The Sunshine Poet

So, I have decided to start a new blog. I feel that I have finally figured out the direction that I want to go with my writing. The Sunshine Poet should be a much more focused blog that is easier to read and follow.

Also, with my new blog, be sure to message me. I will constantly be looking for other artists to feature. So if you ever write poetry, feel free to send it in!

In addition, if you want to see the kinds of things I wrote while on my mission, go to A Marvelous Work in Montana.

Have a great day!!!!

Till We Meet Again

So, today is my last day in California as an average Jane. Tonight, I am going to be set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This means that I will be given the power and authority to act as a representative of Jesus Christ and His Church. I will spend the next 18 months serving full-time in the Montana Billings mission preaching the gospel to my fellow-men. If I spend that entire time laboring and only improve the life of one person, it will have been time well spent. (I do, however, hope to have a little more success than that.)

I won't be writing on my blog while I am gone for the next year and a half, so I would like to bid you all farewell and leave a parting message of love. You are all amazing. We all have times where we feel inadequate and unworthy, but I hope that each of you can feel the truth in my words when I say, "You are always loved!" You are never alone or deserted. You matter to Him. 

My mission in life, not just these next few months, is to bless the lives of others and to help them find truth and happiness. That is why I have this blog. That is why I write to you. I care about each and every one of you, even if I am unaware of your particular situation. I pray for the guidance to write what you need to hear, that I may be a tool in the Lord's hands helping him to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

You need not be blown about as "chaff in the wind." Your Father is there to guide you through the storms of life. There is help when you are struggling; just ask. 

If there are any of you who wish to receive my weekly emails while I am away in Montana and have not given me your email yet, send me a message or leave your email as a comment below.

God be with you till we meet again.

Lost and Found

I love art. I love the feelings that a mere piece of print or canvas can evoke. I love trying to figure out why the artist chose the subject and medium that he did. Most of all, I love the peace and beauty that can be found and portrayed.

{Now, before you begin to test my knowledge of Da Vinci, Van Gogh, or Alexandros of Antioch, I must admit that I am not the most educated of art critics. I still have much to learn as I collect other people's art and experiment making my own.}

Today, I found a picture that I just had to get.

It is called, "Lost and Found" by Greg Olsen.

Perhaps the purpose was to:

• Show that Christ cares, no matter why the young man is in his current situation or where he is going.

• Contrast the Savior's reaction to our own reactions. Do we see others around us as children of God who are loved just as much as us?

• Say that Christ can be seen in the kindness of others. Could Olsen possibly have envisioned the Savior shining through a caring stranger who stopped to talk to the lonely boy on the bench?

Is there a possibility that all three are valid?

You decide.

That is what I love about art.

Another Beginning

So, as I prepare to leave on my mission to Billings Montana, it feels like I am closing another chapter in my life. I leave in about a month and it is both exhilarating and exhausting to think about. So much will change while I am gone. I hope most of those changes are for the better, but I know they won't all be.

"For it must needs be, that there is opposition in all things. (2 Nephi 2:11)."

I take hope from the fact that every ending leads to a new beginning.

Another Beginning

I used to think we'd never part;
The thought had never crossed my mind,
But now, I find I'm at the start
And your path, I've left behind.

Among the rocks, you now wind,
But I chose the straighter course.
At first offset, I seemed to find
My chosen path to be the source

Of obstacles so great a force
That I had not strength to stand,
And soon my weary voice grew hoarse
Calling, pleading for your hand.

This was not the end I planned!
But somehow, I stumbled on
And I found a meadowland;
Finally, your shadow gone,

I forgot to dwell upon
All the things I wished for you.
I almost cried to see the dawn
And first-time saw, the morning dew.

Gotta love Enya. =)

The Greatest Commandment

"And I do this for a wise purpose... and now, I do not know all things, but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come: wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will." ~Words of Mormon 1:7

Even when we don't know exactly where we are going in life, the Lord has a plan. Sometimes, it is necessary to take a step into the dark in order to find the light.  As we make plans and care for others around us above ourselves, we will be cared for in return. I have seen this time and time again in my own life. I hope it may help in yours.

So, I believe in making plans. I believe in taking action. I believe in practicing pure love.

"For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life, for my sake, shall find it." ~Matthew 16:25

Blossom Rose

This is for all of the wonderful people I have met in my life who have taught me what true love is. Written from the perspective of a mother whose child was born with a disability. 

Well, you were born perfect to me:
Almond eyes and a button nose.
What a beautiful sight to see,
My tender blossom rose.

They told me to give up hope
You'll never live a normal life
That it's selfish in this scope
To keep you in such strife.

But I decided you were mine
To care for and protect for time
I didn't need a bigger sign
Than your smile, beauty sublime.

You'll walk and talk, but never learn
Arithmetic or cursive
Yet nothing in the world could earn
The love you freely give.

They told me all the faults in you
Yet they never saw ahead
How you would change my view
And make life so blessed.

Now, you're still perfect to me:
Almond eyes and a button nose.
What a beautiful sight to see,
My tender blossom rose.

I Hope They Call Me On a Mission...

Night after night, when my older sister, Amy, would tuck me in to bed at night, I would ask for that same song. Every night.

When I was 10, I started saving up for a mission. By the time I was 13, I had $500 saved up. Then, I decided that a mission probably wasn't in my future because, knowing myself, I wanted to get married instead of serving a mission at 21 years old.

So, I just decided that my life was my mission. I would work every day to make at least one person's day better and brighter through letting the light of Christ shine through me.

Then, last October, the age for sister missionaries was reduced to 19 years old. I was extremely excited, but still felt it wasn't right for me.

About a month ago, something changed. Suddenly, it just seemed so right. Everything fell into place.

And now, it's coming true! I have just submitted my papers to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I just have one interview left before my papers are sent to Salt Lake City where I will be assigned an area in which to serve. For a year and a half, I will put everything aside to serve the Lord, my God.

Stay tuned to see where I get called to serve!*

Yeah, life is good. =)











*Feel free to comment with guesses about where you think/want me to go. Winner gets a prize.