The Importance of Church: Sweet + Heat

This week my companion and I had a really cool opportunity to talk to a man named Eric! We went to the park one morning in hopes of finding some new people to talk too. We found out that by going out in the mornings we are able to catch so many people before it gets too hot! Honestly once it hits noon here everyone scatters to their homes. Everyone is trying to out run the heat! 

When we found Eric he was walking his dogs and had stopped to let them cool down in the shade. He had the cutest puppies!! We talked for a while when he eventually asked us what we were doing dressed up all fancy for. We explained our purpose as missionaries to him and then asked if he went to church. Eric said that he has done a very good job of avoiding it but still "does his part" I asked him what that even meant. He explained that "every time he goes to church, he see's people preaching one thing and then they go out the next day and act like they didn't just go to church." So basically they are only Christian on Sundays and he is tired of the hypocrisy of the churches. 

I have honestly found that that is actually huge thing people struggle with. I ran into people saying that alot while I was in Auburn! Eric said that its ok though because he is still a good person and strives to do good for others (good works). When we asked what he thought the Purpose of Life was he said to have kids and teach them to be good people too! Which I guess totally makes sense but we know that there is so much more than just that. 

While he was talking all I could think about was James 2:17, it says: 

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."

So we know from this scripture that faith alone doesn't get you too far, you need to have good works too. But don't you think that it works the other way too? "Works without faith is dead" We need to have that faith in Jesus Christ and not just teach our kids to be good people but teach them about Jesus Christ too! You can't have faith without works. It's like having a boat without paddles. But guess what? You can't just have the paddles without a boat either. They go hand in hand, you can't have one without the other. 

What I love about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is that it's not just a Sunday church. It's not just a church, it's a lifestyle. While there are some people who go to church on Sunday and act Christian then live the rest of week as if they aren't. We ARE taught to be good people but we are also taught to pray, serve, read scriptures and hold our standards 7 days a week 24/7. I know that I am surrounded by that stuff daily now but I truly believe that that is true. I have heard countless stories of people sharing the gospel at work and school, delivering cookies to a sick neighbor, weekly church activies, Saturday morning ward breakfasts. So after saying all that did you notice? IT'S NOT ABOUT THE CHURCH, ITS ABOUT THE AMAZING PEOPLE IN IT.

While thinking more about this topic I found a really cool quote that I love!! This quote is by Bishop Gèrald Caussè he said:

"We take the Church with us wherever we go: to work, to school, on vacation, and especially in our homes. Our very presence and influence can be enough to make wherever we find ourselves a holy place." 

After reading that quote I thought it was so cool because of what Eric said at the end of our conversation. Eric said that he could tell that my companion and I were nice people. He said that it felt good talking to actual genuine and kind people. Eric said that in our 15 mintue conversation he could just tell. You know what that feeling was? The Spirit. 

I love being a missionary because The Spirit is so strong with us and people notice. People comment all the time and say "there is just something different about you." The Spirit. My favorite part is that even people's pets can tell. I can't tell you how many times we go into peoples houses and their dogs will just be loving us and they go, "that's so weird, they usually are going crazy around new faces" or "they usually don't like people." The Spirit! Just like Bishop Caussè said, even our presence can be enough. I love that he explained that we literally take church WITH US. Not just a Sunday thing!

The thing is is that the church isn't MAKING you change, you are WANTING to make the change. You're wanting to change your old habits and make new ones. You're wanting to become better than your last self! You're wanting to grow closer to Jesus Christ and become like him! The words of Jesus Christ change you. They put things into a perspective you had never thought of before.

Elder Theirry K. Mutombo who is a part of the Quarom of the Seventy. The Seventy are special witness of Jesus Christ called to help the Prophet and Apostles run Christ's church. Elder Mutombo parents are converts to the church and he shared their amazing story! After his parents started meeting with the missionaries, they knew from the feeling the Spirit gave that they needed to be baptized!

After that it just went up hill from there! Elder Mutombo said, "After our baptism, we truly started to progressively have a new lifestyle because of the restored gospel. The words of Christ began to enlarge our souls. They began to enlighten our understanding and became delicious to us, as the truths that we received were discernible and we could see the light, and this light grew brighter and brighter daily. This understanding of the why of the gospel was helping us to become more like the Savior. The size of our home did not change; neither did our social conditions. But I witnessed a change of heart in my parents as we prayed daily, morning and evening. We studied the Book of Mormon; we held family home evening; we truly became a family."

Church brings out the absolute best in people. There is a 18 year old girl in my church who was baptized about a year and a half ago. We went over to her house to visit and she shared with us her story of why she joined the church. My favorite part was when she said she had been going to church with a friend for a couple weeks when she got sick. She said that she wasn't able to go to church and she could feel it. She explained how going to church set up her week for success. By partaking of the sacrament, hearing other peoples testimonies, and escaping the darkness of the world, church brought her closer to the Light of Jesus Christ. 

I told Eric that while no church members are perfect, our church is at least not just a Sunday church. Come and See. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is different. It's different because it's not about the church. Its not about the building, the pews, how many baptisms we got, the classrooms or how the lighting is. It's about the people. It's about the people who stay up till countless hours of the night on Tuesday in preparation for the Youth Activity on Wednesday. Those who sacrifice their Saturday to help a family move. Those who pay for the missionaries dinner when they see them because they know their tight on cash on Friday. It's about the missionaries who sacrifice 2 years of their lives for others, its about serving 7 days a week. It's about becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. 

Come and See. 

Sundays @ 10:30, 2831 Theona Way, Rocklin California. 

Can I save you a seat? 

Message me or comment down below!! 

Love,

Sister Pickett

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You. Guys. I have to tell you what I had this week!! I went over to an amazing members house for dinner and we had homemade pizza. It was so good!! We had so many different kinds but this one was the absolute best! It was called The Detroit Style Pepperoni, Burrata & Hot Honey Pizza. You heard it right!! HOT HONEY. Sounds familiar? Well it should!! The very dish that started this whole blog had hot honey! Hot Honey Chicken and Waffle Salad to be exact. If you haven't read about it yet go check it out!! Life changing! 

I didn't know that you could actually just go out and buy hot honey. Apparently you can!! The pizza was so good! I was watching him do it and he made a regular homemade peperoni pizza but right when he pulled it out of the oven he added the Burrata Cheese. Burrata Cheese is a combination of Mozzarella and shredded stracciatella cheese. It comes in a ball, the center is soft and creamy stracciatella and it's surrounded by a layer of Mozzarella cheese! The member pulled apart the cheese in chunks and put it around the pizza. Letting the already hot pizza melt the cheese and then he added Mike's Hot Honey on top. WHAT?! 

It was seriously so good!! Hot Honey is seriously something else, the mix between sweet and hot is amazing. It's got the perfect in between and that perfect balance. It just adds that little bit of sweetness and then follows it up with some heat. I am obsessed with it now. Especially as I researched more about it! Mike's Hot Honey has the coolest back story! This is how they got started according to Meta AI: 

"Mike's Hot Honey is a popular brand of hot honey that was founded by Mike Kurtz in 2010. Mike's Hot Honey started as a small-batch hot honey operation in Brooklyn, New York, with Mike selling his signature hot honey at local markets and to specialty food stores.

The idea for Mike's Hot Honey came about when Mike was living in Italy and discovered a spicy chili-infused honey that was popular among locals. He became obsessed with the flavor and saw an opportunity to bring it to the US market.

Mike started making his own version of hot honey using a blend of chili peppers and pure honey, and it quickly gained a following among chefs, foodies, and hot sauce enthusiasts. Today, Mike's Hot Honey is widely available in stores and online, and has become a staple condiment in many kitchens."

It came from Kurtz Chips?!? I absolutely love hearing when people find their flavors and play with it and tweek it just enough to be perfect. Then at some point it absolutely explodes. You know you have it right when you can use it on absolutely anything not just one thing. When you can use it on sweet, savory, hot, or cold you know you did it right. Mind blown!! Hot Honey isn't just good on pizza and Salads. Apparently you can put it on everything!! 

I am obsessed with all the pictures of Mike's Hot Honey on ice cream, doughnuts, sandwiches, biscuits, cookies, hot chocolate... anything and everything. I think I have a new obsession and I need to get my hands on some hot honey to try these combinations out. 

What would you want to try Mikes Hot Honey on??

Sweet + Heat!! 

Go check out their Facebook page for some more amazing foods and where you can get your very own Mike's Hot Honey!!

https://www.facebook.com/mikeshothoney?mibextid=ZbWKwL