Light and Leaf publishing

04/17/2026

My friend didn’t show up to the library event she invited me to. She said her son was sick and didn’t want her to leave him home alone. I meant to text I don’t blame him but I didn’t instead I typed don’t blame him. She was luckily a little shocked but responded back to me anyhow saying she wasn’t blaming him just explaining why she missed the event. At which point I saw my error and started apologizing for my horribly unclassy text that was done by accident. We laughed about it but it was a wake up call for how many times we can offend or be offended by accident. One letter that’s all I missed and it went from a nice text to an accusatory accusation. Thankfully she gave me the benefit of the doubt and didn’t shut down which can sometimes be my tendency. But the bottom line is we can all be jerkfaces sometimes and we can even be one without having any clue we were a jerk. So watch your texting and give your friends some slack cause we’re all one letter away from disaster.

04/08/2026

I 100% think everyone has their own path to find faith and that it’s a constant journey. But these are things that I highly recommend adding to add to your journey. I have never been to a church service that I didn’t come away with a few more building blocks to add to my testimony regardless of the denomination. There’s just so much good out there and it’s our job to soak up as much as we can. So send me books and religions that you strongly recommend I explore and if you want feel free to invite me to your church service.

03/25/2026

Hey I know religion can be a sensitive topic but I think it’s one we should actually talk about more. Most of us me included were introduced to our religion at birth. Which I think isn’t a bad way to go but sometimes we get comfortable and forget to go through the conversion process and there’s a lot of great things that can come from exploring other religions and seeing what’s out there. Just my two cents for the day.

03/20/2026

So I recently learned that a ball travels farther on a path that has dips than one that goes in a straight line. And it’s changed the way I view things. These blossoms have been waiting all winter for their chance to shine and in a week they’ll be gone and will slowly form peaches and in months, and months, and months, they will slowly form peaches and be ready to picked and enjoyed then the tree looses the leaves and goes back into a dormant state. The dips are a normal part of life, the waiting the dormancy, the slow progress everything that we try to avoid are what it takes to grow, progress and go further, be more. God wants us to succeed so life doesn’t go as we have planned instead it’s a roller coaster that pushes us faster and father.
Look up the physics of the ball Rolling thing it’s so fascinating and maybe you’ll see the physics principle everywhere from here on out like I do. And I’d love you to share what you find.

12/16/2025

So we were late for church this week and as we sat patiently….well we sat out in the foyer for the sacrament to end it struck me me being late was planned for. They close the doors but send deacons out in the foyer to accommodate me the late person. Why cause even if I don’t make it to church on time I can still receive that blessing. We also talked about the women at the well the one Christ talked to and called her out on her for living with a man and the multiple other husbands she had had. And when I say called her out I mean ha acknowledged that her situation existed. He turn her away or condemn her. And sometimes I condemn myself for showing up for church late with toddlers in tow. Why? Why do I beat myself up for my shortcomings? Why is what I offer never good enough for myself. The condemnations doesn’t come from the Lord. In fact most of my negative thoughts I sometime blame on others just come from myself my inner critic who thinks I can be the best at everything all the time and expects me to be. Perhaps that is the natural man we must overcome. The negative thoughts that say we fell short, weren’t good enough, aren’t churchy enough, holy enough, patient enough, aren’t like everyone else enough, most of my struggles with myself I inflict upon myself by some made up expectation I have based on the made up reality I’m telling myself. May 2026 be the year to fix those narratives and create a version of myself that is good enough not because I’ve changed but because I’ve erased the imaginary bar.

12/01/2025

I recently heard of a lady who sat in her car instead of going into the church cause she wasn’t sure she fit, she wasn’t sure if she agreed with everything discussed, wasn’t sure if she was the “same as everyone else” I love my religion but I’m not sure if I’ve ever had a week that I agreed with everything I heard. In fact this week a person had a comment that well I didn’t completely agree with and so I raised my hand and shared my opinion. Was I right I don’t know but it did bring a different perspective to the conversation and his comment sparked something inside me that helped me figure out what I believed. And the truth is both of us were probably right and both our comments came from a place of love. They were just different sides of the same coin and I brought up a different side. So if you feel like you want to change something show up, if you want to know more about something, show up. If you don’t know what to do, show up. Show up for anything political meetings, work meetings, church meetings, community projects. You don’t have to be “that type of person” cause the truth is everyone could use a different perspective to help balance things out. YOU have something that the world needs that only you can give.

10/21/2025

I grew up hearing about eternal families my whole life. I never realized that it was something so unique so I wanted to share what I believe using quotes from the leaders of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know that God did not set up families to be just temporary and I am so thankful that I know I will get to see my family that has passed again and that if anything happened to my children I would be with them as well. I can’t imagine a Heaven without them. Do I think it’s my job to tell you what you should want? Nope but I do know what God has said will bring you the most happiness and I have definitely seen that in my own life. My family is the best thing that has even happened to me.

09/15/2025

You would think that white is devoid of color. But surprisingly it's not. White light is the different colors blending together harmoniously. Its balance and cooperation, together the different colors create a thing of beauty that illuminates everything around it. Sometimes we are the strongest and brightest by being filled with compassion, love and understanding.

08/04/2025

These shorts are a miracle and a reminder of Gods love...and it's kinda embarrassing. But here it goes. We went to a nature park and half way through. My daughter peed her pants....a lot. I wasn't sure what to do. And I have no idea why I looked in the bushes but there under some leaves were these shorts her size. So we striped her down put these on and continued our fun adventure. But what are the chances that there would be shorts when I needed them. I don't think I even had the time to pray for them. And if I did it wouldn't have had the guts to ask "please produce shorts in the bushes her size." But they're they were. And he saved a distressed little mama of four and created a memory I hope to never forget.

07/21/2025

My child recently chose to get baptized as a member of the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints. A religion that uses both the Bible and Book of Mormon as scriptural text. Often times as members of the LDS faith we focus on the book of mormon since it separates us from other Christian faiths and it is full of very powerful testimonies of Christ just like the Bible. But the whole basis of our religion is the Bible. A boy who lacked wisdom asked God just like the Bible taught him. I'm so grateful for a son who felt the need to be baptized and make a commitment to follow Jesus and I can't wait to watch his relationship with God strengthen as he works hard to come closer to him. And I am so thankful for my religion and the many other religions that have helped strengthen my faith in Christ and Thank you to the many friends from various faiths and beliefs that have helped love and supported me and my family over the years.

12/09/2024