Arie Belle Blog

I was sitting with my Grandfather Demetrios Kepas at the pharmacy as we waited a long while for their prescriptions to be filled which took about an hour. We sat there and watched as people came in and out of the store, at one point two young men came and sat near us and they started talking about the one guys broken arm. Eventually my Grandpa joined in on their conversation and started sharing his many years of knowledge with them. After finishing a couple different conversations he turns to me and the one guy who was left and said  If you took apart a clock, and set all of the pieces next to each other on the ground and waited, would they be able to put themselves back together without a master clock maker to put of all the pieces precisely where they needed to be in order to make the clock work. No, of course they wouldn't be able to put themselves back together, no even in a billion years. There had to be someone to put each part in its place in order for the clock to funct...

Okay, I have done one blog post for all of march! And its the last day of march!! This I guess will be the second blog post I do for this month, and then I'll catch up on everything in April. Life has been so crazy! So I've been too busy to write anything for my blog lately. Not too many people actually read this blog, its more just a personal thing I do to write out my thoughts, share videos, write poetry and rant about life and things that I wouldn't share on facebook or anything like that. In a way this blog is like an online journal, and honestly having a blog is very therapeutic and is a great way to get your thoughts out there, no matter if people read it or not. So now that little rant is over! Lets talk about something really amazing and big that just happened in my life!! In my last blog post I said that I was turning in my mission papers! And I did! I sent them in like 3 weeks ago and guess what!!!! I got my mission call on Friday the 28th of  March!!! Which is...

This Sunday during church this simple statement caught my attention. "Charity Never Faileth". These three words have a lot of power, but first we need to understand what charity is. charity  is the pure  love  of Christ, and it endureth   forever ; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. (Moroni 7:47) This scripture says that charity is the pure love of Christ. The Pure Love of Christ. How powerful. How do we have a pure love of Christ? What does that in-tell? From a 1981 General Conference talk by Gordon B. Hinkley he says, " I speak of charity in the sense of  forgiveness , of tolerance of the failings of another, of the smothering of the feelings of jealousy and unkindness toward associates."  So Charity comes in many forms, like forgiveness, tolerance, kindness, and not being jealous of others. Here is another great scripture about Charity, If so, his  a faith  and hope...

Christmas isn't all about the presents and shopping and unwrapping gifts by the tree bright and early in the morning, although that is one of the biggest parts of it. But the most important part of Christmas is the Christ part, to me Christmas is the spirit of Christ. Growing up Christian, we've been a part of nativities for years, either watching or participating in the acting, and I've grown a lot closer to the story through that. So what is the spirit of Christ? The spirit of Christ to me, is pretty much everything good, like giving, charity, kindness, compassion, empathy, joy, and love. We celebrate Christ's birth here on the earth, because it was a miracle, his life changed the world forever, and even though he was the son of God he came to earth just like the rest of us, through a mother. Christ came to this earth for a very important purpose, to save us all, to die for our sins that we may be forgiving and be able to return to live with our Heavenly Father af...

Good Timber The tree that never had to fight For sun and sky and air and light, But stood out in the open plain And always got its share of rain, Never became a forest king But lived and died a scrubby thing. The man who never had to toil To gain and farm his patch of soil, Who never had to win his share Of sun and sky and light and air, Never became a manly man But lived and died as he began. Good timber does not grow with ease: The stronger wind, the stronger trees; The further sky, the greater length; The more the storm, the more the strength. By sun and cold, by rain and snow, In trees and men good timbers grow. Where thickest lies the forest growth, We find the patriarchs of both. And they hold counsel with the stars Whose broken branches show the scars Of many winds and much of strife. This is the common law of life. Douglas Malloch

It is an inevitable fact of life that we compare ourselves to others. Yet it can be a very dangerous practice. If we give ourselves a superior rating, we fall into the trap of pride. President Ezra Taft Benson has warned us that "the proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not. Their self-esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success" ("Beware of Pride,"  Ensign,  May 1989, p. 6). If we see ourselves at the top of the ladder, we diminish the significance of others, sometimes overlooking important qualities that our grading scale ignores. We may not even be aware that we are doing this. Not long ago, Rex and I visited a small ward in another part of the world. There was no organ or piano present. The bishop didn't own a suit jacket or even a tie. The Relief Society president didn't use a day planner. But the spirit in those meetings filled our hearts with love for our Savior and for our ...

A talk by Elder L. Tom Perry Men and women receive their agency as a gift from God, but their liberty and, in turn, their eternal happiness come from obedience to His laws. None of us should ever underestimate how driven Satan is to succeed. His role in God’s eternal plan creates “opposition in all things” ( 2 Nephi 2:11 ) and tests our agency. Each choice you and I make is a test of our agency—whether we choose to be obedient or disobedient to the commandments of God is actually a choice between “liberty and eternal life” and “captivity and death.” Stand ye in Holy Places and Be Not Moved. I am a very religious person, and I know that following God's commandments are hard, I often make mistakes and break the rules and do things which I know are not good for me. But I know that God is forgiving and loves me, and I always have a way back. I felt like sharing a spiritual message today, because I was moved during church today, and for anyone who wanders upon this message, I...

The dark is closing in, I can feel that familiar tightness in my chest. Its like I'm stuck in the ocean and its pitch black in the night With dark grey clouds covering up the moon casting shadows across my body. The fear is creeping in. Its starting to flame inside, about to rip me apart. Everyone who used to hold me seems to have forgotten me. Everyone I counted on to hold my hand, they won't even think to call or to chat. Their just gone. Gone in the night. My mind starts wandering, going back in time. Recalling all our old memories All the times we made each other laugh and smile. But where have all those times gone? You once told me we wouldn't lose each other. We wouldn't lose each other, Ever. But now your out there, living free and having fun while I am alone, with no one who wants me No one who loves me, At least not the way I need to be loved. I miss you, I need you, I've tried, but you wont respond....

 Its been more then 2 years that I have had this blog, but its been two years with the ariebelleblog.blogspot.com, but about 3 years altogether with the first year with another name. Blogging is a hobby of mine, Its not like I am internet famous or anything, and I probably view my blog more then anyone else does, but honestly I love sharing things from my life and not know who will see it, with the hope that maybe it was something that helped someone that day, or lifted a spirit or inspired something.  My blog has about 14,000 views, which is crazy! I am very proud of that number. Because for the longest time it was under 1,000 and then all of a sudden it seems like people randomly started stumbling onto my blog, which I am totally okay with! So much has happened this last year, and I haven't been very good at posting things on my blog lately.  Lately I've been thinking a lot about death, because my Grandfather on my mothers side is getting to that point where we...

When you make a decision in life, no matter if it is wrong or right, No one else can be the judge of that The only person who can make a final verdict over your choices is God. Dont doubt yourself  From what others say, think or imply Make decisions based on your own life Other people are entitled to their opinions  But they arent entitled to make you change yours, Stay strong to what you choose, And in the end no one will lose. Dont doubt yourself, Because if you do, you might lose something or someone who is special to you Life is a complication of choices  And no  matter how hard we try we will make some bad ones But even if we do No one cept One can control our fate, With the Important decisions that we are faced with We need to think and act on what we feel is right so Dont doubt yourself because no matter what you do, through bad and good, there are always more things to come, more chances to cha...