Blog Update

You are going to have some inspiration fall into your emails as we are rolling up our sleeves and putting a little more thought and dedication into our blog!  We are going to bring you a little more inspiration and awareness and love through some specific themes as we go through our week as Sisters in Zion!  Please feel free to submit stories and topics to our R.S. Blogger, Aubrey Aguilar.  You can contact her at aubreyaguilar@gmail.com, and we will incorporate anything you would like to share with our Relief Society sisters through the blog.  All we ask is that it is submitted with love and it for the intention of inspiring all.  If any of you have poetry, art, short stories, or anything that will bring beauty, unity, and love to our Ward sister we welcome all submissions!  The following will be some of the themes that you will start seeing in your inboxes!

Meditation Mondays:  A way to silent the noise in our lives and minds and tune into Spirit.  This will include a mantra (an easy thought to say to yourself to bring you back to the spirit), a scripture (to instill the gospel doctrine taught by the Savior and prophets), and a meditation.  These meditations will help us find a stillness inside that may if you choose, bring personal revelation and joy!  Not to be missed!

Testimony Tuesdays:  A testimony from church leaders including the apostles and prophets will be shared through text or video.  Each of us benefits from both sharing and listening to testimonies!

Wake-up Call Wednesdays:  This theme will help us remember who we really are, and our divine potential, and our place in the plan of salvation and what we need to remember in those instances when we forget who we really are.  This will be a broad theme that will include many dynamics and submission of your personal wake-up calls will be part of this theme to inspire and help us each remember our divine roles as Women of God.

Thank-you Thursdays:  This will focus on gratitude.  A attitude of gratitude is one of our greatest powers to access the power of God in our lives.  And it isn't always easy depending on our phase of life.  Gratitude will help us remember from where all abundance comes, and help us to see how richly blessed each of us truly is.

Full of Faith Fridays:  Submissions in this theme will be faith promoting to inspire each woman in all her various phases of sisterhood, womanhood, motherhood, and as a woman lighting the world.  Seeing the faith of others helps each of us reach higher, dream bigger, and act with more courage.  We are going to inspire some incredible changes!

Super Soul Saturdays:  This will include not just spiritual leaders of the church, but spiritual leaders throughout the world who are doing good, teaching by light, and helping to teach all of us that we must create a spiritual practice and love with compassion.  Joseph Smith taught that all knowledge through which you can feel the spirit of God is good.  The fruits of the spirit will let you know that which is true.  There are many spiritual leaders throughout the world teaching truths.  Even though they may not have the whole restored truth, they are our brothers and sisters and we can learn so much through them.  They help elevate us and lift us to higher planes.  This will results in increased compassion for all people, kindred, and tongues.  Lets learn from all who are faith promoting and bring the Spirit!

I hope you all will help us with submissions and also comments below the submissions.  This will be a way we can connect with one another during the week when many of us do not have the opportunity to see each other.  We can unite as women and learn and help and inspire one another!  See you tomorrow for our first meditation!

*Make all submission to Aubrey Aguilar @ aubreyaguilar@gmail.com.  Include your name, the submission, and which theme you would like it to be submitted to.  Submissions will be planned for posting each Sunday for the upcoming week*

Remembering President Boyd K. Packer

Audrey Kolb shared a bit from the wisdom of one of our beloved apostles in her lesson today.  She wanted to share a video highlighting his life and service.  I am not sure if this is the video she was going to share, but it is beautiful and shows the amazing example of a man completely devoted to Christ and the building of his kingdom.  May we all strive to reach a little higher and shine a little brighter and bear testimony as President Packer exemplified.  We are so thankful for him and all he taught us.

Relief Society Enrichment! Don't Miss This One!

If you have never been to one of our Enrichment Nights, you will never, ever want to miss one after you get the chance to go!  We have THE most talented women who plan these nights and each one is as if you went to a spiritual, cleansing, rejuvenating spa for the soul, body, and mind.  If you HAVE attended you know what I am talking about and I can be sure you are anxiously awaiting this upcoming enrichment night and while you are waiting you are calling all your girlfriends, your visiting teaching sisters, and any women you can think to join your carpool to arrive ready for your personal soul spa at our event next Tuesday!  And don't forget to bring a pair of your shoes with YOUR story!!!  We can't wait to see you!  And here is a quick message from Kelsey Livington with an overview of the activity and a couple important details:

"Relief Society evening meeting has been moved to Tuesday June 30th at 6:30PM. The theme is going to be "Walk a Day in My Shoes". Sisters are asked to bring a pair of shoes that can be used to tell a great story about something in your life; about a time, an event, or a meaningful person. Also bring any **gently used** shoes that you wish to donate to charity, any size and gender accepted. There will be light food, dessert and beverage served, by way of food sign-up sheets that have been circulated at church. These meetings are always fun, entertaining and spiritually uplifting. We hope you can attend."

See you all there!

Congradulations to Liz!

All of us in the Colfax Relief Society want to shower Liz with hugs and kisses on her beautiful marriage to Joseph Nelson.  Liz has shown us all her courage and determination to continue in her progression by making the goal to get married in the temple.  We all are so proud of all her effort, patience, and her shining example of keeping her eye on what Heavenly Father wanted for her as His daughter.  She not only made her Father in Heaven proud yesterday, but also all of us in the ward and is such a beautiful example to every woman of God that if we strive to do what we know to be right, and work hard toward our goals whatever they may be, we will reach that goal if we are hand in hand with the Lord.  We are so thrilled that she is staying in the ward where we all will be able to learn from her, enjoy her talents, and continue our friendship with her and her family!  Liz we are so happy and proud of you!

Because of Him

The Relief Society is extending an invitation to all to join us in our journey this week in rediscovering what the Resurrection mean to each of us individually and as a whole.  The church has invited us to participate in an Easter Campaign that testifies of the miracles and blessing that come from the greatest gift we all have been given freely.  Go to http://www.mormon.org/easter and day by day let us renew our commitments to Him that has saved us all.  The site is set up with a daily writing of what occurred up to the Savior's Resurrection starting today (Sunday) and going to the following Easter Sunday.  The videos are beautiful and stir a desire to come unto him and partake of his love.  As I have watched the videos I feel an overwhelming desire to know him personally, that I may testify of Him and be a witness and disciple of that love.  Let's discover Christ all over again this week together.  As we go through the week if anyone is willing to send us a photo and their answer to this: "Because of Him ______________" I will post your picture and your feelings that we might all be edified together in this week of celebration that HE LIVES!  Your photo and answer can be emailed to aubreyaguilar@gmail.com.  #becauseofhim

A Clothing and Household Item Giveaway

Sisters!  Kathy Nielsen let us know that this Saturday here in Colfax there will be an event for the community at a local church.  All the information is below.  What a great opportunity to not only find some things that we might need, but also to get to know others in our community.  See ya there!

TUESDAY TIPS

SCRIPTURE JOURNALS

Our Tuesday Tip today is on scripture journals.  A fantastic way to study the standard works and more specifically the New Testament this year, is to create and use a scripture journal!  Why create a scripture journal you say?  Here are a few words from the prophets and apostles on why it can be important to have a scripture journal:

Why Scripture Journal?

Elder Richard G. Scott: “We often leave the most precious personal direction of the Spirit unheard because we do not record and respond to the first promptings that come to us when the Lord chooses to direct us.”

President Spencer W. Kimball: “Get a notebook, my young folks, a journal that will last through all time, and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity.”

Elder Gene R. Cook: “I've found, as I’m sure you have, that when you’re trying to learn from the Lord and you feel an impression from the Spirit, it’s important to make a note so it will not be forgotten. The more you not only hear but abide by what you've been told, the more the Lord will give to you. It will come more and more rapidly and you will begin to hear and feel those impressions of the Spirit more quickly than you have previously done.” 

Elder Neal A. Maxwell: “The prompting that goes unresponded to may not be repeated. Writing down what we have been prompted with is vital. A special thought can be lost later in the day through the rough and tumble of life. God should not, and may not, choose to repeat the prompting if we assign what is given such a low priority as to put it aside.”This method of scripture study can really help the scriptures come alive and help us to understand the meaning of the scriptures as well as reveal things we may not have come across by just reading the scriptures alone. 

We absolutely love the line from President Kimball when he says that the words we may record in our journals may just be quoted by angels!!!!  Imagine that!   

There are amazing templates to help us in our quest to journal our findings in the scriptures and we would like to share a few of these for those of you ready to dive a little deeper into the scriptures this year!  These templates were found from various bloggers who shared their templates and printables through Pinterest.  The link are provided.

The first FREE printable to share is one that focuses on General Conference.  This is one that could be printed and used in your study of the General Conference Addresses, which is ALSO SCRIPTURE!  

The link to this fabulous printable is from a blog named Our Scribbled Walls and you can find the link to download here,

Another very simple FREE printable comes from the blog Rock, Paper, Scriptures. 

This we love as a way to record those promptings and inspiration that comes through studying the word of God.  Click here to download this printable.

An amazing site called The Red Headed Hostess, provides some amazing and beautiful printable resources for scripture study.  And although they are not free downloads, it might be worth a few dollars for those of you who love beauty and organization.  

The link for these amazing downloads are here.  Again, there is a fee, but these are so fantastic.

There are more resources online, these are just the tip of the iceberg, and if you want to keep it super simple like a lot of us just find yourself a notebook and start recording what you are studying and the inspiration that can come so that you one day can just maybe be QUOTED BY AN ANGEL!