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.

Monday, July 15th, 2019

Louisville, Kentucky

76th operating temple

Dedicated: 19 Mar 2000

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Firstborn

Colossians 1:15

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Book of Mormon

Alma 33:1-11

New Testament "The Word of God Grew and Multiplied"

Acts 10 and Gospel Topics; "Revelation"

General Conference

Look Unto Jesus Christ

Elder Kim B. Clark

"When we live our covenants, they influence everything we say and do. We live a covenant life full of simple, everyday acts of faith that focus us on Jesus Christ: prayer from the heart in His name, feasting on His word, turning to Him to repent of our sins, keeping His commandments, partaking of the sacrament and keeping His Sabbath holy, worshiping in His holy temple as often as we can, and exercising His holy priesthood to serve God's children."

James talked me into going to town with him this morning.  

Kaitlin's birthday is this week and I wanted to make her a cake so I went with him. While he was at Home Depot I went to Walmart. I decided Monday morning is a good time to visit Walmart because things aren't too crazy. James bought lumber for something at the Howard's. They left this morning for Illinois where they are going to visit Tom's 92 year old mother.

I finished shopping while James was in line at Firehouse Subs. I ordered a steak and cheese sub. I waited for James in the parking lot and did some walking while I was waiting. 

My sub was delicious...James had the Hook and Ladder, which is turkey and I think he was wishing he would have ordered what I got. I did save him a little bite.

As soon as I got home and put the groceries away I began making Kaitlin's cake. It is a rainbow chip cake and then I made homemade cream cheese frosting. 

I made a round layered cake and didn't allow it to cool long enough because I thought the kids were leaving and consequently, the cake cracked. I told Kaitlin it was "farmhouse rustic."  We had a little party and sang to Kaitlin and had cake with cookies and cream and mint chocolate chip ice cream.

27 years old

The kids hung around for awhile and I asked everyone to bring down their sheets and towels. 

Chris was going to show me how to work the TV upstairs but we couldn't get it to come on. I'm not sure why. I will look into it when Darrel gets here this weekend. It's a Smart TV and it's smarter than I am.

They left around 3-4 this afternoon and I told Adam to let me know when he got home. I guess he forgot but I assume everyone made it home safely.

I spent the next hour or so walking and watching a Christmas movie, "Christmas at Homestead," starring Taylor Cole and Michael Rady. 

For FHE we read from the New Testment Student Manual about Acts 10 and then I read to James from President Nelson's biography.

Chris and Kyle in the back, and

Kaitlin and Adam in the front

 Ben said he didn't have much time to write but

he will send a letter next week.

 San Diego temple

Monday, February 18th, 2019

Merida, Mexico

92nd operating temple

Dedicated: 8 July 2000

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

DC 42:1

Hearken, O ye elders of my church, who have assembled yourselves together in my name, even Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, the Savior of the world; inasmuch as ye believe on my name and keep my commandments.

Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 9:31-49

*S.M.I.L.E. "To be spiritually-minded is life eternal." What does it mean to be spiritually minded?

- Vs 39 says it is life eternal. That is our end goal, but is the word eternal the key to our spirituality? How do we view life? If we view our experiences in terms of eternity, we draw closer to God, and father away from worldliness. These eternal qualities are evident in the way we react to death, tragedy or misfortunes. To be spiritually minded is to view our experiences in terms of the enlarged perspective of eternity. If we view what happens to us in terms of our knowledge of the purpose of life, the mission of the Savior and our eternal destiny... we are spiritually minded. (See talk "Spirituality" by Dallin H. Oaks).

New Testament "Come Follow Me"

Matthew 5; Luke 6 "Blessed Are Ye"

"Happiness" Jack H. Goaslind, April 1986

Ensign

"The Most Influential People"

"Time to Serve"

General Conference

Sisters Participation in the Gathering of Israel

"Second, I invite you to read the Book of Mormon between now and the end of the year. As impossible as that may seem with all you are trying to manage in your life, if you will accept this invitation with full purpose of heart, the Lord will help you find a way to achieve it. And, as you prayerfully study, I promise that the heavens will open for you. The Lord will bless you with increased inspiration and revelation."

Try, Try Try

President Henry B. Eyring

"The statement that we are 'willing to take upon us' His name tells us that while we first took the Savior's name when we were baptized, taking His name is not finished at baptism. We must work continually to take His name throughout our lives, including when we renew covenants at the sacrament table and make covenants in the Lord's holy temples."

"There are few things as transformative as seeing someone you love take on the mantle of missionary and dedicate their lives to the Lord in a way that makes the Spirit truly their constant companion" ..that's what Ben has done."

It's snowing and it's supposed to snow all day. Ben is skyping hoe today because he wants to see Ollie. 

James and I called our temple supervisors today and told them we would be back at the temple on Saturday. Sister Cochran said I was an answer to prayers because so many sisters are no longer coming. 

I love watching it snow while I am walking, inside, of course. James walked outside while it was snowing and also shoveled off the walks. 

I planned on going grocery shopping today. James didn't want me to go by myself because of the weather, so he went with me. There was much more snow in Show Low than there was in Vernon, which is kind of unusual. There was about 3 inches of snow in Show Low and less than that in Vernon. I am grateful that James went with me. We listened to our book on the way home and conference talks on the way there.

James went through all of the books we have in our inventory and repriced them. It took him several hours. We sold book #10, "Herbs and Things."

For FHE we listened to "Try, Try, Try" and then watched "Chronicle Mysteries: Recovered" starring Alison Sweeney and Benjamin Ayres. It was okay but not great. I really do like the romantic movies so much better than the mysteries.

 Kacey's sister Loren posted this.

 Rusty and Kendall bless their baby

 These two

Buckaliew Spring is running!

I love this little house plan.

Great for Kim and Brian.

Today's Hallmark movies:

 Chef Lola

 O my gosh!

So adorable

I cannot even believe this heinous crime exists.