The Road is Rough...

Dear Blogger Friends:

I know I was supposed to post something about spelling, but instead I decided to post about something else... Lately I've had the chance to talk to a few friends about some choices that they made and are thinking about making, and I thought it might be helpful to share some of my cents with all of you. Here it goes.

So we all know that being LDS implies that we have to do (abide) with a lot of "laws" that normally we wouldn't worry about were we in another situation. The beauty of it though, is that we have the fullness of the Gospel in our lives. When we agreed to the Plan of Salvation, we received a mortal body and the chance to go through the plan here on Earth, to grow and evolve into perfect beings eventually. When we agreed to it, we also agreed that we would have to go through trials in order to achieve that perfection...

What happens however, is that we forget about it and start complaining about life over and over. That is also my case, I am not excluding myself from the situation, but for these past couple of weeks I have apparently come to think a lot about it. Anyways... One of my friends is seriously thinking about "taking some time off" from Church. My dear friends, there is no such thing as "time off" from Church. Does Heavenly Father take vacation from listening to the prayers of His sons and daughters? I DON'T THINK SO! What happens is that WE are the ones who FORGET that HE IS RIGHT THERE, waiting for us to be humble enough to kneel down in prayer and ASK HIM for the blessings that we need.

I many times forget that when I need something, all I have to do is ask. And people still think this is the hard way... Oh, yeah, I can find a guy outside of the church because he is cute, he compliments me and makes me feel beautiful about myself, and yes, I can take some time off the church because the mentality of many of the members is very limited and they lack vision, they have prejudice against me, yada, yada, yada... But are those really the easiest ways? What if I decide to take some time off and go have a drink, or (pardon the language ) hook up with some cute guy I met at a club? That might bring me instant pleasure, but what about my ETERNAL happiness? Am I willing to sacrifice that for a MOMENT? I'd rather just kneel down...

... There's always a way back, but it is hard. It is painful, it brings a lot of sadness, but yet this process is necessary in order for the person to feel TRUE joy. Another friend is going through that process right now and I heard from him that he had no idea how he could remain in denial for such a long time, when all he really wanted was to go back to the fold of the Shepherd. Pride is a very serious barrier to that. It takes guts to be humble and to do what is right, knowing that you are going to be judged for what you have done... But he did it! And I sincerely hope he is coming back for good.

As for my other friend with whom I talked today, I told him/her that even though they might be frustrated with their current situation - having to deal with depression and telling me "I don't want to date LDS people anymore" - this is no excuse. The person contradicted him/herself saying that... and I was like "Then how do you expect to marry in the Temple one day?"

To me it sounds like the person is lacking Eternal perspective, and honestly my friends, the enemy takes advantage of those situations to make you feel the worst person in the world. To make you think that you are worthless and that exaltation is not achievable.

To all you my friends out there, who are somehow struggling, please listen to my plead and pour your heart to the Lord. I've done that before and He has done wonders for me! Be worthy to attend the Temple and set a regular schedule to do so. You will bless your life and the life of others as well. Have faith! Things might seem to be hard but trust me, they will get better. :)

Birthday Bash

It's been a long time since it actually happened but I thought it was worth it to share it here. :) My birthday was on February 12, and long before I was trying to plan what to do for that date, I guess because I really was missing home and all the good stuff that comes on your birthday when you are at home :) I should have posted the pics but I don't like the ones that I'm in a lot... I look kinda weird hahaahha

After a lot of thinking and little money, I decided to bake a cake and sing "Happy Birthday" at my apartment. Turns out that when I invited the people, EVERYONE volunteered to bring something to the party. At first I was hesitating, but then I realized that it was very nice of them to offer that, so I accepted it.

I baked the cake - German Chocolate with Cashew Pralines and Brigadeiro filling and Chocolate Buttercream and Cashew Pralines Frosting). De-Lish!!! :) Luciane helped me assemble the cake, which was probably 8 inches tall. So Yummy!

Cefas and Paulinha brought 50 coxinhas that we fried (yes, deep-fried - it's once in a life time anyways, right?), Ana made the meat for the hot dogs, Carol brought the Guarana, Barbara made a delicious Pave, and Anna and Johan brought Thomas (He was the entertainer of the party).

It was so fun, and I want to thank ALL my friends who were able to make it! It was good to celebrate birthday at my house, and it will be in my memory forever!

The Article on the Scroll

Since it was one of my upcoming posts, I better post about it before I forget it. BYU-Idaho has a newspaper that comes out every week called "The Scroll". That newspaper is actually a way for me to keep myself informed about what's going on in Rexburg and in the world. Time is always an issue for me but I am getting better at sitting down and reading newspapers online... Anyways.

Last week, when I was browsing through the Scroll to find the coupon section, I encountered an article that gave people tips on how to pass clean checks. For those who are not familiar with it, clean checks are performed in student housing here at BYU-I every month, to make sure tenants are keeping the house clean, and also to teach many of them how to take care of a house - trust me, that is SO NEEDED on this campus.

As I read the article I come across a statement - well, a "tip" - from one of the people that were interviewed that said something like: "If your sink is full of dirty dishes just throw them in the cabinets and you will pass because usually they don't check the cabinets." ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I guess I shouldn't be so offended at such a statement but I was. I guess because I always make so much effort to keep the house that I live clean, while one of my roommates is such a pig!!! It's disgusting! To me, it sounds like hiding dirty dishes in the cupboards is not honest, and that really bothers me! In a university where you have to sign an Honor Code to live honestly, doesn't that sound bad? Maybe I'm making too big of a deal...

I want to hear from you. What do you think?