Thur, Nov 18th, 2021: Temple#95 Oklahoma City, James valley & back, chili enchiladas, Dish Anywhere, Scarlett, Charlie, Salvador sick, cleanup after Armando

 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

95th operating temple

Dedicated: 30 July 2000

By: James E. Faust

Jesus Christ, Redeemer

D&C138:18

While this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful;

Book of Mormon

Mormon 1:1-19

D&C

134

"Come Follow Me"

133:19-56 The Second Coming Will Be Joyful for the Righteous

OctGenCon

"Deepening Our Conversion To Jesus Christ"

Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela

Of the Seventy

My dear brothers and sisters, President Russell M. Nelson has taught us recently: "To do anything well requires effort. Becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ is no exception. Increasing your faith and trust in Him takes effort." Among the recommendations that he gave us to increase our faith in Jesus Christ is that we become engaged learners, that we immerse ourselves in the scriptures to understand better Christ's mission and ministry.

"Worthiness Is Not Flawlessness"

Bradley R. Wilcox

Second Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency

Some mistakenly receive the message that repentance and change are unnecessary. God's message is that they are essential. But doesn't God love us despite our shortcomings? Of course! He loves us perfectly. I love my grandchildren, imperfections and all, but that does not mean I don't want them to improve and become all they can become. God loves us as we are, but He also loves us too much to leave us this way. Growing up unto the Lord is what mortality is all about. Change is what Christ's Atonement is all about. Not only can Christ resurrect, cleanse, console, and heal us, but through it al, He can transform us to become more like Him.

The Family Proclamation

#7

The Family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

I listened to Emily and Anthony Sweat talk about Anthony's book, The Holy Invitation, understanding Your Sacred Temple Endowment.

"As you learn about and receive your endowment, have faith and a firm hope that God will reveal Himself to you, but don't limit exactly how that can or should happen. There is more than one way to be in God's presence - not only physically, but also spiritually. Remember that as you read this book. God is not bound to fulfill His promises in only one way."

James left after family prayer for the valley. It was around 6:30 a.m. 

I was tired most of the day because I kept waking up last night and did not get enough sleep. I took several little naps. I finally took a shower and I felt better. 

I  put Dish Anywhere on my phone. This means I can watch anything on Dish on my phone, including my DVR recordings.

While working on my blog I actually watched a couple of movies on Netflix, "Snowbound for Christmas," and "The Princess Switch 3, Romancing the Star." 

This afternoon I made enchiladas using the chili I made last week as the filling. It actually turned out very good. James got home at 7:30 and it was waiting for him. 

James finished the roof at DaCroix's and cleaned up after Amando and his men in the planters. He was hoping to see Mark and get a check but Mark never answered his call, so James came home. 

Salvador was supposed to finish the roof, but he is sick. He has been sick quite a bit since they started this job together and he also has been gone to Mexico a lot so James has had to pick up the slack. Sal did get the subcontractors. 

Salvador and his wife both got vaccinated and became quite ill afterwards.

 James was pretty miserable when he got home. After he ate he took a shower and then we both walked while listening to our book, "Charming Artemis." He collapsed on the bed and went to sleep while I got ready for bed. The smoke is terrible tonight from a prescribed burn. I can smell it in the house.

Shame on you samantha!

Taylor

Malaysian Largemouth Frog Bird

Red Panda

 

Wed, Nov 17th, 2021: Temple #94 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Hopper 3, Kareena Maxwell, Chase catches fraud, Lola & Bunny, Scarlett & Clifford, James's prescription

 

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

94th operating temple

Dedicated: 16 July 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Redeemer

D&C 138:3 

And the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world;

Book of Mormon

4 Nephi 1:23-49

D&C

133:1-19 The Lord wants me to prepare for His 2nd Coming

OctGenCon

"Is There No Balm in Gilead?"

Elder Brent H. Nielson

Of the Presidency of the Seventy

We had a beautiful funeral that honored the life of my father. As time passed, however, and we experienced the pain of my father's absence, I began to wonder why my father had not been healed. I wondered if my faith was not strong enough. Why did some families receive a miracle, but our family did not? I had learned on my mission to turn to the scriptures for answers, so I began to search the scriptures.

The Family Proclamation

#6

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. "Children are an heritage of the Lord" (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives - mothers and fathers - will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

Inklings

Anthony Sweat

The Holy Invitation

"I want you all to know God, to be familiar with him. . . .When we know how to come to Him, God begins to unfold the heavens to us and tell us all about it."

-Joseph Smith

D&C 133 is about the Second Coming, signs of it and how to prepare for it. I listened to a two-minute talk by Brother Tad Callister this morning. He said one of the things that will happen before the Second Coming is the gospel being preached to all the world. He then said there were 196 nations in the world and the gospel has been preached in over 150. The Book of Mormon has been translated into 112 languages and there were 212 million hits on the church website last year. Social media helps get the gospel message to those in countries where we don't have missionaries.

Addy texted me and said she had a name for a horse if we got another one. It was Mayo. I said, not Miracle Whip? She said, no, because Mayo "Neighs." 

Dish guy Dave came this morning to change out our old satellite receiver for the new Hopper 3. He was very friendly and when I introduced myself as Karen he said, "Oh, that's my mom's name until she changed it to Kareena. He said she was a writer so I asked what her last name was. He said Maxwell. A bit of a coincidence since that is my maiden name. He said she writes for The Concho Voice newspaper and I could join her FB group under that name, which I did. His mom is 71. I asked where the Maxwell's were from and he said New York. Quite a distance from Nutrioso, Arizona where my grandpa was born. 

Dave was here around two hours, it took that long to get everything re-wired and setup on the internet. I was on the phone with Chase bank so he told James how to use the remote. I told him that James rarely uses the remote and he said I could go to channel 103 and get instructions on how to use everything.  He ask me to give him a good report and I said I would. Although all of my recorded movies are gone so I had to start over on the new receiver.

I spent at least three hours dealing with Chase bank today. There was a lock put on our Lambson Construction checking account. The first wait for a customer service rep was one and one half hours. Then I had to be transferred to a tech. That tech and then another and then to customer service and then no one would talk to me because I'm not a signer on the account. This made me laugh because I am the one that pays all the bills and I sign checks all the time. The bank has never objected. We finally found a tech who walked us through what we needed to do. We had to change our username and password and the password on our email. I guess someone using the name of Samantha tried to withdraw $1,700 from our account using Zelle on Monday evening at 9:17 p.m.

This afternoon we went into town to pick up James's prescription at CVS. The doctor had said it was a steroid but she didn't tell him it was a topical cream. I'm not sure how that is going to help with the internal pain he has. 

This evening I was thinking about Barbara and found this text she sent me on Nov 8th. 

We're just wondering how Jim is doing in his recovery from the radiation treatments. He must be so miserable. Hope he has found relief and healing! Hope you're doing well too. We're worried about you guys. You're in our prayers! Love you!

The last time I saw Barbara was at Emsley's baptism on October 31st. When we went from the Relief Society room to the cultural hall where the baptismal font is, she was getting ready to go down the end of my aisle to an empty seat. I grabbed her and told her to sit by me, which she did. I told her I had missed seeing her because it had been awhile since we had met for "Come Follow Me." Barbara had just gotten over being sick with asthma. When I came back from being a witness for the baptism she whispered in my ear, "You did a really good job." I laughed and told her that was my kind of an assignment. Barbara has a great sense of humor. I'm so glad I got to visit with her. Little did I know it would be my last time.

 Two days later she and Pierce went to a funeral where someone close to them had Covid and that's where they got it. On the 9th or 10th their Covid turned in to pneumonia. I'm tired of this. We have lost too many people to this virus. This same thing happened to Bishop Ellsworth of the Show Low Creek ward.

Cotswolds

 

Tue, Nov 16th, 2021, Temple#93 Veracruz, Mexico, Catherine's separated shoulder, Catherine's Dr. Appt, Lake Vernon, CVS, Walmart, Gas $3.59,

 

Veracruz, Mexico

93rd operating temple

Dedicated: 9 July 2000

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Redeemer

D&C 93:9

The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men.

Book of Mormon

4 Nephi 1:1-22

D&C

133:36-56

"Come Follow Me"

133 The truths in the D&C can prepare me to do God's work

OctGenCon

"I'll Pray He Use Us"

Sister Sharon Eubank

First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency

Recently, a box of cookies arrived at the Church offices with the following message: "For more than two months, we managed to get food from the Rahma-Latter-day Saint Charities kitchen. Without it we would have starved to death. Please accept this . . . sample from my shop in Syria as a small token of thanks. I ask God the Almighty to bless you . . . in everything you do."

A cookie of gratitude and remembrance. It is meant for you. To all who prayed after watching a story on the news, to all who volunteered when it was not convenient or who kindly donated money to the humanitarian fund trusting it would do some good, thank you.

The Family Proclamation

#5

We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God's eternal plan.

Inklings

His is a Father's pure love --

Universal to all yet

personal to each

Up at 4:25 but moving slowly. 

 James went for his last radiation treatment this morning and then afterwards he had a nice talk with the doctor. He had said in the past he thought she was too old to be an affective doctor. Today he decided he liked her. She wrote a letter to the pharmacy regarding his prescription that he must take in.

My friend Catherine H., who is 87 years old,  passed out and fell Sunday evening and hurt her shoulder. She was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and then released. She has a doctor's appointment tomorrow and her daughter Kerri will be at work. Kerri texted me yesterday and asked if I could take her mom to the doctor today. I said I could. I picked Catherine up around 10:30. She says she can get into my car much easier than she can hers because hers is too low, so we took my car. 

We talked about Barbara's death. Catherine has a daughter-in-law who is a Goodman and happens to be Pierce's niece. She knows Pierce and Barbara from seeing them at family reunions. This daughter-in-laws name is Theresa. Her brother is Sam G. Sam was a judge in Chandler and was in our ward years ago.

Catherine's doctor is located in what they call The Pavilion, which is the new annex next to the hospital. She says they have valet parking. She said Kerri told her to get a wheelchair but she says she doesn't need one. I would agree with her. There was no one at the valet station so I dropped Catherine off, walked her inside, and then went to find a parking space. When I came back Catherine was talking to a security guard. That's how she is, she doesn't know a stranger. She tells him her daughter is a substitute teacher at Show Low High and Show Low Junior High and he has kids at one of the schools and she makes a connection. The guard walked us over to the elevators and asks what floor, Catherine says the third, so he pushes the number 3.

The waiting room is large and serves many doctors. When Catherine is called up, I go with her at her request. She tells the attendant she can't understand her with "that mask on." I think the woman becomes annoyed. At one point Catherine said, "You know, this is a bit of an emergency. This did not phase the woman. She tells Catherine to wait in the waiting room but Catherine says, "I need a room number." No, wait in the waiting room and we will tell you your room number. Okay. 

The hallways are divided up and given nature names; Mountains, Rivers, etc. Catherine was called back to Lake Room #5.  I stopped on the way in the women's room. When I got down to Lake room #5 Catherine and I visited a few minutes. I wanted my phone but couldn't find it in my purse. I immediately went down to the women's room and there it was sitting on the edge of the sink. I'm lucky it was still there.

The doctor comes in and shows Catherine her x-ray. He shows her where the injury is and says she has an AC joint separation. He suggests she take either Tylenol or Ibruprofen and get a figure 8 harness. I think Catherine was a little disappointed that the doctor didn't do more. 

When we left the building we headed for the place the doctor suggested we go to get a figure 8 but they were closed for lunch and Catherine did not want to wait for them to open. She said Kerri could come by after school and pick it up.

Catherine said she couldn't stop for lunch because she didn't bring her medicine and she needed to get home to eat and take her meds, so we went back to Vernon.  Catherine has diabetes and with the pain and stress of her injury it went extremely high so she is being very careful.

Lake Vernon that appeared this summer because of all the rain, still exists. It is across the road from where the Halcomb's live. Catherine told me that in the late afternoon, early evening the elk come down to water and they love watching them. Kerri would like to buy some land on that side of the road, but Catherine says she talked her out of it. 

When we get  to her house she wants to show me a photo collage of all of her 21 great-grandchildren. I love this. I wonder if I will ever have more than one adopted great-grandchild.

She also showed me Kerri's food storage closet. Catherine is so proud of Kerri and all she does.

After we said our goodbyes, I headed for home. I rested and ate something and then James and I went back to town to try to get his prescription. 

Long story short, James did not get his prescription but he did talk to the pharmacist and he is calling the doctor about a substitute for the prescription they are out of. I felt like we made a little progress and the prescription should be ready tomorrow. We stopped to get gas at a whopping $3.59 a gallon. 

We also went to Walmart to get some mushrooms and a red bell pepper to make stirfry. We stopped at Panda and got a container of chow mein noodles. I went home and cut up veggies in a large skillet and added the noodles and stirred and fried. I think this is one of my new favorite meals.

This evening we walked, listened to our books, and watched a Christmas movie, "Holidays in Harlem."

thosefarmhouseideas

Budapest, Hungary Parliament

Courtney's Ugly Sweater Cake

 

Mon, Nov 15th, 2021: Merida, Yucatan, Mexico , Barbara Goodman passes away, Pierce in the hospital, Pam's stuffing, Blueberry Cheesecake, Charlie makes me happy

 

Merida, Yucatan, Mexico

92nd operating temple

Dedicated: 8 July 2000

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Redeemer

D&C 77:12

12 Q. What are we to understand by the sounding of the trumpets, mentioned in the 8th chapter of Revelation?

     A. We are to understand that as God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work, and sanctified it, and also formed man out of the dust of the earth, even so, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete the salvation of man, and judge all things, and shall redeem all things, except that which he hath not put into his power, when he shall have sealed all things, unto the end of all things; and the sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of his work, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years - the preparing of the way before the time of his coming.

Book of Mormon

3 Nephi 29:1-30:2

D&C

133:1-35

"Come Follow Me"

134-135 "Prepare Ye for the Coming of the Bridegroom"

OctGenCon

"Lovest Thou Me More Than These?"

President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Do you wonder what Jesus was referring to when He asked Peter, "Lovest thou me more than these?"

Relating this question to ourselves in our day, the Lord may be asking us about how busy we are and about the many positive and negative influences competing for our attention and our time. He may be asking each of us if we love Him more than the things of this world. This may be a question about what we really value in life, who we follow, and how we view our relationships with family members and neighbors. Or maybe He is asking what really brings us joy and happiness.

The Family Proclamation

#4

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained t

o their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God's commandments for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

Inklings

"The Love of God"

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

2nd Nephi 4:15-26

My friend Pam left homemade stuffing on my doorstep this morning. It was delicious and sustained me throughout this most difficult day.

This is the first report we got regarding the Goodman's at 8:11 a.m.:

From Bishop-

Barbara had multi system failures. They have intubated and sedated her. Pierces lab came back normal and he is on 5 liters of oxygen. He is doing better than Barbara, but not much. 

Aubrey, Pierce's daughter, is headed to the hospital this morning to check on things and we will keep you updated.

I messaged my friend Cathy Arnett, Pierce's cousin, to see if she new anything. This is what she messaged me at 1:03 p.m.

Thank you Karen! I just heard from Pierce's sister. (I had asked if she knew they were in the hospital)

They don't expect Barbara to make it. Pierce is a little better than her. You are the best friend for thinking of me. I will keep you posted and you keep me posted on what you hear.

This is the last message I received from Cathy at 7:51 p.m.

Barbara passed away peacefully while her daughter and Pierce held her hand. Her organs began shutting down this morning. They took her off life support when her daughter arrived this afternoon. So, so sad. Please keep praying for Pierce!

My heart is breaking. Barbara was such a dear friend. The Spirit world became a better place today because of her. I can hardly wait to see her again.

James and I are both mourning.  James sits in the chair Barbara always sat in when she came to our house for "Come Follow Me."

She was the one who introduced us to Brother Halverson. 

She was the one who brought us food and put it on our doorstep when we had COVID.

She was the one who let me use her car to go to my infusion when Lexy broke down the summer of 2020. She said I could use the car as long as I needed it. 

She was the one who brought people up our lane this summer to see our sunflowers,

She was the one who bought a freeze dryer because the food lasts much longer than a dehydrator

She was the one who wanted to be Donna's ministering companion

so Donna could be a ministering sister

She was the one who loved strawberry poke cake, ask for the recipe, and fixed it several times the next month

She was the one I will always remember as a dear friend for eternity,

I love you Barbara and will miss you so much!

Barbara & Pierce

What can I say about Pierce? He is the nicest man I have ever met and gives Christlike service to everyone!

He is the one who loaned James his welder so he could finish the fence,

He is the one who pulled James out of the snow when no one else could,

He's the one who helps people when their vehicle is broke down 

and then helps them fix it and doesn't charge anything,

He's the one who went and got Anthony when Anthony couldn't get out of his place last summer,

He's the one who built a greenhouse big enough to feed everyone in the ward,

He's the one who loans his equipment to anyone who needs it,

He's the one who fixed my chipped front tooth,

Filled all my fillings, and pulled a tooth that I didn't know

needed pulling and charged a minimal fee,

He's the one that does dental work and if you can't pay,

he doesn't charge you anything,

He's the one that brought us a cabinet full of supplements when we had Covid,

He's the one that hugs you when you need a hug

We don't know what we ever did without him.

The bishop ask ward members to please give Pierce and his family the privacy they needed as they mourn Barbara's death. The problem is, we all feel like his family and we all want to mourn Barbara's death with him.

I am emotionally drained and the only thing I could focus on doing this afternoon was to make a blueberry cheesecake crumble cake. 

Barbara loved desserts and would be happy to know that I am celebrating her life by making a dessert. I wish I could share a piece with her.

James and I watched an old Christmas movie that is one of my favorite, "A Hometown Christmas" and then I watched DWTS while he did some indexing.  

One of the saddest days that I can remember. This picture of Charlie makes it happier.

Pam.

I call her my guardian angel.

My last birthday gift from Barbara