Monday, September 2nd, 2019

Rexburg, Idaho

125th operating temple

Dedicated: 10 Feb 2008

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Glory of

Matthew 24:30

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Book of Mormon

Alma 60:14-28

New Testament "God is Not the Author of Confusion, but of Peace"

1 Corinthians 14-16

1 Corinthians 14:1-28

General Conference

Careful vs. Casual

Becky Craven

"It's impossible to live a perfect life. Only one man was able to live perfectly while dwelling on this telestial planet. That was Jesus Christ. Although we may not be perfect, brothers and sisters, we can be worthy: worthy to partake of the sacrament, worthy of temple blessings, and worthy to receive personal revelation."

Well the contest is set. It's the mouse against the human (James).
James has set two traps in the pantry with peanut butter on them. So far the mouse has licked the peanut butter off the traps five times and not been caught. James has devised a new trap for the mouse in the storage room who is as evasive as the one in the pantry. Here is the trap.

He definitely had to explain this one to me.

He said he would put a plank on the ground

leading up to the top of the bucket. 

The mouse would walk out on the Slimfast bottle to 

get the peanut butter and the bottle would turn

and the mouse would fall to the bottom

of the barrel where he would eat the poison James

had placed there and die. Quite ingenious I

must say. Hope it works but I think it's too big

to work in the pantry. 

James went out to visit his friend Anthony today. Anthony has a police scanner and told James all about the escaped convicts. It seems they shot and killed a man in Tucson and took his 100 guns. They were caught in Utah and while being transported back to Arizona they escaped and tied up the two guards. They were last seen in a red GMC truck they got from a friend in St. Johns. 

The real clencher is that they are residents of Vernon and members of the Hells Angels. Anthony says they have friends in the area and could be hiding out in someone's garage. So far they have avoided an arrest.

After leaving Anthony's James went into town to get gas in the car. He was lucky he made it because the gauge said he could only go another 20 miles. He got an extra 10 gallons to have on hand.

Since I went to sleep at 2 am I slept in until after 8 this morning. I'm not sure what happened to me last night but it was the worst case of insomnia I have ever had. I was so tired that I asked Cammy if we could wait until next week to continue our watching of "When Calls the Heart." She of course said yes and that relieved a little stress for me.

Stacy sent me a video of Ricky Nelson singing in the movie "Rio Bravo" which made me want to listen to some Ricky songs so I downloaded an old album from I-tunes and listened while I worked.

I only sold one book today but I have improved my Inventory Performance Index. It went up from 480 to 511. This is because I have sold so many books and I keep repricing. I looked for books to buy. My goal is to buy 3-5 books every weekday.

I walked this afternoon and evening while watching episodes of Chopped. One of the chefs on one of the episodes was from Bourbon and Bones in Scottsdale where Jared Ammon works. He didn't do very well and was the first one to be chopped.

For FHE James and I listened to David and Emily on YouTube discuss 1 Corinthians 14-16. We also listened to the next presentation by someone else called, "Teaching with Power." It was a totally different approach than David and Emily's but we love it too. He focused on the importance of the resurrection of Christ as discussed in 1 Corinthians 15.

James and Sheri both got letters from Ben today. Here they are:

                                      Grandpa

Sheri's letter and Ben's answer:

 Missed my friend Catherine at church today.

She was in Mesa for a baby blessing.

 Happy Cat Monday!

 Brings back memories of being a teenager

and laying on my bed listening to Ricky.

Wednesday, May 1st, 2019

St. George, Utah

1st operating temple

Dedicated: 6-8 April, 1877

By: Daniel H. Wells

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

Romans 8:3

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 20:12-21:8

New Testament "Come Follow Me"

John 8:31-59

General Conference

How Can I Understand

Ulisses Soares

"The question asked by this Ethiopian man is a reminder of the divine mandate we all have to seek to learn and to teach one another the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, in the context of learning and teaching the gospel, we are sometimes like the Ethiopian - we need the help of a faithful and inspired teacher; and we are sometimes like Philip - we need to teach and strengthen others in their conversion."

I got a call from Marie R. my ministering companion this morning. I was hoping she was going to ask when we could do some visits but that wasn't the case. She was in the hospital in the valley having a procedure done and needed Paula J.'s number because Paula is babysitting her dogs. 

I left the house around 9:30 this morning. My first stop was at my friend Maxine's. Today is her birthday. She is 73 and is our Relief Society secretary. I brought her a card signed by Tamara and Kerri, the other members of our RS presidency. I also brought her some chocolate chip cookies, a Gerber daisy plant and a 12-pack of diet Coke. She told me one time that her children would remember her because she loved doing family history and temple work and she loved diet Coke. She said the gifts were perfect. I wanted to bring her flowers because when she was a little girl, on her birthday, she would hand out flowers to the women in her neighborhood.

After leaving Maxine's I headed for my brother Dennis's house in Linden. Dennis texted me the other day and said he was putting new flooring in one of the bedrooms and had taken all the books off the bookshelf. He knows we are selling books on Amazon and wanted to know if I wanted to come over and look at the books he has. I said yes I could come Wednesday morning. 

The first thing I noticed when I drove up to Dennis's was Nannie's old green Chevy truck. I had to take a picture. It looks like Dennis has had the truck re-painted and he said he took it out for a spin the other day. This is a little scary because Dennis is legally blind and should not be driving.

I love this truck and the memories it brings

Dennis had books everywhere but none of them would sell very well on Amazon. I did enjoy my time with him and his two dogs, Maisy and Jewel. Jewel is a basset hound and Dennis says if you have anything to eat in your purse she will sniff it out. She looked at me and with a disgusted look, just walked away. Sorry Jewel, no goodies in my purse.

When I left Dennis's I headed back in to Show Low and stopped at Safeway with the purpose of getting some Dr. Pepper 10. They did not have any. I got some shredded rotiserie chicken and an egg salad croissant. The croissant was for lunch and the chicken is to put in the chicken noodle soup I am making for the Grapp's dinner this evening. I also got myself a Payday candy bar. On to Walmart.

I got everything I needed for the Grapp's dinner at Walmart. I also got a Mother's Day card and a petunia plant for Lois for mother's day. We are going to the valley tomorrow and won't be down the following week on mother's day. 

When I got home I put together the chicken noodle soup and let it simmer for awhile while I made a salad with berries. It was a very similar dinner as the one I took to the Howard's last night except that the soup is chicken noodle instead of chicken and rice. 

James helped me take everything over around 5:30. Liana told me that's when there dad gets home and that's when they usually have dinner. 

Here is the text I got from Cammy later, after dinner: 

"Your meal was the best meal we have ever had brought in. You and your husband way out did yourselves. Thanks so much for helping to lighten my load tonight. It couldn't have come at a better time. Thomas has meetings, Liana activity days. With me not feeling up to it, not having to make dinner was a real blessing. Thanks again."

We sold two more books today.

 There is just something about old vehicles.

This is the car from "When Calls the Heart."

 Elder Rasband and his wife are Angels

She's always happy to take a bath.

 Scarlett in front of her new house.

Congratulations to the Child family!

I love these pictures!

 Since I didn't get to see the falls run this year I

posted this picture from a couple of years ago.

 So excited for Cathryn's baptism!

Cathryn is our bishop's daughter.

Thursday, March 28th, 2019

Oquirrh Mountain, Utah

130th operating temple

Dedicated: 21-23 Aug 2009

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

DC 93:14

And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first.

Book of Mormon

Jacob 7:21-Enos 1:1-10

New Testament "Come Follow Me"

Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23

"Fear Not to Do Good"

Henry B. Eyring 10/2017

General Conference

"Choose You This Day"

Elder Dale G. Renlund

As the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob said, I say with him:

"Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves - to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life. Wherefore, my beloved brethren (and sisters), reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil ...; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved."

So, choose faith in Christ; choose repentance; choose to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost; choose to conscientiously prepare for and worthily partake of the sacrament; choose to make covenants in the temple; and choose to serve the living God and His children. Our choices determine who we are and who we will become. I conclude with the rest of Jacob's blessing: "Wherefore, may God raise you from ... everlasting death by the power of the Atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God."

James listened to and watched the Book Profits webinar while I got ready to go to town. It was Jim and Herman teaching again. 

Today was my Aunt Gene's, (dad's sister) 91st birthday. I went to visit her and stopped on the way to get yellow mums at Safeway. I chose yellow because I always think of the song, "You Are My Sunshine" when I think of Aunt Gene. 

When I first arrived at her house it was just she and I. She took me into the bedroom and gave me a picture of my grandma and grandpa from their 50th wedding anniversary. It was hanging on the wall in a frame and she gave me the frame also.

Arlee T. Maxwell and

Verdie Rea Robinson Maxwell

This is another picture that was hanging on the wall. Aunt Gene said this picture was taken when grandma and grandpa were first married.

Aunt Gene and I visited a little while when the doorbell rang. It was Harold and Dennis. I had invited them to come. Denise was at work and Vickie's allergies were bothering her. I am glad I invited my brothers. I don't see them too often and it's always nice to catch up. 

Dennis says he and Denise are going to Cleveland, Ohio in May to celebrate their anniversary at the Rock n' Roll and Football Halls of Fame. They love to travel and Dennis loves history of any kind. They will also be going to Texas at the end of May for Bettylea's high school graduation in Del Rio. I told them we were going to Texas also for two graduations.

Harold gave us an update on Monte. Right now he is not allowed to eat any food or drink anything He has a bag he carries around that supplies him with nutrients. On April 19th he is scheduled to have surgery at the Chandler hospital. We will be down on the 20th and 21st for Easter so hopefully we can go see him.

Aunt Gene is pretty independent for a 91 year old, kind of like James's mom. She just got back from a trip to Texas and Arkansas where she visited with her husband Clyde's family. She said she had attendants push her around the airport in her wheelchair and she gave a $5 to everyone that helped her. 

Aunt Gene has a great attitude. She says she focuses on what she can do, not on what she can't do.

We stayed an hour or so and then we said our goodbye's. I promised Aunt Gene I would be back soon to see her. 

I stopped at the post office and mailed a book we sold, "Visions of Glory." I went to the bank to deposit a check from Mario Chacon and then went on to Walmart to go grocery shopping. On the way home I stopped and filled my car with gas. 

James stayed home because he had some phone calls to make regarding work that was to be done today that Armando is handling. He went to town at 4:30 because that's when President Beeler said he could meet with him and sign his temple recommend. It is frustrating when we have to make two trips to town in the same day but I guess this time it couldn't be helped.

This evening we ordered books, I blogged, and walked while watching Hallmark movies. Maybe I am in a rut.

The ice hotel in this movie is amazing!

This girl loves books!

 Dallas, Texas temple

 Filmed in Bruges, Belgium

One of my favorites