Something More to Ponder

Once again I was thinking and realized

that there was more we should be pondering

than I put in the post on Sunday, 

so add this thought to your pondering and recording.

Whenever we are working on becoming

better at something, it helps to study people 

who are already doing it!

So, look at your list of people

who have been a lower light for you

and make a list of the qualities and characteristics

they have that help them to be a light. Below is the beginning of my list.

Let me know how it goes!

Hope you're having a great week!

Luvz,

Meg :0)

Let the Lower Lights Be Burning

What an awesome week last week!

I have loved hearing your stories and can't wait to hear more!

If you're just joining us Welcome!

As I've been thinking about being a light this week

and we we could be thinking about this week,

I was reminded when reading this talk

about lighthouses and how they can be related to us.

There is a beautiful hymn called "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy"

"Brightly beams our Father's mercy

From His lighthouse evermore,

But to us He gives the keeping

Of the lights along the shore.

Let the lower lights be burning;

Send a gleam across the wave.

Some poor fainting, struggling seaman

You may rescue, you may save.

"Dark the night of sin has settled;

Loud the angry billows roar.

Eager eyes are watching, longing,

For the lights along the shore.

Let the lower lights be burning;

Send a gleam across the wave.

Some poor fainting, struggling seaman

You may rescue, you may save.

"Trim your feeble lamp, my brother;

Some poor sailor, tempest-tossed,

Trying now to make the harbor,

In the darkness may be lost.

Let the lower lights be burning;

Send a gleam across the wave.

Some poor fainting, struggling seaman

You may rescue, you may save."

A couple of weeks ago, we were discussing this at institute,
and I was surprised about how many people
didn't know what the lower lights of a lighthouse were.
So in case you don't know here's my version of what the lower lights are:

Lighthouses have been used for centuries to guide sailors back to shore.
The main light in a lighthouse is important to find their way home,
but more was needed to help them guide the ship
through the perilous channels of rocks and reef.
So as sailors get closer to the harbor, a second set of lights,
the lower lights, on the shore serve as a reference point.
When they line up the main light and the lower lights,
they are safely led through the channels.
The lighthouse brought the ships to where they need to be,
but without the lower lights the sailors
 wouldn't be able to reach the shore safely.

I love drawing a parallel between this and our own lives.
Many times we are the sailors, on a long journey,
journeying to come to Christ, who is the light of the lighthouse.
We can see the light far off in the distance.
As we get closer Satan tries to block our path
 with things that could keep us from getting to the Savior.
Our Heavenly Father in his infinite wisdom
places people along the shore to help guide us
along the safe path to Him.
When I think of all the people sent into my life as lower lights,
I'm just in awe of how I've been led in my path.
These people don't necessarily do big things,
but they teach me something through their example.

When we are living righteously,
we shine with the light of Christ
and can be the lower lights for other people
who cross our path.

This week I'd again like to invite you to do a few things.

Pray. Study. Ponder. Record. Act. Share.

Pray

 As you are on this journey prayer is an important part.

Offer a sincere prayer and ask for the Spirit to teach you

what you need to know to grow closer to Christ.

Have a prayer in your heart as you are studying, pondering, recording

and especially as you go through your days this week.

Study

Read and study Hymn 335, "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy",

Doctrine and Covenants 18:10-16, 1 John 2:10,

and any other scriptures, conference talks, etc.

that you feel will assist you.

Ponder

  Who has been a lower light in your life?

How can you be a lower light in other people's lives?

What other thoughts, feelings, or insights

have come to you as you have been studying and pondering?

Record

Write your thoughts, feelings, and insights

in your journal.  Read through what you have 

written and then ponder again 

if there is anything more the Lord

would like you to learn.

 

Act

Make a goal of something to work on this week.

Maybe it is writing and sending a thank you note

to someone who is a lower light for you.

Maybe it is working on doing something

to help you be a lower light to someone else.

Be sure to share your goal with someone 

so you will be held accountable to do it.

   

Share

Find someone to share with.

Like always we invite your comments on the blog.

Remember however you choose to share,

you are blessing the lives of others.

You never know if your story will

be an instrument in bringing another 

to their Savior.

 

Like always, we invite you to comment on the blog

so we can learn from each other!

Also feel free to e-mail me at meg@soulfulbrilliance.com.

 

Luvz,

Meg :0) 

Prayer

"Prayer is the provider of spiritual strength. It is the passport to peace.  Prayer is the means by which we approach our Father in Heaven, who loves us. Speak to Him in Prayer, and then listen for the answer.

Miracles are wrought through prayer." ~Thomas S. Monson

What a week it has been! I've learned even more about myself. I hope you have too. If you haven't started studying yet there's always time!

This week I asked you to think about why is holding you back from coming fully to Christ. What was filling your nets, and what do you get to shift in your life to help you leave it behind and follow after Christ?

One thing I mentioned being in my nets was knowing how amazing I am and being afraid of not living up to the responsibilities that go with that. As I've been pondering this some more throughout the week I've come to see that there is more than jut that in my nets. Another thing that is holding me back is pride. I want to accomplish a lot of things, but so often in my life I desire to do things by myself. Whether it is because I'm afraid others will let me down or because I want to show off to others how amazing I am, it all boils down to having lots of pride. When I choose to do things by myself and don't even ask my Heavenly Father for His help, I can still succeed many times, but I worry more and stress out more. This last seven months or so I've been learning to ask for help from others and especially my Heavenly Father. My job has been very stressful as I have had a student who has needed some...special attention to help him learn. I started out the year trying to prove that I could do it myself, and I ended up crying in the principal's office because I was stressed out and not getting anywhere with him. I got some assistance and now things run more smoothly and I'm working on getting this special friend the help that he needs. This little story has helped me draw a parallel to my life and asking my Father in Heaven for help. How many times in my life have I set out to do something that I 'knew' I could do by myself, only to end up on my knees crying to my Father for His help because I had tried moving a mountain with only a spoon to help me? I've definitely learned through this experience that he can take my spoon and turn it into a huge bulldozer that can more efficiently help move the mountain. He doesn't just move the mountain for me because I won't learn and grow that way, but He does give me a better tool, so I can have the strength I need to get through the learning experience.

Where does letting go of our pride and getting help from our Father in Heaven start? With prayer! Prayer is an amazing thing. It is a way to communicate with our Heavenly Father. We speak and thank Him for our blessings, ask Him to help and bless others, and ask for help and strength in our trials. If we will take the time to be still and listen after our prayers He will teach us things we need to know. It doesn't always come at once and many times not in the way we expected, but it will come! I've most definitely learned the power of prayer! I'm sure later on my journey I'll learn even more about it! Please enjoy the video at the bottom of this post. I know that prayer is a powerful thing, and I know that as President Monson says miracles are wrought by prayer!

Luvz,
Meg:0)

What have you learned this week? I'd love to hear from you! Comment below or e-mail me at meg@soulfulbrilliance.com. Look forward to next week's challenge about people who have been lights on our lives!

A Missing Piece: Act!

Hey friends!

How is the journey going?

Yesterday as I was writing the last post

I knew I was forgetting something.

For those of you who have been

in my space recently you know that this is nothing new:0)

Today while I was doing some studying and pondering,

I realized what I had forgotten!

I asked you to do a few things:

pray, study, ponder, record and share.

I forgot one of the most important

pieces of this process!

ACT!

 So I would invite you to add this to your journey!

Act!

As you are studying and learning,

sit down and decide on something you

will be able to do this week that will

assist you in leaving your nets

and following after Christ.

  

Here are some examples:

(Remember to be specific and be sure to tell someone 

about what you're working on so they can assist in keeping you accountable.)

1. I am studying my scriptures each day at 7:00 a.m. for ten minutes.

2. I am attending an endowment session at the temple Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m.

3.  I am waking each morning and before doing anything else, I am writing down ten things I am grateful for in my life.

4. I am waking each morning and going straight to my knees to pray sincerely to my Heavenly Father to thank Him for my blessings and ask for assistance in living my life in a way that will help me grow closer to Him. (This one is mine:0)

If you need someone to be accountable to, feel free to e-mail me at meg@soulfulbrilliance.com!

Luvz,

Meg :0)

P.S. In all my thinking last night before I fell asleep, I had a lot of thoughts about some posts for this week, so look for more to come in the next few days:0)

"Come Unto Me"

Welcome to the Be a Light! Journey!

This journey is for anyone and everyone

who is desiring to discover and develop their greatness 

by grow closer to our Savior.

We live in a world where we hear a lot

 about all the horrible events caused by both nature and mankind.

Everyone is searching for happiness and peace,

but most have no idea how to find a lasting happiness and peace.

Throughout my life I have discovered that there is only 

one way to having lasting happiness and peace in my life...

My Savior and Redeemer.

Which is why this year I decided to begin a journey 

to grow closer to Him in my life.

So as we travel this road,

please be aware that I'm learning along the way too!

We all learn things differently,

and we all have a different perspective on things.

I would really like to challenge you to share your

thoughts, feelings, and anything else you discover

on your journey.

We can all learn more from each other!

So here we go! 

Be sure to have your scriptures

and a journal out and ready to go!

In Matthew 11:28-30, Christ gives us an invitation,

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Before we can become a light on a hill, 

we must first COME UNTO CHRIST.

He is the ultimate light in our world!

Take a moment and think about how 

he has been a light in your life.

Have you truly come unto Him?

In my life I have learned that we get

to recognize and acknowledge what is 

holding us back, before we can move forward

and be greater than we were.

So this week I would like to invite you to do just that.

Recently I was reading a book by Emily Freeman called

21 Days Closer to Christ.

In it she reminds the reader of a time Christ invites

some fisherman (Simon Peter and his brother Andrew)

to come follow Him.

"Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.  And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of man.  And STRAIGHTWAY they forsook their nets, and followed him."

In their nets was their livelihood, 

but they forsook their nets as soon as Christ

invited them to follow Him.

When they chose to follow Him,

He showed them blessings and miracles

that come to all who follow.

What is in our nets?

What is keeping us from following the Savior

and enjoying the many blessings He desires to send into our lives?

Is it demands at work?

All the little things we need to accomplish during the day?

Distractions like TV shows or social media?

Fear?

 This is something that is different for everyone.

For me a lot of what has been holding me back

is knowing all the responsibilities that it entails

and being afraid of not being equal to the task,

but I have recently been reminded that

God will provide a way for us to accomplish

what he asks of us if we just have the faith to ACT, 

and as we act, we will be given the strength 

and means to accomplish the task.

We will also be led on a path

to return to our Heavenly Father (1 Ne 17:3, 13).

As we choose to leave our nets and follow after Christ,

we will realize that he is the only way we can

be truly happy and at peace.

Coming unto him is also the only way 

we can reach our full potential and 

truly live in our Soulful Brilliance

as a light on a hill, leading others to Christ.

We leave our nets and discover something of much

greater worth in our lives!

We don't live in a time when Christ will 

walk up to us and invite us to follow Him,

but he will quietly invite us as we are doing the

little daily things everyday that help us to be closer to the Spirit.

Reading our scriptures.

Attending our church meetings.

Attending the temple.

Praying with sincerity.

This week I'd like to invite you to do a few things.

Pray. Study. Ponder. Record. Share.

Pray

 As you are on this journey prayer is an important part.

Offer a sincere prayer and ask for the Spirit to teach you

what you need to know to grow closer to Christ.

Have a prayer in your heart as you are studying, pondering, recording

and especially as you go through your days this week.

Study

Read Mark 1:16-18 and John 1:38-39

and any other scriptures, conference talks, etc.

that you feel will assist you in this journey.

Ponder

What fills your nets?

What is holding you back from growing closer to Christ?

What can you shift in your life? (Click here to read a past post about this.)

What other thoughts, feelings, or insights

have come to you as you have been studying and pondering?

Record

Write your thoughts, feelings, and insights

in your journal.  Read through what you have 

written and then ponder again 

if there is anything more the Lord

would like you to learn.

Share

Find someone to share with.

Like always we invite your comments on the blog.

Remember however you choose to share,

you are blessing the lives of others.

You never know if your story will

be an instrument in bringing another 

to their Savior.

 I am so grateful for this chance to grow closer

to my Savior.  I know that He lives!

I have felt His hand at work in my life.

I know that as we study Gospel 

and learn more of Him,

we will find strength to accomplish so much in our lives!

I am excited to work on this during my week as well!

Please feel free to share with me your thoughts or feelings

on our journey and what could make it better.

I'm learning as we go along as well!

 Luvz,

Meg :0)

P.S. Check back on Saturday for a follow up on our invitation this week!

There may be more posts throughout the week if I discover something I would like to share!

Be a Light!

There I was...

working out at the gym,

minding my own business,

exercising like a holy person.

(What does a holy person look like at the gym?

Well, I don't really know the answer for other people,

but for me it was dressed modestly,

listening to good music,

and telling myself how amazing and wonderful I am

and how I love myself.

Yes it sounds funny to a lot of people,

but loving yourself is important in living the amazing life you desire!)

All of the sudden, I see a familiar face!

It was my aunt!

I stopped what I was doing and had a good conversation with her.

We made plans to meet each day to workout together

because having someone to workout with 

always makes it more fun!

We also talked about how we were both working on 

being closer to our Heavenly Father this year.

My aunt left and I returned to my workout

contemplating the things we had talked about.

The past few months I've really been thinking about

this blog and how I have been struggling to

do all I planned with it.

It just seemed to be missing something that 

I just couldn't quite put my finger on...

Then it hit me!

I need to combine SB with my goal to grow 

closer to my Heavenly Father this year.

I was having this amazing flow of ideas.

Enter Satan.

(I have most definitely decided he knows me well.

He knows just what to do to get me second guessing myself.)

He got me thinking about how much more work it would be for me to put together

and how this is probably just a high from not having to worry about my job for the next few weeks.

I spent a while questioning if it was Heavenly Father telling me something

 or my sudden relief at some time off.

  How many times does that happen in your life?

You get some inspiration and before you know it you're questioning yourself about it.

Sadly it happens to me quite often.

I've learned to really pray to my Heavenly Father at these times.

He's pretty amazing and even if it takes some serious time,

He always answers our prayers.

This time was no different. 

As I am leaving the gym and getting in my jeep to drive home,

I'm praying about if this was indeed something I should do.

And He most definitely answered my prayer.

So I would like to invite you to come on a journey with me.

 A journey that, if you commit to it, will take you to heights you've never seen. 

In going with Soulful Brilliance,

I've decided to call this journey

Be a Light!

Many of you that I have talked to keep asking me, "Meg, how do you figure out my purpose so I can live in my Soulful Brilliance?"

The truth is that there is no one answer.

What works for me may not work for the next person.

We are each on our own journey to discovering ourselves.

I've learned through the years that it comes a little at a time.

I think Heavenly Father knows that if he gave it all to us at one time we may get overwhelmed and not be able to accomplish all He desires. :0)

He has given us gifts, talents and special experiences so we can be a light for others to shape their lives in the way He intended.  

I love this scripture:     

 

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid...Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

~3 Nephi 12:14-16

As we grow closer to our Heavenly Father and work on shaping our own lives to accomplish all He wants us to do,

We become like a city on a hill,

A bright light shining and inviting others to come and see all the amazing and wonderful things that are in store for them if they but come unto Christ.

 

Here's all you get to do to join us:

1. Commit! You may want to find someone to commit with you.  This can assist in keeping you accountable for sticking with it and completing invitations each week!

2. Read the weekly message and invitation, which will be posted by 7 p.m. Sunday nights.

3. Complete the  invitation and record your insights, thoughts, feelings etc. in a journal.

4. ***Share your experiences with others!***  You never know how much your story could assist someone else in their path! You can share by commenting on the blog post, or find a friend or family member to share your journey with.

5. Check back on the blog Saturday morning for a follow-up post by a SB team member.

I'm excited to take this journey with you.

I truly hope and pray that you will find this rewarding.

*Our first message will be posted this Sunday by 7 p.m.*

Hope to hear from you! 

If you have any questions or comments about anything feel free to comment below or email me at meg@soulfulbrilliance.com.

Luvz!

Meg:0)  

*Just a side note:0) This is process for me.  I'm going with the flow on this and making it up as I go along.  I will be learning right along with you and may periodically shift things as we go along. Please feel free to share any ideas you have so I can make this journey helpful for others.

"The Path to Our Best and Brightest Self"

Today there's no cutesie picture to go with my post.  

Just a heart full of love and gratitude towards my Heavenly Father.

I've been feeling lately that something is about to shift in my life.

And boy was I right!

I have been on quite the journey this last week,

and I really want to share with you what I've learned

as it has been a big part of what is about to happen on Soulful Brilliance.

It all started on a Tuesday night in a seminary building.

I was at an Institute class.

We were discussing a talk by 

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (click here to read it).

I remember that as I was listening to him speak last October,

I was thinking how his talk essentially summed up

all that I had learned since deciding to shift my lifestyle.

But the awesome thing about life is that there's always more to learn!

My teacher pointed out a great paragraph from that talk that says,

"Discipleship is the pursuit of holiness and happiness.  It is the path to our best and happiest self."

Then she issued us a challenge for the week.  

We were to pick just three days over the next week and 

choose one activity we do during those days

and do it as a holy person would do it.

 I said to myself, "Well, okay, I can definitely do that."

I know I have a lot of tools to assist me with the happiness,

but holiness isn't something I'd really gotten down and dirty with before.

The next day I decided to try it out with driving.

It was very difficult for me.  

I really, really hate driving slower than the speed limit

and due to the weather that morning, there was a lot of slow driving going on. 

I kept catching myself complaining and not saying very nice things to the people driving in front of me,

but I would shift those thoughts and instead chose to speak some gratitude that we were driving safely.

It was quite the challenge!

The next day I decided to try it in my teaching.

It was amazing how much more smoothly things seemed to go than normal.

I still had my challenging friends doing their normal behaviors,

but I was responding in a way that helped all of us

stay more focused on what we were learning.

(And it just so happened that this was the perfect day for me to do this as the principal and the assistant principal both visited our class to do some observations on my teaching. lol:0))

 As I was working on all of this doing things as a holy person would do them,

I realized that I have been missing some things in my life

that would help me to become my "best and happiest self."

The next day was a super busy day for me.

I teach at a year-round school and was about to go off track (a three week break Yay!).

I get to pack up all of my students' stuff as well as my own.

This alone is enough to stress me out,

but I got to add to that getting to finish a couple of parent-teacher conferences

that I had had to reschedule a few times.

After all I had felt the day before, 

I knew going into this day with a "do it as a holy person" attitude 

would help me to be more calm and patient

(Two things that I most definitely have a hard time with

during SEP conferences and going off track.).

The kiddos and I had a great time writing some stories 

we had started earlier in the week and one of my conferences went great!

Then the kiddos and I got everything packed up to go

and the room cleaned up for the next class to be using it.

My last conference was after school.

I'm not going to lie I was anxious to get out of there.

A three week break that would begin as soon as I was finished with this meeting.

I waited....and waited...and waited...

They never came.

Now, the past few months I've been struggling with being a complainer.

I apologize to anyone who has crossed my path when I was in that mindset.

If I was still choosing to be that way you would have heard something like this,

"I can't believe they didn't show up! I rescheduled them three times!

I could have left long before now to start my break!" 

and on and on.

But because I was trying really hard to keep my 

"do it as a holy person" attitude,

it came out more like this,

"I'm sure they are doing the best they can.  

Maybe something came up and they weren't able to come.  

I'll just get to schedule something for when we get back on track."

Wow! In this instant I was reminded that 

we are all in our own perfect growth process, 

MYSELF INCLUDED!

What a great few days of learning I had!

Little did I know there was more to come!

That night and the next day I got the awesome opportunity 

to go to something called Time Out For Women.

It is basically a big conference for women put on by Deseret Book.

They had some amazing speakers and singer/songwriters 

there teaching us about the gospel and life.

One of the speakers, Dean Hughes, a favorite author of mine,

talked about how we need to practice holiness.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

My brain was like, "Wow! That's what we've been thinking a lot about this week!"

Here's what I wrote down while listening to him speak.

"Holiness is not that you do it.  It's how you do it and why you do it!

Doing things with holiness is doing them with love. 

True love.

Charity.

The love of Christ!

We don't work towards holiness by giving up our trials, weaknesses, etc.

We do it by working together with those things.

ENLARGE YOUR SOULS TOWARD OTHERS TO BE MORE LIKE CHRIST!"

I wrote it down and thought a little about it,

but then I moved on to the next speaker and what they were sharing with me.

Sunday as I was preparing my lesson for church

a scripture about the City of Enoch being called

the "City of Holiness even Zion" (Moses 7: 18-21, 69)

caught my eye.

That got me thinking about what makes a holy person holy

and what attributes a holy person possesses.

I mean if I'm truly working on being a holy person

I should know more about what I'm trying to be, right?

What I found was that LOVE was a big part of being holy.

Love of others and love of our Heavenly Father.

When we focus on doing things with love because we love,

MIRACLES HAPPEN!

Both for us and for the people we are showing love to!

Here's one last thing that I wanted to share about what I learned.

 In the Bible Dictionary it says that when something is "holy"

it is "set apart for a sacred purpose".

That had me asking myself if I was set apart for a sacred purpose.

Heavenly Father most definitely has a sacred purpose for each of his children.

We were each given divine gifts to use in our lifetime

to lift and serve others along our way.

It's our SOULFUL BRILLIANCE!

We all have a spark of the divine in us.

We just get to look inside ourselves

and fan the tiny spark until it becomes a burning fire--

a light for all to see!

All that I've shared with you has been just the beginning

of all that I've learned this last week.

I'm excited to share the rest with you!

But what comes next needs its own post!

I'm so very grateful to my Father in Heaven for his hands of mercy and his goodness and grace.

All of which have been extended to me this week.

I have truly had a big shift in my life,

an awakening to more of what my Soulful Brilliance includes!

I'm excited to share a new (or continuing) journey with all of you!

Look for a big announcement tomorrow

as I share a shift that will be happening with SB!
(You can see some clues in the new look of SB:0))

In conclusion to this post, I would like to invite you to take the

challenge to just take three days in the next week,

pick an activity that you do regularly, 

and do it as a holy person would do it.

I promise that amazing things will happen!

AND PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE share your thoughts and ah-has here on the blog so we can celebrate with you and maybe you can touch the life of someone else!

Luvz!

Meg:0)