Filling the Lamp

I have always loved the parable of the ten virgins. I have heard it from a very young age, and it has served me well in my life. In every day choices I usually overestimate how much of something I will need for fear of running out. I always put away a little extra money, I always put in a little extra detergent, I always wear one extra layer of clothing. This usually serves me quite well.

While I always tend to be paranoid about the practical and more physically obvious things in life, I still manage to neglect the spiritual. I find that I will quite often run out of oil and realize I missed an opportunity because I wasn't prepared. Or that I could have learned a new principle, but I wasn't in a position to listen. But what I am most prone to do is just wear myself out and lose the desire to be Christlike.

Today I got sick of this wearing myself out. So I did something about it.

I spent a significantly larger portion of my day being spiritual. I read talks, scriptures, watched videos, and so on. I was filling my lamp. I always fill my lamp, but not until I have already run out and I end up saying that one thing to that one person who is hurt and then I have to do damage control. Oy. My new goal is to fill as I go. Novel concept, right? I just hope we can all remember to recharge. Mentally. Emotionally. And most importantly, spiritually. Everything else tends to go better when you do.

Now. I am a very spiritually private person. I don't like to share the truly deep and personal things I know and feel. I don't know if it is a fear of judgment or what. But I have never felt comfortable being open about it. I believe that sharing a very necessary part of being spiritual. And I want to do better. So:

I have a deep love for my Heavenly Father. He knows me and loves me and is willing to do anything for me. He even allowed his only son, Jesus Christ, to die so that I could be made perfect. Through this atonement I can receive forgiveness for my shortcomings and return to live in the kingdom of God. I have a testimony that we are not left alone. God has given us apostles and prophets to guide us on the earth today. Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet of God on the earth today, and we can continually receive guidance through his council. We also have apostles on the earth, as in the days of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I have a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Simply put, it is another testament to the divinity of Jesus Christ, and is a companion to the Bible. It brings comfort and understanding to the troubles we face in life.

To any who feel lost or abandoned; you need not be. God loves you. He cares for your happiness. He has given us the proper tools to draw near unto Him. We need only to seek them. "Pray. He is there. Speak. He is listening." He seeks for your happiness, and I hope you will in turn seek for Him.

Fairy Tale for a Beautiful Day

Once upon a time there was a young man named Nate Pence who was fond of misplacing his keys. He didn't know why he was fond of it. In fact, he had a sneaky suspicion that he really and truly HATED doing it, but it happened so often that he decided there must be some part of him that did enjoy it at least a bit.

Well, today, that young man had to walk. Curses. You see, Nate is a tad lazy. Nasty little word I know. I'll try to refrain from using it too much. Anyway, Nate hated doing things that something ELSE could do for him. Such as taking him to his parents house. "Why make the legs work when the car could do it for me?" he thought. But on this day, the car keys could not be found. So he did the unthinkable, and walked.

And to his stupefaction, he enjoyed it! The weather was pleasant. Not too hot, plenty of sun, light breeze, you know those days. The days when you wish other people were free for picnicking and such. It made him happy. Got the good old endorphins flowing.

So, Nate walked and enjoyed. And he decided that even when he found his keys, he would walk some more. Because its fun. And makes him happy. And he would eventually lose his keys again.

Business As Usual

Owning your own business isn't as easy as everyone thinks

Since I posted last, I have become the owner of an Ice Cream Parlor in Buena Vista called Alexander's Ice Cream Emporium. My parents owned it and weren't doing as well as they would have liked, and so about three weeks ago gave it to me because apparently I know how to run a business.

So here I am. A "prosperous business owner" as a friend likes to call me. But the issue is, I'm not prosperous. And it seems dang near impossible to be so! They have found ways to squeeze any amount of money out of you that they can. Business license fee, corporate license fee, legal fees for said licenses, taxes, royalties for playing music, more taxes, and the list goes on and on. I signed up for an online service that keeps track of payroll and does the taxes for me. Which is nice. But the fee isn't quite so nice. Moral of the story: if you want to start a business, be rich first.

It takes so much time too. Filling out form after form, and forms for your employees to sign that you sign after. Government forms, vendor forms, bank forms, forms that you sign so you can be allowed to sign the form that says you dont have to sign any other forms. And you are the only one who can do it. Sometimes it would be great to have another me who could do the things I have to do so I could do the other important things I am neglecting. Like sleep.

Anyway, now that I'm done vomiting my anger all over my blog, I want to say how FREAKING cool it is that I own a business! I just feel so grown up, you know? I wrote someone a paycheck yesterday. Yep. I paid someone. That someone worked for me. I am officially the "man" that many popular songs suggest sticking it to. And you know what? For some reason, I kinda like that.