Fruits of Living the Gospel: Cafe Rio!

Okay, so I wrote a post about the temptations of the devil and Chinese food.  It is now time to write about the opposite end of the spectrum; how the gospel of Jesus Christ has blessed the lives of those who live by it and Cafe Rio! 
Do you have a friend from church or school?  Do you look up to them?  Can you see how happy they are because they are living the gospel of Jesus Christ?  What makes them that happy?  What is church doing for them? 
And is it doing the same for you? 
Christ tells us to "come unto" Him.  In exchange, He will give us relief from the things that drive us crazy down here on earth.  He will "ease our burdens" and help us find happiness and purpose in this life. (see Matthew 11: 28-30)
In the Book of Mormon, the prophet father Lehi tells of a dream he had in which he partook of fruit from the tree of life.  He said that the fruit would make one happy.
"10 And it came to pass that I beheld a ^atree, whose ^bfruit was desirable to make one ^chappy.

 11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the ^afruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted....

 12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great ^ajoy;.."

(1 Nephi 8)

He compares this fruit to living by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, are you partaking of the fruit?  Or are you just standing by the tree?  If you aren't tasting this awesome fruit, what is holding you back?

You can see how this gospel has blessed the lives of those around you.  I know I can.

Jump in line here at the Cafe Rio of the gospel!  Don't fall for the easy or bad way of the Chinese buffet!  Here lies true happiness!  This food will not give you stomach cramps!  You won't regret coming here.

Open your eyes and taste the fruit!  Decide to follow Jesus Christ!  Have faith in Him.  Turn away from the things you are doing that would make Him sad!   Be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost!  This is so much better than living without!

Despite how our faces look, we are VERY HAPPY

Forget about the things that hold you down.  They may be appealing now, but they won't last.  They will leave you faster than Chinese food and leave you in pain!  Cafe Rio will stay with you and enrich your life forever.

It may seem silly of me to compare the gospel of Jesus Christ to food, but it makes sense to me.

I invite everybody to come and partake of the fruit of the gospel.  This is His true church!  I know it!  I can see it as I see how others live, as well as in myself.

Come find out!

The Temptations of the Devil: Chinese Food

Strawberry milk is another temptation, also.

I have always liked Chinese food.  That doesn't mean it always likes me.  I find it interesting how I love to eat it, but then it causes my digestive system so much grief.  You would think I would stop eating it after a while.  I have been pretty good about avoiding it, but every once-in-a-while I give into temptation.  When this happens, I often have instant regret.  I sacrifice my stomach's well-being just to please my own cravings.  Why do I do this to myself?  Why do we all do things like this to ourselves?
In the same way that I am tempted by delicious, salt-filled chicken and rice, Satan tempts all of us, all of the time, in different ways.  He will always make it look appealing and desirable.  He tells us that it won't hurt us or anybody else.  News flash; Satan is a LIAR.  He will ALWAYS leave us empty and in pain.  The best way to not feel this way is to have the self-control to say NO.  It will be difficult.  If it weren't difficult, there would be no point in making decisions.  We must have the strength to say no and turn away from the darkness and into the light.  Through our Savior, Jesus Christ, we can have the strength and motivation to make decisions that won't give us spiritual stomach cramps.
I am not saying that Chinese food is of the devil, I am just likening a temptation of mine to temptations we will all have.  When facing a decision, look in the long term.  Getting a tattoo now may not look like it will hurt anybody, but what will that look like when you have to tell your children why they should not get a tattoo?  That is just one example.
Jacob 6: 12 "Oh be wise, what can I say more?"

It's OK to be Goofy

Two or three years ago, I was skiing with my cousins.  Skiing is always a grand-ol' time for us, and a little friendly competition never hurt anybody.  What does hurt is when my ego gets in the way of having fun.  Sometimes, and i have been guilty of this, we are so concentrated on being the FIRST, the BEST, the FARTHEST, that we forget why we are here (-enter your favorite activity here-)-ing.  If you ski, it's OK to not be the best.  Are you having fun?  If you play basketball, it's OK to not be the best player there.  If you ride motocross, it's OK to not win all the time. 

I see a common issue coming here.  A little thing I call pride gets in the way of fun every now and then.  As human beings that aren't perfect, we sometimes let pride take over and we become so focused on satisfying ourselves and our own ego that we will forget why we are even doing our favorite activity other than to beat our neighbor at it.  All through the Book of Mormon, we see how the Nephites go through a cycle of pride over and over again.  So, what is OUR pride cycle?

So, what is a good way to diffuse our pride?  Well, from my approach (that of a skier / motorcycle-rider / whatever) a good way to forget about who's winning is to be goofy.  Laugh!  If you aren't having fun, why are you doing what you're doing?  It is our choice to have fun or not.  Are you smiling?  Are you laughing?  Are you laughing at yourself?  Are you laughing at your own mistakes?  Why not?

NOW THEN, this does NOT mean that you should be ANNOYING!  Help others have a good time too!  Don't make them hate riding up on the chairlift with you! 

-(I apologize to anybody I have annoyed on Sundance Arrowhead chairlift.  If you don't forgive me, get over it)

Another thing, I am not discouraging pushing ourselves and developing our talents.  That is one of the reasons we are down here on earth.  What I will encourage is to have fun and enjoy that process of learning and growing.  Don't get discouraged or angry when a horse bucks you off, get right back on and try again having learned from the previous fall and a sore back.  Click into ski bindings, kick-start that bike, put on a helmet and be ready to laugh and have fun!  It's OK if you make a fool of yourself once in a while.  It helps you learn.

As I write this, my cousins come to mind.  They are a good example of "it's OK to be goofy."  I will not lie, they are VERY silly.  I am also.  We have a lot of fun together.  One of the many things that they have all taught me is what I have written to you today.  I will always be grateful for their good example to me and how they help me learn that pride should never get in the way of your fun.  While being with them, I have learned all of these things and for all the laughs we've had. 

May you have fun in your jaunts through the forest, down the mountain, in the desert or wherever you be.

Don't forget to laugh.