Faith. Family. Story.
The Dash
On my trip to Croatia and Slovenia last year, our tour director would begin each day on the bus with a story or thought of some kind. When he read The Dash one morning, I asked him for a copy. It's the kind of prose I like. It rhymes, has a catchy rhythm to it and it conveys a thoughtful message.
Last fall, I took my Mom with me to an event in Wisconsin and we visited Campbellsport, where her grandparents lived and raised 10 sons (the oldest was my grandfather). I knew my mom would enjoy this trip and I would enjoy taking her, but I wasn't prepared for how much I LOVED being there. Campbellsport is a small town, that hasn't experienced much growth over the years, so it was easy to imagine my great-grandparents living there and feel their presence as we located the property that had been their family farm and explored other locations that would have been a part of their lives. For years I've shared what I know about my great grandmother Minnie McDougal. I have access to a decent collection of photos and we have letters she wrote and several other documents and memorabilia, but it still isn't enough. I want more. When I stood at her grave marker with my mom, I thought about her life and what I don't know. Then I remembered this poem and thought about the influence her 1890 - 1950 (dash) has had on my life. I am in many ways the product of her courage, faith and fortitude. I'm certain that I parent in similar ways. I definitely want the same things for my boys that she wanted for hers. And because of what she demonstrated and sacrificed for her family, I have been immensely blessed.
I'm so tickled that FamilySearch has created the Define Your Dash challenge. I'm going to write more about it tomorrow, but I wanted to share the poem first, so you can reflect on the dash of someone you have loved and lost and consider how much you wish you knew that you don't know. This deficit can become the motivation you need to better define your own dash by writing and documenting personal stories. Read on and stayed tuned.
Don't Look Back!
I listened this week to one of my all time FAVORITE talks given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. When I attended BYU, he was the president of the university and he, often along with his wife would address us once or twice a year. I did not hear this talk as a student, but it reminds me of many that I did hear and I always left feeling motivated and encouraged. The video above is a much shorter message that pulls from Elder Holland's talk. The full version is below ...
Ask in Faith!
In my husband's church calling as a stake president (oversees several congregations or wards) he is responsible for stake events. Tonight we held a fireside for all youth, 12 to 18 years old where we introduced the 2017 theme. Each year, a specific scripture is chosen as a theme and the purpose is to provide opportunities for teens worldwide to learn about, study, internalize, and apply the principles taught in scripture—to study its doctrine, and act on the principles learned throughout the year. The theme this year comes from the New Testament in James 1:5-6 (see image above) and we decided we would stand up together to speak which was definitely more fun that speaking by yourself (yikes!).
