Snatches for Your Story - Vol. 2

It's Sunday, and I may be a day late, but yesterday we had the most wonderful Mission Reunion commemorating 10 years since my parents came home from their mission in Portugal. Such a rekindling of friendships, reminiscing of memories, and feeling of the Spirit.

So today, if I might gift you with inspiration in living out your summer story, here are 7 snatches for your story:

1 - This is how I feel every day. So inexplicably amazed at all the Lord has done and continues to do for me. I want to praise His name all the day long for His goodness and yet, it wouldn't be enough. No matter how hard I try (and fail), I can never repay His kindness.

And this sort of gratitude? It's the secret to living the most satisfying story.

2 - We just can't seem to stay away from our wheat field. Even though we haven't started our farmhouse yet, still it draws me like a magnet. And when we drive back to the Middle House, it feels as if we're going the wrong direction...like we're leaving our home.

Sometimes the beginning of new stories can feel disconcerting like this. But if we keep turning the pages and living out each day in the way the Lord guides, the unsettling feelings will someday be replaced with peace, joy, and a feeling of home. It just takes putting one foot in front of the other - day after day, moment after moment. We take it step by step and are guided by the Lord line upon line. It's not the instant way that we are so used to in this digital age, but it's the way the Lord intended us to live out our lives.

3 - This is such a fine mantra for a Monday, {or any day of the week for that matter.} Sometimes Mondays can hit like a ton of bricks after a restful, soul-satisfying Sabbath.

Last Monday, when I woke up feeling all out of sorts, the Lord led me to Jeffrey R. Holland's last general conference address: "Tomorrow the Lord will do Wonders Among You." It was just the dose of hope I needed to press on through the week. 

So tomorrow, when Monday weighs ever so heavy, let's repeat this mantra to ourselves and dedicate this week to J O Y!!


4 - On those days when you want to give up on your story before it's really even begun, just remember and repeat: "Hope on. Journey on." Hope and perseverance are mighty powerful when combined.

And if we look for the rays of summer sunshine each and every day, the Lord will bless us with eyes to see His miracles all around. Who and what brings summer sunshine to your story? The more you notice, the sunnier your days become.

{This photo is a close-up of the two prize prints from the giveaway I hosted last week on Instagram. I've had such a lovely time adding splashes of watercolor to my new products!! (P.S. These two prints will be available in my new summer collections that will soon be launching!!)🎈Stay tuned.}

5 - Whatever your story is, know this: it is significant. With such a royal heritage, how could you be anything but extraordinary?

Consider that your gifts, your nudges, your callings, your longings, your very life originate from your Heavenly Father. He is light - and all the good we do, and all the good we are - are reflections of His light.

View your life story in this light, and it changes everything. You start to feel as if you, yes you, are a glory-bearer for your God.


6 - As I mentioned above, gratitude changes everything. So let's take it one step further and choose someone to thank. There are so many people surrounding us with love each day and offering bits of heaven to our ordinary lives. It wouldn't take but a minute to express our appreciation for them.

And today, I must THANK YOU X 1000!!! I am truly humbled at the growth in this little community & shop - we've reached over 1000 followers on Instagram. To celebrate I've added to the shop something I've been hoping to for a long time -- ✨THANK YOU CARDS!!✨

{You can purchase these cards in a bundles of 10. They are the newest listing in my shop and you can find them by clicking on the etsy link in my sidebar. Thank you again my sweet friends. You are truly amazing! Thank you for your support, love, and encouragement. I can't tell you what it means to me. ❌❤️❌❤️X1000‼️}


7 - The last snatch is rightfully directed towards fathers, for today is Father's Day. But maybe we can try to make it always Father's Day in our hearts by the way we treat and love our fathers, our husbands, our brothers, our sons, and most importantly, our Heavenly Father. Elder Robert L. Backman has said:

"Father is the noblest title a man can be given."

I believe this to be true. Isn't it miraculous to think that of all the titles our great and marvelous God could be called, He has asked us to call him Father? It is such an endearing, humbling thought. And even more, He has gifted men the sacred privilege to have the very same role here in mortality. How grateful I am to my own father who exemplifies my Heavenly Father so well. It's so easy for me to imagine the love of my Heavenly Father because I have felt and feel every day, the love of my own earthly father.

And my husband continues the legacy of righteous fatherhood. Loyal. Trustworthy. Honest. Faithful. Diligent. Dedicated. Steadfast. Obedient. These are just a few of the words that describe my sweetheart husband, the father of my children. Forever will just not be long enough...

May we reach out to the fathers in our lives and express to them the poignant feelings of our hearts.