March 18, 2026
Art above by Yongsung Kim
Hello friends! How are you? I hope life is flowing along for you in paths that are beautiful and light-filled, full of spring sounds and color.
In our neck of the woods, it feels like we barely had a winter. One snowfall is all we’ve seen so far in the valley, with more snow in the mountains, but to date we have a significant deficit of alpine snowpack and have been experiencing unusually warm temperatures all winter. To say we are a little concerned about our watershed for the summer would be an understatement. As a result, the earth is waking a little earlier than usual, with many fruit trees already in bloom. Currently, our crocuses are coming up, daffodils are in full splendor, and I’m anxiously watching our tulips, only triangular blades of leaf right now, pushing through the soil. Last fall I planted 150 bulbs into some tough ground. It was a labor of love (and hope!). I cannot wait to see them open in springtide glory!
We’ve had a busy month. Eliza came home from her LDS mission in Fresno, CA end of February. She loved the people she served there with every ounce of her blazing soul. She misses her friends in Cali so much and misses missionary work. It’s not easy to be ripped out of a world you finally feel you understand and are thriving in, only to be dropped back into an old world, but you’re not the old you. You know? She is figuring it out, doing some nannying, and looking forward to summer classes. She is fluent in Spanish and wishes she were Latina in every way. She loves the culture deeply and it is so fun to hear her speak to friends in español. With her return, a bright light barreled into our home brinigng lots of hugs, and a steady goodness which has been so happy.
Ali started her mission this week and is currently doing mission training at home via zoom until her designated drop off date next week at the Mission Training Center (MTC). She will be serving in Montana! Right now “Home MTC” is long hours and not the most effective for connecting with others (we hear Home MTC might be going away?) she is excited to be starting and cannot wait to share her love and personal witness of Jesus with those she will meet. I believe her empathetic and sensitive spirit will be a great gift to those she works with. She has eyes to see others and understand their hearts and I am praying with energy for her as she starts this new and rather radical season of discipleship and selflessness.
Sami (Ali’s twin) will begin her mission to Canada in May. More on that later. It’s a revolving door round these parts right now! 🙂
On the Easter front, I am loving Lent this year. It has been such a season of respite for me (even though it usually feels rather austere and hard in its own ways.) Ali and I kicked off our Lent by attending an Ash Wednesday service at our local Presbyterian church and the service was so beautiful. We participated in the imposition of ashes and as the pastor placed a cross of ash on our foreheads, I was reminded so powerfully of my own mortality and limitations, my need for constant turning to Jesus and repentance. “From dust we came and unto dust we will return.” It was like a sigh of relief to stop during our busy day and rest for a moment in a pew, sing with other believers, and reflect on what we wanted our Lenten weeks to look like.
In other news, I have spent the last year writing a book about Lent, Holy Week, and Eastertide that will offer readings and traditions for the entire season with an invitation to find belonging with Jesus. The book is almost finished and I hope to have it available by Lent 2027. I will keep you posted! I have learned so much, spent so many hours studying, learning, wrestling through certain chapters, and being enlightened. I have learned many things from the Spirit during this effort. It has brought me closer to my Savior, my love for Him has increased ten-fold and beyond, and I have felt so grateful to my Christian friends of other faiths, for the devoted ways they celebrate and honor Easter. I believe Easter can be a time to come together as Christians and lean upon each other, learn from one another, and unite in our common love for the resurrected Jesus. I love this comment President Russell M. Nelson made once during a press conference.
“We… are brothers and sisters – all part of the same divine family… simply stated, we strive to build bridges…We are all connected and we have a God-given responsibility to make life better for those around us. We don’t have to be alike or look alike to have love for each other.”
I spent some time Sunday writing an article about “Journeying Toward Easter” that ran today on ldsmag.com. I will link to it here:
Included in the article is an explanation of where we are on the Christian calendar right now, the meaning of Lent, as well as its colors and symbols, five tips for making Holy Week work for you and/or your family, and a list of links to resources and tools I’ve seen popping up this year that may be helpful to your preparations for Holy Week.
Art by J. Kirk Richards
Below is our Holy Week Study Guide and Traditions, which I did not update this year because I’ve had my head buried trying to finish this book, but hopefully next year, you will have new pages, gospel insights, and stories to rest in as you prepare for Holy Week. There will also be new ideas for traditions, other amazing resources, and some gorgeous new art you will love, painted by my friend Rebekah Smith, which I am SO excited about!
Holy Week Study Guide & Traditions
Reach out to me if you have any questions. I know I have not updated my blog on the regular in years now, but I so appreciate those of you who still come here and read, and have joined me for over a decade now in an effort to make Easter meaningful. I love you!
xoxo
cath
