What's the Theme?

A good theme can make everything more fun! And it can also give us direction! After spending some time coming up with themes for golf prizes, I realized how much easier it was to create, plan, and make decisions once I knew the theme.

What if we did the same thing in our everyday lives?

Whether it's a new school year, a busy week, a difficult season, or just an ordinary Tuesday, we're often living by a theme without even realizing it: hurry, stress, perfection, survival, or "just get it all done."

In this episode, we're talking about intentionally choosing our theme. It can be connection, joy, courage, presence, flexibility, faith, or even FUN. We may not get to choose everything that happens in our lives, but we can choose what we want to practice while we're living it.

Listen to this week's podcast as we discuss the theme for your day, your week, or your life.

Then ask yourself one simple question:

What's the theme?

And CHOOSE what you want it to be!

Back-to-school season can bring excitement, fresh starts…and a whole lot of anxiety. One phrase I've heard over and over from my kids and clients is, "I don't know anyone in my class."

When we feel uncertain or like we don't belong, our natural response is often to close in. That looks like looking down, staying quiet, pulling away, and waiting for someone else to make the first move. But sometimes the very things we do to protect ourselves from feeling isolated actually create more isolation.

In this episode, I'm giving you a simple Back-to-School Assignment: notice when you're closing in, practice opening up just a little, and look for someone else who may need help feeling like they belong.

In this episode, I share an experience my mom shared after working in the school system for 30 years.

None of us has to walk into a room feeling confident. We don't have to make a best friend on the first day. Sometimes belonging begins with something as small as looking up, smiling, sitting by someone new, or being the first person to say hello.

And in that process, we could be the reason others want to show up at school or work tomorrow.

What if the thing you keep fighting against is actually something you could learn to work with?

In this episode, we're talking about what it means to own what is and work with it. From hats left on the dresser, to unexpected changes in plans, to the Nephites becoming "exceedingly expert" at working with cement when timber wasn't available, sometimes the answer isn't wishing our circumstances were different. It's learning how to build with what we have.

Owning it doesn't mean we have to like it, settle for it, or never make a change. It means we stop using all of our energy fighting reality and start asking, "This is what I'm working with, now what can I do with it?"

Maybe it's your body, your brain, your child, your finances, a relationship, or a season of life you didn't expect. What if the very thing you wish were different could become the thing you eventually become "exceedingly expert" at navigating?

Own it. Work with it. And build something with the cement you've been given.

Have you ever dreaded going somewhere, only to get there and think it wasn't nearly as bad as you thought? Maybe you even ended up having a great time.

In this episode, we're talking about anticipatory anxiety: the worry, resistance, and sometimes full-blown dread that can show up before we do something. Inspired by my boys' recent experience going on trek (which they definitely did NOT want to do!), we'll look at why our brains can make the "before" feel so much harder than the actual experience.

We'll talk about what's happening in the brain and nervous system when we anticipate something uncomfortable or unknown, why avoidance feels so tempting, and how continually avoiding discomfort can actually make anxiety stronger.

Most importantly, I'll share some simple tools to help you and the people you love move through that resistance and get to the other side.

Because sometimes you don't need to know that you'll love it. You don't need to feel excited or even ready.

Sometimes you just need to get there.

Do you ever feel like life is one big test and you're worried you're not getting the answers right? Or worse, you might "fail?"

This week we are exploring a perspective that has the power to change the way we experience our daily lives. Inspired by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk Your Great Adventure, we'll discuss what it means to see life not simply as a test to pass, but as an adventure designed to help us grow.

Adventures aren't meant to be easy. They include unexpected detours, setbacks, mistakes, and moments of uncertainty. But those experiences don't mean we're failing! They're often the very things that shape us into who God knows we can become.

We'll talk about the difference between living with a "test mindset" versus an "adventure mindset," why failure is often a stepping stone to growth, and how trusting the Savior allows us to embrace the journey with greater faith, courage, and peace.

If you've ever wondered whether you're doing enough or worried you've made too many mistakes, this episode is a reminder that God isn't just interested in the destination; He's walking beside you every step of the way, helping you become who you were created to be.

Join me as we discover how seeing life as an adventure can replace fear with curiosity, perfectionism with progress, and anxiety with hope.

As summer comes to a close, many of us feel pressure to squeeze in one more trip, one more activity, or one more memory.

But what if that pressure isn't really about summer at all?

In this episode, we explore the mindset of scarcity: the belief that there isn't enough time, opportunity, or life. This scarcity quietly steals our peace and joy.

We'll discuss how scarcity fuels stress and comparison, why our nervous system reacts this way, and how faith invites us into a life of abundance, presence, and trust.

We'll discuss how fear and scarcity live in the future and how abundance and joy live in the present and with gratitude.

I'll give you a 3-step plan out of scarcity:

1. Put your phone down.
2. Breathe.
3. List 3 things you are grateful for.

If you've been feeling rushed or like you're falling behind, this episode is an invitation to slow down and discover that today's moments may already be enough.

Abraham Lincoln is often credited with saying:

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."

A simple phrase my husband told our missionary daughter that has stayed with me: "Do what you can to be a sharp tool." It led me to ask : Am I working harder, or am I becoming sharper?

In Stephen R. Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, we'll explore the principle of "Sharpen the Saw" and how renewing ourselves physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially allows us to better serve God, our families, and those around us.

We'll discuss why so many of us aren't broken, maybe we're depleted. The Savior modeled the importance of stepping away to pray, rest, and reconnect with the Father before returning to serve. You'll also be invited to consider where God may be prompting you to grow and how one small act of renewal can make a lasting difference.

If you've been feeling like you're pushing through life with a dull blade, this episode is a gentle reminder that renewal isn't selfish....it's essential! As we become sharper, we increase our ability to love more deeply, serve more fully, and create lives filled with greater purpose and joy.

Join me as we discover how becoming a sharper tool can help us become more useful in the Lord's hands and more joyful in our everyday lives.

Have you ever noticed how we tend to keep only the highlights?

Whether it's the pictures on our phones, videos of our kids, a scorecard on the golf course, or even the stories we tell ourselves, it's easy to celebrate the wins while trying to erase the moments that didn't go as planned.

In this episode, I share a few personal experiences that made me stop and ask, Why am I so quick to delete the hard parts? We'll talk about how joy and sorrow can exist together, why we don't have to wait for life to be perfect to experience joy, and how God sees so much more than our highlight reel.

Maybe the moments we're tempted to erase are the very ones shaping us into who we're becoming.

And maybe we should start asking: "What part of my story have I been trying to delete that maybe God is asking me to keep?"

Many of us spend our lives mentally living somewhere else:

• Thinking about what happened yesterday.
• Worrying about tomorrow.
• Planning the next thing.
• Scrolling.
• Multitasking

But the only place joy can actually be experienced is right now.

Joy is a present-moment emotion.

And how often are we truly present? I find my mind wandering to the future, worrying about the "next" thing, anticipating, problem-solving, and overthinking about things of the past. These are JOY KILLERS!

Join with me as we learn more about JOY!

How it lives in ordinary moments, not big fancy vacations or places in the mountains. It is in the little things every single day. We will discuss how the scriptures repeatedly remind us to remember! A word that connects us to the presence, one of the most sacred spiritual practices.

We will discuss how joy can co-exist with grief, sorrow, and homesickness, and the enemies of joy!

And, we will give ourselves a challenge to go on a Joy Hunt where we will look for five things in our ordinary, present moments!

Listen in, become present, and experience more JOY!

With the 250th celebration of the United States being this year, what better way to honor America's past than by shaping its future through service? In this episode, we talk about why kindness is more than simply being nice, how small acts of service create lasting change, and why the greatest legacy we can leave is the way we love and lift those around us. We discuss how ordinary people, through everyday kindness, can make an extraordinary difference! How kindness and service benefit the give AND the reciever, and how we can try to do a little better to be KIND rather than just nice!