Welcome

Welcome to the Sisterhood

Hi, I’ve been racking my brain as to how this is “supposed” to look all week. Here it is my week and my thoughts have not come together the way I thought they were “supposed” too. Who is this blog for? I would like to say any of you women out there with the idea that things have to look a certain way and if they don’t then something has gone askew in the universe. That if you aren’t the “supermom” that you think you “need” to be. If you’re 31, 25, or any other age unmarried and wondering what have I done or not done to have a significant other in my life to fill that other “better half”(for lack of a better word). Maybe marriage has come your way and the “ideal relationships” seems to be someone else's fortune. This blog is for all of us looking for comfort in the imperfections of this mortal life and the perfection of a loving Heavenly Father (I choose that name for the knowledge I have gained and the extreme love I have for a higher power, the Universe, Energy, light, and any other name that encompass Him).

I’ve been a part of soulful brilliance from its beginning. I can’t say I’ve taken the active roll in spreading the brilliance (I can count on one hand my blog posts). I was struggling with how I wanted it to look or who I wanted it to influence. While Meg took the reigns and had a more clear vision in her mind of what she desired it to look like and who it would influence. I felt a tug at my heart and a burning desire has come into my vision to share with all women any age, race and even religion. We are all powerful spirits here to serve and lift each other. I have such a great love for all of my sisters and I look forward to expanding my knowledge and sisterhood here in the soulFULL brilliance.

I’m blessed to be working with some very soulful sisters of light.

Meg is full of light and truth a spiritual giant. She has a love for teaching especially assisting others in seeing their soulful brilliance.  

Beth the youngest of this group of sisters, but so full of love a true peacemaker.

Nancy shares her beautiful light through her example of faith. I’ve learned so much from observing her. She has taught me how to love and surrender to the will of the Lord and how to release judgment and just love.

Alyssa is so dynamic. She flows through life with such passion and brilliance. She blesses so many lives with her light and love.

Kenzy is so genuine in loving and accepting others where ever their path has taken them.

We have gathered to share our journeys to soulful brilliance and to continue growing together in the soulful sisterhood. I’m so blessed to have such a large sisterhood (support team if you will).Who’s in your sisterhood? Why have you chosen them to be a part of your life? We are all on this journey together. Our sisterhood is always expanding and changing as trials and challenges come into our life or the flow of constant change swoops us into a new chapter of life. People are placed in our path to shape and mold us along our perfect path. please share with us some of your journey to soulful brilliance what is it for you and how does your soulfully brilliant sisterhood assist you in shaping your path.

Challenge: this month it's to  gather your sisterhood. Take the time to write about it in a journal and then test your nominations do these people truly fill your soul with brilliant light? A few places that I've found brilliant sisters is in my family and by gaining friends through work, my ward/church group, and neighborhood. Who do you choose to share your soulful brilliance with? 

please share your sisterhood with us by commenting here and/or post a photo on facebook or instagram #soulfulbsisterhood

I look forward to this journey of growth and expansion in my soulful sisterhood.

Namaste,

Brittnee

Welcome to the Soulful B Sisterhood!

Made with Rhonna Designs App

Dear sweet friends!  I'm so excited for the chance to introduce you to something new!

This summer has been an eye opener for me.

I've learned some things.

I've been reminded of some things.

I've had the opportunity to shift some things.

One of my big shifts is on this blog.

All of us in life get overwhelmed 

and at times we face challenges that seem insurmountable.

Of all the tools we can use to help us get through

what seems impossible, the most important is to

build a support team!

All we have to do is look through the scriptures,

look at the church,

look at all things around us,

and we will see that Heavenly Father

created all living things to support each other.

In Alma 8, we read about how

Alma goes to the city of Ammonihah

to preach to the people.

He is rejected and leaves.

An angel comes to him and 

tells him to to return to the city

and tell the people that if they 

don't repent the Lord will destroy them.

Alma returns to the city and 

meets a man named Amulek,

who feeds him and gives him a place to stay.

Amulek then supported Alma by going

with him to preach to the people.

He was Alma's support team!

In the church we have different organizations

that support each other.

Relief Society

Priesthood

Primary

Young Men

Young Women

Sunday School

They all work together!

Inside those organizations we have more support!

Visiting Teachers

Home Teachers

Presidencies

Bishoprics

Teachers

Librarians

Music Leaders

Music Players

All working together!

One of the best support teams 

Heavenly Father gave us when he sent us to earth 

is our Family!

I can't even begin to tell you all

the ways my dear sweet family 

has supported me throughout my life

and especially in the last three years

as I've come to discover and live

in my Soulful Brilliance.

Especially five special women.

Each of them has been a light for me.

Each of them has helped me remember

my greatness and light

when I couldn't see it.

They are just ordinary women like you and me.

They are my heroes.

I watch them doing quiet acts of service for others.

They change people's lives.

All without recognition.

They are amazing!

Each of us comes from a different stage in life.

Some of us are single.

Some of us are newlyweds.

Some of us are married with young children.

Some of us have been married for 32 years

with grown children and sweet grandchildren.

While we come from different stages,

Each of us has a firm testimony

born through great challenges and 

learning experiences.

We are each amazing examples of love

 and trusting in the Lord.

I'm so excited to tell you that 

they will all be joining us here on Soulful Brilliance!

We are starting what we've decided to call the 

Soulful B Sisterhood.

I don't want to tell you too much about them

so they can introduce themselves,

but here they are!

Brittnee has already been a part of the sbteam

from the beginning.  She and I dreamed

Soulful Brilliance up together!

She has been an amazing coach and mentor

for me throughout my life.

She taught me how to ride a bike.

She taught me about vision.

And she has been an amazing

example to me of always believing in yourself.

Beth also has been a part of the team for awhile.

She is the most amazing sister ever!

I have always loved her peacemaker personality.

She is an amazing example of overcoming

challenges and believing in your dreams!

Kenzy has been a member of the team 

for a short time. 

She is an amazing example of patience and perseverance.

She and I ran a marathon together

a little over three years ago.

I was tired and starting to slow down

and Kenzy just kept plugging on down the road.

She lives her life doing that same thing each day.

Alyssa is my amazing sister-in-law

and new to SB! I'm very excited

to have her with us.

She is an amazing example 

of charity and supporting others!

Nancy, whom I fondly call Mom,

is also new. I can't even think

of words that can full describe 

her greatness and brilliance.

Other than the Lord,

her testimony and support

have been the most important factor

in my success in life.

She is amazing!

Each month we will be discussing ways

to discover and live in 

our soulful brilliance.

We will also have a challenge

to work on together throughout the month!

Each week two sisters will post their thoughts

along with a small challenge to help you during the week.

Please comment on posts and share your stories!

You never know who you might be able

to support by sharing!

Also, use the hashtag #soulfulbsisterhood

on Facebook and Instagram to share!

September is the month you will

introduced to our sisterhood

and be given a short message

and challenge from the sisters.

This month I would just encourage you

to think about who has supported you

in your life.

Heavenly Father and the Savior

are our greatest supporters!

They love us so much,

they sent us to earth together

to help and lift each other.

One of my favorite quotes is 

from Lucy Mack Smith,

"We must cherish one another,

watch over one another,

comfort one another

and gain instruction,

that we may all sit down in heaven together."

The Relief Society organization in

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

has been an amazing support in my life.

I've had the opportunity to be taught by and to teach 

some amazing daughters of God.

It is an amazing place where 

we can come together

and support each other.

September Challenge

My challenge to you in this month of 

September is to 

look around you and 

choose some women in your

life who are or can be

a part of your support team.

Two of the best places to look are

in your FAMILY

and in your ward RELIEF SOCIETY!

Invite them to join your team

and to read Soulful Brilliance

and join us in the 

Soulful B Sisterhood!

When you have done this,

Post a picture of you with your team

on Instagram or Twitter 

using the hashtag #soulfulbsisterhood!

We really all need each other to 

make it through our lives and 

to reach our goals!
So let's work together!
Let's support each other!

We look forward to seeing your posts

and reading your comments!

Luvz,

Meg :0)

If you would like to email our team

our address is soulfulbrilliance@gmail.com.

The Temple

Today I'd like to share with you my talk from sacrament meeting yesterday. This is the very rough draft as I didn't go through and fix anything from how I typed it up in my notes so please forgive any grammatical errors and if it doesn't make sense in some sections.  Just know that I love temples! 

My love of the temple started at a pretty young age.  I grew up in a family where I was taught the importance of going to the temple and being married for time and all eternity.

Then when I was a teenager I ran into a huge trial, or like I like to call them a learning experience.  My family had moved when I was in Junior high and when that happened I made some new friends but they weren’t the best people to have as friends, so when I got to high school I was working on finding some new friends to hang out with and it was hard. During that time my mom became my best friend.  She was always there listening to me and giving me encouragement.  Spring of my sophomore year in high school she was diagnosed with cancer.  Our lives got turned upside down and it was really hard for me.  One night I had just had enough and I remember kneeling down next to my bed and just pleading with my Heavenly Father to help me make it through this no matter what happened.  The next day at school I was sitting in my English class and my teacher was telling us about our next assignment, which was to write a poem about our mothers for mother’s day.  As she was helping us brainstorm some things, I lost it.  Now I hate crying, and add to that I was sitting in an English class crying practically hysterically. I remember how embarrassed I was.  After class I had two different friends that day talk to me about their mothers.  One of them her mother had passed away recently from cancer and another whose mother was going through some health issues with her heart.  They each bore their testimonies about how they knew that because their families were sealed in the temple they knew they would be together forever with their mothers.  That reminder totally turned around my attitude about this learning experience in my family’s life.  I also made a promise to myself that day that no matter what I would be married in the temple.  That summer I received my PB and was told in it that as I regularly attend the temple I would receive many blessings.  And that has been so true!  I love how that is not just true for me, but for every single one of us. Some of us might have only limited use recommends to go do baptisms for the dead, some of us might have full use recommends, and others of us for various reasons might not have recommends, but I know that we can all receive of the blessings that come from the temple.  The conviction of the blessings of an eternal family blessed me immensely in my life.  Thirteen years down the road I ended up dating a guy who wanted to get married, but wasn’t worthy to go to the temple. I had already made the decision that that wasn’t an option, so I didn’t have to stress out or stew about what I should do. Even though it was hard to do, I ended up breaking up with him and moving on.  And I’m so grateful for the amazing blessings that decision has brought to my life.

In D & C 109 we read the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland temple which was given to Joseph Smith in a revelation.  In it there are many blessings mentioned.  To date I’ve found 25 of them, but it seems like every time they read it I find more.  I’d like to talk about several of them today.

Armed with thy power

Verse 22 we read that we will go forth from the temple armed with His power. What is His power? It’s the power to resist temptations. The power to be courageous when we are faced with challenges and difficulties in our lives. The power to bear one another’s burdens.  The power to share our burdens and allow others to help us. It is the power to more fully live our covenants both those made in the temple and those we make when we are baptized. That in turn leads to the power of happiness.  Thomas S. Monson taught, “Sacred convenants are to be revered by us, and faithfulness to them is a requirement for happiness.” I can testify of that truth.  I can always tell when I haven’t been going to the temple regularly.  I’m grouchy I feel weighed down with problems.  On the other hand when I have been attending the temple regularly and consciously keeping the commandments and being faithful to the covenants I have made at the temple, I am happier and less stressed.  I’m just overall better able to deal with the things going on in my life. For many years attending the temple regularly for me was at least once a week.  Now that my life has changed, Burk and I go every other week. I know that we are all busy and sometimes it’s hard to find the time, but I know that if we attend regularly however that looks for us, we will be blessed with the power we need to live our lives the way the Savior intends for us to live them.

Sometimes it is the power to be able to teach others and help them on their journey.  About two years ago I received a call in my ward to teach the temple prep class.  I was very excited about it as I love the temple, but I was really nervous to be teaching such sacred things to young adults. I knew there would be a lot of them as it had just been announced in General Conference that the age to go on a mission had been lowered.  Each week new people would join my class, most of them young women preparing to go on their missions.  I went to the temple each week, thinking about my lessons and praying for guidance in helping my students understand and come to have a love of the temple.   I received the help I needed and through His power and the help of the Holy Ghost those young single adults came to have a love of the temple in their hearts.

Thy glory round about them and thine angels have charge over them

Another blessing of the temple is that we will have Heavenly Father’s glory round about us and His angels will have charge over them. I absolutely love this promise. I know that many parents of missionaries also love this promise as they send their children out on missions, especially those who go to other countries to preach the gospel. 

China

This promise has a special place in my heart and I have a testimony of it for several reasons. I had the opportunity at the young age of 19 to go through the temple.  I was about to leave to go live in China for a short time to teach English. When I decided to go do this, everyone including me thought I was crazy.  This was completely out of my comfort zone and I was scared of all the things that could go wrong while I was there, but the day I left my father gave me a blessing and reminded me that I had been to the temple and that Heavenly Father’s angels would be there watching over me and helping to protect me as I listened to the promptings of the Spirit.  It was a comfort to me and I know it was comfort to my mother.  One night when I had been there about three or four weeks, I went on a weekend trip to Xian, where the terracotta warriors are located. After a day of running around sightseeing, I found myself being left behind on a dark corner because there hadn’t been enough room in any of the taxies my friends had gotten into.  I was terrified.  They had told us to never go anywhere alone and here I was alone.  On a dark street.  I couldn’t find a taxi anywhere and after saying a little prayer felt like I should walk down to the next street to look for a taxi.  Instead of finding a taxi I found one of the others in my group who had also been left behind.  We were relieved to have found each other.  We couldn’t find a taxi anywhere, so we decided to pull out our map of the city and walk to our hotel.  At first it was an amazing adventure.  We met a new Chinese friend who tried to help us find a taxi, but again no taxies anywhere.  She eventually had to go on her way and we were again walking through the streets toward our hotel.  We walked through the bustling center of the city and saw some fun and amazing things. And then we had to turn down a dark street to get to our hotel.  Down that street we both started feeling nervous.  We turned another corner and were suddenly surrounded with the homeless people of the city.  In the dark.  Alone.  Only we weren’t alone.  We stopped and said a little prayer, we felt that we should continue on our way.  It was still scary, but I felt the power of the Heavenly Father strengthening us on our way and I truly believe that we were surrounded by angels keeping us safe.  A couple blocks down we ran into a young woman and her small daughter.  They helped us find our way safely to our hotel.  This experience is one that I’ve never forgotten.  Every time I feel scared or trapped or like I’m in a dark place in my life, I remember this.  I remember that I have angels surrounding me. 

2 Kings 6

In 2 kings 6 the prophet Elisha is surrounded by the armies of the king of Syria.  His servant was scared and asked Elisha what they should do.  In vs. 16-17 Elisha says, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.  And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.  And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” Have you ever felt surrounded? Disappointed? Discouraged? I love this quote from Jeffrey R. Holland, “In the Gospel of Jesus Christ you have help from both sides of the veil and you must never forget that.  When disappointment and discouragement strike—and they will—you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection.  They will always be there, these armies of Heaven, in defense of Abraham’s seed.” I testify that this is true.  I have had so many times in my life when I’m going through learning experiences and I have felt the armies of the Lord helping and protecting me.

There are so many more blessings that can be found in DC 109, I really encourage you to search it and see what you can find.  Because of time, I’m going to move on to some other blessings of the temple that I would like to share.

The Truth about ourselves and our divine nature

Another blessing that I have found in the temple, both as a youth doing baptisms for the dead and as an adult being able receive my endowment and be sealed to Burk as well as participate in doing that work for the dead, is that I am reminded every time I go of my divine nature.  I’m reminded that I am a child of a loving Heavenly Father who wants me to succeed gloriously in my life. This has become a huge blessing for me in the last three years.

  Three years ago I was super depressed. Basically I’d had gone through a really hard thing for me. I was just going through the motions of life.  I’d get up and go to work and come home and lay around doing nothing, go to bed and then get up and do it all again. Before I had been going to the temple once a week and I had stopped doing that. I hated my life and I especially hated myself.  I felt like I wasn’t good enough. I was a failure. And a whole slew of other limiting beliefs about myself. I was sinking deeper and deeper and one day I knew I need to do something to help myself or my life wasn’t going to get any better, so I kneeled down and prayed fervently to my Heavenly Father to help me.  He answered my prayer with a go to the temple. So I went. I left there feeling so much better and knowing what I needed to do: talk to one of my cousins who I was living with at the time.  She had been having a challenge like mine and I had watched her over the last three months change into a confident person.  We had an awesome talk and she connected me with a woman named Marci.  One thing led to another and with Heavenly Father telling me that is what I was supposed to do I started a program called the 90 day mind and body transformation.  I learned through Marci……I decided that since this was a lot of teaching of the world that I would add my own studies to my learning and search out what the scriptures and prophets and apostles have to say about it.  I started going back to the temple once a week and it was there in the temple that I really began to be reminded that I was a daughter of God.  That I had a divine nature, I divine DNA. I was reminded that my life had a purpose and I started to receive these amazing revelations about the truths about myself. About my gifts and talents and the things I would get to do with them.  It was an amazing gift for me and helped me to step eagerly into what Heavenly Father needed me to do.  Sadly sometimes I still get depressed and have hard times, but as I have continued to attend the temple regularly and to fast and pray I am again reminded to see myself as my Heavenly Father sees me.

Hannah and the pouring out of her soul

Another blessing of the temple is that we can find comfort, healing and answers to prayers.  One of my favorite Old Testament stories is the story of Hannah.  Hannah was a faithful woman who had a challenge.  She was married and she was not able to have children.  To add to her heartache her husband’s other wife would always remind her of it. One year they all went up to the temple for their yearly trip to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord.  While they were there Hannah was again reminded by the other wife of her plight and she becomes very upset.  So upset that she’s weeping and she’s not able to eat.  She describes herself as a woman of sorrowful spirit.  Finally she goes up to the temple and in her own words, “poured out my soul before the Lord…for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken”. Last year I had the chance to go to tofw and one of the speakers there (S. Michael Wilcox: Face to Face) talked about this and pointed out something that was really powerful to me.  Hannah had been praying for years to have children, but it wasn’t until she went to the temple and poured out her heart to Heavenly Father and gave him all of her pain that he answered her prayer. She was blessed to have a boy named Samuel.  When he was weaned she took him to the temple and he spent his life as a servant of the Lord.  Hannah went on to have three more sons and two daughters.  How many times do we pour out our hearts to the Lord in the temple?  I know that is something I constantly struggle with.  I’m afraid that I’ll seem ungrateful, or that all I’m doing is complaining.  I feel like I’m lacking in faith or being selfish. But he is waiting to hear from us. He is waiting for us to pour out our souls to him.  To empty them, so he can pour in to them answers, peace, comfort or other things that we desire or need.  I know from experience the power of this concept!  A little over a year ago, just before my 30^th birthday, I was sitting in the temple thinking about my beautiful awesome life!  I was feeling so grateful and just full of joy.  I had finally come to a point in my life where I was feeling like I was on the right track.  I loved myself!  I was discovering more about myself and the path Heavenly Father desired for me to go.  I had just finished the first draft of my book and life was just amazing.  And then I remembered the one thing that I had been desiring for so many years, finding an amazing man to marry in the House of the Lord.  As I was sitting there I was feeling all these feelings of selfishness and lack of faith.  I had been praying for years to have this blessing in my life and my life was amazing except for this one thing.  Then I remembered Hannah and her pouring out.  And I sat there and poured out my soul to the Lord about this. Four weeks after my birthday Heavenly Father answered my prayers and brought Burk into my life.

The Blessings of Family History

Something that all of us can work on that will bring temple blessings is family history work! When I received my Patriarchal Blessing, I was told to work on my family history.  I immediately went to work, and joined my grandma at the family history library several times that summer. I had a hard time continuing it because it was a lot of hard work. 

One quick story, when Burk and I were engaged, due to some circumstances we got the chance to wait to set a date and call the temple to make an appointment to be sealed. It was really hard for me to be patient and wait. We continued to go to the temple every other week and that helped, but sometimes I was just plain frustrated. One day at church when I was having a particularly hard time, we had a lesson about family history and its importance in our lives.  Heavenly Father taught me something important that day. I was having a hard time waiting the few months to be sealed to my eternal companion, but so many of my ancestors have waited years, decades, even centuries to be sealed to their families! That day I was very thankful for that experience so I could learn this.This summer I have been able to play around with the new fun things on familysearch.org and do some of my family's work. Family history work has never been easier!  

Friends, the blessings of the temple are real.

If you have a recommend use it as often as you can.

If you don’t have a current recommend work towards getting on.  Work on family history. Spend time on temple grounds.  You will be blessed as you do this!

The Truth About Me

This week I've really been thinking about the truth about me.  I've been realizing that these truths about me aren't always positive.  There are some truths about me that are not fun to realize or remember.  My favorite thing about these truths are that they come with a huge BUT behind them.

The truth about me is that I'm a completely imperfect perfectionist, BUT I have learned and get to constantly remind myself that life is about the progress, the learning and  the growing NOT trying to get everything to be perfect.

The truth about me is that when I get overwhelmed (usually because I'm focusing on chasing perfect) I often fall into my old patterns of depression and feeling bad about myself, BUT I realize once again that I perfectly in my perfect growth process and that I get to pull out my toolbox and get myself back on track.

The truth about me is that I haven't experienced anything really traumatic in my life, BUT the experiences I have had and the things I have learned from those experiences are amazing!  I know that as I share my story with others I can help them to know they are not alone.  I can help inspire others to continue on the path and to never give up.

The truth about me is that I'm scared of failing. I'm scared of not being good enough.  I'm scared of disappointing others, BUT I get to realize that all that fear is coming from Satan because "God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7). Satan wants me to fail because if I succeed, I can change lives and stand as a witness of Christ!

The truth about me is that sometimes I get to take some time to be depressed and feel all those negative emotions that are swirling around inside me, BUT when I have felt them, I feel better at having acknowledged them and discovered why I was feeling them.

The truth about me is that I am an amazing daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me as only He can love.  He knows the truth about me and loves me anyways.  I know the truth about me and I get the opportunity to love myself anyways.  I am far from perfect, but I have a gift that is so amazing!  A gift from a Brother who loves me and wants me to succeed in my life.  I have the gift of the Atonement in my life!

THE TRUTH ABOUT ME IS THAT I'M NOT PERFECT, BUT I LOVE MYSELF ANYWAY!

Luvz,
Meg:0)

Surrender...Again!

Surrendering our lives to God

doesn't just happen once and

we're done learning that lesson.

It's learning to surrender

to Him and His plans for us constantly.

Lately I've had the opportunity to work some more

on surrendering things to God. 

It's caused me to do some thinking...

What if I can do something about it?

My learning experience right now is

something I can do something about.

I can act instead of sitting around and waiting

for the problem to magically solve itself.

How much of surrender is doing nothing?

How much of surrender is doing everything you

can to work on a solution to the problem

even if it is just a small action?

Heavenly Father had an answer for me!

Surrendering isn't finding a solution

for your own problems.

Surrendering is asking God what his

solution is for your problems.

For me it was a loud resounding,

"Something else is more important! 

So stop worrying so much about this problem and 

focus on the more important thing!"

I'm so thankful for an old friend

who was an answer to my prayers

and helped me receive my answer.

You never know when you can help

answer someone else's prayer,

so listen to the spirit and remember

to always listen to and follow

it's promptings!

So that's what I'm doing.

Focusing on the more important 

thing in my life this summer.

Rewriting my book.

When I finished with the first draft

(a whole year ago),

something was missing.

It didn't feel finished.

So many blessings and tender mercies

have come to me this past year and I now

feel that I can truly write

the words Heavenly Father 

needs for me to share with others.

I'm so grateful for all the many 

blessings I enjoy in my life.

I have an amazing husband,

a house to live in,

a supportive loving family,

and so much more!

I often stop and feel so amazed

 at my beautiful magnificent life!

Luvz,

Meg:0)

The Test, the Gym and the Bowl of Popcorn

Some days are exhausting and stress filled, and yesterday was no exception.   Today as I've been thinking more on the days events and looking for some tender mercies, I realized that the day was certainly full of them!

The first TM I saw was a reminder that sometimes things look that seem like a big deal through some miracle will not be as bad as I originally thought and sleeping through my learning experiences won't help me get through them. It just gives me more time to worry about them.

After lunch, I got to take my afternoon class to the computer lab to do our first session of our end-of-level testing.  Everything was going along fine until one student raises her hand and is in tears.  I rushed over to her computer to see what was wrong only to find that her computer decided to shut itself down in the middle of her test. Not really that big of a deal, we had her switch computers and log back on.  Her answers by some miracle had been saved, and we moved on to the next question. As I'm looking around making sure everyone had answered the question, I realize that one of my sweet pickles has fallen asleep.  I attempted to wake him up only to realize that wasn't going to happen... I finally got him awake enough to get him to calmly go take a nap in the office while we finished the test. When he realized that he was going to have to make up the test during PE time later in the week, he got very worried about it.

I find myself wondering when in my life I have fallen asleep during a crucial time in my life.  The truth is that I used to often go to "sleep" when I was going through hard things.  I would shut down and do a whole lot of nothing. It was never a good thing as the problem would still be there, and I would have to deal with it eventually. I have learned that even if I can't solve it at the time I can still take some small action steps that can help me not be so depressed and worried about it.  Some of these things have nothing to do with my problems, yet they are easy to do.  Things like studying the Gospel, praying and asking for help from my Father, fasting, and going to the temple.

The second TM I found was a reminder that I can do hard things. After school, the weather was starting to get crazy.  The wind was blowing wildly and dirt was being blown all over.  I decided to go run at the gym instead of outside.  After many months, I stepped into the gym and was met with that lovely gym odor. I almost cried.  Tears of joy.  I know that sounds funny that the yucky, sweaty smell of my gym would make me happy, but it did. It brought back a thousand memories that have happened in that gym over the last three years. Even now I get emotional thinking about it. All the pain, blood, sweat, tears and puke that all culminated in me recognizing my soulful brilliance and choosing to live it. Being reminded of all the amazing stuff I learned and discovered is always a good motivation to continue with my new goals.  I can do anything.  I've proved that time and time again.

The last TM I discovered was that sometimes it's the little things that can really make a difference.  When I finally made it home, it seems like more and more things kept piling in on my already exhausted and worried mind.  I was lying on the couch trying not to have a meltdown when I realized Myhandsomeguywiththekillersmile was making me some popcorn without me asking him to do it.  It was such a small thing, but it totally changed how I was feeling. I felt so much better after someone did one small thing for me. It's so important for us to remember that it is really the little things that make the biggest difference to people.  We can offer people smiles and quick texts or notes to tell them we love them and we're thinking about them.  We can take out the trash. We can make them a big bowl of popcorn.  And in doing those little things we can make a huge difference to them!

I hope you can remember that when you are having a rough day that looking for the tender mercies will help you see the blessing you have in your life and that things are actually going perfectly for you!  Our Heavenly Father is constantly pouring down huge blessings that come in small packages on our heads and unless we stop and truly look we won't see them.  Take a moment today and see what blessings He is sending you!

Luvz,
Meg:0)

From the Mouths of Kids: Fables in Action

Recently in my second grade classroom we have been reading and discussing fables.  In case you don't know fables are short stories that end with a moral that teaches a lesson.  One of my favorite fables is called The Stonecutter. It is about a stonecutter who sees a prince and wishes he was a prince because a prince was more powerful than a stonecutter.  A god hears the stonecutter's wish and turns him into a prince.  He's happy at first, but soon realizes that the sun is more powerful than a prince.  He wishes to be the sun.  His wish is granted.  The story continues on with the man wanting to always be something more powerful.  After the sun, it is clouds.  After clouds, a mountain.  When he becomes the mountain, the god can do no more for him.  He feels like he's the most powerful being in the world....at least until he feels something tapping on his side.  He finds a stonecutter chipping away at him.  He realizes too late that he was the most powerful being his authentic self.

When I asked my seven and eight year old students what lesson they got from that story, they had some pretty awesome answers.  Then I called on one last kiddo.  What she said was a powerful reminder to me.  It was definitely one of those tender mercies.  And who better to give me that message through than a child! She said, "Even when bad things happen, you should be grateful to be you and remember that you're still powerful."  I was blown away with her answer.  I loved being able to take that opportunity to have my students remind me of something I had forgotten.  It was also fun to talk to them about how they are powerful being themselves.

Sometimes in our lives, we have rough days or months or years, but we need to remember and never forget that we were created with special "powerful" gifts that are ours to use. When we can follow in our Savior's steps and grow closer to him, we will shine with the light of Christ and be able to identify and live in our SOULFUL BRILLIANCE! I know this to be true!  As I look back at the path I have taken in my life the last three years, I can see the evidence of this in my life.  At the beginning I was feeling lost and on a dark path of self destructive behaviors. Heavenly Father helped me find the help and tools I needed to learn of him and of my own powerful divine nature. He helped me learn to shift my limiting beliefs to empowering beliefs, which freed me to love myself and better love and serve others. I am so grateful for this gift of love! It has truly transformed my life! This week my heart is so full of gratitude for the little reminders the Lord sends me to remind me of my worth when I have momentarily forgotten. I am truly blessed!

I hope and pray that you too can find the truth about yourself and feel the unconditional love our Heavenly Father has for you.  He hears your prayers and will answer them!  It might not be right away, but he will answer them.  He loves you! 

Luvz,

Meg:0)