith that divine providence will help guide you in your efforts each and every day. This is not an act of resignation. This is not handing your life over to god and expecting that god will do all the work for you. Rather it…

Children & Youth, Foundations for Eternity, Ministering

Magic Dust

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Kindness is free. Sprinkle that stuff everywhere. — Anonymous Very often, in our daily life, we find ourselves dealing with transactional situations. A transactional situation is one where we do one thing in exchange for another thing. We go to work and exchange our time for money. We go to the store and exchange our money for goods and services. This transactional mindset helps to simplify many of the relationships we have in society, but it can also begin to limit our perspective. If we start to view everything in our life as transactions, we can gradually lose the ability…

Children & Youth, Faith, Foundations for Eternity, Personal Improvement

Secret Sauce

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It’s easy to build up castles in your mind, but very few have the mental game to start laying bricks one by one and bring their vision to reality. — Kevin Hart What is the secret to lifetime success and happiness? This is a question that gets asked a lot. People write books about it. People pay for courses about it. People spend time and effort trying to discover the little bits of wisdom and insight that can lead them to the promise land. Do you want to know the secret to success? What, you do? Well you’re in luck,…

Children & Youth, Foundations for Eternity, Personal Improvement

Hey Google, What is Wisdom?

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Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living, the other helps you make a life. — Sandra Carey When I was young, I remember having long and lively discussions with friends and family as we speculated and debated over facts that we could not easily verify. Question about movies or actors, questions about timelines and events, and questions about a host of other topics that would come up in casual conversation could drive discussions for what seemed like hours. Today, it seems that many of these conversations have started to disappear because previously unfindable information is now…

Children & Youth, Foundations for Eternity, Ministering, Parables

Blessing Thousands

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Many nameless people with gifts equal only to five loaves and two small fishes magnify their callings and serve without attention or recognition, feeding literally thousands. — James E. Faust The New Testament tells us the story of Jesus miraculously feed 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and two small fishes. This story can teach us a lot about how we can bless each other. In the account, Jesus was teaching a multitude of people. As the day continued, the crowd was hungry and needed food, but here was nowhere they could go to get food. A young boy…