Throwback Thursday #22 - Birthday Vegetables

Today's Throwback comes from September 26 of last year.

Not only does this post bring back fond memories of all my RA friends, I also appreciate its off-the-wall nature. For once, I wasn't doing the ridiculous thing; I was only merely aiding and abetting the ridiculousness.

Of course, I also think my writing style has improved tremendously since then. I mean, those run-on sentences are a horrendous chore, even for me. What was I thinking?

You can decide whether or not to agree with me when you click here to read Serving Others: Birthday Vegetables!

Onward and Upward: Rejection Letters

1 Peter 4:12-13 - "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also the with exceeding joy."

Most of you may recall the interviews I had with two separate publishing companies on February 14 of this year. It was a pretty neat experience. 

I finally received the second rejection letter yesterday. 

But that's OK! My manuscript is a lot more polished, now. I've received advice that may be able to help me present better pitches to future publishing companies. I feel more confident in my abilities.

So, soon, the publishing world is going to receive my manuscript by storm.

Let's rock!

Tact: CA Building Party

Leviticus 19:34 - "But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."

I've learned an important lesson every time I've worked at a new job.

Before I began working at Sonic, there were many things I thought I didn't have to worry about in regards to operating as a consumer. Why worry about cleaning up after myself? Why worry about making messes? Why worry about taking too long in deciding what I want to order? Why worry about treating the employees pleasantly?

Then, I began working at Sonic. When someone else did one of the thoughtless things I previously had, it was like karma was stabbing me in the face.

I could go on, but I'm learning a similar lesson here at my new job. Previously, when I worked as an RA, I was not as diligent as I could have been in making sure my residents didn't trash their rooms before leaving. If I remembered I missed something later, I waved my hand and thought, Well, someone will pick up that slack during the summer.

Given my new responsibilities, that person is me.

I, of course, have been having fun. Yesterday, we lugged mattresses all over the place and even had mattress races. Regardless, I still wish I'd done a better job considering the heirs to my responsibilities, even if said heir hadn't been me.

We'll see how many times I have to learn that lesson.

This isn't all of us, but only those who worked in a certain dorm yesterday. Don't I take great selfies? ;)

Thinkjoust: Sleep or Midnight? The Sabbath Debate

Colossians 2;16 - "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days..."

This post is going to depart from my usual pattern, but if I like it enough, I might keep it on as a feature.

We Christians believe that God recommends certain courses of actions to His children to aid in our overall lifelong happiness. We call these, collectively, 'commandments.' Some of these commandments are more clear-cut than others, like the commandment not to kill people. Others, like keeping the Sabbath day holy, are left a little more up to the individual.

Considering Sunday activities, I have met individuals who watch TV, and I have met individuals who keep it completely unplugged. I have met people who like going to the park as a family, and people who refuse to leave the house. I have met families who will play games together, and families who will politely refuse. In the end, none of these individuals are wrong. They have done nothing more than present their own interpretation based on their individual understanding.

Obviously, each of us should pray to the Father and find out what He wants, at least for us. As it is, with everyone so doing and coming up with different answers, it's difficult to determine what His final say is.

Either way, though, I wanted to present a question I had about the Sabbath day, something I've pondered ever since I got back home from my mission. I know things will be pretty divided over this, but I also know there's no right answer, either. I'm just curious about what you guys are thinking. The question is this:

WHEN DOES YOUR SABBATH START SLASH END?

There are two camps, as far as I've observed. The first camp says that Sunday is midnight to midnight, no questions asked. The second camp says that Sunday is bedtime to bedtime, which is the usual choice for those of us who usually stay up past midnight, anyway.

So what do you think? Be sure to post in the comments below! Let's get this thinkjoust ROCKING!

I, for one, went with the midnight to midnight approach last night. Gotta love dem four double jalapeno burgers. Yum.

Sunday Snapshot: Sight-Seeing

"Finding Joy in the Journey" - Thomas S. Monson

Teamwork: laz0r tag

D+C 49:27 - "Behold, I will go before you and be your rearward; and I will be in your midst, and you shall not be confounded."

Two of my thirteen favorite missionary companions, along with a wife, came down to visit Provo this weekend. Naturally, we got together yesterday to p0wn some noobs in the deadly arena of Laz0r Tag.

It was actually a pretty cool experience, seeing how effective certain individuals were in regards to their team.

The four of us did a pretty good job trading off as each other's back-ups, and as such, were generally able to mow down the opposition fairly effectively. There were a few individuals on both teams--including one notably large opponent who thought he was Rambo and kept recklessly charging right into our lasers--who felt like their attempts at being a solo operative were helping rather than merely feeding the other team's score.

The teamwork prize, though, went to a trio of peers, possibly a little younger than the four of us, who found a very strategic position near our base that we could not directly assault nor ignore without running headlong into their lax0rs. It proved extremely aggravating trying to flush them out, especially since they were quick to return once they'd reloaded. In the end, their tactics proved decisive in the second game, and we ended up forking the victory over to them.

In the same regard, I am very much someone who prefers to strike out on my own when it comes to any sort of endeavor (I mean, I write a daily blog. Not the best team-building exercise). However, as I have witnessed the value of teamwork in everything from my missionary experiences to something as simple as laz0r tag, I have gained an appreciation for it.

Sometimes, you just can't do without.

Perfection: Inventory Checklists

3 Nephi 20:42 - "For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight; for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel shall be your rearward."

Over the last couple of days, my coworkers and I have been, among other things, going over inventories of every single room in every single building across the entire dorm complex. It's amazing to me just how many things we need to check in each room. From the door sign to the frame to the evacuation sign to the closets to the desks to the sink to the beds to the fire alarm and the other forty details in between, there is no end to the attention to detail we need to maintain.

Here's my partner-in-crime ... I mean, in, in ... good?

The process naturally reminded me of a spiritual analogy!

See, when it comes to preparing ourselves spiritually, it takes a lot. Even going so far as to read your scriptures every day and go to church every week isn't enough. You have to make sure to keep all the commandments, you have to try and become as Christlike as possible, you have to maintain good, loving relationships with the people around you, and then your checklist starts reaching a comparably lengthy list to the ones I've been working with, and I've only barely scratched the surface of everything we need to remember.

But, in the end, that's OK. In reviewing the checklists from last year, some problems were never fixed. Other problems were left off the lists altogether, likely an accidental oversight on the part of a CA from last year.

In the same way, we aren't expected to be spiritually perfect at the end of every day. Instead, we are expected to try.

No matter how many CAs fill out inventory sheets in years to come, I doubt those rooms will achieve the same level of spotlessness they had when they were first built. However, whenever custodial or maintenance follows up after us and fixes up what we've marked, the rooms will be just a little closer to where they were before.

Just as we will be when we review our own spiritual inventories and catch the things we missed.

Love you guys! See you tomorrow!