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Everyone knows the parable of the starfish. Some of us even have a framed print of the parable, maybe a shadow box with an actual dried starfish, hanging in the...
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Today’s powerful and inspiring Mutual Improvement Associations comes from our guest blogger, Mark. Let’s begin in typical LDS-sacrament-meeting-talk fashion and define the meaning of some words. Mutual Improvement Association. What does...
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If a gift harms someone, is it really a gift? Can we tell the difference between bread and rocks, or do we need to read some parables again?
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I’ve always been intellectually supportive of the mission of Visiting Teaching. Actually making myself do it, or enjoy being on the receiving end- or ‘teachee,’ as it were- hasn’t...
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Last week, at a familiar intersection, the sign a man held up said, “It doesn’t take much to be kind.”
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The following piece is a guest submission by Claudia Ruptier Ron liked dogs. He just didn’t want one—even after he’d been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment with likely progression...
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Today on our local NPR affiliate, a local Stake Presidency member was interviewed about the roll-out of the “I’m a Mormon” PR campaign in our metro area.
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I asked a group with an empty chair if I could sit with them. A young man’s smile put me at ease and I settled in for lunch. I wasn’t...
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Every once in a while, I meet someone who is just plain old good. Without guile. My friend Rebecca is one of those people. And so are her kids. Rebecca...
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I’ve spent almost all my 38 years in Texas or Louisiana, so I’ve weathered some bad summers. The summer of 2011, however, has re-defined “bad summer.” In our area, the...
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As I was telling my Kindergartner earlier this month that we’re all pioneers in some way. Whenever we stand up for what we believe in or do something because we...
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My neighbor Sheri and I watched motorists pass our children’s school bus for years. We took video, called the police, reported tag numbers, complained to the public school department of...
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Do we believe, deep down, that the poor are that way because God wants them to be?
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As a lone-parent, five-child family on welfare, we were hardly the ideal Mormon family.
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Once upon a time, a woman in our ward (=church congregation) had a baby. In typical fashion, the women at church mobilized and quickly sent around a list for people...
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When you hear the words “Compassionate Service” what comes to mind? This is like one of those word association games- just go with your gut feeling. Macaroni and cheese? Sign...
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November 11th, 2010 I gave away the last lunch (somehow, the story of the eleventh lunch was never recorded and has been lost to the mists of time). It had...
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I watched the Twin Towers fall on TV, my oldest child safely ensconced in her kindergarten class. My toddler was playing with blocks nearby…. building towers and knocking them down. ...
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This is a guest post from a favorite reader and commenter, Corktree. It may sound simplistic (or just serving of my purpose), but I’ve always read the parable of the...
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A guest post from a reader, Debra. Names matter. They do. My life experience has taught me this. Names are important as they are references – signs — that direct...
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It sounds corny, but by carrying around her belongings (two pairs of sturdy shoes, a box of office supplies, a blanket, and a black garbage bag full of what I...
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I caught a glimpse of him opening the bag and then dropping it rather unceremoniously on the ground. He then picked up the sign and again and turned slowly...
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Something’s better than nothing…. or is it?
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A grateful resident presented me with a chocolate turkey, wrapped in beautiful multicolored foil. Then she looked around her room, reached over to her bedside table, and...
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We (and our children) have had to learn to be gracious guests at both cockroach infested decrepit apartments and mansions where we are served by The Help.
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‘The fragrance always remains in the hand that gives the rose.’ -Mahatma Ghandi
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I was pleased to have given away my fourth lunch, but in retelling the story, I began having doubts. Was this person scamming people?
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I called out- “I have a lunch!” With out missing a beat, he replied, “Not anymore you don’t!”
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A middle-aged Hispanic man is walking past the car where I pull up to the light. He sits down on the curb two cars behind us. He has a sign,...
