God's Favourite |
Cam's Quotes
Be wary of repeating them.
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Our Similarities
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
He Delivers
I started this one on Sunday but had several other things I ended up doing. So sorry for the delay.
My goal this year was to read (or listen to) The Book of Mormon three times. I have never read that quickly. Even on my mission, when I was studying every day for an hour, I read it twice over 18 months. So, this was a big goal for me. I definitely got behind and am still catching up on my last read through.
For my first read, I marked characteristics/aspects of God. Many of these were actions that God has taken. But I tried to mark anything that gave a hint to God's character. I marked several characteristics and actions, but one stood out to me more than others. It was repeated over and over in The Book of Mormon.
He is a God of Deliverance. He delivers.
Paige Payne Creations |
He delivers the righteous from their bondage. He delivers them from their feelings of grief. He delivers the wicked into the hands of other wicked people. And He delivers the wicked into the hands of the righteous. He delivers His message to people around the world. He delivers command keepers to better pastures.
Different definitions of 'deliver' include to provide, to set free, to bring, to hand over, to send, or to aid bringing forth. To deliver is to move.
God is a mover of people. He will bring you where He intends. He will not leave you alone. This could be physically, mentally, emotionally, etc. God will bring you to Him if you let Him. And He will bring you to promised blessings. You just have to trust Him. (Which I understand is very hard to do sometimes.)
Whatever space you may be in, when you turn to God, He will deliver you.
Because God delivers.
He is a God of deliverance.
He delivers.
***
The above painting is by Paige Payne. She had a day of screenshotting some of her creations for phone wallpaper. I have had this as my wallpaper for a while. I have needed deliverance from a lot of emotions this year. I have received deliverance throughout the year and hope to receive more deliverance. I haven't necessarily been delivered from all of the trials, but they have become easier to bear. I will continue to put my trust in the Lord, for He knows so much more than I.
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Quotes 2023
Acting sluggishly
When you receive promptings from the Spirit, you are advised, or counseled, if you will, to act immediately. We talked about acting immediately in Relief Society a few weeks ago. A lot of the conversation was about missing opportunities and not being able to serve others, which may be the case, but this is my testimony from not acting immediately.
Over the course of the last year, I have prayed about so many things. I have received promptings and have acted not immediately. I have pretended that I was acting on the promptings, but it wasn’t a full follow or trust in the Savior’s plan.
Most of my promptings have been about my work situation. It is not ideal, and the promptings I have received also seem not ideal to me. In November last year, a rhetorical question asked during a lesson and/or during General Conference was, “If you had more faith, what would you do?” The immediate thought that came to my mind was, I would quit my job. Afraid Cami then did not quit her job but transitioned merely to a PRN position (as needed). This way, scared Cami could still have work and provide for herself and her husband.
Fast forward to June of this year. Still hesitant Cami was working PRN. Every shift she picked up, she lost more and more hope in her job. She gave up on trying to provide well thought out groups. She struggled to have motivation to keep providing authentic and encouraging recreation therapy. So, she wrote a resignation letter and didn’t come back.
Yes, I did it very poorly. But every time I thought about coming in for next shift, I wanted to cry. And I did cry. I felt so horrible about the way that I left. I also cried at work thinking about how much I could no longer stand my job and the feeling that I had very minimal support. And that my coworkers that did encourage me were also giving up. They also felt defeated.
So I quit. Seven months after the prompting, I finally acted 100% to that prompting.
I've seen a few wonderful changes from acting 100%, including my mood and outlook on life. Last year, I started tracking my mood and occasionally stress levels regularly. Almost immediately after quitting in June, my mood was consistently higher. I was rarely tracking my mood as bad. Whereas before I quit, my mood was almost always tracked as bad. My stress improved. My mood improved. I am so much happier. That job was sucking the life out of me.
evidation.com |
Another blessing that has come from acting 100% on the quitting my job inspiration may be the ability to follow through with another prompting. I'm not saying that this is definitely the reason for the struggle, but it could be. This one may be TMI, so you don't have to keep reading this one. Just skip the asterisked section.
***
As I prayed about what to do with my life, I kept getting the prompting to have kids. And as my husband and I struggled to get pregnant, I would tell God that that wasn't a funny joke. He knew we had been trying, and yet he was telling me to have kids. At around 11 months, we had decided that if we weren't pregnant by this October, we would start the adoption process.
Almost immediately following quitting my job in June, we were able to get pregnant (at about 13 months). So, I guess technically we would be in the infertile category, but I feel I'm not allowed to talk about infertility because we did get pregnant, so there's that. I don't know if it was because my stress levels were finally so low or if God said, "Okay, you're finally listening to me, I'll bless you now." I won't ever really know, but I have a feeling it was a lot to do with my insane amount of stress from my job.
***
Sometimes when we don't act immediately, we aren't missing out on opportunities, but we may be delaying blessings. I'm not saying that God is going to not give you blessings because you don't follow His counsel and is just going to wait. But God does know best. He knows what is hurting us, and He tells us what will help us. When we aren't following our promptings, we are just continuing to hurt ourselves. We are the ones in the way of our own blessings. When we don't trust, we don't willing receive the help God is giving to us. Hopefully, I can do better in the future at following promptings immediately. 'Cause even though my situation is still not ideal, I am doing so much better than before.
Sunday, September 1, 2024
"Jack of All Trades, Master of a Few"
Hey Peeps!
It's been a long, long while. I haven't posted something substantial since July last year. I just wanted to give you an update of my life and what my hopes are for my blog for the foreseeable future. (And also give you all the quotes from 2023.)
For an update on what I am doing with my life, I am following my Recreation Therapy professor's modified phrase of "jack of all trades, master of a few." To start with what I am a "master" of, I work in mental healthcare. I am a PRN (as needed, just picking up shifts here and there) Recreation Therapist at a mental/behavioral health hospital. I also work with the City of Chandler as a Recreation Assistant. This one's a new job, and I'm still learning some of the ins and outs of it, but this one is my fun job. I get to go on outings, such as fishing trips and hiking. And my regular, but least amount of time job is being a piano teacher. I picked it back up in February last year. (If anyone is thinking about taking piano lessons, I currently charge $18 per 30-minute lesson, once a week. I usually teach beginner to early intermediate students. If you're already a pro, please don't come to me.) I also have a t-shirt "business." I screen print shirts and have sold a few. So, that's my job situation right now. I don't have a super consistent schedule, but I do consistently have work each week. So it's fine.
Also, what I am doing with my life (besides work) is trying to be a good wife, sister, daughter, and slightly fit/healthy person. I currently live at my dad's house in his mother-in-law suite. So, yeah, I'm the 30-year-old still living with her parent’s house. At least it's not the basement. And at least I'm not just gaming all the time (I rarely game, and it's usually when my brothers need a third player.) My goal is to start traveling a little more to see my siblings because they always come here, and I rarely go to them. I should probably also start just calling them more often. That would be good to do. I've been married a little over a year, and I am learning a lot. I am working on my communication skills (being nicer and more understanding).
In regards to this blog, I am going to try to write more. I want to do my Sunday thoughts at least twice a month. These will be a bit more "church-y" and spiritual, but they will go under the Sunday Thoughts label. If you want to look at what I am writing for those, you can access them through that label.
So here we go on another adventure. We'll see how long I can keep this up. Also, the shirt in the picture is one of my screen printed ones. If ever you want to check out my shirts, I have them here.Saturday, January 6, 2024
2023 Reading Goal
Last year, I had a goal to read 12 books, so basically 1 a month. And I wanted to read the physical copies, so even though I listened to audiobooks, I didn't feel like I had met my real goal. (The books I read can be found here.) So this year, I set the same goal for myself. I wanted to read 12 books instead of listening to them, even though I still wanted to listen to audiobooks. This year turned out to be an adventure because I ended up going down a giant rabbit hole that increased my usage of e-books (Kindle and Apple books).
So, if you would like to know the books I have read this year, they are the following.
Audiobooks
Physical Books
E-books
Sunday, July 30, 2023
A Season of Hope and Joy
Christmas Day #4
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
A Christmas Feast
Who likes food? I do. I definitely do. So now we're gonna share some food. I have a few places that I want to share with you guys.
Christmas Day #3
Monday, July 24, 2023
On the Second Day of Christmas
Hey guys! How is Christmas in July going for ya? If you want another easy way to give, I have a great idea for you. Also, if you like reading, this one's for you.
Christmas Day #2
Sunday, July 23, 2023
Christmas in July
I'll probably get a lot of flack for this. Actually, I don't know, since I don't have that many people who follow the stuff that I post or care about it if it happens to come across their feed. I missed halfway to Christmas on June 25, so I guess we'll have to celebrate Christmas in July instead. This is also prompted by so much hate that I see on my Instagram feed. I have a variety of people on my Instagram feed: different walks of life, religious beliefs, values, political views, physical and mental abilities, etc. There has been a big stir among my friends. Again. It happens more often than I would like. The people on my feed disagree. But it's not just a disagreement; it's a battle. At least one side, usually both, tries to tear the other side apart and show how stupid the other side is and how immoral the other side is. However, each conflict that emerges is so much more complex than only one side being dumb. But why does it have to be so hateful? Why do we have to be so mean?
Sometimes that arguments (especially the latest) are about how to help people. I've seen so many people get up in arms about how an organization is not perfect. So to be transparent, none of these organizations is perfect, but they are doing more than I could do on my own. In the spirit of giving, since it's Christmas in July, here are some organizations, items, ideas, (or people?) that have brought me hope or joy and help me share the gifts of life and joy to others.
Without further ado, let's get the party started.
Christmas Day #1
image from redcrossblood.org |
Sunday, July 9, 2023
The Dole Whips of Marriage
Sorry I've been gone for so long (as if anybody stays up-to-date on my blog). If you have actually stayed in the know, I wrote about The Dole Whips of Singlehood a while ago. (It's been two years.) I said that I would get myself 7 dole whips if I was single during my family's Disneyland trip. The old blog post explains how that did and didn't happen. But my sister tried to convince me to get 8 if I was married on that trip. Well, I finally had my "8th" Dole Whip.
My "8th" Dole Whip |
I got married in March, and my reception was held at my aunt's sister's backyard. I had an idea of what I wanted to have as food for the reception, and it became a "potluck" of sorts for my aunt's family. I did not know that there would be Dole whips. I guess it was a last minute thing that happened. But it was perfect! So many guests loved the treat. And my older sister was so happy that I finally got to have my marriage Dole whip.
Sunday, February 12, 2023
New Team Cami Updates
Okay everybody, I have a new order form for Team Cami shirts. I definitely haven't worked out all the kinks yet. This is mostly for my people in Arizona, but if you happen to want a shirt somewhere else, we can figure something out. The cost might be higher for shipping, and I will contact you.
Here are two of my lovely models:
2022 Second Half Quotes
Cami: It's more like an ox in a slightly muddy patch.
Thursday, December 29, 2022
2022 Reading Goal
I had a goal this year to read 12 books (about 1 each month), which is not much in the reading community. I love reading, but I don’t have a lot of time because I’m doing so many different things all the time. So I thought I could read one book each month. I did not do that. I read 10 books. But, I also listened to 11 audiobooks. So count what you will. I really wanted to read read the 12 books. Here’s my list with a comment or two for each book.
I finally listened to The Hobbit. I did not get to The Lord of The Rings books though. Maybe next year?
I have one more book in this series to finish. I started the last book though, so it will be the start of next year's list of books. The second book took me a lot longer to read. Once again, I was drawn in more by the first book. Maybe it's the author? 'Cause it's the same author as the magician series.
Sunday, September 4, 2022
Why Do You Stay?
When I was serving my mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I had two questions that I loved asking to other missionaries. Their answers to these questions showed me their heart, resilience, and if they were going to have a miserable time. The two questions were, "Why did you come on a mission?" and "Why do you stay on your mission?" I think these two questions apply to the church as a whole too. The reasons that people share as to why they joined and why they stay will tell so much. So, I wanted to share my answers to the two questions.
Why I Joined
Why I Stay
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