Tuesday, March 24th, 2020

Kinshasa, DR of Congo

163rd operating temple

Dedicated: 14 Apr 2019

By: Dale G. Renlund

Jesus Christ, Judge

Mormon 3:20

And these things doth the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I write unto you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

Enos 1:18-27

Finish I/F Lesson

Oct 2019 Gen Con

"Deceive Me Not"

Elder Gary E. Stevenson

"I bear my witness of the Holy One of Israel - even the name of Jesus Christ. I testify of His abiding love, truth, and joy that are made possible by His infinite and eternal sacrifice. As we obey His commandments, we will always be led in the right way and will not be deceived. In the sacred name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen."

James talked to his mom on the phone today. She made this comment: "Stores are opening early for seniors so we don't get trampled in the rush to the toilet paper."

At 5:30 a.m. we left for Walmart. They are open at 6 a.m. for seniors over the age of 65. I thought this would be a good time to go shopping for two reasons: 1) It wouldn't be so crowded, and 2) the shelves would be stocked. 

As soon as we drove in to the parking lot I could tell it was going to be crowded because the parking lot was full. There was only one door opened and James dropped me off at the closed door so I had to walk down to the other one. No biggie. They took one look at me, knew I was over 65 and let me in.

Many people had on masks and gloves. I would wear gloves but I refuse to wear a mask. Lots of shelves were bare but thank goodness they had some toilet paper. James got a separate basket from me and we both got a package of toilet paper. There was a limit, one package per person. 

I saw Kerri looking for a document pen for Lucretia Barton. Catherine said she was there looking for flour and raisin bread and they were out of both. James told her he would grind her some flour for bread this week.  We also saw Marie Robertson who came with the Halcomb's. She told me when the quarantine was lifted that I should come over and get some books from her. 

I read from "Aunt Dimity Down Under" to James on the way home. I got home in time to listen to Kris and Kathy on the Book Profits webinar. They are my favorites. They said since we can't send books in to Amazon we should list them as merchant fulfilled until April 5th when we can send them in again. Good idea! Kathy also helped me change my shipping preferences for merchant fulfilled. Now the customer is paying for the shipping. 

James has his lumber order ready for Chacon's and Armando is tying steel for the footings. Finally some progress!

Sheri texted me to tell me that they aren't going to come this week. She is afraid they are going to close down her office and she won't have the hours she needs. I must say I am a little disappointed.

Stacy needs a computer as she is going to finish her school from home. I told her she could have James's old one. She was excited.

 I did one blog post today and I was lucky to get that. Must get faster! Jared asked about us. He knows we are waiting to hear the report about what Jace died from. How sweet of him to check on us.

Tonight we did the "Come Follow Me" lesson in the manual.

Now that's my kind of gardening!

Sweet Lynda who plays the organ every 

other week in our ward. 

 This makes me want a goat

Loves this family!

 It's the Bogle blood that makes

them awesome

My new water bottle

Some days I post too much

 Summer and some friends

 Trina is a little nervous about

going to work at the hospital

Sunday, July 21st, 2019

 Cochabamba, Bolivia

82nd operating temple

Dedicated: 30 April 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Firstborn

DC 78:21

For ye are the church of the Firstborn, and he will take you up in a cloud, and appoint every man his portion.

Book of Mormon

Alma 36:25-37:10

New Testament "The Word of God Grew and Multiplied"

Review: Acts 10-15

General Conference

Great Love for Our Father's Children

Elder Quentin L. Cook

"As members we can show our love for the Savior and our brothers and sisters throughout the world by making simple invitations. The new Sunday meeting schedule represents an exceptional opportunity for members to successfully and lovingly invite friends and associates to come and see and feel a Church experience. A spiritual sacrament meeting, hopefully as sacred as what Elder Jeffrey R. Holland described yesterday, will be followed by a 50-minute meeting focused on the New testament and the Savior or relevant conference addresses also focused on the savior and His doctrine."

James and I left for sacrament meeting before Darrel's family. We sat in the front and tried to save places for them but our meeting was full and they ended up sitting in the back overflow.

Sister Beard and Brother Curtis were the speakers in sacrament meeting today. Sister Beard spoke about priesthood blessings and Brother Curtis spoke about Apostolic blessings. He specifically mentioned the one that the Prophet gave to the priesthood brethren in the last general conference during the priesthood session. 

Sister Beard told about receiving priesthood blessings from her dad and when she was married wishing she had a worthy priesthood holder in her home. After getting her divorce she got a priesthood blessing and recently her little boy needed a blessing of health which her uncle was able to give him because her dad was out of town. I love Camrie's testimony and her strength in spite of her adversity.

Sunday School was packed. Brother Judd gave the lesson. The main focus was receiving revelation, line upon line, precept upon precept. It seemed like we focused on one aspect of the lesson and got a little bogged down.

Trina's mom says everyone looks good,

including Darrel!

After our meetings we came home and heated up our leftover goulash for lunch. Of course James had some watermelon. I added some extra's to the goulash, more tomato sauce, green chilies, and corn. Darrel and Trina had some too. 

While James and I were taking a nap Darrel took the kids for a Razr ride. They had a good ride but the Razr broke down on the way home by the Hunsaker's. Trina and I were sitting on the front porch waiting for them to come home when she got the call from Darrel. James took my car to pick them up and town the Razr home. The truck has an electrical short and the battery is dead right now.

While Trina and I were on the porch Sister Grapp delivered us two freshly baked loaves of her delicious homemade bread. What a treat for everyone! We had it with butter and honey.

This evening Darrel fixed his recipe for Caramelized Ham & Swiss Buns. He said he saw the picture on the front of a magazine and the sandwiches were calling to him. Instead of buying the magazine for the recipe Darrel just took a picture. I'm glad he did because they were delicious! The only thing he eliminated was the horseradish.

Darrel's buns

We played games and watched a Christmas movie this afternoon. 

This evening Darrel and Rowan made a fire outside and the family made smores and had the "Come Follow Me" lesson around the campfire.

 Someone in Russia has a since of 

color and fun!

 I think Ruby needs this watch!

 Not feeling well

Thursday, March 21st, 2019

Sacramento, California

123rd operating temple

Dedicated: 3 Sept 2006

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

DC 52:44

Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the So of God, and I will lift them up at the last day. Even so. Amen.

Book of Mormon

Jacob 5:1-18

New Testament "Come Follow Me"

Matthew 13:44-58

"Lord, I Believe"

Jeffrey R. Holland

April 2013

General Conference

The Role of the Book of Mormon in Conversion

Elder Shayne M. Bowen

"The Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It leads us to the covenants of the Father, which if kept will assure us of His greatest gift - eternal life. The Book of Mormon is the keystone to the conversion of all of Heavenly Father's sons and daughters."

I got a call from the sister who is supposed to teach the Relief Society lesson this week. Since I work directly with the teachers she called me. She was coughing so much she could barely speak. She has pneumonia and will not be able to teach on Sunday. I told her no to worry about the lesson, I would take care of it. Becky is a faithful and dedicated sister. I served in the Primary when she was the Primary president and I learned to love her for her positive attitude and her faith in the Lord. At first I was just going to teach the lesson myself but then I decided I needed to talk to our Relief Society President, Tamara. She said she would think about it and try to come up with a name of someone that we could call at the last minute and ask to teach.

I took my friend Catherine to Snowflake today. She has recently gone to the Compass Medical Center in Snowflake for the neuropathy she has as a result of her diabetes. She recently had to have two toenails removed because her toes were turning black. 

The Compass Center uses natural methods and herbs for much of their treatment. Catherine had to pick up her herbs, etc. and needed a ride. I was happy to take her. She is a delightful 85 year old who was born in Oklahoma and calls herself an "Oakie." I told her about James's mom and that she was born in Oklahoma,  and told her what she said about why the devil she needed a babysitter and Catherine responded, "Sounds just like an Oakie." 

After picking up Catherine's supplies she wanted to go to lunch. She said it was the least she could do for me being her chauffeur. I suggested Eva's because she said she liked Mexican food and she said she wanted to sit down somewhere and eat. 

Catherine was good and ordered a taco salad. I ordered my favorite, chicken enchilada with red sauce with rice and beans. I wasn't good, but my food sure was!

 We had a nice visit. She has a daughter who has left the Church that she is sad about. All of Catherine's children are adopted except one. I couldn't help but mention the nature vs. nurture theory I picked up from watching "Jane Doe, The Ties That Bind." What has the greatest affect on a person; nature,  their biological background, or nurture, the environment in which they grow up. I told her a little about Tricia. Tricia sounds a lot like her daughter Kathy. We did not come to any conclusions but I can think of examples where nature overcomes nurture. I am sure there are examples of nurture overcoming nature so the jury is still out on this one. As we everything else in life we just have to wait and see, and trust in the Lord.

I finally learned the value of setting Keepa alerts and how to do it for our book business. One of our successful mentors says he has 20,000 Keepa alerts set. When you set a price alert on a book you want to buy at a lower price Keepa will send you an email alert and then you can go back and purchase the book. I am determined that we are going to be successful in this book business!

James arrived home at 9:30 this evening. I was so happy to have him home! For some reason I missed him more than usual. I guess maybe because it's been awhile since we have been apart. 

Darrel and Trina made the big move today. Sheri said she took off work to help them today and tomorrow. I guess Darrel and Trina's brothers and dad did most of the heavy stuff and Sheri helped with the rest. I am grateful to Sheri and her desire to give service. She loves Trina and Darrel. Rowan spent the night with Max and Evan.

Hallmark movies to keep me company while James is gone:

"Perfect on Paper," "My Favorite Wedding," "Love, Once and Always."

I walked 13,562 steps today.

 Jared, is this good news for the Suns?

 So pretty!

 Fiona, Elizabeth and Abigail

from "When Calls the Heart", the

best show on TV.

Pictures of the best missionary ever:

Love that infectious smile Elder Trezise!

 Missionaries "on the ball"

 Little Miss Sunshine

 This picture was taken a year ago, I think

Darrel has changed the most.

James's job. He says this is an optical illusion

because that paved area was perfectly straight.

 These two have a special bond. Maybe it's because

she saved his life a couple of times.

 Hallmark movies make me happy.