It is definitely the season of “more”. More service. More thoughtfulness. More snow. We finally got our first snow of the year, and it was worth the wait. Being from Wyoming, I enjoy getting inches of white stuff. I especially love when the combination of new snow and low clouds creates a nighttime glow.

But this season can also be a time of more frustration. More stress. More hurry. I have been thinking about which types of “more” I want to cultivate.

I came across an unexpected kind this morning. I found it in Mark 9:31-32.

The phrase “they…were afraid to ask him” hit me hard. I know what it feels like to be afraid to ask. Do you?

A co-worker of mine recently shared an experience she had on her mission. She was called to serve in a totally different location, language, and culture than what she was raised in. It was hard! She struggled. She prayed for help. Her answer was unexpected.

She was nudged to ask her questions at church. Be vulnerable. Share her hard. How scary is that? But she pushed past the fear and asked. Even though, as a missionary she felt she was supposed to be the one with the answers. And you know what? It worked! She got her answer from others as they “[met] together oft…and [spoke] one with another concerning the welfare of their souls” (Moroni 6:5). That lesson has continued to bless her through her life as she asks.

I have thought about that a lot.

I have also thought about something President Russell M. Nelson said in the April 2018 General Conference. In his first main address to all the world after he was sustained as the Prophet, President Nelson encouraged, “What wisdom do you lack? What do you feel an urgent need to know or understand?…Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort….Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know.”

I want to be more like my friend. I want more courage to ask my questions, of both the Lord and others. I want more bravery to share my own thoughts and worries. I also want to trust more in God’s timing, because sometimes the answers take a while. I wonder what “more” the early apostles would have learned had they asked their questions at that moment.

What more am I missing because I am “afraid to ask”?

**In case you are interested, here is the link to President Nelson’s talk.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/04/revelation-for-the-church-revelation-for-our-lives?lang=eng

What my blog and baseball have in common.

I have been told before that I should write a blog. I even dipped my toes in the blog pool for a minute. I enjoyed it. However, life with young kids tends to pull a mom in directions other than in front of the computer. So I never got in too deep. Well, now that some of those kids are adults, I feel the pull to write renewed.

As I thought about a blog, I debated what to call it. How do you name a place where you hope to share your thoughts and musings? Seems pretty daunting honestly. Interesting that my mind turned to baseball. Let me explain.

As I write, my husband, son, and an untold number of their fellow Atlanta Braves baseball fans bask in the glow of victory. Their team just won the World Series. I am not a die-hard fan like my loved ones. However, in the vernacular of the sport there is a term I find interesting – the sweet spot. It is the magical place on the bat where you want to hit the ball. Not only will doing so prevent your hand from stinging from the impact of the hit, but it provides the greatest trajectory. In short, you hit the ball farthest if you hit it in the sweet spot.

That is how I want to live. I want to find that place where I will get the most out of life. I want to do the most good that I can. I want to become the best “me” I can. And deep down, don’t we all want that? Don’t we all want to live in the sweet spot of our lives?

Now, this does not mean that everything is perfect and nothing bad ever happens. Au contraire. How would we even know when we are in the sweet spot if we have never felt the sting of a bad hit or never watched a ball drift foul? Nope, living in the sweet spot encompasses the whole gamut of the game of life. The heartaches. The joys. Even the occasional rain delay. Bring it on. We learn from it. We fine-tune our skills. We try again. And again. And again.

So that is what I hope this bog will be. A place where you and I can explore what it means to live in the sweet spot of life. Join me.