chocolate cake.

I just got done having this conversation with my little sister and we were talking about a whole bunch of things and got on the subject of temptation. We reminded each other of a story my young women leader shared with me a little while ago and I'm not trying to be all preachy or anything, I just thought I'd share it with all you bloggers out there. 

Once upon a time there was a little kingdom called Rayad.  The tiny people who inhabited this kingdom were call Rayadites.  They lived happily, sharing and caring about each other.  Life was good to them.  There were only a few things they needed to watch out for; for instance, chocolate cake or wearing the color red.  If any Rayadite ever ate chocolate cake or wore red, his spirit would become weakened, and he would care less and less about himself and the rules of the kingdom.

Also living in this tiny kingdom was Zynock, an evil person who wanted to destroy the kingdom and all of the people in it.  He hated for them to be happy and loving, for that made it harder for him to influence them.  He knew what weakened their spirits and made them easier to capture.  But Zynock also knew that he could not just offer the Rayadites chocolate cake and have them devour it - they were not that foolish!  Nor could he make the most wonderful garment in bright red and expect them to wear it immediately.  The Rayadites wanted to be good and strong.  They had promised each other that they would help and strengthen each other in time of need.  So how could Zynock weaken this people?  How could he get them to succumb to him so that he could destroy them and thus the whole kingdom?

"Let's see," he said, "I can't get them to eat chocolate cake right off, but maybe I can get them to develop a taste for chocolate."

That's when chocolate chip cookies were introduced to the kingdom of Rayad.  At first the cookies were ignored and scoffed at.  Then some commercials and billboards were produced that showed handsome, wonderful-looking Rayadites eating chocolate chip cookies.  And nothing happened to them, except they became more popular and sophisticated - at least that's what the message conveyed on the screens and billboards.

It wasn't long before a few Rayadites could be seen eating a chocolate chip cookies every now and then, and they seemed to be doing fine.  They were still loving and caring and hadn't changed at all - so it seemed.  So more and more Rayadites began eating the cookies.  What they didn't realize was that the portion of chocolate chips in each cookie had been doubled.  They were getting a double dose of chocolate, disguised in the cookie.  You'd hear phrases like these: "That cookie is really good except for a couple of places where it tastes pretty chocolatey.  But don't miss the cookie just for those two places.  It's too good a cookie, and you can overlook the taste."  "I heard that one of our friends has eaten a chocolate chip cookie, and she says it's nothing to be afraid of.  It won't ruin your life if you eat it."

That was true: lives didn't seem to be ruined by chocolate chip cookies.  Things were pretty much the same as usual.  However, some of the teachers and leaders and parents in Rayad suggested avoiding the cookies because tastes for chocolate were being developed.

"Avoid the cookies?" came the cries of surprise.  "What for?  What's wrong with them?  They're not chocolate cake!  How stuffy can you get?"

Some who refused to eat the cookies were even laughed at and made fun of.  Zynock himself started chuckling.  He had no idea his plan would work so well.  And Zynock was patient.  He didn't care how long it took to destroy Rayad, just so it was destroyed.

Chocolate chip cookies seemed to be moving pretty well.  Zynock didn't worry about the words of caution and counsel from the leaders, because his commercials and billboards were so exciting and enticing.  He had to make them that way, or the truth of the leaders would have swayed the Rayadites away from the cookies.

Now it came time to introduce a new product of destruction.  No, not chocolate cake, not quite yet.  Rather, Zynock began advertising spice cake, white cake, yellow cake, carrot cake, any kind of cake but chocolate - but all with chocolate frosting, rich chocolate frosting.  More commercials, more billboards, a few songs to hum and sing all day about how wonderful chocolate cake would be, although they're not eating it - yet!  Get them thinking about it before they will actually succumb.  Then in the kingdom of Rayad, you could hear:

"Have you tried that yellow cake with chocolate frosting?"

"Well, no.  Is it good?"

"Oh, yes!  Granted, it is chocolatey, but it's not chocolate cake.  And it really doesn't have much more chocolate than those cookies we've been eating!"

"But the cake doesn't seem right.  I mean, cookies are one thing, but cake?"

"Ah, come on!  The important thing is the chocolate, and this is no more than you've already been eating.  Everybody's eating it.  You can't pass it up and be the only one left out."

In the meantime, the songs were subtly strumming away in the background, singing the praises of chocolate cake.  Right, the words were not good, but the beat and the rhythm were so cool that many Rayad's listened just for the music.  After all, what can music do?

Zynock began thinking again: "One thing that strengthens those Rayadites is when they are together talking to each other.  What can I do about that?"  Then he reasoned, "Well, it's all right for them to be together.  In fact, maybe there is some way I could use their gatherings and parties for my purposes.  Aha!  I've got it!"

So parties in Rayad began changing.  Instead of the Rayadites talking to each other and playing games so they could get to know one another and share their strengths and talents, a new trend began.  Everyone who was anyone had the new kinds of parties.

"Have you been to a party over at our Rayad friend's place yet?"

"No, I haven't."

"You should go.  It's really cool!"

"Oh?  What do you do?"

"Well, it isn't like any other party you've been to.  It's pretty cool.  All you do is go and sit down and watch stuff on the screen."

"Stuff on the screen?  Like what?"

"Oh, exciting, scary stuff that's pretty good.  There are a few scenes showing people eating chocolate cake, but no 'biggy.'"

"People eating chocolate cake?  But..."

"Oh, it's not bad, and besides, there's nothing anymore without a little bit of that.  It's just fun to get together with your friends."

So Zynock stood back and watched his plot unfold.  "Let's see now.  They're eating chocolate and they're eating cake.  They're listening to songs and watching movies about chocolate cake.  They're becoming weaker and weaker, although they're not even aware of it yet because they haven't actually eaten it - yet!  They are falling into my trap!  They think their leaders and parents are square and stuffy.  It's very helpful when their friends tell them what I want them to hear.  Friends are my greatest asset!"

"Hey!" says a friend Rayadite, "have you seen the latest movie?"

"No," comes the response.  "I thought it was C-rated, for chocolate."

"No, it isn't.  It's R-rated for Red.  There's no chocolate in it."

And so Zynock continues his plotting - this time a gorgeous garment, but not in red...yet.  It's a luscious pink color.

I don't care how many times people tell me it will never happen,

my love life will be like the movies. 

I promise. 

People will see us on the streets and all they will think of is,

"Dang. I wish I was that couple."

And they could be.

But they won't.

Last week at this time I was right in the middle of my 12 hour long 

chick-flick movie marathon.

I am pretty sure I know all the secrets.

So everyone who knows me right now and knows that 

I obviously can't get a boyfriend, just wait.

Someday I will have THE boyfriend. 

You know, the boyfriend from the movies.

The one everyone wishes was theirs.

Too bad he'll be mine.

All mine.

Now don't get me wrong, I know it won't be a perfect relationship.

We'll argue, and disagree and yell.

But in case you haven't noticed...

They fight in the movies too.

It'll be great.

Whenever I get discouraged and think no one will ever fall in love with me, all I have to do is think about my future movie boyfriend. 

It makes everything better.

 Also.

I learned this great quote from one of the many movies I watched last week.

"If you feel it and you don't do everything in your power to reach for it, you are basically slapping life in the face." -Win a Date with Tad Hamilton

I heard this one from one of the others I watched that I really liked also.

"It's like all the bad stuff you went through that you hated along the way, the people that disappointed you, the things that didn't go the way you wanted, suddenly you feel grateful to them. Because they are the things that got you here, to this." 

-The Perfect Man 

Love really can be perfect.

It can be just like the movies.

"Maybe God wanted us to meet a few 

wrong people before meeting the right one, 

so that when we finally meet the person, 

we will know how to be grateful."

Everything happens for a reason. I have heard and said that phrase this year more than ever. Everyone goes through hard things and sometimes you just have to step back and realize that right now it may seem like you are going through the hardest thing in the world, but it will be okay. Some things last longer than others and some things hurt more than you could ever imagine. But no matter what it is you are going through, it will end. That is one thing I can guarantee. We all have big dreams and ideas of how our lives will play out. And that is fine. Dream. But when things don't go the way you are expecting them to, don't freak out. God knows what He is doing. Sometimes you just need to give it up to Him and know that He will lead you exactly where you need to go. He puts people in your life that you think will last a lifetime, and some that actually will last a lifetime. But no matter who the person is or how long they are in your life for, they were there for a reason. Even if it was just so you can realize that you don't need them. Just put your life in God's hands and everything will work out. He sees the whole picture. We can barely see a little corner of the picture. Sometimes you just want to give up because it seems like nothing is getting better and that all the times you sit there and are patient aren't paying off. But it all works out in the end. And when you step back and look at how far you have come, you will realize that He really did know what he was doing and you couldn't be happier in the place you are right now. And all of those trials you had to go through, actually made you a stronger person. They are part of who you are. Every problem and hard thing you have to go through, is just a little piece of the puzzle that creates you. So just be patient. Everything happens for a reason.

Some simple advice.

Don't worry. 

Be happy.

2010....

I learned a few things in the past year. Sometimes you learn things the hard way, sometimes the easy way, the cool way, and occasionally, you learn things through pure stupidity. You learn things from other people and you learn things yourself. The more you learn, the better…usually. Before you go and try to make all these resolutions for the New Year, why not take a moment and think back on everything you learned in 2010...

I learned that church at 9:00 in the morning is really really hard. No matter how early you go to bed on Saturday night. And let’s be honest. It’s Saturday night. I’m not going to bed early.

I also learned a few other things.

Like that the people you hang out with, really do have an impact on your life. The more you are with them, the more you both will pick up on each other’s habits.

Time flies. Even when you aren’t having fun.

The more you read the scriptures, the happier you are. Because in reality, you can’t be happy without God in your life.

You always have something to be grateful for.

Don’t ever take having a car for granted.

Patience really is a virtue.

You don’t have to always like what your best friend wears. Especially if you want to dress up as her for Halloween.

People aren’t always who you think they are. They can still surprise you.

Hard work pays off.
 Even though you ask for a pair of Nikes every day, it still is the best surprise in the whole wide world when you open up a box on Christmas morning with two pairs for you and your sister.

Some people don’t think of the greatest dance song on earth when you ask them to play “Swing”.

Crazy things happen. And when those things do happen, it is totally acceptable to burst into your best friend’s classroom and share the news with her.

Hating someone doesn’t do anything to them. It just makes your life worse.

You might not always have tomorrow. So you should always live for today.

Sometimes the person who you think is nothing like you, can end up being your very best friend.

Staying up all night is not as cool as it sounds.

No matter how many times you mess up, your parents will always love you.

You can say whatever you want with your tongue, but you’re actions will always show what you really mean.

You can only live once. So live it up with no regrets.

The best thing you can do for someone is write them a letter. And if you want to do the absolute greatest thing, get letters from everyone who they love and compile it all into a book.

Some songs never get old.

Life is most definitely not easy. But the curveballs are what make it interesting.

Everything happens for a reason. Even if it totally sucks at the moment, it really does get better.

Tip of the day

Everything you do looks better when your fingernails are painted red.

Dear Future Husband.

Please wear a grey suit to church every week.

Not just the pants, but a jacket too.

It's ok to bring me flowers on just regular days.

And leaving a sticky note on the mirror 

with something remotely cute written on it 

will make my whole day.

"I'm fine" means exactly the opposite.

I like to clean.

But only if I can listen to music really loud.

So that would be a good time to leave me alone.

If I am in a bad mood, 

don't talk to me for like 5 minutes 

and then I'll be back to normal.

I hope you are ok with a lot of kids,

because I want at least 5.

I can't cook.

I want to be a teacher.

That means we'll both have careers.

Who knows what I'll do when we have kids,

but just so you know,

that is what I want to do.

I hope you can sing.

Because I would really like to 

sit next to someone in church who can sing.

But if you can't, that is ok.

Still sing loud.

I don't care how much money you make 

if it means you work more.

I'd rather see you and be poor 

than have you work more and be rich.

I like to listen to music in the car.

In fact, I really hate driving with no music.

And I usually don't listen to the whole song,

I'll change it before it ends.

We're getting married in the temple.

No exeptions.

Don't ever tell me I can't do it.

I don't care what "it" is.

I'll try for hours if you tell me I can't.

Even if I know for a fact I can't.

We'll most likely live close to my parents.

And visit a lot.

So you should probably get used to them.

Waffles are my favorite.

And I'll probably eat them every morning.

I like old furniture. 

Not ugly old though.

Just old.

I have (sort of) a lot of clothes.

I'll most likely be needing my own closet.

I hate talking on the phone.

I also don't really like to hug.

So don't take yours for granted.

I like to write letters.

So if I ever write you one,

don't think I'm weird.

I don't say

“ I love you ”

Unless I mean it.

So when I say it?

I mean it.

Well, I hope I see you soon.

Love forever and always,

Your wife.

Jenna Renee