I have a great friend who has the perfect expression of amazement. She says, "Holy wow!" I smile so big every time she says it. 

I've decided to adopt it for those times when something incredible pops up in my life, that is an undeniable blessing from God (I also like to call them "God winks"). 

This ...

Momentum is one of the very best friends you can ever have. She'll take you to higher heights than you could ever dream of reaching on your own, and show you what you're really capable of -- over and over again. 

But this friendship must be intentionally nurtured and maintained; otherwise she can tur...

A fetus develops for about 37-40 weeks before anyone sees what she actually looks like (minus some rough scans, depending on where the mother lives and what her healthcare coverage is like). 

The mother knows her baby is there, without any doubt. The more time goes on, the more she feels that reality...

Peace and light are available always, as a natural result of alignment with God. No matter the circumstances, this is an available state. This is freedom. Trust, calm, creativity, flow...it's all as normal as oxygen when you're aligned this way. We need this. 

It's easy to look at life like a big lon...

You can decide whether or not you'll exercise when you wake up in the morning, or you can set out your clothes + shoes before you go to bed, making the commitment before you need to. Chances of success go up significantly when the choice is made before the brain has something more compelling (like s...

Today, we celebrated our twin girls' 14th birthdays. I spent some time this morning reflecting on the miracles that surrounded their emergency premature delivery and found myself in tearful awe of the many ways we saw God's hand in the experience. 

I'll spare you the details, and tell you that I re...

It's impossible for a newborn to fly a plane. 

It's impossible for a kindergartener to discover a cure for disease.

It's impossible for a high school junior to run for President.

Impossible is based on the present moment and existing resources. With design, focus, time, and connections -- magnifi...

I'm focusing this weekend on some really powerful inputs, by tuning into our church's semi-annual conference (2 full days of beautifully uplifting talks and music focused on the Savior). So many rich lessons about Jesus Christ and how we can better follow His example. It's been a beautiful experienc...

There's the type of education with books, pencils, notebooks, desks, and assignments/tests from an authority figure.

But that's not the only kind. (I would argue that, in many cases, it's not even the best kind.)

Does the fact that a person hasn't sat in the same classroom as another person make t...

Of course it didn't go perfectly. How many times had you done it before this? 

It's easy to feel disappointed in ourselves when we fall short of the level of excellence we expect. Holding ourselves to a high standard is a great way to grow, but we also have to be reasonable.

Capacity is expandable, bu...

I started doing something regularly late last year that has dramatically improved the quality of my time in prayer: 

I pray on paper.

This will sound a lot like Julia Cameron's "morning pages" (as described in her book, The Artist's Way) -- and that's actually how it started. 

Morning pages help get th...

I had a unique opportunity to tour the Pentagon today, where we walked (according to my steps tracker) 9,414 steps all around the building, just getting a small taste of what it's like there. From the outside, it's a large building -- but I'll confess, driving past it over a hundred times, I've neve...