Using the Power of Pretending

I believe in the principle that you ought to act “as if” you were the person you would like to become. As you do that, you will grow into that kind of person. Ultimately your very actions, your attitude, will lead you into being the kind of person that you want to be. — Elder […]

The Basics of the Gospel Bring Perspective

“The gospel of Jesus Christ is simply beautiful and beautifully simple” – Elder Matthew Cowley Almost an Artist I wasn’t always an artist. I wasn’t terrible in art classes, and I’ve always loved crafting and creating, but there was nothing very special about what I did and I was always less than satisfied with the […]

Experience Leads to Understanding

“How I hate the sight of an umbrella!” ― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey Desert Rain I’ve loved English authors since I was a young reader.  I remember reading the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, Dickens and others and being enthralled by the scenery and situations that they painted in my imagination. One thing about the books that I […]

Joy in the Journey

Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb. – Sir Winston Churchill Reaching out to […]

5 Free Tools That Will Make This Year More Productive and Pleasant

5 Free Tools That Will Make This Year More Productive and Pleasant | Pomodoro Method of Time Management | Clock | www.bitsofivory.com

Sometimes you just need a fresh new start. It’s a new year! For me it’s also a new semester at school, and I recently started a new job. As Lucy Maude Montgomery once wrote: “Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it!” So many fresh starts. And so many new directions to be pulled. To celebrate, […]

How To Find and Keep Your Favorite Babysitter

Teenage Babysitter holding a toddler

For most parents it’s the hardest part of planning a date night, isn’t it? After all, you can purchase the movie tickets online. Dinner reservations are only a phone call away.  A little lip gloss and a brush through the hair and you’re ready to go! But when you hear little footsteps running down the hallway […]

4 Faith-Promoting Quotes for Father’s Day

And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of thy children.

It was the scariest thing that had happened in all of my few years. The doctor had decided to take my tonsils out. My mom stayed up all night the night before and made me an amazing robe that felt like a warm hug, and my dad took me to the hospital in “the big city,” […]

The Day I Found A Brand New Heirloom To Treasure

Tracery oval dish by Wendell August with Florentine cookies

I received a package in the mail last week with these beautiful boxes in it. I love the kind of boxes that you simply tie a pretty silver ribbon around, because they’re just too pretty to wrap. Note the “hand hammered” paper effect that offers a hint at what’s inside. Brilliant. I mean that literally. […]

It takes a lot of faith

Bits of Ivory | It takes a lot of faith | www.bitsofivory.com

I’ve been reflecting lately on the twists and turns that my life has taken over the years. I’ve been thinking of the beautiful bends in the river – the valleys that were hidden just around a corner, and the unexpected falls that seemed terrifying at the time, but brought me to peaceful places that changed […]

5 Ways to Combat Cabin Fever This Winter

Bits of Ivory | 3 Ways to Combat Cabin Fever | www.bitsofivory.com

When I was growing up in the wild winter wonderland that is Wyoming, cabin fever was something you came to expect about this time of year. We became less and less enamored by the snow and cold and longed for the sunshine to peek through the clouds for an hour or two just to reassure […]