Empowering Daughters of God

There is always HOPE, that was my mantra for awhile during my college years.  HOPE stands for Hear Our Praise Extend.  It was an audition choir group at Southern Utah University Institute of Religion.  There were other choirs that were not audition groups and anyone and everyone was welcome whether you could sing or not!  You did not have to be a member of the church to be in HOPE, but had to be living your life in such a way that you could get a temple recommend.  This group did many religious and non religious performances.  It was a show choir which meant singing and dancing!  One semester I decided I wanted to be in this group and got up the courage to try out.  I made it!  It was a great experience and I loved it!  It provided me with great strength and an outlet during a time in my life when I truly needed it!  Clearly you did not have to be the best singer to get in, but it was competitive so you did have to show some talen...

Can you remember what you asked Santa for when you were a kid?  I can remember a few things, TV, dolls, Disney play sets, easy bake oven, and Polly pocket.  Were you spoiled at Christmas time, or was it more modest?  I can definitely say I was spoiled at Christmas time, maybe not every year, but there were some years I got quite a haul.  Did the real spirit of Christmas stay alive despite your level of spoil?  It is interesting to me that most Christmases of my past I don't remember everything I received, but I do remember the service of giving to others that my family did each year.  Even though I was quite spoiled it was balanced with service and kind acts at that time of year.  I always remember delivering my Mom's hot, fresh out of the oven rolls with homemade jam to all of the neighbors.  I remember delivering my widowed neighbor's sweet roll desert to all of the neighbors at Christmas time.  I remember trying to find someone who neede...

We can probably all remember watching our favorite version of A Christmas Carol when we were kids, or maybe you have one now that you watch with your family.  I remember A Christmas Carol always being a wonderful part of our Christmas celebration when I was growing up.  The George C. Scott version was a little scary for me when I was young, but I love it now, actually I think I love all of the versions I have seen.  It just wasn't Christmas without the Muppets musical version or the creepy George C. Scott version.  A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, THE ghost story of Christmas is my favorite book of all time!  Why is this such a beloved story?  For some, me, Christmas season cannot begin without the reading or watching of it.  There is undoubtedly something for everyone, love, ghosts, good vs. evil, redemption, miracles, charity, hope, it completely embodies everything that Christmas is and should be about.  In my opinion, Dickens was bril...

Have you become Frozen 2 by the Frozen phenomenon?  Haha!  I have, did not intend to or expect to, but here I am!  You might ask "Why is Frozen 2 the number 1 movie in the world?", or "Why did Frozen 2 break all the box office records?"  First of all kids love it!  They loved the first one and Frozen became an obsession in every household that had children!  It had great messages throughout the movie as well as great music and humor.  It was also popular with the older crowd because Disney finally ditched the damsel in distress routine in a way and pointed out the absurdity of the true love at first sight notion that governed so many past Disney movies.   They made the characters more realistic, they made love more realistic.  There has also been a great deal of hype surrounding the possibility of Elsa getting a girlfriend, which was the hope for many in the LGBTQ crowd.  After Frozen debuted in 2013 there were many articles out t...

That time of year has approached yet again!  It's also a time of year for great debate!  I always hear complaints and comments about when Christmas music should be played.  I get made fun of for listening to it after Halloween.  I get accused for not giving Thanksgiving the fair chance it deserves, haha!  I mean it's a touchy subject that people get very passionate about!  Well, Christmas music is my favorite and Christmas time is my favorite time of year!  This statement however, does not justify or really tell the true story of my feelings for Christmas!  There are no words to describe how much I truly LOVE Christmas!  Every year I hear about how I am worshiping the Pagan Gods because I have a Christmas tree, candy canes, decorations, music, and I believe in Santa Clause!  "These evil traditions should be banned", blah, Blah, BLAH, BLAH!!! "LIGHTEN UP, it does not have to be so wretched and dismal", that's what I say in response to t...