Tuesday, January 14th, 2020

Veracruz, Mexico

93rd operating temple

Dedicated: 9 July 2000

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Jehovah

DC 109:68

O Lord, remember thy servant, Joseph Smith, Jun., and all his afflictions and persecutions - how he has covenanted with Jehovah, and vowed to thee, O Mighty God of Jacob - and the commandments which thou hast given unto him, and that he hath sincerely striven to do thy will.

Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 8:21-38

Oct 2019 General Conference

"Thru Cloud and Sunshine, Lord, Abide with Me"

Reyna I. Aburto

"When we open up about our emotional challenges, admitting we are not perfect, we give others permission to share their struggles. Together we realize there is hope and we do not have to suffer alone."

Up at 4:30. Studied Inklings. In DC 107:18-20 it says:

The power and authority of the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the Church - 

To have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to have the heavens opened unto them, to commune with the general assembly and church of the Firstborn, and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.

The power and authority of the lesser, or Aaronic Priesthood, is to hold the keys of the ministering of angles, and to administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, agreeable to the covenants and commandments.

After reading verse 20 where it talks about the Aaronic priesthood having the ministering of angels one of the sisters in our group called her dad to asked what it meant to have the keys of the ministering of angels. This is what he said:

"When Deacons, Teachers, and Priests prepare, bless, and pass the sacrament they become literal ministering angels to us. They are acting in the place of Christ to administer this ordinance on His behalf."

This sister went on to say: "It made me think of the few times I drove the young men to administer the sacrament in the homes of ward members and how those elderly/sick people must have seen them as ministering angels, bringing the sacred sacrament to them."

"The Fall has two directions, downward yet forward." - Orson F. Whitney.

For breakfast I again had scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, toast with butter and jam. Yummy. For the first time in my life I actually like eggs!

James ate breakfast with me then we had prayer, and he kissed me goodbye as he left for the Chacon job in the valley. He left a little bit late and the road closed at 9 am by the Superior bridge. He had to go around through Winkelman. He is staying at Kim and Brian's because it is closer to his job. 

I listened to some podcasts this morning. I also got a text from Anna thanking me for her birthday card. I sent her a card and $20.00. I was happy to hear from her.

My friend Jean Howard and I had lunch at Native in Show Low. It is one of Jean's favorite restaurants on the mountain. I had the pork tacos and a salad. Jean ordered the chicken, walnut, apple salad. My tacos were tiny so I'm glad I got a salad. We had a nice visit. Mystery was our waitress again. 

Today was a beautiful day. It was sunny and 52 degrees, with just a little wind.

I came home had some yogurt and nuts took a nap, got up and had some herbal tea and blogged January 2nd. My computer keeps freezing up. 

This evening I had a stake family history meeting and then a temple recommend interview with President Smithson afterwards. President Smithson is a doctor and when he found out that I had lived in Chandler for 40 years he asked me if I knew Tom Paxman. Tom grew up in the Chandler 2nd ward when we were in the ward. He said Tom had been his partner and just retired. Again, It's a small world.

Fomo is "Fear of Missing Out"

Wednesday, January 8th, 2020

Dedicated: 4 June 2000

By: James E. Faust

Jesus Christ, Jehovah

Jonah 1:9

And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.

Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 3; Sunday School lesson; Book of Mormon Student Manual

General Conference Daily

"The Spirit of Revelation"

Elder David A. Bednar 4/2011

Oct 2019 General Conference

"Found through the Power of the Book of Mormon"

Elder Ruben V. Alliaud

"My uncle had called my mother to teel her not to worry, that I would get over this soon. Four years later, when I received my call to serve in the Uruguay Montevideo Mission, my mother called my uncle to ask him exactly when I was going to get over all this. The truth is that from the time I was baptized, my mother was a happier mother."

It was cold and windy today. I ventured out this afternoon to deliver the Relief Society birthday cards to Maxine so she could sign them. I am puzzled why it is already the 8th of January and we are just now signing cards for January. There are several birthdays the first week and these cards are going to be quite late by the time we get them to Paula  to mail. I'm going to suggest we sign them at our presidency meeting the month before.

On the way home from Maxine's I went by the post office to pick up the mail. In the mail James got his summons to court from the state of New Mexico. I got a thank you from Maxine for the calendar I gave her for Christmas and we got a star ornament of Charlie from Texas. It is so cute, I'm going to hang it and look at it all year. My car was covered in mud by the time I reached home.

James came out and cleaned off my windshield so the next time we go out we will at least have a clean windshield.

I had four glasses of herbal tea today. Making up for my diet coke addiction I guess but tea doesn't have caffeine or aspartame.

I depostied the check from Mario using my phone at home, vacuumed our bedroom and packed up the 2018-19 financial files both business and personal and took them to James's office. I emptied trashes in our bedroom, the laundry room, hall bath, and "recycle" in the pantry. I started watching the newest Hallmark movie, "Vail in Winter" starring Lacey Chabert and Tyler Hynes.I had walked 10,000 steps by 5:30 this afternoon. I blogged and studied "Come Follow Me." I listened to the following podcasts:

"All In" Morgan interviewed Emily Belle Freeman and Emily told about her new book, "Grace for All Seasons". I also listened to Emily and Dave in the "Don't Miss This" podcast and I listened to a new podcast on Joseph and the First Vision produced by the Joseph Smith Papers. 

It was a busy, productive and happy day.

 This picture was taken when they visited us.

She is trying to get in to a small black wire basket.

 generations

 James sent me some random pictures,

these are some of them:

Addy a couple of years ago

Monday, December 23rd, 2019

Ciudad, Juarez

71st operating temple

Dedicated: 26 Feb 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Jehovah

2 Nephi 16:1

In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train felled the temple.

Book of Mormon

Ether 15:18-34

New Testament

Revelation 12-13; Redheaded Hostess and New Testament Student Manual

Oct 2019 General Conference

"Deceive Me Not"

Elder Gary E. Stevenson

"Satan, the father of lies and the great deceiver, would have us question things as they really are and either ignore eternal truths or replace them with something that appears more pleasing. 'He maketh war with the saints of God' and has spent millennia calculating and practicing the ability to persuade God's children to believe that good is evil and evil is good."

A strong testimony of Jesus Christ gives peace, comfort, and assurance. It generates the conviction that as the teachings of the Savior are consistently obeyed, life will be beautiful, the future secure, and there will be capacity to overcome the challenges that cross our path. A testimony grows from understanding truth, distilled from prayer and the pondering of scriptural doctrine. It is nurtured by living those truths in faith and the secure confidence that the promised results will be obtained. 

James and I had lunch with a friend from Chandler at Olive Garden today. Her name is Judy Pargetter. Judy's husband Allen passed away about six months ago. She reached out to me on Facebook and we arranged to meet for lunch. Judy has overcome many trials in her life. At one time she weighed over 400 lbs. Now she is at an average weight for her age and height. Her husband served in the military most of his life and had PTSD and alzheimers along with some other physical handicaps, in their later years while she was his caregiver. She passed on genetically a weakness in her sons and grandson causing mental and physical disabilities. Through all of this she has persevered and remained faithful and active in the gospel of Jesus Christ. When James had his heart surgery she was the one friend that came to visit us and brought a blanket because she knew the hospital blankets were not warm enough if I decided to spend the night. She is a wonderful friend and an inspiration to both James and I. When Allen, her husband, was wheel chair bound James went over and built them a ramp. They were also in our ward when James was the bishop. I think you can say that we belong to a mutual admiration society. We love Judy and she loves us.

After lunch and saying goodbye to Judy, I asked James if we could go to Hobby Lobby so I could get some ribbon to use on the packages I am wrapping. I have an entire box of ribbon at home that I forgot to bring. Of course he said yes because he loves Hobby Lobby almost as much as I do. I told him he could look around while I was buying ribbon and maybe he could find something for his mom for Christmas. 

The ribbon was 66% off as were all items in the Christmas department. I told James I was going next door to look for a couple of things at T.J. Maxx. James said he was going back to the car to rest. No, he did not find anything at Hobby Lobby for his mom. I guess a blanket and an Amazon card will be our gifts to both her and Dawn. 

James called Janis Willis. Janis wants him to get someone to do some drywall work on the eaves of her house, which he did. Now he needs to either paint for her or arrange for someone else too.

James went over to talk to Mario Chacon about the two houses he is going to build while I went back to Darrel and Trina's to wrap presents. I listened to two podcasts while wrapping, "The Scripture Study Project," and the Proctor's from Meridian magazine who also do a "Come Follow Me" podcast. 

Lola helped me wrap and made a list of all the people I was wrapping for. She loves to write as long as you do the spelling for her. We wrapped: Ian's, Alex's, Kim's, Brian's, Joe's, Paul's, Addy's, and Darrel's blankets. 

It is raining outside and I need to make another trip to the Hobby Lobby close to Trina's. James went with me and helped pick out ribbon. I wanted to buy more because it was so cheap but he told me to wait until next year when we would, "have more money."

Ruby gave a Christmas lesson for her family. She had cards with all the symbols of Christmas and what they represent. Afterwards she hid the symbols and you had to look for the symbols you had cards for. It was fun for the entire family, especially Lola!

The Symbols of Christmas lesson

 Ray-Decker grandkids

 The plaid blanket was made for Kim!

Tan one is for Harold, my brother.

Oh my

Friday, November 29th, 2019

Bountiful, Utah

47th operating temple

Dedicated: 8 Jan 1995

By: Howard W. Hunter

Jesus Christ, Head of Church

DC 33:5

And verily, verily, I say unto you, that this church have I established and called forth out of the wilderness.

Book of Mormon

Mormon 9:1-21

New Testament

2 Peter 1; I/F: 2 Peter 1:1-11 Through the power of Jesus Christ, I can develop my divine nature. 

10/19 General Conference

"Take Up Our Cross"

Elder Ulisses Soares

"To help His disciples to understand that devotion to His work includes submission and suffering, the Savior emphatically declared:'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lost it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

RWC: Bear you testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ to your children.

Ensign: "Mary, Mother of the Savior" by Margot Hovley

It is snowing fast and furious this morning, it looks like a blizzard or a white out. Anthony, who was supposed to come to dinner tonight with the missionaries, cancels. The missionaries text and confirm this morning and then a couple of hours later they cancel too. All because of the weather. 

I spent most of the day preparing food and listening to BYU-Idaho Devotional Podcasts. 

We got the money for our loan in the account today but still have not received the check to pay off our creditors. The checks were supposed to arrive by UPS by now but I am supposing they are delayed because of the weather.

I made a green chili stew this morning, chicken enchiladas with white sauce, and Dennis's spanish rice. I also heated up the delicious refried beans from LaCasita. James and I had a wonderful lunch and we will have a refrigerator full of food for a few days. 

Vernon had some more electrical outages because of the storm. Most of them seem to be on the other end of town. 

Kim and Brian went to the David Arculetta Christmas concert this evening and Kim loved it. She said that it really put her in the mood for Christmas. She knows he is coming to Show Low on Monday and she wanted to encourage me to go see him. I would love too but I just don't know if it will work out. 

We watched a Christmas movie this evening before going to bed as is our custom.

The sun trying to break through but it

didn't last.

Christmas in Evergreen

I got 10,111 steps today.

Wednesday, November 13th, 2019

Taipei, Taiwan

31st operating temple

Dedicated: 17-18 Nov 1984

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ
DC 84:32
And the sons of Moses and of Aaron shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, upon Mount Zion in the Lord's house whose sons are ye; and also many whom I have called and sent forth to build up my church.
Book of Mormon
3 Nephi 28:1-24
New Testament
Hebrews 10; 9:1-10:22 Ancient and modern ordinances point to Jesus Christ. SS: 10:34-38; 11 Faith requires trusting in God's promises.

10/19 General Conference

"Standing By Our Promises and Covenants"

Elder Ronald A. Rasband

"Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is our great Exemplar when it comes to making and keeping promises and covenants. He came to earth promising to do the will of the Father. He taught gospel principles in word and in deed. He atoned for our sins that we might live again. He has honored every one of His promises."

I started a new Aunt Dimity book today. It's called "Aunt Dimity Goes West" and it's the same day that Jared, Kacey, and Charlie are coming out west to see us. I hope Charlie is okay on the plane.

James and I are reading, "Aunt Dimity Detective."

James went to the post office, the dump, and Dollar General today. 

I listened to the Scripture Study podcast. Jared, Kacey, and Charlie arrived in Mesa. Kacey sent me a picture of Charlie and Lola together.

Such cute girls!

James was on the roof working today. His ladder fell and he spilled stain all over the roof. Luckily he was not hurt. 

I worked on my book shipment today and got it all ready to mail. This time I am mailing 16 book and the box weighs 47 lbs. James lifted it and carried it out to the car when I wasn't looking. He's not supposed to be doing heavy lifting, although it has been 4 weeks since his surgery.

I listened to a podcast today featuring Sheri Dew. She told about having a "broken heart" when her fiance broke up with her when she was in her 30's. She said reading Brother Bruce C. Hafen's book, "A Broken Heart," really helped her. I like this question that Sheri Dew asks: "How much light and godly power do I want in my life and what am I willing to do to get it?

Day 3: Provision. Phillipians 4:19 - God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
There is an abundant storehouse of riches found in Jesus Christ. We don't have if we don't ask. Ask, Seek, Knock.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, please give Max the things he needs today and use me as an agent for thee. Please supply my needs as I try to supply his needs.

 Before and after pictures of the logs James 

is working on.

My heart goes out to Randy and

his family.

 More elk on our property

 Thru cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me!