Faith
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and I am so grateful for the foundation it has given me to build my relationship with Jesus Christ. AND to build a strong family.
Over the years I’ve had so many questions here on the blog about my faith, and how it works. I think there are many misunderstandings and misconceptions about the LDS religion that I’m so grateful readers have brought up and helped me ponder.
Some of my posts that may interest you are here: The Gospel According to Me Genuine Questions and The Gospel According to Me – Part 2 Some Thoughts About LDS Garments
I served as a missionary in Romania as a young adult and it was one of the biggest blessings of my life. Dave served in Taiwan, all eight of my siblings served as missionaries as well, and three of my five children.
We love missionary work and I hope that the posts in this blog can serve to help spread the goodness about Jesus and the beauty that belief in Him has brought to our lives.
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All Things Beautiful Through Christ – An Easter Message
Since Easter is a time to reflect on the life, sacrifice, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—and what that means in our own lives, I’ve…
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Visiting Sydney, Australia – Made Beloved Through an LDS Mission
I want to take you on a little visit to Sydney, Australia. The land where Claire lived and served an LDS mission for eighteen…
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Making All Things New: Trading Our 2026 Resolutions for Connection with God
Happy New Year everyone! Oh my goodness I have so much to record from the holidays: our whole entire family gathered together. The comings.…
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“Wondrous Responsibility”
This Christmas I have fallen even more in love with this painting by Rick Shorten: I love how he depicts Mary and Joseph pondering…
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The Blessing of Miss Ada June
On Sunday, Max gave our second granddaughter, Miss Ada June, a special blessing in a quiet little gathering at Max and Abby’s house. This…
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Some Things I Love About Church and a Release for David
There are lots of things I love about church. I love that it gives me a chance, every week, to try to put my…
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Why Don’t We Talk More About the “Messy Middles” of Life?
Often I wonder, along with one of my children in particular, why we don’t talk more often about the “messy middles” of life. We…
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The Restore Conference Mixed with Beautiful Utah Fall Foliage
Last weekend, while Dave was in China, I got to be with some of my other favorite people in Utah. These guys: (Can you…
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A Challenge to Find Little Ways to Give More
I was asked to share another message on the “WeBelieve” app today. For those who don’t have this yet, WeBelieve is the BEST app…
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How I believe God is looking out for Lucy
I am a big believer in looking for the miracles. Especially in the tricky times. Because Dave and my mantra is true, to be…
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My Favorite Parts of General ConFerence Weekend
Aside from spending the first part of General Conference weekend in Iowa (which was for sure in the “favorite” category), I had some other…
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The Miracle That Rescues Me – Happy Easter!
Welp, the sun is setting on the Easter celebrations of yet another year. Oh I’m so grateful to celebrate that miracle that rescues me…
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Last Thought for Good Friday
Just in the nick of time before Good Friday fades for another year, I wanted to re-share this painting by Brian Kershisnik: …and the…
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Attending to What Matters Most – My Lenten Sacrifice This Year
I had been trying to determine what I wanted to give up for Lent this year. I love this borrowed practice from the Catholic…
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A Great Visual From Pastor Chris for Palm Sunday
I heard the most beautiful Palm Sunday lesson recently—one so simple and powerful that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. A…
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Want to Feel Some Extra Love? Watch General conference
We all need the opportunity now and again to feel some extra love, right? On a recent hike we came across this: Can you…
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How Claire’s Girlfriends Reunited with Powerful Mission Stories
While we were in Utah for Spring Break, Claire got to reunite with her girlfriends. The majority of them have served LDS missions all…
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Sisterhood at Church: An Annual Relief Society and Young Women Ministering Night
Ok, to continue with my theme this week, let’s talk about a secret ingredient for creating more sisterhood at church. Because there are so…
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Claire’s Homecoming at Church, and a “Hot Seat”
The Sunday after Claire got back, she gave her homecoming talk in church. And had this crew to support her: As well as so…
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A We Believe Devotional With Claire – Letting Trials Transform
Lickety-split after Claire got home we had the chance to record the We Believe devotional. We talked about letting trials transform us. How when…
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A New Book of Scripture to Study for a New Year
Ok, so each year as a church we study, dive deep, into a different book of scripture. We study sections of scripture each week…
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“The Ultimate Measure of a Man”
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where he stands at times of…
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“Oil of Joy for Mourning”
I sat in a class this Christmas season and was SO touched by these words from the scriptures: He has borne our griefs and…
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Love Packed Up Into a Relief Society Christmas Dinner
It’s difficult for pictures to portray all the love that went into our Relief Society Christmas dinner this year. My “calling” (where I serve…
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Talking about “Soft Hearts” on the We Believe App Today
I got to share the “scripture of the day” on the We Believe App today. Man, have I mentioned how much I love that…
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Joint Faith Initiative to “Light the World”
This year I was invited to attend the “Light the World” Giving Machine ribbon cutting ceremony. What is that, you may ask? Well, it’s…
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How to Make a Jesus-Themed Christmas Tree out of Paper
In the midst of Thanksgiving hoopla we have sure been missing Claire. I worked my tail off to send off her Christmas package before…
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General Conference and Inevitable Mistakes
I’ve been thinking about the inevitable mistakes that come along in life. I mean, we all want to progress and learn and grow, right?…
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How to Know a Person
Isn’t it interesting how sometimes everything you read or listen to happens to align? Right now everything I come across seems to be giving…
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Pioneering a New School Year – Faith in the Unknown
Let’s talk about modern-day pioneering and faith in the unknown. Because there have been three big things that have put it on my mind…
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“If ye Lack Wisdom, Ask of God” – Church History and a concert that Made My Heart Full
I’m starting in the middle of our New England Tour rather than at the beginning. Because it’s Sunday today, and there was a concert…
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Conference, Baking, and Gathering from afar
General Conference was back near the beginning of this month and we got to “gather” with our whole family. And our whole worldwide church.…
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One thing I forgot to say in my conversation with Eva Timothy
There’s one thing I forgot to say in my conversation with Eva Timothy. I think I mentioned that she and her family came to…
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my “We Believe” devotional and general conference
Oh my goodness, so much to say today. I’ve been thinking about women in our church, and also women in our world lately due…
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He is risen – three things to share This Easter Sunday
I wanted to share a little Easter devotional this Easter. Things I’ve been thinking about this Easter. He Was Not There And then, after…
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Look Who’s doing the “We Believe” devotional today!
Yep, if you check the app today you’ll find our own Claire and her companion talking about the two great commandments. Oh I love…
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how two families found light in the “wilderness” — Sierra Leone
I’ve been thinking lately about how we each, individually, find ourselves in our own personal wildernesses. Over and over again. Are you with me?…
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The Beginning of Claire’s missionary adventure in Australia
I wrote about Claire’s birthday in Australian birthday time (yesterday since she’s 18 hours ahead of us). But it’s her birthday today in America.…
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two podcasts and a book that make me want to be better
Today I’m sharing two podcasts and a book that have really made me think. I love when people share the good things with me.…
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a wrap up, a new beginning, and some tools I love
I want to talk about something that made the year 2023 pretty special for me. And something I’m planning to do for 2024. A…
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two times the world stood still this Christmas
This year, in the midst of all the holiday hoopla, there were two times the world stood still for a bit. At least for…
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sending Christmas love to all the mothers out there
Perhaps one of my favorite quotes from this Christmas was from my sister Charity on her Instagram account: “The Christmas birth story reminds us…
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“Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices” – Lucy’s concert
I don’t know that I will ever hear “O Holy Night” in the same way again after Lucy’s MCO Christmas concert. The words “Fall…
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Why do bad things happen to good people?
I’ve been pondering how life is filled up with rollercoasters lately. One minute you’ll be on the top of the world feeling like you…
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One way to Bring in the Christmas spirit – Join a Relief Society Christmas dinner
Let’s talk about one way to bring in the Christmas spirit now that it’s December 1st. Because to be honest, part of me has…
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Gratitude for bubbles of love – Claire’s Australian arrival
I have so much gratitude for “bubbles of love.” And that we can pray for those bubbles to encapsulate our children when they are…
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some thoughts about LDS Garments
As promised, here I am to share some thoughts about LDS garments as well as some other principles of my faith. I know that…
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A visit to the Rome Temple
Tomorrow I’m working to wrap up documenting the tail-end of our MFMP trip. The part where we visited ROME. I kind of dropped the…
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Sometimes love and belonging take time
Sometimes love and belonging take time. One example is found here in the desert. Anyone who’e been here a while knows I spill out…
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A first “Missionary Monday” blog post for Claire
Welp, let’s do a first “Missionary Monday” blog post for Claire. That girl has been in the MTC for SO long. And she still…
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The best conference to facilitate Belonging
Fall break was two weeks long, so we smooshed a lot into that thing! One thing I haven’t mentioned yet that I loved was…
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One way to help Women bond in a new ward
I mentioned that our ward church congregation got all split up before the summer. It was a pretty big shift and change for all…
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three ideas to get the most out of General Conference
Oh I’m so excited for General Conference this weekend. So I wanted to post about three ideas to get the most out of General…
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A Temple Trip to Utah enveloped in family love
My dear parents were unable to make it to all the temple/farewell hoopla here in the desert. But they were determined to spend some…
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the law of Love — Sunday Ponderings
Oh I have so many emotions rolling around in my heart and mind today as Claire will be giving her farewell talk at church…
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missionary work – A new little army of missionary cousins and friends
There is some pretty tremendous beauty in missionary work. And I love when we have a group of cousins serving missions at the same…
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A Baptism at Bear Lake
We had a baptism at Bear Lake this year. You see, in our church, when kids reach the age of eight they can choose…
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How to inspire children Spiritually
Let’s talk about how to inspire children spiritually. Something I’ve been thinking about lately. So I thought it was interesting that I came across…
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parental love and a Blessing for Murphy Jane
Welp, there has been a pretty grand swirl of activity going on around here…our big annual reunion at Bear Lake, lots of cousin/family bonding,…
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The best place to reach for Parenting Help
As everyone is easing into summer vacation, I have a few things to say. Because I know from experience that summers can be tricky.…
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Claire is Heading out on a MISSION!
Claire has been preparing for something kind of quietly. But since it’s now been assigned, I’m here to say Claire is heading out on…
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the Value of Making Mistakes – Sunday Ponderings
Could making mistakes (or sin…a bigger and heavier word) actually be valuable? I believe it is!
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changing church callings – this is tricky business!
The stake leaders asked me and Dave to come in for a meeting on Tuesday and they gave us the news that things were…
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Christ’s ultimate gift: “beauty for ashes”
Happy Easter! As they greet each other in Romania around Easter: “Isus A Inviat!” (Jesus resurrected), and the person addressed responds “Adevarat, a Inviat!”…
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the parable of the leaven– Sunday Pondering
I am doing the devotional on the Come Follow Me app again today, all about what the Parable of the Leaven means to me.…
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my offering for Lent this year
I usually try to “give up” something for Lent each year. I know it’s a Catholic thing, but it’s such a beautiful tradition to…
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Sunday ponderings — “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden”
I am in contact with many who are “heavy laden” lately. Sometimes I am the “heavy laden” one. Isn’t that just such a beautiful…
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levels of obedience — Sunday Pondering
One of Claire’s friends gave a talk in church a while back about what I’ve started to call the “three levels of obedience.” (Yes…
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the good stuff: Relief Society
When I got my calling to serve as the Relief Society president in our church congregation (over two years ago now…whoa!) I may have…
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being raised in a religious family
Ok, so I never set out to talk much about religion here on the blog. I’m just here to talk about mothering and family.…
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Sunday pondering — a “conscious receiving”
I’ve been thinking about this a lot…another beautiful quote from Richard Rohr. I wish I could remember which meditation it was part of so…
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planting seeds for making new friends…
…under a pink sunset sky. There is so much power in friends. A while back our Stake President, the church leader who presides over…
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our church live nativity and a nativity story
Our church congregation had our third annual live nativity last week. The Roman soldiers: The shepherds: (That woman up there second from the right…
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He is the Gift
We’ve been doing a lot of gift-buying and scurrying around around here, and so I just think I really needed to watch this today.…
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real questions for real life
I love when kids ask real questions for real life. When they are searching. And when they are vulnerable and lay their feelings out…
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prayers to sanctify my vulnerable efforts this Christmas season
We have found a new therapist for Lucy. And when I say it like that it sounds as if it was merely a phone…
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angels are those who look UP and “light the world”
As anyone who has read this blog for a while knows, our last baby, Lucy, was born with six toes on her left foot.…
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seasons of linking to God & Time Out for Women
My friends and I sat in the audience of Time Out for Women a few weeks ago, bathed in the goodness those speakers were…
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Good Timber Doesn’t Grow with Ease — Sunday ponderings
Just as time was running out for our first meeting at church today (it was testimony meeting where everyone can stand and share their…
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growth by doing it wrong rather than right
In preparation for Sunday tomorrow I wanted to post these thoughts I have been thinking about for a couple weeks. I know I’ve mentioned…
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how to tune in to conference TODAY
Oh my goodness, we’ve been in a whirlwind of togetherness (the kids came home to surprise Lucy for her 16th birthday) and conference the…
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a mighty miracle found in a team of helpers
In a discussion with some neighbors the other day we somehow got talking about miracles. We talked about how sometimes we have to recognize…
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how to hold a Relief Society board meeting
I remember going to a board meeting for primary years ago. I had been a part of that organization for a while and I…
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Sunday ponderings — continual “turning” of our hearts in the darkness
In our Sunday School class today we talked about the wisdom that can be found in the book of Proverbs in the Bible. There…
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Sunday ponderings — the importance of pondering
I posted this on Instagram, but here it is with a little added insight at the end for the blog too… Last week this…
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Sunday Ponderings — a compassionate God
You guys, I am so late posting, but I HAD to get on here quick to share that I’m doing the “Come Follow Me”…
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Sunday pondering — “Abide with Me”
It is late on a Sunday and I’m trying to clear off my desk, filled up with little papers and notes. And I came…
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opportunities for growth in the mountains
This last weekend had been a long time in the making. We finally made it up to “the Ranch” for a Relief Society retreat.…
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Sunday ponderings — “The Transformer Principle”
I’m sure I’ve talked before here about the “Transformer Principle.” It’s a principle my dad came up with as one of the “Grandfather’s Secrets”…
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Sunday ponderings — “Love, Share, Invite”
I talked about this phrase back HERE, some beautiful words from our church leaders to let others in to our lives. I hope those…
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genuine questions and “the gospel according to me” (part 2)
I keep getting recurring questions about my religion in various comment sections and in so many of my other posts through the years. Some…
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a thought for the day
This is easy to forget so I thought I’d share. xoxo
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herding cats at Easter time (and Claire’s blessing)
If your Easter ever feels a little chaotic or doesn’t go as planned, this little story is for you. I talked a little about…
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grumpiness, Good Friday, and an Easter epiphany
I paused for some Good Friday reflection this week. Mostly because the week leading up to Easter didn’t go how I imagined. I had…
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there is something special about conference weekend
There is something special about conference weekend. Why do I get so excited to watch hours and hours of talks, you may ask? I…
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Two ways to learn the beauty of forgiveness
Today I am doing the “Come Follow Me” devotional again over on the Come Follow Me App. Talking about how amazing forgiveness is. Man…
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the “cane quest” and a labor of love
I am learning more and more about the “labor” part of the term “labor of love.” Because after we were singing glory hallelujah when…
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“I got it from her and she got it from her”
I want to back up in honor of International Women’s Day. Because even though that day is already in our wake and I neglected…
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Ministering and “Love, Share, Invite”
A few years ago our church changed the practice of “visiting teaching” to “ministering.” At first I thought that word seemed too formal. Too…