Can we follow rules and be unique? You bet! There is a time and place for both. Last night, my friend and I went to a painting class. When we walked in, each place at the table had a canvas, paint brushes, and paint provided.  The instructor had a sample canvas already painted sitting on the table at the front of the room, with a sunrise.  I enjoy painting landscapes, but I wondered if we were supposed to paint our sunrise as she had?  It appeared so, and when she began to

Childhood: A Journey of Self-Discovery Growing up, we often hear that our grades matter, the teams we join count, and the friends we make are significant. At home, parents guide us, while teachers direct us at school. In clubs and teams, leaders tell us what to do. But what about us? When did we lose sight of our true, God-given selves? When did our identities become defined by the world instead of our souls and divine nature? Looking back, as a child, I realize we often conf

As I was praying the other day, I saw these words: "Honor your past." Wait, what? It wasn't something I had ever thought about before. Usually, when I thought of the past, there was pain: regrets and mistakes that I wished I could go back and change. Back to the future. Remember that movie? How many times have I wished we could really do that? More times than I can count, I will tell you that much. If you are like me, you've gone over the past countless times, maybe even hun

There will be days of disappointment. I can promise you that, unfortunately. It is part of life. We don’t always get what we want, as the song says. When we don’t, what happens? What do we do, then? Do we wallow in misery, or do we make the choice, to brush ourselves off, pick ourselves up and make the choice to be happy and grateful?