Dandelions

          Recently my two and four year old sons, came up to me with the kind of sweet eagerness that only young children possess, holding freshly picked dandelions. Being the younger two of my four children, this was not the first time I had been given dandelions. However, on this occasion, it was a moment where time seemed to stand still, as memories flowed through my mind; dandelions took on a whole new meaning.

          This is not to say that I’ve never cared for receiving dandelions from my children, rather, honestly speaking, I feel that I probably rushed through those moments; I didn’t stop and savor them. I just smiled, thanked them, and went on. But this time was different, I allowed myself to embrace the sweet innocence and tender thoughtfulness my sons were showing to me. I stopped to recall memories as they came back to me and smiled as my mind was on rewind. I took a picture of the now said dandelions to record this moment of deeper understanding. And now I’m writing a blog post about dandelions, because the more I’ve thought about them and the times my children have brought them to me, the more my appreciation of them has grown. 

         The special innocence of children is no secret. Specifically I’m referring to the kind of innocence they exhibit from about ages 2-4. (Give or take a couple ;) They are old enough to understand kindness as doing something nice for somebody else. However, they have not cognitively matured to the point of being able to fully think through their act of kindness to the person or situation; for example, dandelions. My sons know that I love flowers. At this age they see small yellow weeds growing in the lawn and conclude they’re flowers and pick them because mom likes flowers. They are eager to please and are thoughtful to take the time to pick them and bring them to me. I react in smiles and thankfulness for their kindness and seeing how eager to please they are warms my heart.

         This particular window of innocence lasts only a few short years. Soon they will learn of the yellow flowers true identity as noxious weeds and will no longer pick them. And with that newly gained knowledge means no more picked dandelions for me.

          For me, dandelions now represent a stage of special childhood years. This is a stage of sweet innocence and an eagerness for kindness. Thinking through this I’ve also realized that dandelions are not alone. During this stage there are many more acts of kindness from my children. They want so much to help and be part of! Mundane household chores are exciting and fun to them! Singing songs while cleaning up messes seems magical, and any time I need an extra hand, those tiny hands appear lightning fast! Common phrases such as, “Me do it, I do it myself, Let me, let me!” are heard daily; but so are, I help you mommy, I find it for you, I’m here, and Here’s a flower for you mommy.

        Especially now that my older children are clearly past this stage, I try harder to cherish this time with my two younger boys. Toddler years are very trying and tiring. With all the spills, ego struggles, temperament guiding, and foundation forming, their birthdays are as much of a celebration to me (we survived!) as they are for them. But now I have hindsight and greater wisdom. Those chubby fingers are so eager to show kindness to me, their tender hearts are full of forgiveness and unconditional love, and their rapidly developing brain still thinks I’m the smartest person there is. How could I not love dandelions??   

---Dalynne

Bullies

Last week I had the opportunity to sub for one of the younger primary classes. I knew in this class that there were two very good girls and two girls who had a little trouble trying to be good. One of them I knew well. I'm not sure why but she was always in a bad mood, she didn't like me much and wasn't afraid to say so. She also wasn't afraid to admit that sometimes she just didn't like to choose good over bad. The other girl was close friends with the first, I barely knew her so I didn't really know what to expect. I've been a primary teacher in the past and I've dealt with difficult kids quite easily. The angry girl I knew was easy to control and keep at bay. I did pretty well with the other girl too. 

However, during sharing time, I wanted to- for lack of coming up with a better figurative word to show my frustration (sorry!)- "throttle" her. Not because she was difficult to handle, but because she sat there hitting her friend, strangling her friend, and saying unkind things. Luckily this didn't seem to phase the other girl, it was part if the "friendship". I then later found this post about bullying in the church: http://www.mormonmomma.com/index.php/2007/bullying-at-church/.

This spun me into a whirlpool of memories. My husband is a fourth grade teacher and so anti-bullying is really important to him, especially because he knows how it feels having been bullied himself as a child. So in our house bullying comes up a lot. Up until I read this article I never thought I was ever bullied. But then I realized that at church, I had been. 

Substituting for that primary class isn't the first time I've witnessed bullying as a teacher. I taught the sunbeams for almost a year and had a decent size class for one teacher (about six to eight), and like last Sunday there were well behaved children and not so well behaved children. I had no problem handling them until one of the girls started bullying another girl. The bullied girl was very sensitive and did not particularly enjoy the company of others, especially when they we're mean. (Incidentally, both these girls went to the same preschool and had the same problems there). 

After about one Sunday of intolerable bully behavior I went to the bully's parents (the father happened to be our bishop at the time) and told them the behavior of the girl. The parents apologized and said that she probably learned it from her four older brothers. But they said they would talk to her. By the next Sunday she was still doing it and had added a new twist to it: licking. I guess I can't expect a three year old to follow the rules the entire time, but when that tongue made contact to skin, the germaphobe in me went into defense mode. After that sticky incident I talked to the parents again, and at one point my husband talked to them. By the time I was released from that calling, the bully girl had somewhat improved and at the most had stopped licking her classmates.

I wouldn't consider that year of incidents of bullying as great as what's described in the blog post link above. Most of it probably can be attributed to having four older brothers and being a typical three year old who still hasn't mastered the skill of restraining her awkward urges. But after reading this article, what I experienced as a youth would make anyone want to switch places and be a three year old being licked on.

When I was in primary I don't think I had bullying problems, but my memory from that age is pretty much gone or blocked. My trouble started when I entered my teen years. There were at least six culprits: two guys and two girls from my ward, my sister, and one or more girls from different wards. 

The guys in my ward were pretty much, I hate to say it, jerks. One, who was more a passive bully, would verbally abuse me any time I opened my mouth. By passive bully I mean someone who unknowingly or unintentionally bullies. This could be an aquantance, a classmate, or even a friend or family member. I would put the girl in the four year old class I substituted for in that category. I myself have accidentally found myself a passive bully and it wrecked my ten plus year friendship with my best friend. I didn't intentionally bully my best friend, I didn't even know we had problems until one day she confessed how she felt when she was with me. That was the last time I saw my friend. This really messed me up and made me more conscious of how I acted around people. And now, from that experience, I know how hurtful even unintentional bullying can.

The other boy- oh boy, that's a real long story that entangled my sister and the two girls in my ward. This other boy, I had a slight crush on (I don't know why, I didn't even really like the guy!!) At the time I kept a journal and had admitted this fact in it. One day my sister read that part of my journal (my sister was and still is a passive verbal bully) without my knowledge. A few weeks later the two girls in my ward started to spread rumors about me liking said boy without having any knowledge of what was written in my journal. 

The first girl was very much a verbal and physical bully and was the resident tyrant queen bee. I stayed away from her for the most part and avoided the physical aspect of her bullying, but couldn't escape the verbal abuse. (At one point said girl came back from a semester of college with a guy friend. Then, while driving and having three passengers in the car, proceeded to physically beat her guy friend with closed fists (and swerving around recklessly in the middle of the road).) 

The other girl, whom I call the side kick, was generally a nice girl, but was tragically influenced by the first girl to the point of almost making her into her personal slave. So she basically mimicked everything the first girl did, which made her rude and her actions hurtful. And most unfortunate, she bared the brunt of the queen bee's physical bullying.

On the day they were spreading their rumors they ran up to my sister (imagine two ditzy preppy school girls about ready to spill some juicy gossip) and flat out asked her if she knew that I liked said boy. And loudly, in the foyer of the church, crowded with people, my sister said "yes, I know. It's written in her diary!" I witnessed, a few yards away, the horridness of my personal, private feelings being broadcast for everyone in sight to hear. 

At that point, I felt my legs start to move. So horrified at what my sister did I didn't realize that I had sprinted into a run towards my sister and with all my body weight and a well positioned knee slammed her into a metal cabinet. Out of the corner of my eye I watched as the mean girls scurried off like sneaky, no good rats giggling and smirking, and looking over their shoulders with pointing eyes. I knew then that they were going to said boy and tell them that their rumor was true. 

Then began my year of hell. 

I was in middle school, and it so happened that said boy went to the same school, was in the same grade, was on the same team, shared some of the same classes, and the worst, walked to school the same route I did. Every day for a year, I would walk to school and have said boy and his buddies bully and tease me. Every day he'd say a snide comment, then ask, "so when are you gonna marry me?" And every day I showed a brave face and played it cool. "Oh not for a few more years." As it got worse, I went from "a million years from now" to "never". Looking back I'm surprised how well I managed at first to keep my cool, considering how I could never do that now. The teasing was relentless. Every time I saw one of them in PE, lunch, classes, after school, I got the same treatment. Then, at the end of the year it stopped. They tried to pick it up again the next year, but it was no longer interesting to them.

From then on I pretty much despised everyone in my Sunday school class. The interesting thing though, unlike in the article, I wasn't wanting to run away from the church. Most likely because I'd been blessed with SOME obedience to my parents and actually went to Sunday school. God blessed me in another way and I found myself being one of the few youth that went to Sunday school every Sunday. On those Sundays I learned and it was greatly lacking in noise of verbal teasing. When the bullies did show up to class none of them payed attention to the lesson. They were loud and disrespectful to the teacher. I, being hard of hearing, gave up on trying to listen to the lesson and spent most of my time and attention deflecting the verbal blows from the others.

By far my next worst bundle of bully crap happened at girl's camp. I love to camp, and I like the camp we were at every year for girl's camp, but I hated my age group. The tyrant queen bee had every one wrapped around her little finger. Those who were her closest friends became her worker bees and sniffed out their next victims. Because we were in the same ward, we all shared a tent, but there was enough room for other girls to bunk with us. If I had realized how miserable I was for those six years of camp, I would have gotten my own tent and staked it out in the loneliest spot on the camp ground. Through the week, each summer, I had this excitement to go to camp, only to remember later after getting there how much it sucks with the queen bee and her minions. Once a day, I found myself in tears, walking a lonely silent path that led to nowhere. Instead of making new friends I avoided everyone to escape with the pain I had. My last year of camp, I became a youth camp leader. The queen bee had already turned 18 so was too old attend that year. That year was my best year. The queen bee was gone, her minions dispersed, and I spent most of my days creating crafts and being a wonderful example to the younger girls.

As adults I don't see much bullying amongst each other, it's the youth and younger children I'm worried about.   I've watched the youth in my ward over the years go inactive to the point that, in the young women's program there is one regular active young women (who moved into the ward). Only a couple of the less active young women show up on occasion.

In our primary, we have a half dozen or so children that are difficult to handle during church. Many of them don't want to be there, some have behavior disabilities. They act up in class and sharing time, some are harmless to others, but some are inflicting pain on their fellow classmates. I know that in our ward there are only a few trouble makers, but in other areas, like Utah mentioned in the blog above, I know it's a lot worse.

Up until I read that blog, I didn't realize what had happened to me. It made me look back on my life and wondered what else I was oblivious to. Unfortunately, I don't have enough memory from that time, and before, to recall. By sharing the above blog and my own experiences, I hope as church members we can pay attention more to what bullying is happening around us and stop it. Church shouldn't have bullying, and it's sad when a place of worship does. I got lucky that the damage I received from bullying didn't affect my church attendance or my testimony, but not everyone is as lucky as me.

--Gretch

A New Perspective on Blessings

Lately I have been humbled by all of the blessings in my life- particularly in relation to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In this time of reflection, I often pause to look around me.  Some of the blessings I have been noticing have included:

• The gospel. I look at all the people around me who don't have the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. They don't understand that this life is a test and we should always strive to be improving. They don't understand that this life is short but the eternities are long. 

• The resurrection. I will get my body back again, in a perfect form, because Christ overcame death. My body can become a Celestial body. I know this because of the accounts in the scriptures. What a blessing those accounts were written and never lost. 

• The scriptures. So many people sacrificed their lives and time and reputations so that we could have sacred scripture to learn about Jesus Christ. What a tender mercy that they were preserved in the condition they were so that we could read truth. 

In some ways, one would say that I am grateful for the same old things everyone else is. But it is different this time. I view these things as tender mercies from our Heavenly Father. Things could have turned out so different: Joseph Smith could have said, "No thanks!" to restoring the gospel, Christ could have been resurrected and never shown himself to anyone, or the account could have been lost. But our Heavenly Father is a merciful God and he wants us to succeed, so He has given us so many tools to help us. And for that, I am grateful! 

--Jashley

Stopping My Inner "Mean Mom."

This year has been one of focused, positive growth on me personally. The last 3 or so years have been good, but I continually felt unfulfilled, unnourished, even empty at times. I decided to kick off 2014 with a big mental shift, and this has led to lots of other personal changes as well.

The one I want to discuss today is stopping my inner “mean mom.” I think we all know what our inner “mean mom” is, but let me share what that looks like in our house. The constant busyness, the endless “hurry ups!”, the yelling, and probably the worst, the “I’m busy, leave me alone.” Just typing this makes me relive all those “mean mom” moments.

After looking inwardly, I realized that these times when I was being, well frankly, mean, usually happened in one of four situations. Anytime I was running late, naptime & bedtime, & of course, mealtimes. While there were other random times during the day where I would quickly lose my temper, I found that these four times were routinely times that I would completely loose my cool and would ultimately do something I regretted immediately.

So, I started to make small changes to each of these four routine situations. Things like getting up 10 minutes earlier so I could help my son brush his teeth and get his shoes on, rather than leaving 10 minutes late in a huff.

I also decided that while I desperately needed alone time during the day, my son might not need a nap every day. Thus, we instituted “quiet play time.” This is basically time for him to play quietly in his room, and not to come out until I come and get him. Most days, he still falls asleep, but it is no longer a constant battle to get him to lay down and stay in his room. He’s in there for the duration of “quiet play time” whether he sleeps or plays- it is his choice.

Mealtimes have always been especially hard for me, because I really don’t like cooking. I don’t have very good cooking skills to begin with, and the 4 o’clock witching hour with my kids can be gruesome at times! Add being HUNGRY into the mix, and it’s not good. But, I knew that this was a daily occurrence, so I decided to just make the best of it. I went to Pinterest, and found simple, healthy crock pot meals, which have really changed dinnertime in our house! Getting to the awful 4 o’clock hour and smelling dinner cooking rather than dreading having to cook it allows me extra play time with my boys and just the boost of energy I need to get through the rest of the day!  

The one thing that has helped the most during the difficult times of the day has been consistent, daily scripture study. Feeding my soul and bringing the spirit into my home is the one thing that can truly help me keep my “mean mom” at bay.

In the most recent General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Linda S. Reeves said, “It is OK if the house is a mess and the children are still in their pajamas and some responsibilities are left undone. The only things that really need to be accomplished in the home are daily scripture study and prayer and weekly family home evening.”

Stopping my inner mean mom has been really hard. Some days are great- other days my inner “mean mom” wins and I go to bed looking forward to a fresh start in the morning.  It is hard to make changes in our life. It’s easy to see where we want to be, while still having no idea how to get there, or even how to start. The scriptures bring that peace and reassurance we need from the Lord in order to do what may feel is completely impossible.

How do I know this? Tonight we are having slow cooker baked ziti, and 2 months ago I didn’t even know what “ziti” was.

Sunshine is the antidote

We live in Seattle and we love it! Everyone makes fun of us and says that we never see the sun, and I have all kinds of counterarguments, but sometimes it actually is true. And those are the days we all crazy! I get cranky, the kids get antsy and start destroying things, and somehow nothing gets done even though we've been inside all day.

But then we get a sunny day! We head outside because we can't resist and everything is instantly better. Thankfully our neighbors love the sound of our kids laughing. But I've realized in the midst of jumping on the trampoline and swinging what it is about a beautiful day that lifts our spirits so profoundly - we are surrounded by God's creations; somehow we've transcended the everyday drudgery of being stuck inside only to be immersed in the things our loving Father in Heaven has made for us. Only outside is my mind so clear, my priorities so straight, and  my joy so full, and I know that's what God wants for us. His way is so perfect and what better way to recognize it than to be near what He's made?

Naptime

We’ve been having some nap problems at our house. Let me tell you, there is
something about nap problems that puts me over the edge—I can handle a lot of
trouble, but when naps are missed/shortened/interrupted—I flip a lid. Sometimes I
think Tommy’s lack of daytime sleep affects me more than it affects him.

Anyway, like I said, we have been having some nap problems at our house. For a
while now, the babe will wake up about an hour into his afternoon nap. I will rush
upstairs and hold him for about a minute, after which he will close his bleary eyes
and I will put him down to finish up his nap. I know, I know—this is a bad habit. But
it is just so easy to hold him for one or two minutes rather than go through a week of
listening to him cry for an hour to figure it out.

BUT! I have been thinking about the day that I need to just let him figure out how to
go back to sleep on his own. It will be good for him, and good for me. I won’t have
to be sure that the cookies aren’t in the oven when he’s about to wake up (etc etc). I
was thinking just these thoughts when I heard the familiar cry (right in the middle
of making bread, of course) and walked up the stairs thinking that this would be the
last time (maybe) and that I needed to put my foot down about this particular nap
problem. He needs to get over me holding him every day to help him back to sleep.
And then I held him and rocked him by his crib. He almost immediately closed his
eyes in sleep. I looked at his perfect skin. I looked at his pink cheeks, and his lips
slightly puckered. I looked at the wrinkle lines on his neck from his toddler chub.
I felt his steady breathing in and out. I felt him relax in my arms and lean in to my
chest. And I thought, you know? What is the problem with my little boy needing a
little extra comfort from his mom to help him sleep peacefully? He will not always
want me to cradle him in my arms to make him feel better. In that moment I had
a distinct feeling that all too soon I will remember these interrupted nap snuggles
with fondness.

So I stood there and held my perfect, sleeping boy and thought about how great it is
that he wants his mom to hold him for a few minutes every day.

- CARSON

Peace and Goodwill

"Our feelings toward the world of mankind, generally, ought to be the same as Jesus manifested to them.  He sought to promote their welfare, and our motto ought ever to be the same as His was - "peace on earth and good will to men".

I recently read this quote by President John Taylor, and I couldn't help but think about what my feelings are toward mankind, and what more I can do to promote the welfare of those around me.  There are so many people in the world who are burdened down with sorrow, pain, addiction, and every kind of affliction.  It's often easy for me to focus on the problems in my own life, instead of seeking to understand those around me and working to ease their burdens.  Even when I know of a struggle someone has I tell myself that they will feel uncomfortable if I try to help them, that I have nothing to offer them, or that someone who knows them better can help them better than I can. 

We are placed here on earth surrounded by God's children for a reason.  We are not meant to live next to each other, or merely coexist.  We must learn to help one another, get to know one another, LOVE ONE ANOTHER.  President George Albert Smith said that "our eternal happiness will be in proportion to the way that we devote ourselves to helping others."  Heavenly Father wants us to love and serve one another, and he has given each of us the skill and opportunities necessary to participate in His work of promoting "peace on earth and good will to men".  He knows each of us perfectly, and knows who needs our help. He will tell us what we can do, but we must be willing to act. As we do we will truly be able to follow the example of our Savior, to "succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees" (D&C 81:5). This is our responsibility as women of God.

Our Savior's Sacrifice and Love

As we get closer and closer to Easter, I find myself thinking more about our Savior and His love for us.  One of my favorite conference talks ever given focuses on the Atonement of our Savior.  It was given by Bruce R. McConkie in 1985 and is entitled “The Purifying Power of Gethsame.” In this talk, Elder McConkie lays out a very detailed description of Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. After hearing such a deeply moving account of our Savior’s final days on the earth, I cannot doubt the love He has for us. Elder McConkie relates:

"Two thousand years ago, outside Jerusalem’s walls, there was a pleasant garden spot, Gethsemane by name, where Jesus and his intimate friends were wont to retire for pondering and prayer.

This sacred spot, like Eden where Adam dwelt, like Sinai from whence Jehovah gave his laws, like Calvary where the Son of God gave his life a ransom for many, this holy ground is where the Sinless Son of the Everlasting Father took upon himself the sins of all men on condition of repentance.

We do not know, we cannot tell, no mortal mind can conceive the full import of what Christ did in Gethsemane. We know he sweat great gouts of blood from every pore as he drained the dregs of that bitter cup his Father had given him. We know he suffered, both body and spirit, more than it is possible for man to suffer, except it be unto death. We know that in some way, incomprehensible to us, his suffering satisfied the demands of justice, ransomed penitent souls from the pains and penalties of sin, and made mercy available to those who believe in his holy name.

We know that he lay prostrate upon the ground as the pains and agonies of an infinite burden caused him to tremble and would that he might not drink the bitter cup.

As near as we can judge, these infinite agonies—this suffering beyond compare—continued for some three or four hours.

After this—his body then wrenched and drained of strength—he confronted Judas and the other incarnate devils, some from the very Sanhedrin itself; and he was led away with a rope around his neck, as a common criminal, to be judged by the arch-criminals who as Jews sat in Aaron’s seat and who as Romans wielded Caesar’s power."

To visualize exactly what our Savior went through, to hear how much He suffered, and to feel the Spirit testify of these truths, I cannot doubt of His love for each of us. How could we doubt this with everything that he went through? I know our Savior loves us, and I know that His atoning sacrifice was for us. I hope that as we go about our crazy, busy lives, we will never forget that we are loved. And I hope that we also will never take the sacred experience of the Atonement for granted, but utilize it as we go through our trials, repentance, and hardships. 

Loving Others As Christ Does

Hi! I'm Kate and I'm really excited about this blog. I often get overwhelmed by all the terrible things going on in the world, so I'm really excited about adding some good.

So here is my good for the month...

I feel that women, in general, are quick to judge others. Maybe part of this quality is there to help us protect our children for potentially dangerous circumstances. But mostly, this habit needs to stop. Personally, I need to purge myself of this. Lately, I've been trying to understand rather than judge. As I try to see things from a different point of view, I find myself loving those who are different from me. 

I just assume that most people are simply doing the best they can. Most people are doing a much better job than I would under the same circumstances. 

Our Savior knows everything about everyone and He loves unconditionally. Why do we, who know very little about those around us, feel inclined to judge? I hope we, myself included, can learn to see others the way the Savior does.

Overcoming Trials

Hi there!  I'm Anna, one of Cherstin's sisters-in-law.  I am delighted to have been invited to post on this wonderful new blog she has created, and I hope it will become a source of inspiration and light to many women!

I had the opportunity yesterday to enjoy some time at the beach nearby our home with some family members; my sister's family, who were visiting for the week from Arizona, and my brother's family, who live nearby.  As our little kiddoes were happily turning themselves into sand monsters, and our bigger kiddoes were enthralled with finding artifacts in the sand using the metal detector their uncle had brought, us girls enjoyed a rare chance to just sit and visit.  In the course of our conversation, the topic turned to Elizabeth Smart.  My sister-in-law shared with us a bit about the book she had been reading by her, entitled, "My Story".  After having just been discussing this amazing woman, I was pleasantly surprised to also see a quote by her in a handout that was given at church today!

One thing that happened after her 9 month ordeal with her kidnappers particularly impressed me.  Her mother took her aside and counselled her to not let this man who had done so much evil to her take another second of her life away.  Elizabeth took this to heart and has gone on to live a wonderful and productive life.  She is a great advocate and spokesperson for those who have been abused or hurt, and has been able to show many, many people that despite the worst the world will throw at them, they have the power to rise up and let the healing light and hope of Christ's atonement into their lives and hearts.

I love the scripture in Romans 8:28;  "All things work together for good, to them that love God."

Even when we have difficult trials in our lives, or we may not understand why something is happening to us, if we do our best to show God our love for him, our burdens can be turned in to blessings, for us, or others around us.  We don't always see the master picture, but the Master does, and we can take great comfort in knowing that he is always there for us.

Elizabeth Smart said: "It is not what happens to us, but how we react that determines the rest of our life."

I am grateful for her example and many other women in my life, who, regardless of their circumstances, stay close to the Lord and bless the lives of all whom they come in contact with. I hope that all of us can remember the famous quote; "10% of life is what happens to us.  90% is how we react!"

Anna is a periodical contributor for 'Strength in Charity'

Welcome! and let us Be Unified

Welcome to 'Strength in Charity'!  We hope that you enjoy our posts of uplifting material to strengthen and encourage. We know how difficult living in this world can be and we hope we can offer some respite from the negativity of the world. Enjoy!

This past weekend was the General Women's Meeting for my church,The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One of the talks was especially amazing! It was about how we need to be unified as women. I couldn't think of a better intro to this blog. We need to stop looking at all of our differences and focus more on loving others and not judging others.  The more we can show Charity towards other women, the better this world can be.  You are all my sisters, and I love you all.

You can find the talk  here

I especially liked :

"The adversary would have us be critical or judgmental of one another. He wants us to concentrate on our differences and compare ourselves to one another. We as women can be particularly hard on ourselves. When we compare ourselves to one another, we will always feel inadequate or resentful of others."  -- Bonnie L. Oscarson

 "The point is, we simply cannot call ourselves christian and continue to judge one another or ourselves so harshly. There is nothing that is worth losing our compassion and sisterhood over." --Patricia T. Holland

Welcome to Strength in Charity. We hope that you will feel enlightened while you read our messages. And remember, God loves each of you.