Tag Archives: forgiveness

Forgiveness Doesn’t Mean That What Happened Was Okay

I’m still struggling today to find words to express the sadness I feel about what’s happening around the world right now. I was reading back through things I’d written today and came across something I wrote on the 13th anniversary of September 11th 2001 about hatred. It reads:  “Holding on to anger is like drinking […]

How People Treat You Is Their Karma

“How people treat you is their Karma, how you react is yours.” – Wayne Dyer So often in life we find ourselves in situations where someone does something to us that is hurtful, unkind, ungrateful, unfair, unwarranted, dishonest, or a myriad of other mean things that hurt us or make us feel bad.  And often […]

Never Take Loved Ones Or Hugs For Granted

A news story talked of individuals found to be sick with Coronavirus and how they have to be immediately quarantined away from their families. When they have to be hospitalized they do so without their families by their side. And those die do so without having gotten a chance to hug their loved ones goodbye. […]

Don’t Carry Excess Baggage

I’d packed and unpacked my suitcases so many times this last year that I wouldn’t even finish unpacking for one trip before I began packing again for the next one. Then I finally got around to unpacking them after my last trip but I left my suitcases sitting open on my bedroom floor because I […]

Forgiveness Day

June 26th is Forgiveness Day – a day to forgive others who have wronged you and a day for seeking forgiveness from those you have wronged…finally, it’s a day to forgive yourself. Forgiving others is hard to do when you are hurting, but it is also the most therapeutic. When you forgive someone you are […]

The Pedigree Of Your Spirit Can Be Written On A Single Line

“However many generations in your mortal ancestry, no matter what race or people you represent, the pedigree of your spirit can be written on a single line. You are a child of God!”   -Boyd K. Packer That quote is so powerful! It’s like every time I read it a little voice in my head whispers, […]

Getting Over A Painful Experience Is Much Like Crossing Monkey Bars

“Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing the monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” – C.S. Lewis Last week was a difficult one, but this week my grandson is out of the hospital and he’s back home again with his parents and he appears […]

I Double Dog Dare You

If you’ve ever watched the movie A Christmas Story then you know exactly what the term ‘double dog dare you’ means. If you haven’t watched the movie A Christmas Story then what in the heck is wrong with you?!?!  I mean, you gotta watch it!  It’s a holiday classic that needs to be watched every […]

Why This Weekend Is One Of My Favorite Weekends Of The Year!

Twice a year, every year, over the course of a weekend, there is a conference held in which around 35 amazingly inspiring speakers give talks on everything from integrity, to attitude, to finding balance, enduring trials, education, forgiving, service, gratitude, family, hope, happiness, and a myriad of other important and inspiring topics.  I get so […]

When We’ll Know That We Knew What Love Was

My daughter Ashley wrote a great guest blog for me last week about how her definition of love is growing as she comes to understand more about what love and marriage are all about. Reading her post I couldn’t help but thing about how my own definition of love has grown tremendously over the years […]

“Be A Humble Influencer,” and other advice from actor Chris Pratt

A few weeks ago, actor Chris Pratt gave an acceptance speech at the MTV Movie & TV Awards in which he shared “9 rules from Chris Pratt, Generation Award Winner. When I heard his speech I was so impressed with how he stood up and openly shared his beliefs.  This video contains a few snippets […]

Stop and think of all the people to whom your actions have special significance

Tonight I was reading through some of my Grandmother’s old papers and I came across a talk she had written long ago. In this talk she discusses how people (especially young people) commonly say “What I do with my life is my own business and concerns no one else.” She points out that those who […]

Have We Done Enough To Make It On Santa’s Nice List This Year?

I distinctly remember as a kid the fear I had of doing something bad that would cause me to get put on Santa’s naughty list. I think most kids, from a very young age, are fully knowledgeable about Santa’s Naughty and Nice list that he uses to determine whether he will be bringing them presents […]

One Nation Formed Under God. That is what makes America great

The Declaration of Independence was approved by our Founding Fathers on July 4, 1776.  Today I was contemplating this amazing occurrence and I decided to read from some history books to gain a greater appreciation of the events that took place and the people involved.  Reading of the tremendous faith that these Founding Fathers had […]

Be strong enough to let go

“Be strong enough to let go, and wise enough to wait for what you deserve.” – unknown Letting go of something you have cared about, but recognize is hurting you, is never easy.  Whether it’s a toxic relationship (or just a relationship that is keeping you from moving forward), or a bad habit (especially an […]

The Head Doesn’t Hear Until The Heart Has Listened

“I have learned that the head does not hear anything until the heart has listened, and that what the heart knows today the head will understand tomorrow.” – Jones Stephens Communication. It sounds like such a simple word but the reality is that communication is one of the most complicated things we do in life. […]

Only love drives out hate

This coming Monday we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. day. What an amazing man he was and what strength of character he had. I love that he didn’t let others dictate his own behavior. He decided what his values were and he decided the kind of man he wanted to be and then he lived […]

The true essence of Christmas

The week of Christmas is upon us and my heart can’t help but think about the true essence of Christmas – to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he willingly made out of his infinite love for each one of us. It reminds me of a story I try to read each […]

#LIGHTtheWORLD In 25 Ways. Over 25 Days.

Today I learned about an awesome challenge for all of us to “light the world” in 25 ways over 25 days as we lead up to Christmas. It’s a challenge meant to help us focus on incorporating more Christ-like attitudes and behaviors in honor of this Christmas season and over 800,000 people have already joined […]

Love Them All The Way To The End

I love the holiday season – I love the decorations and the holiday goodies and that extra feeling of love in the air. And I especially love Hallmark Christmas Movies!!! For those who don’t know what I am talking about, the Hallmark channel on TV puts out a bunch of original Christmas movies every year […]

Be Careful What You Plant

Over the weekend my husband and I went and picked up our first batch of flowers to plant in our yard. I say the first batch because it typically takes us five or six truckloads of flowers to get enough to cover the yard. Every year I try to talk him into hiring someone else […]

Only Three Words

Years ago someone sent me an article called “Only 3 Words“.  It was such a great article that I saved it. When I was going through some old papers I came across it again this week and as I read it I knew I had to share it with all of you. I have no […]

You Reap What You Sow

I am a big believer in the fact that we reap what we sow.  Not always do we get to sow our rewards as quickly as we would like, and by the same token other people who do bad things often don’t sow the punishments as quickly as we wish they would. But regardless of […]

Life’s Tug of War

Life’s Tug Of War  Life can seem ungrateful and not always kind. Life can pull at your heartstrings and play with your mind. Life can be blissful and happy and free. Life can put beauty in the things that you see. Life can place challenges right at your feet. Life can make good of the […]

Don’t Do Something Permanently Stupid Just Because You Are Temporarily Upset

There are always things that are going to happen that will cause us to be temporarily upset. That’s just part of life. But when those things happen we have to find a way to keep our wits about us so we don’t do something permanently stupid that we will regret later. Instead we should focus […]

“Resentment Is Like Taking Poison And Waiting For The Other Person To Die.” (Forbes Article)

A boss or a manager ticks you off, an employee makes you angry, or a friend or family member upsets you. Holding a grudge and harboring resentment are about as beneficial as…well…nothing. As Malachy McCourt once said, “Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” Grudges do no good whatsoever […]

People Who Do Bad Things

There are people in this world who do bad things. Many, if not all of us, have been on the receiving end or dealt with people who have done bad things that have hurt us. The hope is that over time, as we get older and wiser, that we are far more careful in our […]

It may not change the past but it sure does change the future

“No matter how good a friend someone is, they’re going to hurt you every once in awhile and you must forgive them for that.” When someone hurts your feelings you have two choices: You can hold on to the anger and bitterness and let it continuously bother you, or you can decide to forgive them […]

In The Famous Words From Disney’s Frozen “Let it Go”

There are just three short days until we celebrate Christmas! This weekend was fantastic. Our kids came home from college and we went to an awesome Christmas concert by pianist Kurt Bestor. During the concert he brought out a children’s choir and one little girl sang the famous song “Let it Go” from the Disney […]