Practicing Abundance

I was recently listening to a BYU devotional in which the speaker reminded me of a concept she calls "target fixation".  "Have you ever heard of target fixation? It's the phenomenon that explains why we go where we fix our gaze. Target fixation is why skiers, mountain bikers, and motorcyclists sometimes plow directly into the trees, rocks, and other obstacles they try so hard to miss. In each of these instances, target fixation leads to disaster because their eyes are focused somewhere other than their intended destinations. Similarly, in our lives, focusing too much on anything besides the Savior can lead to peril." As I was mowing the lawn later that week, the concept swirled around in my mind and collided with a memory of my dad teaching me that when you mow the lawn, you keep your eyes on the end of the row (where you're going) in order to get a straight line. If you just watch the ground in front of you, you'll end up with a wobbly line.  A single ...

Look Unto Christ from Strive to Be I love the music from Strive to Be. The more I listen, the more I feel soft moments of understanding and insight and peace.  This year's theme song is Look Unto Christ. Here's a cool insight I had while it was playing in my head as I was driving (it can only play in my head because my car stereo is not working...) My child development classes in college were some of my very favorites and I learned so many fascinating things. One of them is that when a child is very young, parents are their reference points for how to respond to their envrionment. We call this "social referencing" .  For example - toddler and caregiver are playing in the living room. Toddler is testing out her new ability to run, loses balance, and falls - plop - right on her puffy diaper. Reflexively, she looks to Dad.  Scenario 1: Dad gasps, looks worried, and runs over asking if she's okay, feeling fear in his heart. Likely toddler response: her face also wrin...

Diamond, by Strive to Be, Nik Day "You are, you are a diamond So bright, treasured and priceless A timeless work of art We see the gleam in side your heart When you feel under pressure It's just making you stronger Remember you were born for this You are a diamond" This song was playing while I was stretching this morning and the Spirit nudged my heart to write. The concept of this song is not new to me - I've been a fan of Hawk Nelson's song "Diamonds" for years. But something about this one, this morning, brought the Spirit to my heart and illuminated some of my path.  The result after pressure is designed to be a priceless thing of purity and beauty.  When hard things happen - when we are scarred by trauma or death, haunted by fear, or feel trapped and unable to proceed or to live out our desires - that's certainly not what I think of first. In these moments, the thought that "this is making you stronger!" can feel way to preppy and insu...