"Don't You Have a Good Feeling?"

On my quest for happiness, many of the things I read and watch all the say the same thing. Service is the key to happiness. It is something that I need to do more. Service is a loaded subject in that there are many different avenues I could take it, service in marriage, families, friends, neighbors, fellow church members, coworkers, etc. I realize that that is it. Opportunities to serve are everywhere and in every aspects of our lives, and it is up to ourselves to take advantage of the opportunities. It doesn't always matter how you serve, but always be willing, even if it is a smile. Don H. Staheli said, "I don't want to forget that it doesn't take much personal sacrifice to make people happy, that a little reaching out, and bit of inclusiveness, never hurts and will likely do a lot of good, for us as well as the recipient of our minor benevolence." With my experience with service, I know this to be true. Serving one another has a huge benefit to everyone's emotional well-being.

There were many things I did not love about my work in a clothing store, and many people would ask me, "What is the best part about your job?" I would promptly answer, "The people." Then they would ask with the follow up question, "What is the worst part about your job?" I would promptly answer, "The people." I would not elaborate. Some people would get it, and others would not. People could make or break your day. Still the person with the most responsibility for my day was me. I was my own make it or break it person. If I did my job right and serviced the customers and coworkers to the best of my ability, then I would have a successful happy day. If I ignored my customers, and provide them with no service, then where do you think my day would go? Even the customers coming in with some sort of complaint, if I did my best to help them, then they would have no reason to fight me and leave satisfied. I loved to help these ladies feel good about themselves. It made me happy. Would I have considered every day a "service project?" Of course not, but I did provide a service and put many happy faces on a lot of women. And that made me feel good. Those were the days I loved being at work. I was happy on those days.

I always hear, that the more you serve people, the more you love them. Yes. Serving in church callings, I have always been amazed at how much I come to love the people I helped or taught. I became friends with some of my customers in the store. The more I try to support and help Hubs, the more I love him. I think of Christ. How much love did he have for us before he suffered in the garden and the cross? Now think of how much more he loves us after the fact? How much more do we love Him for His sacrifice?

When people serve you, it is an incredible feeling. You feel loved, valued, and great self-worth and it is an incredible feeling. Don't we want to spread that around?  I told Hubs once, in my great wisdom, that it is a lot easier to serve someone who is also willing to serve. If you want help, then make sure you are helping others. Quid pro quo. Karma. Golden rule. Whatever you want to call it. People watch. They see. If they see you helping, they will be much more willing to help you. And remember it gives you a good feeling. When Hubs and I lived in Wyoming, he helped so many people move. I sadly helped only one, but I tried to serve in other ways. When it came our turn to move, we had friends and neighbors help us with the packing, cleaning, and loading. We could not believe the benevolence of these people, who I know had busy lives of their own. Moving is hard, so Hubs and I are still incredibly grateful for all of those dear people. I also just have to say, sometimes it is easy to believe that we have nothing to share or give, but let me remind you we each have different gifts and talents. And we need to share those things with others. I have no great talent in organizing a pantry, but I can make cake cookies. I never know when cake cookies will come in handy.

YouTube's Mormon Channel has many videos and messages about service. I wish I could share them all. Many of them make me cry. This one is one of my favorites, and I believe it carries many of the messages of service.

I will let you watch and take your own message from it. One lesson that I learned is that you never know a person's situation. Can you imagine what would have happened if the boys took the man's shoes? Instead we got to see his happiness. Because we don't know anyone's situation we must willing to serve and to show kindness. Sometimes that is all that service is is kindness.

I know that service will make you happy. Service is serving God. So get out there and serve! It will give you a "good feeling."

Matthew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Not Completely in Love with You

"Marriage is a mosaic you build with your spouse, millions of tiny moments that create your love story." Jennifer Smith
I have been sick this week, so I have been cranky and whiny. My poor Hubs. He is so good and patient, and he hasn't felt that great either. House full of sicklings. Because he has been so great, I just have to give a shout out to my Hubs and my marriage. I have to say that my marriage is the thing that makes me the happiest.

For us marriage is eternal. It does not end when we die. "Till death do part" (or whatever it is) is not in our ceremony. Our words say "for time and all eternity." Marriage is another step to bringing us closer to our Father in Heaven. I am so excited that I get to spend eternity with this wonderful guy. Weddings are happy affairs. That moment when you and your spouse truly become one literally and figuratively. Then to build that relationship, making it stronger. Hubs once told me, he wasn't completely in love with me when we got married. I was of course a little taken aback and momentarily insulted, but then he said, "How could I have been when I fall more in love every day?" Good point, right? Still gives me warm and fuzzies when I think of that. Sweet moment. Love is a progression. The word "complete" is so final. I completed my homework, means I'm done. Complete means an end. Love, on the other hand, it should never end, and if it does, then what? I would be worried if our love stopped growing. We still have so much more to learn. I fall in love again with Hubs over and over again, and more and more. Those times I can't help but stare at him, and he tells me to stop looking at him. I can't help it. He's a fabulously good looking man.

Don't we look so cute?

Hubs and I, we took the dating slow, and then we were engaged for a really long time. Okay, slow and long for LDS standards. We were engaged for over a year. Normal LDS couples are engaged for only three months or so. We waited for so long because we wanted to be married in the temple. Because Hubs had been married before in the temple to his ex, he had to get special permission from the first presidency of the church. That is the prophet and his counselors. Since marriage is such a big deal, the first presidency does not take these things lightly. It's a huge undertaking to even get the process started, but that's a different story. It took over a year to get permission. Sometimes it takes less, I think it just depends on circumstances. That was one of the hardest years of my life. Hubs was getting a different job and moving to the next city over. I had to wait till my lease was up before I followed him. I lost my job, and then I was homeless when I finally was able to move. It was a rough year. Many tears were shed, and we almost gave up on our temple wedding. You can see we didn't, and I am so happy that we stayed strong. And that difficult year, made our wedding day that much sweeter.

Hubs and I are not perfect. We have squabbles sure, but that makes us normal I think. I wouldn't say opposites attract when it comes to marriage. I would say marriage is an attraction and joining of complementaries (I know it isn't a word). We are not an opposite of each other. We compliment each other. We are not the same. First one is the easiest one. Male and female. We fill in each other's gaps. I am a hopeless romantic, and Hubs just isn't. I am somewhat of a dreamer and can be caught with my head in the clouds, Hubs keeps me grounded. I am uncomfortable in a starchy clean house. I don't mind a little clutter or the look of "someone lives here", and Hubs is clean and organized. I am a terrible housekeeper. I clean something, and it doesn't look clean. I can scrub and scrub to no avail. Even vacuuming eludes me. Then Hubs comes in and nonchalantly swipes the rag and whatever it is is clean. Where Hubs is direct, I am subtle. Hubs would probably be good at poker, because he has the ability to be stoic. I wear my emotions all over. Where I am touchy feelie, Hubs is not so much. Still we have things in common. We like the same type of music. We share a love for movies of all kinds (maybe not so much chick clicks on his part). We love documentaries about nature and animals. We enjoy games (except we cannot play Monopoly). We like trivia things. I could go on, but I won't. I learn from Hubs. Hubs learns from me.

Hubs, he is a good guy. It may be what I love most about him. One thing that made me fall in love with him, was when he had problems in the process of his divorce, Hubs decided to stay close to his testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hubs was tempted to stray, but he didn't. Hubs is so committed and dependable. You can count on him to do something that he says he will do, or if you ask him. He will do what he can for you if you need help. Hubs works hard. He really does his best to provide and make sure I am taken care of. We are not blessed with children yet, but when we are, I know he will work just as hard if not harder for them. He does his best to be understanding when I am moody or in emotional upheaval. Hubs makes me laugh. Somehow he is excellent at timing his little quips and comebacks. In spite of his direct personality, he is quietly mischievous. His jokes or pranks aren't huge and elaborate but subtle. If you look over and see a cheesy grin, you know something came or is coming. He is an all around good man. Sure there are times I want to throttle him, and he wants to throttle me, but that's life and those times end in love. I would be worried if there weren't those times. I love my man.

So yes our marriage needs nourishment and care, but that's why we have each other. Even in our down times, I can honestly say I am happy. We get to be together. We have each other to count on when times are rough. We have each other's support. Why would anyone choose less? Love is an endless progression. I love you incompletely, Hubs.

Thank you, Hubs for five (and a bit) wonderful years.

"Dating and marriage aren't final destinations. They are the gateway to where you ultimately want to go." Robert D. Hales

Food for Thought

"Put 'Eat delicious food' on the top of list of things to do today. That way, at least, you'll get one thing done." (sign at a Red Robin in Fort Collins)

Oh my goodness I love food!! So that sign is so true. If I eat something delicious, I can cross that off my list, and more often than not that is all I accomplish. Sometimes it really stinks being a diabetic, and having to think about how much I am eating blah blah blah. Still, I love food. I would make the perfect Oliver Twist when he says, "Please, sir, I want some more." I always want more. I am always hungry. I always want to eat. Food is the ultimate source of comfort for most everyone. Chocolate is high on that list. And they say that America has the highest obesity rate of anywhere, and today I am okay with that because it is so much fun to get there (I do support a well-balanced diet FYI). This song is in my head so I have to quote it. It is from the musical "Oliver" the song "Food, Glorious Food" says, "Just thinking of growing fat/ our senses go reeling/ one moment of knowing that full-up feeling."  Poor orphans. It is such a glorious feeling especially that feeling of bliss and tranquility after a huge holiday dinner. Siiiiiiighhhhhh!!

I have tons of favorite foods, but I love snacking. Besides things like gummy bears, gummy worms, or chewy things like that, my favorite snack food is chips. I love chips, but of course they are the thing that completely makes my blood sugar spike like no other. I just can't help it. Chips are sooooo good. What goes well with chips? Why dip of course. There are many delicious dips, but the one that tops my chip is guacamole. Looking for a recipe brings up thousands, but I found one (with the help of one of my siblings) that even provides a song with the recipe. It gets in your head really easily, so watch with care. Guac is funny. It looks terrible, but oh tastes so good, and it is good for you. I consider it a snack that I don't need to feel guilty over. I will eat it with a fork if I am overloaded on chips already. YUM!!

Food is central to almost everything in our lives. Holidays, birthdays, and every day in between, we have food. When you attend a get together of some sort and you want people to come, you must have food. When you have a family reunion, what do you share the good old times over? Food. When someone shows up to your house for some sort of random visit, what is it we offer? Food and/or drink. Food is our one common thing that everyone everywhere can relate to. People bond over food. I never understood why politics aren't discussed over food. I think the parties would get along with each other much much better. There is my change as President. When congress meets, serve them food. After all the way to a person's heart is food. We cannot forget the bond over a romantic dinner. Hello! We all know that food can be used as an aphrodisiac... ;) tee hee.... AHEM! Point is... Food is our everything. It is linked to so many emotions. If you are feeling happy, you want to celebrate with food. If you are feeling down, you have a pity party with chocolate, spaghettios, and a chick flick (yes it is a fabulous food combination). We get angry when we realize we ate way too much and we are five pounds heavier. I could give so many more examples. Food is the ultimate significant other. We take it for granted, but it is (hopefully) still there when you need it. You can't live without it, and food's the cause of so many heartthrobs and heartaches.

I am so happy for food. I love it! It is always the one thing I can cross off my to do list "eat delicious food." .... Shoot! Now I am hungry. I wonder if there are chips. You go and have a little snack for yourself. You know you want to. If you need to be pushed even more over the edge to grab a snack, watch something from the food network. You will eat! And you will sing, "Food, glorious food!"

Really. I believe that.

I struggled this week about my next happy topic. I have another post written, but when I went to read it over and edit it, I felt like I should write about something else this week. After looking online for some inspiration, the idea came to me that I needed to bear my testimony of my belief in Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. After all it is this testimony and belief that forms the foundation of everything that makes me happy.

Recently on my Facebook page I posted a Mormon video about Jesus Christ and asked the question "After watching this can anyone explain to me how or why Mormons aren't Christian?" Now only two people gave me a response. The one response that made the most sense was, "if we do not accept Christ in all his roles within the Trinity, then we do not accept the fullness of Christ and cannot be considered Christians." So here are my two cents of why I am a Christian according to this definition.

I did some research online about what the Trinity is, because I didn't want to sound ignorant when referring to it. The Trinity started in 325 when a bunch of religious scholars came together in Nicaea, called The council of Nicaea. So this council formed to come to an agreement about the nature of God. Christianity is a monotheistic religion, but the Bible sort of names three "gods": God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. Now in a monotheistic religion there can't be three Gods, especially when you have the Commandment that says "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." So to appease this, they wrote the Nicene Creed, which in a nutshell, says that the three are one and the same being. "Consubstantial" is the word used. Meaning the one god, one substance, in three forms. From my own ideas, Jesus is "the son of God,"so in Luke it says that Mary was visited by the Holy Ghost and conceived. So the Holy Ghost is God because Mary got pregnant by the Holy Ghost, and God through this act came to earth as Jesus. Just as a side note, the first Creed was revised by a council in 381 at Constantinople, which is the version commonly used, but it says the same thing. One scripture among many that would probably be used to support the creed John 17:21-22. Disclaimer, I am not an expert on this at all. These are my own understandings from my own research.

I believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost as three separate and distinct beings. This distinction came when Joseph Smith as a mere boy of 14 prayed. His prayer was answered in the form of a vision. That vision was of two, I repeat, two personages: God, the Father, and His son, Jesus Christ. Read the story here (verses 14-17).  That being said. I know Heavenly Father lives, and I know Jesus Christ lives. Christ is literally the son of God (John 3:16). Christ died for us on the cross for our sins, and was resurrected. These things were done so that we could return and live with God. Part of the Plan of Salvation is to have us return to live in Heavenly Father's presence. This is the will of God. Christ did his Father's will. So to return to John 17, Christ and The Father are "one" in purpose, one goal, for us to be with Him. So Christ is part of God, the Father. Christ is essential to the Father's plan. Without Christ we could not be saved. This fulfills the first and second role of Christ. Now to the other role of Christ and the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost has many many "roles", but the one most pertinent to my testimony is the Holy Ghost's role as a teacher.

You know those feelings you get when someone is talking about Christ, or the Gospel in any way? Some people might call them "warm and fuzzy feelings," and you believe, and you know that what you are hearing is right and true? I think you know what I am talking about. That is the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost testifies of  both Christ and Heavenly Father. The Holy Ghost reveals the truth. John 14:26 says "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things[...]." John 15:26 says "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the father, he shall testify of me." And looking through my topical guide, I could reference so many biblical scriptures that say that the Holy Ghost testifies the truth of Christ. It is by the power of the Holy Ghost that I know these things. I know that they are true. That Jesus is the resurrected Christ. I have felt God's and Christ's love through the Holy Ghost. Without the Holy Ghost, there would be no sure witness of the truth of Christ, the Savior of the world. Without Christ, I doubt there would be a need for the Spirit. So this fulfills the stipulation of Christ's role in the third member of the Godhead.

So to my own conclusions Mormons are Christian according to the stipulation of "accepting Christ's roles within the Trinity" or Godhead, as us Mormons call it. And I bear my testimony with the help of the Holy Ghost that God lives, Christ lives, Christ suffered through the Atonement for each and every one of us. Through Him we are saved. I know that the three members of the Godhead are separate individuals. How glorious they are! How magnanimous! I am a Christian. I am a monotheist. There is only one god, God the Father. Christ is His literal son, born of Mary, and the Holy Spirit lets us know. Thank you for bearing with me through this long post, and I hope it helped some people understand, that yes, I really do believe that. The knowledge of these things do and will make me happy, but it would take another post to say why. I pray, whatever religion you are, that your testimony of God, Christ, and The Holy Ghost makes you happy too.
Feel free to respectfully ask me questions, I will do my best to answer.
lds.org and mormon.org are great sites to ask questions and seek answers about Mormon beliefs.
Some more reading material of a man who knows more than I do. Robert D Hales
Click on this link to read my church's testimony of Christ.