We have arrived! After seven years of living in Germany, I am finally back in America. It’s a strange feeling. It’s kind of like half of me is still in Germany and half of me is here. Nonetheless, I am thrilled to be back. Now we are living in the small town of Nauvoo. We […]
I had hit rock bottom. The month had begun with a birth, but had ended with a death. My second son was born, but my grandma was gone. I gathered my newborn in my arms and traveled halfway across the world and back so that I could attend the funeral. Upon my return to Germany,
Hitting Rock Bottom Read More »
For the past two years we have lived in a village in Germany called Isenburg—tucked in the middle of a forest and nestled under a castle ruin. Every day driving home we passed under an ancient stone archway that served as the entrance to the castle grounds. On the hill directly above our house is
March is a big month for women. It includes Relief Society’s birthday, International Women’s Day, and Women’s History Month. Because of all this a question came to my mind: Have I been empowered by my membership in Relief Society and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? When I was a kid my family
Empowered by Faith Read More »
I have been thinking a lot about siblings. I knew in the month of March four of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s brothers had birthdays and coincidentally three of them even share the same birthday (see below). I myself have two sisters and one brother. We were also born one year after another, so we are
Choosing Forgiveness Read More »
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you; And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the
When I read about Vienna Jacques I was immediately reminded of my grandma. Vienna gave a significant sum to the Church when funds were desperately needed to purchase land for the Kirtland Temple.1 The Prophet Joseph Smith wrote that her donation had “proved a Savior of life.”2 Don’t we all have people like that in
When I was deciding whether or not I should serve a mission, the biggest question on my mind was: will my mom be alive when I get back? She had been diagnosed with breast cancer. We didn’t know how long she had. We did know, however, that we needed to have faith. Together my mom
My mother always used to quote the thirteenth Article of Faith to me. “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”1 She even sent me the quote to hang above my desk on my mission. The words are beautiful, but in reality, it isn’t always easy
Hello! I am Justina and this is my first EVER blog post—so bear with me. Let me tell you about myself and why I created this website. A few months ago I found a document written by my fourth Great Grand Uncle Robert. He was born in the 1800s in Scotland. When he was 18
The Adventure Begins Read More »
