Late night snacks?

I got off work today right before midnight and while I was driving home I was thinking about how much I need to get done.  I have been overly stressed with the responsibilities I currently have, but am grateful for the ray of sunshine that my fiance is in my life.  I have been told numerous times that I should marry my best friend and I am looking forward to that day in the coming year.

On the way home, I stopped by a local Wal-Mart to get some necessary things, and some not entirely necessary things also.  It's interesting how often I walk into a store planning on not spending more than $10 and walk out spending about $100.  I am grateful to have a job at this time that is supporting me and providing me an income whereby I can attain the resources necessary to live.

I ran into someone at Wal-Mart tonight that I recognized from the local singles ward.  I cheerfully said hello, as those of you who know me know I do a lot.  Her and the guy she was with pretended not to see me even though I felt like I was waiving like an idiot 5 feet in front of them and asking them how they were.

When they realized who I was, they just said, "oh . . . hi" and went on pretending like I wasn't there.  It is interesting how fellow members of the church and self-proclaimed Christians could be so cold and rude.  I have realized more and more that many people are like that and really don't care about their fellow men.  I was thinking about it and the scripture came to my mind concerning how foolish it would be to trust in the arm of flesh.  Though men are weak and falter at every gust of turmoil, worried about what everyone around them will think, God will never falter but will stand by us with full strength not only in times of need, but in times of happiness also.

I received a message a few days ago also, from a guy who has been trying to sabotage the relationship of Danny and I for more than 3 years.  I pity him in a way . . . knowing that he will never move on and realize the time he has wasted and the useless efforts he has put forth to bring us down.  It is amazing how much dishonor one person can bring to an entire family by their actions if they do not learn from them.  I have a real problem when guys consider girls to be their property.  This young man accused me of stealing the love of his life, when I did nothing of the sort.

Girls are never to be considered property.  My beautiful fiance Danny is more than capable of thinking for herself and I never consider her or treat her as property.  She has her agency and made a choice to be with me, for which I am eternally grateful.  I hope that any girl out there who has ever been or is currently treated like an item rather than a person, an individual, can make a stand not only for what is right, but also to show respect for who you are.

My sisters and my mother all have great men by their side.  Having lived with them for many years, I see what a blessing their companions are to them.  The relationships are mutually beneficial as both progress towards eternal life and happiness with each other.  True love is out there, but is not attained by unrighteous dominion or fear or by looking for ways to find power over the other.  True love is found when the fundamentals that Christ taught are exemplified through our inner selves . . . humility is one of the big ones that I have found to be vital for me.

Daughters of God deserve so much more than what many guys in the world today can offer.  I am by no means even close to perfect and make mistakes multiple times on a daily basis.  However, I also realize that a woman who exercises her agency to be with me and help me through those mistakes through love and guidance is much more rewarding than having to throw money or a "fit body" at a girl for fake love.

Now, at the same time, not to bash on women, but I have been made brutally aware that there are some horrible women out there.  Being able to now see this comparison, I am so grateful for the women in my life that shine forth as examples of perseverance and hope, trying every day to do their best with everything, especially with helping us guys with our everyday struggles.

I love my fiance with my life and am grateful for her loyalty and in standing by me all these years.  Just as in all relationships, we do have our ups and downs, but she has been my ray of sunshine in the darkest days of my life.  Having a work schedule that prevented me from attending church for some months, I have noticed a big change since my recent schedule change a few weeks ago.

Coming closer to God has brought me closer to my beautiful fiance and it has been so fun to be up for hours at night, not worrying about the time, just talking about life and laughing at the silly things that happen every day.  With every day that comes, new miracles are brought forth by the merciful and loving hand of our Lord.

I am moving to Atlanta in a little more than a month to work at the headquarters of my current employer.  I am excited for this new adventure for many reasons.  I can take a non-stop flight to Ecuador any day of the week. I graduate next year and will be able to apply for a life-changing position within the company.  I will be attending a bigger campus that has more of the upper-level classes I need on the physical campus.

I testify that God lives.  Jesus truly is the Christ.  The beautiful gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in these, the last days and is ours to embrace if we but desire happiness.  The Book of Mormon is the word of God, and alongside the Bible, testifies of the reality and divinity of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  I share this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

May God bless you all this morning in your search for happiness . . . let's see what we can do to help someone on their search!  Have an awesome day today!

Jakob

An interesting start to a blog...

It is incredible how far we come in our lives and the level of uncertainty that we all experience and come to respect as normalcy.  Looking back on the past 4 years, I can honestly say I have made some of the biggest mistakes of my life, but also the best decisions of my life.  I'm not the best at keeping a journal and never have been.  Even though I like writing, typing is so much faster and I feel that a blog is now a good way to keep a record of my thoughts and experiences.

It has been more than a year and a half now since I proposed to the love of my life, who currently resides in Ecuador.  I have been through more than 5 jobs in the last two years, trying to improve my status in this life and drag myself out of the financial problems I have created.  I was making pretty good headway in that regard until about 2 and a half months ago when I had some fairly serious health issues.

Three visits to the ER since May 20 and other problems have made it difficult once again to make any headway of pulling myself out of financial strain in any regard.  I have been so stressed lately, which may have led to some of the health problems, but I cannot express enough how important the Prophets' words have been to stay out of debt.  Just four years ago, I had no such problems, but because of little things here and there and me not realizing how quickly it was catching up to me, I soon realized the gravity of the situation I had put myself in.

I started a new job this year with Delta Air Lines and on the very same day began attending school again.  I now have about a year left to finish my Bachelor's degree and am looking forward to hopefully moving up to a professional level job while I pursue my Master's degree and further certifications.  I want so much to be with my fiance but due to my personal choices have made it impossible to do so for the moment except for visiting.

With an anticipated move to Atlanta this September to further my career and get settled in down there for when I graduate, more complications have obviously arisen.  I have learned a valuable lesson, though.  People can come and go in your life . . . it doesn't matter who they are . . . but God never will.  He is always there, it's just a matter of if I will ask him for help and keep the relationship good to live worthy of that help.

My schedule at work recently changed and it felt so good to attend church for the first time in months.  Giving a portion of what the Lord has given me back to Him to use where needed to build the kingdom had never felt so good.  I have had an extremely rough past couple of days, and will probably cut this post short, but I hope that someone will learn from my experiences to at least avoid debt like the plague and always remain close to God.  May the heavens smile down upon all of you in your pursuit of happiness.

Regards,
Jakob