Forward Walking

I have a 9-month-old son named Graham. He has bright red hair, enormous blue eyes, and the softest skin I’ve ever touched. He also has so much energy and is so inquisitive that it puts Curious George to shame. He doesn’t stop moving until he’s asleep. He literally crawls around in his crib at naptime…

Honsho-Myoshu  “What I don’t understand is when one achieves enlightenment, the reward is already had. So what happens after that? What inspiration is there to do good and help others?” My pastor asked as we were driving north along Highway 55 to visit a shelter in Chicago. Pastor Carol and I were having another of…

One upon a time, there was a traveling salesman that went from town to town selling…smoke… A friend showed me this humorous and clever, animated short. Although I really liked the animation style, I was more impressed by the message. After watching it, I couldn’t help but think “How often do we trade was is…

First off, I owe credit on this video to a lot of people: Seth Adam Smith for showing me this video, the music credits go to Petri Alanko with Alan Wake, and the idea was from a comment on the the video which is no longer there (you know who you are). The reason I share…

We waited anxiously behind the stage for the name “Nezhnost’” to be called. This was the name of our dance ensemble. “Nezhnost” means tenderness in Russian, reflective of the emotions we felt as we danced. Our ensemble had been recently formed and this was our very first performance. We heard the audience cheer and applaud…

January. A new year and a time of new beginnings. Interestingly enough, do you know the meaning of the word “January”? The month of January was named in honor of Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and transitions. Janus is typically depicted as a two-faced god, with one face looking forward and the other face…

With my first initial glimpse of Lizzie Velaquez I was intrigued to know her story. I wanted to know who she was, where she had come from, and what her journey had been. At the age of 23, cyber bullies deemed her as the ugliest woman in the world. Lizzie was born without adipose tissue…

“At the center of our agency is the freedom to form a healthy attitude toward whatever circumstances we are placed in.” (Neal A. Maxwell)  At ANASAZI, where I work, one of the key tenants is the importance placed on what we call “the gift of choice”—or agency. It is something very unique in the social…

My grandma was the homecoming queen her senior year of high school. It is not surprising when you look at old pictures of her with her big, brown eyes, oval face, and curling chocolate locks. Still, as beautiful as she was, her kindness was probably the thing that won her the vote. You’ve heard the…