Join me each week and listen in as I interview amazing individuals who will share with you incredible stories that have come from their life's experiences. Stories that will truly uplift and inspire you! As a social worker for more than three decades, and over twenty years as a college professor in social work, I know the power that comes from sharing stories. Each one of us has a story waiting to be told. By sharing our stories of strength, courage, and perseverance, despite life's challenges, it will help us understand ourselves and the world around us much clearer. My purpose for creating this podcast is to bring your stories to life, and hopefully in the process, help others gain strength and optimism that will help them in their own life's journey. I hope you will join me in this process, and perhaps I can share your story as well!
4 Subscribers
Podcast hosts
- GWray
@GWray
© 2023 A Little Wray Of Sunshine: Inspirational stories from everyday people
A Little Wray Of Sunshine: Inspirational stories from everyday people
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4 Subscribers
Reviews
TeDdYbEaR13YA
5 out of 5 stars
This is amazing
Listening to this and being in an episode was the best experience I have ever had. Being his granddaughter is an amazing thing and talking and helping others is such a great experience.
Podcast information
- Amount of episodes
- 65
- Subscribers
- 4
- Verified
- Yes
- Website
- Explicit content
- Yes
- Episode type
- episodic
- Podcast link
- https://podvine.com/link/..
- Last upload date
- May 26, 2023
- Last fetch date
- May 26, 2023 8:06 AM
- Upload range
- WEEKLY
- Author
- Grover Wray
- Copyright
- © 2023 A Little Wray Of Sunshine: Inspirational stories from everyday people
susbcribers
- "We will never have the answers of why we go through the most difficult things" - Erin DominguezIn this episode, Erin Dominguez shares her unbelievable and amazing journey of how she has risen above numerous trials in her life. Against all odds, Erin was able to pick up the pieces and move forward, leading her to where she is today. Among other things, Erin has endured emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, several failed marriages and relationships, homelessness, and eventually thoughts of ending her life on more than one occasion. Through it all, Erin has demonstrated that no matter what someone does in life, they still have a purpose... "Just because you've done this or you've done that or you're broken in some sense, that doesn't mean that you don't have purpose because everybody does...everyone!" Erin's positive attitude and love for life is so refreshing! "God has a plan... He's got a plan and I serve an amazing God, because I know that I would not be here if it wasn't for that kind of Grace."0 comments0
- "Our Savior understands our hearts, and He loves us" - Ashley BuhlerThis episode is a remarkable story of never giving up and trusting in the plan that Heavenly Father has for us. At the tender age of eighteen, Ashley Buhler's life was altered in a major way when her single parent mother was tragically killed in a car accident. Relying upon her faith in God and in her Savior Jesus Christ, Ashley continued to have faith that things would work out. "Always pray and always keep the Lord close to you; He can support you and love you ... if you focus on the love of the Savior and His Gospel and the very minute details of that, I think you can pull through any hardship you have." Ashley is a great example of one who exhibits extraordinary faith... "Our Savior understands our hearts and He loves us and if we communicate with Him through prayers or scripture study or just have a thought in our minds, He'll pull us through."0 comments0
- A Little Wray Of Sunshine: Inspirational stories from everyday people May 12 · 29m "Forgiving someone doesn't necessarily mean excusing what they did" - Chloe EmmelkampThis episode explores one young woman's experiences she had while growing up in a divorced family environment. Chloe Emmelkamp shares what it was like to be in an environment of mental and emotional abuse that she endured for years from her mother as a child growing up. Through it all, Chloe made (and continues to make) conscious choices to to do whatever she can to rise above it all and forgive her mother. As you will see, much of Chloe's ability to be positive about her past experiences comes from recognizing that she has choices. "What you choose matters and you always have a choice in what happens...you have a choice to do with what's happened to you."0 comments0
- Life is wonderful, even when it's not, it is - Shaela CrosbyHave you ever wondered what it would be like to just set aside the negative events in your life and replace it with positive ones? Shaela Crosby does just that... "Do your best to stay positive in how you view the world, because I find a lot of the time that what you put out into the world is what you're going to get back." Shaela is truly inspiring for those of us who need to recognize the good in life, despite what cards we may have been dealt... "Are you going to let your past absolutely consume you and drag you down, or are you going to accept that it was just a terrible glitch in life and move forward and accept that its gonna be better and it can only go up from here." Thank you for being the light in what can often times seem like a dark world my friend...0 comments0
- "Take the experiences, good or bad, and make something of it" - Canute DennisIn this special episode, Canute Dennis shares his experiences growing up in the foster care system in New York because his parent's were addicted to drugs and could not properly care for him and his five siblings. Canute is a great example of never giving up, even when life seemed impossible at times. "There's times when you can get your discouraged moments, but the moment you stop trying, that's when it ends... take the experiences, good and bad, and make something of it, don't let the world tell you you can't." His wisdom and attitude will inspire you to stay strong in the face of adversity... "You're in a race, you're running, you want to come in first place, but you just stop mid race... how you ever gonna know if you're gonna come in first place if you never keep running?"0 comments0
- "We're all imperfect beings, trying to become perfected" - Jess EllsworthJess Ellsworth has a remarkable and humbling story that begins when her mother was pregnant with twins... Jess and her brother. It was at that time that Jess's father was sent to prison for child molestation, and remained there for the majority of Jess and her brother's growing up years. This is a story of love, forgiveness, and taking the higher road. Jess reminds us that "there's so much more to people than what they've done in the past" and she learned many lessons along the way. "I definitely have a lot more empathy for different types of people because there's so much more to them than just their past." As you listen to this heartwarming story, you will understand why Jess says... "This is my Gethsemane."0 comments0
- "Read my heart." - Meka ReedSometimes talking with someone over the phone whom you've never met can be awkward and uncomfortable... That was definitely not my experience with Ohio resident, Meka Reed! This wonderful woman shared her story of how she went from suicide attempts, to finding hope in her life through religion and reading the Book of Mormon. "I didn't use to have a positive attitude, I used to struggle with depression so much... I used to try to commit suicide and I have had several failed attempts." Through her desire and dedication to bring God into her life, Meka has made a miraculous transformation. When asked how she maintains her relationship with God, she said through prayer. "He (God) knows what I'm talking about and when I can't get the words out, I just say read my heart... and I know he can because I gave him permission to."0 comments0
- "Ask God if these things are true, and also ask God if these things are not true." - Godfrey NkulaIn this episode you will hear of one young man's journey that led him to seek God's will for him while exploring which religion he should join. Godfrey Nkula is a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, and he shares his conversion story about how he was able to set aside his own will and put his trust and faith in God's plan for him. This humble, and remarkable young man seeks to live every aspect of his life by the Spirit and is willing to accept God's will for him without question. This episode is, for lack of better words, soup for the soul and will inspire you to seek God's will in your own life.0 comments0
- A Little Wray Of Sunshine: Inspirational stories from everyday people Mar 31 · 25m "It's OK for life not to turn out exactly like you expect it to." - Kerry DraneyApproximately 18 years ago, Kerry Draney went through a divorce, finding herself in a very new situation as a single mother of three daughters. "Be grateful for what you have in your life and in your relationships, and don't ever minimize that based on what you think you should have. There's a good chance you have it all, you just are choosing not to see that." This episode is all about being positive with where you are in life and taking control of your own destiny, while trusting in God that things will work out how they are supposed to. "It's ok for life not to turn out exactly like you expect it to, and it's ok to allow God to intervene to change that; and, it's ok to accept that things can be different and still be great and actually awesome and amazing if you allow yourself to see that."0 comments0
- "I knew I had to take care of her because she was not safe with him." - Soncee EllisThis is a harrowing story of a young woman who found herself trapped in an abusive relationship and the only way to survive was to find a way out. Soncee Ellis' courage to take action came after giving birth to her daughter and realizing that this was not the life she wanted for her. It was all she could do to break free from the domestic violence she was experiencing, but she did it.. "I was in a mental breakdown situation, I was crying uncontrollably... My maternal instincts finally kicked in." If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, please reach out for help before it's too late. National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-72330 comments0
- "Happiness is moving forward... and you choose that." Starla Stucki RadfordThe story you will hear from Starla begins at the age of sixteen when she became pregnant. She was married by age seventeen, and had two sons by the age of nineteen. After going through two divorces, Starla realized that she wasn't where she wanted to be in her life and began to do some soul searching. Her message is so positive and uplifting and it is all about hope, courage, and letting go. "You're not a failure because you can look and strive for something, anything, as long as you work toward those things and are growing." For those of us who struggle with being positive about our struggles in life, Starla has the answer... "If you aren't positive and you just look toward all those negative things like failure, you won't overcome anything and you will be stagnant and once you're stagnant you can't be happy because you have to move forward... happiness is moving forward and you choose that."0 comments0
- "You roll with life, or you get rolled over" - Kaitlyn DraneyIn this episode you will hear a young woman's perspective on growing up in a single parent, divorced household and how she has grown stronger because of what she experienced. "Right now we have kind of this eye shot of the hardship and the pain but if we look outside of ourselves there's always a bigger picture and maybe we'll need that for ourselves cause something harder is going to come and we know that we conquered the thing in the past so why not conquer the thing now." Kaitlyn will inspire you to do hard things, and to see the positive in this life... "Pain always stays, no matter what there always going to be pain from the past, but I think it's just how you deal with that pain.. you can either hold onto it, or you can set it aside and let it walk with you instead of being part of you." Finally, Kaitlyn's story will motivate you to keep moving forward despite the trials you are going through.. "We want to focus on the negative and we want to focus on the hard, but sometimes we just need to focus on what we are grateful for today and lets just go with that."0 comments0
- "If you just put your trust in the Lord, He will Provide." - Manny CarvajalManny Carvajal shares his faith promoting story of seeking to understand God's love for him and his family. He tells his conversion story of how, after many years, he embraced a religion that teaches that there is life beyond this life on earth. "I need to know that God loves me and that he has a plan for me and that there has to be more than this mortal existence." "if we stay focused on what we want, and if it's good, the Lord will grant it."0 comments0
- "Heavenly Father has a plan that we don't understand all the time." - Dawn AionaHave you ever just felt the goodness of someone the first time you met them? I had that unique opportunity recently with Dawn Aiona. Dawn and her husband Marvin were blessed with five children, but suddenly found themselves taking in four more children and raised them as their own. "Heavenly Father provides, we don't always understand when we're going through it, but He provides and it's exactly what needs to happen." This is a remarkable and inspiring story of trusting in God's plan. "People ask me how I do it and I tell them I just get up out of bed and face the day..." "I felt like there was a mantle on my husband and I to parent these children that we didn't have before..." Things didn't always go as expected, but Dawn puts things into perspective: "It's where your headed and the road that you're on, it doesn't matter that it's not perfect."0 comments0
- A Little Wray Of Sunshine: Inspirational stories from everyday people Feb 17 · 40m "Even if it really isn't much to somebody else, it's one-hundred percent of you... so do your best." - Olivia GroverOlivia Grover was a happy go lucky teenager who was active and full of life. After three concussions she began to experience a change in her personality, memory loss, anxiety, major depression, and suicidal. This is a story of a family's courage and perseverance as they worked tirelessly to find treatment for their daughter and rescue her from the devastation she was experiencing. In Olivia's words, "even though you don't feel like yourself, you're still in there.. there's still ways to access yourself even if you feel like you can't... just keep going, it'll really work out."0 comments0
- "Life is meant to be enjoyed, so do the things you want." - Kelsi FrybergerKelsi Fryberger is a wife, a mother, a nurse, and most recently, an author and self-publisher of several books. In this episode, you will see that you too are capable of being and doing what you want in life. Becoming an author was on Kelsi's "bucket list" and although it wasn't always easy, she is following her dreams and experiencing success. "I fail at a lot of things, but I just keep trying.... just because you fail at something, doesn't mean you're a failure." Kelsi will inspire you to follow your own dreams!0 comments0
- "It doesn't matter how many times you fall down...It only matters how many times you get back up." - Jed HancockIn this episode, Jed Hancock shares his views on how to improve our lives... "If you really want to be a son or daughter of God, you've gotta try everyday." Jedhas gone through a lot of health struggles, but makes an effort each day to get back up and do his best at living life. "God teaches us through trials... the suffering is what makes us who we are." Jed's story will make you think about how you are handling life's trials and overcoming your own obstacles.0 comments0
- "If you want to be happy, seek Jesus Christ" - Bruce FivasIn this episode you will hear from one of the most positive people on the Planet, Bruce Fivas. He shares his thoughts and feelings about being happy and how all of us can achieve happiness in this life. "Power, popularity, possessions, pleasures of the flesh will never make you happy." You may want to listen with a pen in your hand, because his quotes are plentiful! "There's so many challenges in mortality, but there's so many good things too... If you want to be happy, seek Jesus Christ... You don't need all the stuff that the world would tell ya you need to be happy." Thank you for inspiring everyone around you my friend.0 comments0
- "Be real close buddies to your sons and daughters" - Frank RandallI had the humbling opportunity to interview Frank Randall... Frank is 97 years old, and was drafted into WWII at a very young age. Hearing his stories about the war, his life, and how to be a successful parent, caused me to pause and ponder about how much untapped wisdom lies within our older generation. After listening to his stories, I encourage you to have the same conversations with your loved ones before it's too late. Enjoy!0 comments0
- A Little Wray Of Sunshine: Inspirational stories from everyday people Jan 6 · 34m "Christopher changed us as a family, he changed us as human beings" - ZoAnn KeckThis episode is a heart warming story about how one young man with muscular dystrophy changed the life's of the loving family who adopted him. ZoAnn Keck shares several remarkable experiences that will leave you with a greater appreciation of how God is in control of the details of our lives, and how He places people in our path for a purpose that often times transcends our mortal comprehension.0 comments0
- "We all have different abilities, but we all struggle." - Jenea FultzThis episode is part two with Jenea Fultz. In her first podcast six months ago, she reminded us that "a bad day is not a failure" and she shared about her journey with her weight and her self-worth. It's been six months since her gastric bypass surgery, and she shares with us about her new struggles and what she has learned about herself in the process.0 comments0
- The wonder of Christmas through the eyes of a 3-year old boyDo you remember what it was like as a child at Christmas time? If you have forgotten, this 9-minute bonus episode will help you remember as my 3-year old grandson Owen and I talk openly about Santa and other (sometimes random) things that come up. This episode will bring a special feeling to your heart as you prepare to celebrate this Christmas. Merry Christmas!!0 comments0
- "If you're having a bad day, the best thing you can do is go out and serve someone else." - Lori BaldwinIn this episode, Lori Baldwin shares about her passion and career of teaching and advising the HOPE SQUAD at Bonneville High School. Lori is invested in the youth of today, and has a positive attitude about them as our future leaders "These kids now days are just phenomenal... the depth that they have makes you feel really good that we're gonna be OK." If all the HOPE SQUADS around the country have leaders like Lori Baldwin, we are indeed in good hands as watch today's youth become our future leaders. After listening to this episode, you can't help but have a renewed spirit of hope, understanding, and compassion for people from all walks of life. You're making a difference Lori, keep it up!!0 comments0
Podcast hosts
- GWray
@GWray
© 2023 A Little Wray Of Sunshine: Inspirational stories from everyday people
