The gift of Easter

The Easter season brings about the remembrance of the Savior's atonement. I am so overwhelmed with the tremendous act of love we received. So today I wish to provoke your minds unto the feeling of Gratitude. 

God took the people of Israel out of Egypt through the parting of the sea, and into the wilderness where he fed them with Mana, food from heaven. God gave them water out of a rock when they were thirsty. Yet still, they murmured against God. 

It is easy for us to look down on the people of Israel as ungrateful after witnessing all these miracles. But we are not any different from them. We receive so many blessings and miracles daily that we are quick to forget as soon as we face a hardship. This past year taught me the secret of living a more fulfilled life. Simply put a heart of Gratitude paves ways to blessings beyond your control. Gratitude relies completely on the Savior, and trusts in the infinite power of his Atonement. 

As you stop complaining about everything, you esteem material possessions less and less; yet your needs will be consistently met. We take so much for granted and cherish nothing in return. When you worry, you doubt God's love. 

Today, learn to become forever grateful, and that will be your anchor in facing the tides of this journey called life. 

Enjoy your Easter! 

Weddings don't need to cost a fortune!

In 18 days, we will be celebrating our one year anniversary, where did the time go! As I reminisced about the wedding day, the vows we wrote, the guests, the decor, the food, the most important thing that stood out to me was the emotions that flooded my heart on that very day. 

There are a few events in life that women yearn for and a glamorous wedding is nothing short of our wishes. However, in an attempt to capture this fairy tale ideology, women at times lose their focus from the marriage to just the wedding. The wedding is just a one day celebration, the marriage is for a lifetime; confusing the two will only cause havoc in your relationship. 

I decided to plan my entire wedding with no assistance, not because I did not need people, but simply because I couldn't deal with the different opinions that were sure to put us in debt. 

Weddings are a huge business for any market, thus their prices are always inflated. Do not spend your money trying to outdo someone else, or just to make it look expensive. Expensive doesn't mean nice, neither does it mean that you actually will be happy that day. Really and truly the most important thing is how you feel on that day, which requires advance mental preparation. Truth is I did indulge on some things that I did not even notice on the wedding day, thanx to my pictures I was able to admire them later. There are so many things you can do without. 

Having a wedding on credit cards, loans or using all of your money is not advisable. You then spend all your time working to pay off the debt. Have a modest wedding. Save the money. Invest in something worthwhile because after the wedding, and even before the honeymoon is over, life gets real! 

Do what you can afford and what makes you both happy, because outsiders will never be satisfied with what you consider your best. 

The importance of loving yourself

Eleanor Roosevelt once said: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent". When I read this quote over a decade ago, I thought to myself: "who would actually allow someone to make them feel inferior?" Years later, the meaning behind this statement became clear as I observed people mistreated by their families, friends, and partners. No one blatantly consents to being mistreated. However, silence speaks just as loudly as words do. In saying and doing nothing when being disrespected, you indirectly "consent" or agree with the treatment. In saying this, I do not negate the stronghold abuse has on the mind of children, who may be unable to defend themselves.  Ultimately, their childhood experiences will affect their response to how they are treated as adolescents or adults. Abuse causes a lot of people to not love themselves, because they have been told so. If this is your case, you must learn to develop self-love, without approval from others because seeking approval will be detrimental. 

Now for those who have been shown love as children, but still have not managed to love themselves, you are giving up your right to be esteemed as a respectable being. The way you see yourself is how others will see you. Loving yourself means embracing the totality of your being and not just your best features. Your self-love is the standard against which others will treat you. Hence why those with low-self esteem tend to be abused and mistreat repeatedly. So although the people who come in your life differ, your low standard remains the same therefore all these different people treat you the same way. 

When you love yourself, you acknowledge that you are not a perfect being and in fact need not be in order to command respect. It does not make you haughty or prideful, it rather gives you the confidence needed to endure the challenges of life. 

When you love yourself, you do not settle for less, you know when enough is enough, you would not prove yourself to anyone but you, you would not try to fit in, your would not compare yourself to others, you would not let anyone abuse you, EVER! 

Loving yourself means more than dressing in expensive apparel, and surrounding yourself with material possessions. It transcends the eye, because it is a void that is filled from within, yet others can see it on the outside by the way you portray yourself. 

Love yourself, 

Be empowered, 

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