Love is a Verb Known for her wit and wisdom, Mary Ellen Edmunds writes about all the ways to show love, to give love, to be love. From the first chapter by the same title all the way through the chapter "Charity Never Faileth," Love is a Verb is filled with charm and insight that Mary Ellen conveys through personal experiences she has felt, observed, and acted upon over the years. We learn from watching others, and mostly they don't know they're providing a learning experience for us. She tells about touching and tender moments with people who have been examples of Christ-like love. She also tells of funny incidents with people who have brought pure joy to others through love and laughter. Mary Ellen teaches that charity, the pure love of Christ, is something everyone deserves to experience — by both giving it and receiving it. Happiness: Finders Keepers Happiness. What is it, and where can it be found? Is it an ideal to be hoped for in the next life, or a reality to be sought here and now? "To me there was never a time when we had a greater need for happiness and for the peace, contentment, serenity, hope, gratitude, and joy that are part of it," writes Mary Ellen Edmunds. In Happiness: Finders, Keepers, she offers a wealth of practical, cheery, spirit-filled suggestions for living a happier life. Since our Father in Heaven's plan is "the great plan of happiness," and since one of the reasons for our very existence is that we "might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25), it's clear that we're meant to be happy right now, here, today! We can do so, even in the midst of trials, if we understand the true nature of this heavenly gift. "I am convinced that even with the heavy burdens, the awful injustices, and the tragedies in the world, there is happiness all around us," writes the author. "We must be the finders and the keepers — those who are aware of and who cherish this holy, abundant blessing." Overcoming stress, maintaining a sense of humor, remembering our blessings, feeling gratitude — these are just some of the paths to happiness discussed in this delightful book. Warm personal stories and solid insights from the scriptures and the words of Church leaders help shape our perspective. The message is one of hope: There are things we can do and feel that will make us almost instantly happier. As Mary Ellen says: "May we remember that we already chose the great plan of happiness, but we need to choose it again, hour after hour and day after day, through all our earthly experiences. . . . If we will, we can live happily ever after!" Peculiar in a Good Way Being peculiar is not about horns," begins bestselling author Mary Ellen Edmunds. In this humorous but thought-provoking book, she explores what really makes "a peculiar people" and what sets us apart as a distinct and different from the rest of the world. "Others surely do notice things about us" she states, "so what would it be like if we could be depended upon to live what we believe every inch an minute of our lives?" Using scriptures and personal experiences to help explain our uniqueness, Mary Ellen presents a positive and upbeat approach to making little changes that will help us strive to become better when we're already pretty good.
