Designed for You

Hey there, my fellow Westfield women!

I hope you are having a wonderful day filled with lots of light and love!  Yes, I know first hand that not everyday feels joyful and splendid.  Sometimes you just want to tell the world to take its joy somewhere else because you're "just not feeling it today."  Right?  Sometimes we get this way simply because the joy of life seems to be taking a vacation from our personal lives.  We all want to feel it, but when it's too hard to get we have a knack for letting it pass us by.  That's at least how I feel on occasion.

Some of you may be feeling this way now for various reasons:

• Your finals are trying to do you in 
• All  your closest friends have a significant other and/or are getting married leaving you to wonder why you're still single 
• You're tired of riding an emotional roller coaster 
• You just want to eat that beautiful brownie sundae even though it  might make you feel terrible later 
• You have no idea what's happening

And maybe you really are having a ridiculously good day and want to sing Christmas songs while you skip down the street!  (I might do that later...  Don't judge, I know you all secretly want to.)

Nevertheless, I read a little something, something this morning that I wanted to share with all of you.

"On this upward and sometimes hazardous journey, each of us meets our share of daily challenges.  If we are not careful, as we peer through the narrow lens of self-interest, we may feel that life is bringing us more than our fair share of trials--that somehow others seem to be getting off more lightly.
But the tests of life are tailored for our own best interests, and all will face the burdens best suited to their own mortal experience.  In the end we will realize that god is merciful as well as just and that all the rules are fair.  We can be reassured that our challenges will be the ones we needed, and conquering them will bring blessings we could have received in no other way."
-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Created for Greater Things

It amazes me how each trial we face, big or small, suits us perfectly.  In all honestly, that's probably what makes it a trial.  The things you face every day are very specifically designed for you.  So, next time a trial tries to knock you down, remember Heavenly Father loves you enough to design a trial to meet your exact needs.

On another note, there are only a couple of days left of November to dig a little deeper into knowledge.  Hopefully you've all been learning some fascinating things.

"God gave you moral agency and the opportunity to learn while on Earth, and He has a work for you to do.  To accomplish this work you have an individual responsibility to seek learning."
-Sister Mary N. Cook

Don't forget about our "Popluck" and movie night while we make blankets tonight!  (See Facebook for details)

Sunshine can always be found!
Lots of love,
Mallary

Dig Into Knowledge

Hello friends!

I just wanted to send a reminder to all of you to keep working on some goals with "increasing in wisdom", especially for the month of November, to go along with our "Digging a Little Deeper" journals. 

There are so many ways we can improve in this area. I know for one thing, my mother has been a wonderful example of being a life-long learner. She only received an Associates degree from BYU years ago, but I'd say she has earned multiple degrees since by all she has learned, just without a diploma:). I have learned much from her about various facts about different states in our country, other countries throughout the world, cultures, gardening, great books, and more, simply because she loves to learn. She is one of the happiest people I know, and is always full of gratitude for what we do have, and I love her for it!

I love the scripture in D&C 88:118, "seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith". There are so many resources readily available to us to help us learn anything we could ever want to know. There are so many around us we can learn much from as well. I hope we can learn to teach one another, to share the knowledge and wisdom we've gained over the years freely, all to make life less difficult for each other. Isn't that what it's all about?

I love you all so much, and hope you feel that! May the Lord bless you to feel His love more in your life as you do your best to follow Him! Have a great week, and a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Love,  

Camille

Conference Sunshine

So, I don't know about all of you, but I've been thinking a lot about conference.  But, how can you not when you've just been exposed to messages of wisdom for hours on end, right?  So many powerful messages were spoken and I hope you all heard something you needed to hear.  For some of us, those things may be hard to hear because reevaluation is in order, and for others of us there was comfort granted in a time when we thought there may have been none to feel.  I'm so grateful all of these messages will be printed for our use to study and read.  (It's hard to take it all in at once.)  These messages can touch our hearts for the rest of our lives.

Because conference touches us on a very personal level, I don't want to get into what I thought the overall message was.  That message is different for each of us.  How amazing is that?  Heavenly Father knows each of us individually.  Not only that but he loves each of us individually.  Personally, I felt an overwhelming need to tell my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ how much I love them in return.  Of course they know where our heart is, but how often do they hear it with sincerity?

I do, however, want to reiterate the words of the song that opened the whole conference.

In every condition--in sickness, in health,
In poverty's vale or abounding in wealth,
At home or abroad, on the land or the sea--
As thy days may demand, as thy days may demand,
As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be.

Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

No matter who we are, where we are, or what we've been through, there is no need to fear.  Our Savior will never forsake us.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow,

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.

You can probably tell how much I love this song.  "How Firm a Foundation" is the bright ray of sunshine I have to send to you today.  In hopes that you will not forget that your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you.  You are not forgotten.

Have a wonderful day!
Loves!
Mallary

Welcome!

Hello ladies!

So, I started this blog partially out of boredom and also because I feel it's a way we can all connect with each other.  I have loved getting to know each of you!  And, there are so many more of you I have yet to meet.  I hope this can also be a place where bright rays of sunshine can brighten your day.  Because each of YOU is a ray of sunshine we can post happenings in your lives and the goings-on in our ward. (Don't worry, nothing will be posted without your permission.)

How many of you miss the good news minute?  I know I do!  I love hearing about the great things that are going on in your lives.  Whether the news is small or huge, it's fun to hear about.  And guess what...we can post that here!

You're probably wondering why I titled this blog Sunshine in my Soul.  Well, because we are all sisters in a society that offers relief from the things that bring heartache.  As young single adult women we have felt lonely, confused, hurt, angry, and often we feel them all at once.  Together as sisters united in Christ, we can help each other.

Before I ramble on too much, I wanted to share this little piece of sunshine with you today.  The ray of sunshine that tell us that Heavenly Father is looking out for us and even on a scale as large as general conference, he has a message specifically for you if you're listening.
Here's a link to the video.  Enjoy!
http://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/general-conference-has-something-for-you-b?lang=eng

"If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a person prophetic epistle just to you."
-Elder Holland

Have a wonderful day!
Much love,
Mallary