TJ Hirst

I delight in watching children discover life. They react over and over again to their new circumstances, many of which seem trite and ordinary to us.

When my first baby discovered her reflection in a full-length mirror she was meeting a new playmate, a little person with a big grin who was just her size. After several such playdates, I sat beside her and showed us together in the mirror. Then she understood that she was the new friend.

It was even more fascinating when she discovered dreams just before age three. She said, “Momma, I had stories in my head while I was asleep. I was in the story and there were cars, too.”

Children thrive on such everyday experiences that we adults just gloss over as commonplace. Yet, uncommon observations of common circumstances create stories!

This post at Just an Orange sparked my thought process about stories. Allysha said, “Telling stories is essential. It is a way to transmit truths. It is a way to understand ourselves and others.”

Observing everyday experiences and everyday people with child-like perspective and questions will uncover those truths and understanding. The story is a way to tell it.

We often say, “Everybody has a story.” But sadly, we often just look to only “newsworthy” people or outrageous stories and miss the truth waiting to be revealed in seemingly ordinary people. I am inspired by an example of this and other efforts to capture these stories.

The goal of Everyday Biography, which appears on this website on Wednesday, is to discover truths and understanding from the circumstances and lives of everyday people and to share their stories in writing.

^{Interested in reading more? Support from the Sky: A Veteran’s Story is the first series in this category.
Interested in contributing to Everyday Biography? Please contact TJ for guidelines.}

^{Have you taken my poll on Finding What Inspires? I would love your feedback.}

feedback: n. 2. The return of information about the result of a process or activity; an evaluative response.

My husband surprised me with this website for Christmas. (Well, it’s a hobby isn’t it?) I’ve been writing, and he’s been helping me as his gift ever since. It’s a team effort, even though he is mostly in the background.

I am big on feedback. I know from Google Analytics that you are out there reading, but comments are kind of slim so I’m not sure what you think.

May I ask?

Will you take a look around? Check out my pages, my favorite posts, and other post categories you might like. Then, answer the poll and/or leave a comment with your opinion on Finding What Inspires.

 Loading …

Welcome to March! The hope of a new season sparks new ideas.

I am trying out a new posting schedule to give variety and continuity to my site. I am not publicly announcing all of that schedule, yet, so I can maintain some flexibility. Check out my daily posts and see if you can figure out the pattern.

On Saturdays I will Share A Find. A FIND is something that inspires me: books, music, movies, web sites, recipes, products. That doesn’t mean I endorse every FIND that I review—just that when I read it, heard it, saw it, used it or created it, a light bulb went on in some way for me. And that is what I will share: the FIND that turned the light bulb on and why I was inspired.

Here’s my FIND this week:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a new web site about Jesus Christ.

If you are not a member of a Christian religion . . .

You may want to visit to learn who helps me and millions of others become the people who we are. Jesus Christ is my Exemplar. I hope that in following the example of Jesus Christ that my light will brighten others’ lives, regardless of religion.

If you are a member of another Christian denomination . . .

You may want to know what makes our faith similar to yours. I believe in Jesus Christ as my Redeemer. Through daily gospel living I build my faith in Him.

If you are a member of the LDS church . . .

Have you found this site? If you haven’t visited, yet, be sure to spend some time there. Often we, as members, gloss over the excellent resources furnished from official LDS sources. Viewing these images of Christ and reading the words of His special witnesses strengthens my knowledge that it is through Jesus Christ that weak things in me become strong.

March is a month of hope, and I plan to return and enjoy bits and pieces of this site periodically through the month to renew my hope as I watch the world awaken from the winter.