Author

Lecture Categories
(each lecture lasts from 45-60 minutes)

• Legal
• Life Coaching
• Home & Family
• Youth
• Religious
• Education Week

Merrilee lecturing at BYU Education Week in Provo, Utah (almost 1000 attended with hundreds turned away due to limited seating)

LEGAL   Estate Planning: What Happens When I Die or Become Disabled? We will review what are living trusts, wills, community property agreements, and durable powers of attorney to plan for death and disability. We will also discuss estate taxes and probate and answer questions from the audience. Free consultations available. Being Financially Prepared We will review all aspects of being prepared with finances including savings, investing, budgeting, estate planning, etc. LIFE COACHING We Can Stare Our Fears in the Eye and Win We will discuss the various types of fears and their effect on our enjoyment of life and then develop specific ways to deal with them. Wipe Out Worries and Win Peace We will analyze four areas which can cause worry: problem ownership, perspective, patience, and peace. Dealing with these, we can liberate ourselves from paralyzing worry. Enjoy to the End! (for women only) We will explore overcoming guilt and releasing the burden of worldly perfection and rediscover our ability to play. You CAN play without guilt! Making a Difference In Our Community We will discuss the Prophet’s emphasis on serving our neighbors and on being an influence for good in our communities and how this fits in with this part of our lives. Midlife “Evaluation” not Crisis or the “What’s Next?” or “ Is This All There Is?” Syndromes… We will discuss the changes we face in midlife that shows up in two ways and how to jump-start our engines to have a fulfilling and rich second half of our lives. Get Control of “I’m SO Busy, I Don’t Have Time For That!” We will analyze how we use our time and how to add new learning and risk-taking into our lives. There will be specific emphasis on choices and trying new directions. We will discuss conscious direction of our lives. Banish Chaos-Organizing Home and Family In this lecture, we will learn specific ways to overcome disorganization in our homes and lives so that we can feel free to enjoy them without being controlled by them. Move Forward! We’ll talk about setting direction to our lives and adding speed and energy to get our lives moving forward effectively. The 6 Steps of Power Networking In this lecture, we will review 6 powerful steps to increase your networking skills. This will change both your business and personal connections in a dramatic way. Overwhelmed and Outnumbered – Finding Balance We will talk about how we can deal with the stresses that burden us and relief through balancing body, mind, and spirit. Eliminate the Three C’s: Comparing, Conforming, and Competing  We will discuss strategies for overcoming our tendencies to compare, conform, and compete with exciting, positive methods for moving forward in our lives. You’re STRONGER than You Think You Are  We are all confronted with adversity, fearful situations, and challenges in our life that we wonder if we’ll ever be able to handle. In this class, we’ll discuss principles to help us cope with these situations and will be encouraged to draw on the strength we have and is available to us from our Savior. We are strong! Standing Up in a Sit-Down World  We live in a world that promotes apathy. We will discuss how to boldly stand for truth and righteousness in the latter-days and to make a difference by actively doing good. Each of us is capable of amazing influence and leadership in the latter days. Finding Tranquility—Even in the Midst of Turmoil  We live in an incredibly stressful time and our lives are enormously busy. It’s very difficult to find tranquility and peace in the latter days. We will discuss how to nourish our soul and lift and improve the quality of our lives as we seek out virtue. Making Changes in Your Community  We will discuss ideas on how to get involved in our communities and neighborhoods. We’ll also explore ways to be more effective in making changes to improve our community and improve the moral environment we live in. How to Get Elected to Political Office  We will discuss how to run for political office of any kind and how to support those good leaders who choose to do so. This discussion will go across all partisan lines and focus on the variety of ways we can serve in the political process. Using the Internet and Other Tools for Changing Your Community and Politics  We will discuss using the internet and other tools available to us to create change in our communities and to support good causes around the world. Building Your Network to Get Things Done—Personally and for Your Community  We will discuss banding together to support good throughout the world. We will focus on building networks to increase our power to influence for good. We’ll discuss the power of influence in depth and explore the power of networks in our personal life and in doing good in the community. HOME & FAMILY Ten Do’s & Don’ts of Wifehood We will discuss the unique role of being a wife with specific helps on what to do and on what not to do… But How Do I Change My Husband?!? We’ll explore how to communicate with our husbands to cause change and how to change ourselves. We’ll learn how to understand them and help them grow. How to Be a Fun Living Wife We will enjoy a fun class on bringing fun and spice into being a fun-living wife. How to Combine “He” and “She” & Not Lose “The Real Me” We’ll talk about personal development after marriage… The Parents’ Owners’ Manual They Forgot to Give You We will discuss the purposes of parenting, how we can develop our parenting philosophy, using the family to achieve our parenting goals, and practical aspects to raising kids. Training Children to Be Independent We’ll discuss how to have a plan for training our children to be independent by age 18. This will focus on life skills and we’ll discuss ways to get our children to work (beyond chore charts) and how to modify these as the kids get older. Teaching Children about Money – Exposing the ATM Makes Money Myth! Children need to learn to manage their money and we’ll explore everything from allowances to jobs to saving for college or missions. We’ll be discussing the practical how-to’s involved in the process. Parental Potpourri – Surviving Day to Day We will talk about practical tips for running a family to provide ideas for class members to modify and incorporate into their families including communication tips, organizational ideas, family home evening planning, etc. Eliminate the Three C’s: Comparing, Conforming, and Competing We will discuss the negative impacts of comparing, conforming, and competing and how to reduce them in our lives. We’ll explore ways to see the truth in ourselves and in reaching our destiny. My Kids are So Different!  We will discuss the uniqueness of each child and how to raise them to appreciate their gifts and strengths. We will focus on the positive aspects of their uniqueness and how to deemphasize comparisons on the home. Teaching Kids Discipleship through Service We will talk about the importance of teaching children to serve. We’ll also explore many ideas for family service and how this can teach children charity and love. Your Home—Heavenly Haven or Chaotic Craziness? The home environment is key to raising children. We’ll discuss how to have a house of learning, feeling loved, having the Spirit, developing unity, and maintaining order. How to Train Your Kids to Be Leaders What an exciting part of parenting!! Our children will be the leaders of the future in our families, churches, community, and the world. Part of our parenting needs to include the skills and training they need to do that effectively. We start when they’re very little and build upon that until they are amazing, prepared leaders of tomorrow. Teach Your Kids to Use the Spirit in Leadership As we train our children to be leaders, we need the skills to help them be leaders who are tuned to the Spirit. We will discuss practical and positive ways to help them feel the Spirit, to grow their lives in that direction and to focus on the great leader, Jesus Christ. YOUTH Will the Real “Me” Please Stand Up? Embracing individuality. We’ll explore how to be true to your real personality and to be confident and strong with yourself. From Cowardly to Courageous We’ll talk about the various types of fears which prevent youth from taking charge of their lives and then develop specific ways to deal with them. They’ll never be the same again. Use Your Own Flashlight through those Mists of Darkness We’ll talk about how to use the Holy Ghost to guide us in standing for truth in a dark world and how to then lead others. Don’t Just Be Good, Be Good for Something! We will learn specific ways to be an influence for good in our communities and how one person can make a tremendous difference in society. RELIGIOUS TOPICS Consecration – The Blueprint for Living We will discuss commitment and consecration to gain a deeper understanding of what it is and how we can apply this principle more fully in our lives. We will move toward become more fully consecrated to building up the kingdom of God. Making a Difference in the World We will discuss the Prophet’s emphasis on serving our neighbors and on being an influence for good in our communities and how this fits in with this part of our lives. Standing for Light and Truth in a Dark World In the latter days, each of us will be called to stand up for truth. We will discuss the why and how of taking a vital stand for righteousness. Finding Your Own Path for Dedicated Living Many of us wonder where to start and how we fulfill our particular mission in life. We will talk about how to discover our personal path and how to follow that path. Emulating Christ’s Strengths We’ll discuss the great strengths exhibited by Christ and how we can emulate those attributes in our own lives by standing up for truth and righteousness in the ways that He did. Making Weakness into Strength We’ll talk about how to analyze our spiritual weaknesses and how to rely on the Lord to help us turn these into strengths. We’ll discuss eliminating fear and trusting in the Lord and listening to the Spirit as He helps us to grow. Be True to Your Individual Strengths We’ll discuss identifying our individual strengths both spiritually and in our personalities. We’ll then discuss how we can use these abilities and gifts to bless those around us and help build the kingdom. Gather Strength through Daily Living We’ll talk about our spiritual habits and incorporating the Spirit into our everyday lives so that we can gather the spiritual and emotional strength we need to survive in today’s world. Building a Relationship with Christ We will learn how to build a relationship with Christ that goes beyond surface understanding and commitment. As we explore this relationship, we’ll discuss practical applications of living our testimony of the Savior and not just having one. Protecting Another’s Name We’ll discuss the great importance of how we speak of each other and treat one another. This simple principle is one of the most revealing to determine if we are committed to living like Christ. The Yardstick of Our Testimony We’ll review how to measure our testimony by the Lord’s standard as detailed in Matthew 25:40. We’ll discuss how our treatment of the least of our brethren can be improved to better reflect our commitment. Obedience with Exactness We will talk about increasing our obedience to the Savior’s commandments and how this will result in an increased testimony of Him. This will include how to apply this principle to our everyday living. Repentance and Forgiveness – The Lord’s Cleansing Process We’ll talk about the purpose of repentance and why forgiveness is such an important element of this principle. We’ll also discuss becoming clean and improving in a daily basis as we move toward sanctification. Learning from the Holy Ghost We’ll discuss the ways the Holy Ghost communicates with us and how we can learn from the spirit to be attuned with Heavenly Father’s will in our lives. Obedience – The Key to Receiving Blessings We will learn about obedience and the Lord’s use of consequences. We’ll focus on why we should be obedient and the blessings that flow from choosing the right. Living in the Latter Days and Battling the Adversary We have been sent here in the latter days as valiant spirits reserved to lead the fight against Satan. We’ll discuss the practical applications of what that means to us in our lives. We’ll answer the question, “What was I sent here to do in the battle?”

Life Coach

Councilmember / Community Activist

Wife, Mom, Woman