Author: Angela

I write so my family will always have letters from home.

More disciples needed

I sat with a wise friend this week and we went deep about life in our 50’s, this tugging, expanding, reinventing phase of life. There are many possibilities at this age, and an innate need to mentor, serve, and teach. Our friends scatter to many pursuits.

Balancing her concerns about current events and her desire to do something about it, my friend observed that the world doesn’t need more angry people, it needs more disciples of Christ. She’s decided that discipleship will underscore her service and mentoring in her 50’s and beyond.

I told you she was wise!

Something that helped me this week

In my personal study of the Creation, I looked at each day and pondered what the Lord was revealing about himself.

For instance, on day 2, He created the heavens. Here were some of my thoughts,

God is aware of our specific temperature and oxygen requirements. The atmosphere protects, insulates, provides rain. = He doesn’t intend for our lives to be uncomfortable all the time. God is our protector and aids our every breath.

He prepared the atmosphere to sustain life. He prepared Jesus Christ to give life.

He provides a Comforter to be with us. During mortality, we are engulfed in heavenly help, just as we are encircled by the heavens.

Perhaps this exercise would be helpful to you. What is the Lord revealing to you about Himself through His creations?

Daily doses

I have learned that short daily routines are powerful and effective for improving myself. A daily habit of reading one author or one subject for a period of time is a wonderful way to grow.

One year, I read A Year with C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classical Works. As I spent about five minutes with this great thinker each day, I was inspired to articulate faith in a clearer, more persuasive way. It didn’t matter that I had already read many of his books. These short readings were a steady dose of brilliance each day.

I have enjoyed other daily readings, such as Russell M. Nelson’s Daily Joy, and Clemency Burton-Hill’s Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Every Day. Each of these informed and inspired me and gave me a sense of accomplishment each time I read. Dopamine! Yay!

My daily dose of culture for 2026 is Shakespeare. So far, I have floundered to understand my daily readings, but when something makes sense, a mark is made on my heart. I think that I’ll be able to comprehend Shakespeare better as I continue to spend time with him.

I’m most successful if a new daily goal is brief so can be linked easily to my established routines. I learned somewhere that this is called habit stacking. Basically, the idea is to link a goal to something you are already doing. For example, I have an established morning routine, so I might choose to add a 5-10 minute goal during that time.

An ongoing goal of mine is to simply read one page each day. That gets me into a book, then I end up reading much more. It’s an overtly minimal goal, but it’s effective.

Small daily acts give a better picture of where I’m headed than the things I do occasionally, in the past, or plan to do someday. Brief minutes add up to a lifetime.

#Goals

I don’t think we’re using hashtags or saying “#Goals” anymore, but this verse is pretty aspirational for me.

Notice that Nephi says his father Lehi was obedient unto the word of the Lord. End of statement. This is a character trait of Lehi, a long-established pattern in his life. Nephi continues, “Wherefore (meaning because of this, or for this reason), [Lehi] did as the Lord commanded.”

Nephi also says he was born of goodly parents. To Nephi, GOODNESS and OBEDIENCE were defining characteristics of his parents, so (of course) they would do what the Lord asked of them.

I have parents like this, and they have been missing from our lives for a year because they have been serving a mission. This is their second mission together. They served as mission leaders for three years when they were in their fifties, and now they are in their seventies. They have been serving in Puerto Rico where my dad served as a young missionary in the early 1970’s.

I can say of my parents, “They are obedient, so they answered the call for more senior missionaries to serve.”

They come home this week. I have their car in my driveway, a nice bedroom waiting for them because they fly in so late, and flags to wave at the airport. Hooray!

Or, as my dad would say, Hurrah for Israel!

Simple solutions

One night when I was sick recently, I struggled to fall asleep. There played in my mind a rapid-fire slideshow of images I had seen on my phone while I was sick in bed. Advice, decor, shopping, Christmas traditions, clothes, and all kinds of information flashed in an endless loop, robbing me of peace.

Eventually, sleep came, and when I woke up, I had no appetite for more images. Media was wearing me out, physically and mentally. It was time to consume less.

The solutions to our problems can almost always be articulated in a few simple words, or can be broken into simple steps.

Consume less.

Say less.

Be less impressed with yourself.

Drink more water.

Breathe.

Be present.

Keep going.

Do one thing differently.

Add one thing to your routine.

Call them.

Begin.

Each of these has been a solution, simply expressed, to different problems in my life.

My best advice for a concrete, approachable solution to your biggest problem is to pray. Trust that the idea, motivation, help, or information you need will be given to you at the perfect time. It will almost always be a simple command or a sequence of simple, actionable steps. Really!

Not the villain

The Nativities are gone and winter decorations and collections of dishes take their place on the shelves in my kitchen.

As I phase out the Christmas decorations, I need to remind myself that I am not the villain of the house for taking down all the joy. It always makes us sad to see them go.

Here are the things I am telling myself,

The decorations will be back again. They are special partly because they are a novelty.

I need to simplify my lines of sight and reduce the number of objects requiring attention. It’s time for me to hibernate, read, sew, and be cozy for a few months without all the extras. It’s okay to need a break.

    I will miss him.

    In honor of President Jeffrey R. Holland who passed away last week, Mark and I spent a lot of time sharing with one another our favorite talks by this beloved Apostle. After our call ended, I took a minute to appreciate the privilege of having such a conversation with a 19-year-old.

    There are so many talks that we shared and there are many that I love. If I had to choose just one, it would be The Grandeur of God from 2003. I keep it folded in my scriptures for ready reference. Here are some of my favorite words,

    God, in His ultimate effort to have us know Him, sent to earth His Only Begotten and perfect Son, created in His very likeness and image, to live and serve among mortals in the everyday rigors of life.

    To come to earth with such a responsibility, to stand in place of Elohim—speaking as He would speak, judging and serving, loving and warning, forbearing and forgiving as He would do—this is a duty of such staggering proportions that you and I cannot comprehend such a thing. But in the loyalty and determination that would be characteristic of a divine child, Jesus could comprehend it, and He did it. Then, when the praise and honor began to come, He humbly directed all adulation to the Father.

    “The Father … doeth the works,” He said in earnest. “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever [the Father] doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” On another occasion He said: “I speak that which I have seen with my Father.” “I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me.” “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”

    He came to improve man’s view of God and to plead with them to love their Heavenly Father as He has always and will always love them. The plan of God, the power of God, the holiness of God, yes, even the anger and the judgment of God they had occasion to understand. But the love of God, the profound depth of His devotion to His children, they still did not fully know—until Christ came.

    So feeding the hungry, healing the sick, rebuking hypocrisy, pleading for faith—this was Christ showing us the way of the Father, He who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, long-suffering and full of goodness.” In His life and especially in His death, Christ was declaring, “This is God’s compassion I am showing you, as well as that of my own.”

    I am so blessed to have had Elder Holland’s witness of Christ through my years of important decisions, marriage, and all the years of raising children. Apparently, he spoke at my middle school because his youngest son was in my class, but I don’t have a memory of it. Foggy middle school years aside, he was very influential in my life and I will miss him.

    Thought journey about love and faith on an early morning

    When I want to understand my relationship with God, forged by covenant, my go-to article is by President Nelson. A key point revolves around the Hebrew word, hesed. This week, this paragraph stood out to me,

    Hesed is a special kind of love and mercy that God feels for and extends to those who have made a covenant with Him. And we reciprocate with hesed for Him.

    The Everlasting Covenant by President Russell M. Nelson, Liahona, October 2022.

    Wait, I can reciprocate hesed (loving kindness) to God?

    In other words, hesed isn’t just Heavenly Father’s role in the covenant relationship? He truly wants my love?

    How, then, can I show that love?

    in gratitude for God’s merciful love (hesed), we show our loyal love (emunah) by keeping His commandments.

    Faith: A Bond of Trust and Loyalty by Elder Sandino Roman

    So, keeping commandments is the way I show loving kindness/devotion to God. That seems obvious, now that I write it.

    Elder Roman used a different Hebrew word, emunah, rather than hesed, to describe our role in the covenant relationship. What does the word, emunah mean?

    The short answer is faith, but like all Hebrew words, it is rich in meaning.

    From website Chabad.org

    So, I am to practice, hone, and create a lifestyle of action to show my love for God.

    By doing, I come to know God. This is how I build a loving relationship with Him.

    The process isn’t, “know then do.” The process is “do in order to know.” This is faith. This is love.

    And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.

    Exodus 24:7

    15 ¶ If ye love me, keep my commandments.

    John 14:15

    So, I can show love for God through obedience, crafting a life of faithful action.

    If all of this is true, a key question is, What is the most important faithful/loving/obedient act that I can do right now?

    Maybe it is to apologize to someone.

    Or, it could be to share my faith with others.

    Perhaps it is to praise God more and whine less.

    It’s often going to be temple work.

    Always, it is to acknowledge that the Savior makes a relationship with God possible.

    Whatever the Spirit inspires us to do to show love for Heavenly Father today, may we do it and find rest in Him.