Sunday, February 19, 2023: Left side of my face swollen, I forge ahead, Sacrament mtg, SS, lunch, nap, blog, read, DMT, BM,

 

Stockholm, Sweden

34th operating temple

Dedicated: 2 July 1985

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Temptations of

Luke 22:28

Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.

Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 9:50-10:17

Come Follow Me

Review & Sunday School Lesson

Jesus's Name

Lawgiver

Lesson Words

Blessed, Salt, Light, Love, Perfect

Favorite Scriptures

Matthew 5:3-10, 16, 44, 48

OctGenCon

Lifted Up Upon The Cross

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

As we take up our crosses and follow Him, it would be tragic indeed if the weight of our challenges did not make us more empathetic for and more attentive to the burdens being carried by others. It is one of the most powerful paradoxes of the Crucifixion that the arms of the Savior were stretched wide open and then nailed there, unwittingly but accurately portraying that every man, woman, and child in the entire human family is not only welcome but invited into His redeeming, exalting embrace.

100 Favorite Verses - The Publisher of Peace

Isaiah 52:7

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith uno Zion, Thy God reigneth.

Up at 5:16, an hour later than I wanted, but still enough time to go over the lesson a couple of times. My face is swollen on the right side. I realized it earlier when I was up to go to the bathroom and took a Naproxen, but it's still swollen. I got a "headache" bag from the freezer and pressed it against my cheek. James insisted that I use the sauna bag for at least 15-20 minutes. I said I could only afford 15. I climbed inside and warmth surrounded me. It was wonderful and so relaxing. When I was finished I ate half a cheese crisp and swallowed two Tramadols. On the way to church I took two Benadryl at James's suggestion. I was all drugged up. My face still has some slight swelling but after my prayer I turned things over to the Lord and didn't worry about it.

James and I arrived at church at 8:15 for our 9 o'clock sacrament meeting so we could set up the room for Sunday School. Kerri came in to set up the microphones just as we were leaving.

My name was presented in sacrament meeting as being called to be a teacher in Relief Society. I received a sustaining vote and was not asked to stand, thank goodness! 

Today was high council Sunday and Curtis Patterson is the high councilman who was assigned to our ward. Elder Piper, one of the full-time missionaries was his speaking companion. 

Elder Piper, as one my expect, spoke on missionary work. Here are some notes that I took:

Be friendly. Ask yourself, what would Christ have me to do? A new commandment I give unto you that ye love one another as I have loved you. Everything starts from a place of love. 1.) Be interested in others. 2.) Share the gospel - the Savior can help everyone - improve people's lives through sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ really does love them. 3.) Be friend others by inviting them to come unto Christ. Love, share, and invite. This is the most important work in the world. 

Brother Curtis Patterson - Vernon is his favorite ward. The first thing he did was read a quote from President Nelson regarding the importance of women in the gospel. That's a good way to start. He then said: Bring people closer to Christ. Belonging. "Much of the joy in life has little to do with the circumstances of our lives but the focus of our lives." Focus on Christ. Born and grew up in Jackson county, Missouri. He was persecuted and abused on a daily basis in high school. One of the boys he cut him with a knife in high school called him recently and apologized and said he had joined the Church. A girl did the same. The Savior needs to be the center of our lives. Focus on Him and learn to love as He loves and forgive as He forgives. Brother Patterson is a great example of this. He also helps youth who are being bullied on social media and in real life.

I felt like the lesson on Matthew 5 went well. There was good participation and I felt like the Spirit was there, especially when James shared the story about the Berlin Wall and the garbage. I am glad I was able to teach the class without looking too scary. Now I can focus on teaching Relief Society next week.

We came home and had some lunch and then I took a long nap on the recliner in the family room. It was almost 4 o'clock in the afternoon when I woke up. Kim texted me and said her class went well and asked me how mine was. I was happy to report that I thought it was a success. 

This evening I read a little from Michael Vaal's book, blogged, caught up on my Book of Mormon studies, listened to Elder Holland's conference talk, and listened to Dave & Emily on "Don't Miss This" for next week's lesson, Matthew 6 & 7.

It was a good Sabbath day. I am so grateful for the Sabbath although we were sorry to hear that Kacey and Jared have Covid and were not able to attend their meetings. Kacey sent us a couple of pictures of Charlie reading from her scriptures. If only the other grandkids would follow her example.

Charlie loves to read her scriptures!

Today's Handouts

Tara & Jeff (a Brit) prepare an

English feast

Janie is three years older than I am. She talks about Eb & Gerri

Lewis who were in my ward. Eb was my bishop and his daugher

Kim Seaman is the temple matron at the Snowflake temple today.

Saturday, February 18, 2023: Sallie when were you born, Karen's text, Blog, Walk, Study, Read, Sauna blanket, Blog, Walk, Study, Read . . .

 

Frieberg, Germany

33rd operating temple

Dedicated: 29-30 June 1985

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Temptations of

Deuteronomy 6:16

Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 9:31-49

Come Follow Me

Studied my lesson outline

Jesus's Name

Lawgiver

Lessons Words

Blessed, Salt, Light, Love, Perfection

Favorite Scriptures

Matthew 5:3-10, 16, 44, 48

OctGenCon

Drawing Closer To The Savior

Elder Neil L. Andersen

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Choose to Be Different from the World

President Nelson said, "Yes, you are living in the world, but you have very different standards from the world to help you avoid the stain of the world."

100 Favorite Verses - Pray Always

D&C 31:12

Pray always, lest you enter into temptation and lose your reward.

My internal alarm clock seems to be set for 5:30 instead of 4:30. I wonder what I can do about that. Maybe going to bed earlier would help!

Sallie Bettie Jenkins Strickland. When were you born: 7 Sept 1825 or in 1838, dying in 1914? I am a little frustrated because I can find no more information on this family and now I have two birth dates for Sallie Bettie. I am going to ask Ruth Wallace to help me. 

James used his sauna blanket again today. I think he likes how it makes him feel and he truly believes that it pulls the impurities out of his body and helps with inflammation. I'm going to try it one of these days. 

I stayed home today and studied for my lesson tomorrow, blogged and walked and read and ate and laughed and washed my hair and it was a good day. I even fixed dinner this evening. Freshly steamed broccoli and hamburgers served on two small slices of bread. It was just what we both needed.

I managed to get over 17,000 steps today bringing my average way over 12,000 a day. 

I told James this evening that I wanted to be in bed by 9 o'clock because I wanted to get up early to work on my lesson. He said okay and he was going to go in and do some more indexing. When 9:00 came I got in bed and turned out most of the lights. About ten minutes later the bedroom door opened and James was apologizing for being late. He forgot to set his alarm. Always.

 

Puzzle days 

Jon's family

Christina's baby

(I forgot his name)

Friday, February 17, 2023: Public Records mistake, Sauna blanket, Finished Sermon on the Mount lesson outline, Good work day for James

 

Guatemala City, Guatemala

32nd operating temple

Dedicated: 14-16 Dec 1984

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Temptations of

Matthew 4:7

Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 9:15-30

Come Follow Me

Matthew 5:48 Does Heavenly Father really expect me to be perfect?

Jesus's Name

Lawgiver

Lesson Words/Phrases

Blessed, Salt, Light, Love, Perfect

Favorite Scriptures

Matthew 5:1-12, 16, 44, 48

OctGenCon

Are You Still Willing?

Elder Kevin W. Pearson

Of the Seventy

The covenant path is not a simple checklist; it is a process of spiritual growth and deepening commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. The central purpose of every commandment, principle, covenant, and ordinances is to build faith and trust in Christ. Our determination to center our lives on Christ, therefore, must be consistent - not conditional, situational, or superficial. We cannot afford to take vacation days or personal time off from our willingness to "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places." Discipleship is not cheap, because the companionship of the Holy Ghost is priceless.

Courage to Proclaim The Truth

Elder Denelson Silva

Of the Seventy

As you proceed firmly in Christ and with courage not only to proclaim the truth but to live the truth, you will find comfort and peace during the turbulence that you shall encounter in these days.

100 Favorite Verses - "With All Our Might, Mind & Strength"

2 Nephi 25:29

And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.

The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is family history. I have been searching for more information on the Jenkins family, Joe & Sallie and their daughter Sallie Bettie Jenkins Strickland. I have done searches on Family Search and on Ancestry. I decided to see if I could go to North Carolina vital records and search for Sallie Bettie's birth certificate in 1825. I wasn't taken to North Carolina Vital Records but to a public records site. I put in the information on Sallie Bettie and got a message that 8 records were found but there was a $1.00 fee for getting the results. I got out my credit card and paid what I thought was the $1.00 fee. As soon as I did this I received a message that there were no results. I was confused and didn't understand what was going on, but since I was only charged a dollar I didn't pursue it any further. Soon I got a text that said:

Hello Karen, it's Darian from Public Records, just reaching out to check if you were satisfied with your report. 

I said no, I was not satisfied because I was told there were no results after paying the fee.

Darian then asked for the Full Name, City & State, Date of Birth, and Approx age of the person I was searching.

My response: I am not looking for a live person. This person was born in the 1800's and is on my family tree. If I have made a mistake thinking you might have these records, I apologize. Please disregard my complaint.

Okay, Please feel free to contact me with any further inquiries or assistance needed.

Will my credit card be charged the $1.00 fee?

I apologize for the confusion. Our records show that you enrolled in the volume discount package. This package carries a payment plan of 23 installments for $9.95. This entitles you to 25 reports per month. You were charged $9.95. We appreciate your business as a respected customer and ensuring your satisfaction is very important to us. Would you like to close your account, void and remove the remaining charges of $9.95?

Me: Yes I would. I will also dispute the first charge because what I signed up for was one report for $1! I feel like I was scammed. Will you please remove all charges except the $1 I agreed to pay?

Darian: I assure you we are a very legitimate company.

You have already been refunded the amount of $9.95 and your account was closed.

Me: Thank you. I am sorry for my mistake.

Sometimes getting information on relatives is extremely difficult. I am going to talk to my friend Ruth Wallace and see if she can help me. 

James said his ribs hurt and I think it's because he's been shoveling snow but he doesn't agree. I don't know why he doesn't agree. Anyway, he used his sauna blanket today for about 45 minutes and felt better. I told Kim about it and she said it was good for inflammation and for getting rid of impurities. 

This morning I finished blogging for Wednesday and Thursday and this afternoon I finished my lesson outline for Sunday's Gospel Doctrine lesson. I read through it a couple of times and think it's a little long and I am going to have to cut out a couple of things. 

James and I stayed inside most of the day. He went out to feed Luna in the morning and in the evening. He said it was a good day for him because he bid another job for the Jerod Bowen group and got it. He's also working on sending out statements to collect some money. 

In the book that James and I are reading Hitler gave a speech to the newly formed German Work Party. He yelled and the speech gave me the shivers. I hope our hero, Hans, who is Hitler's friend, will see that he is evil.

I am liking my new book that I am reading on my own, "Miss Newbury's List." Her list is things she wants to do before she gets married to a duke she barely knows. #1 was learning to swim. She almost drowned and was saved by her best friends cousin, Mr. Wilson. He also helped her hang one of her paintings in a public place. The third thing he did was eat sweets with her all day long until they both became sick. I think they are falling for each other. It is well written and quite entertaining.

Fieldtrip to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

and to Colossal Caves

Bald Eagles

Thursday, February 16, 2023: Cancel temple w/ Catherine, Knee is better, Inklings, Study , Blog, Walk, Sermon on the Mount

 

Taipei, Taiwan

31st operating temple

Dedicated: 17 Nov 1984

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Temptations of

Matthew 4:1

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil,(JST: to be with God).

Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 9:1-14

Come Follow Me

Matt. 5:17-48; Luke 6:27-35 The law of Christ supersedes the law of Moses.

Jesus's Name

Lawgiver

Lessons words/phrases

Blessed, Salt, Light, Love, Perfect

Favorite Scriptures

Matt 5:1-12, 16, 44, 48.

OctGenCon

Wholehearted

Sister Michelle D. Craig

First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we understand that faith in Him requires action-especially in hard times.

I heard the clock chime 4 and then 6 so I must have slept a couple of hours. I went into the bedroom and got in bed and stayed until after 7.

My knee hurts a little but is so much better than it was last night. Just to make sure, I am going to stay home today. I am very tired from lack of sleep. I called Catherine and told her I wouldn't be going to the temple. She could find another ride with one of the RS sisters if she wanted. She didn't. She said she had lots to do. I'm glad we went last week so we don't feel so guilty about cancelling this week. 

Even though James left the cupboard doors under the sink open and had our space heater blowing in heat all night, the cold water pipes were frozen for a short while this morning. James is very careful because frozen water pipes can burst and he doesn't want that.

I listened to Emily and one of her friends, Vanessa this morning on Inklings. They discussed Elder Andersen's talk, "Drawing Closer to the Savior." I loved Vanessa's take on the parable of the wheat and the tares. She said she doesn't think of the tares as people but as temptations, and distractions we need to overcome. 

It was a good discussion and I felt like it changed my perspective.

Sheri Dew says the reason we have meetings or listen to talks is to change.

I worked on Sunday's lesson most of the day. I also walked over 15,000 steps which is an indication of how much better my knee is.

As part of my preparation I bought and printed Ben Wilcox's transcript for his "Teaching with Power, Come Follow Me" lesson. I didn't finish going through the lesson,  but I got a good start and I think I will not need to do a PowerPoint presentation. James is going to be my scribe and will also post pictures at my request. 

James spent about two hours shoveling snow out of the driveway and off the back sidewalks. He said it only got up to 20 degrees today and at that rate the snow would never melt. If he leaves the snow on the driveway it turns to ice and then is impossible to get off. I am afraid he is going to have a severe backache tomorrow.

James fixed me a cup of Pero with chocolate and he also fixed dinner so I could keep working. We had shrimp and leftover green beans from last Saturday.

Kim and I texted a little about Sunday's lesson. She says she is technically challenged and won't be using PowerPoint. 

As I was walking I read from my new book, "Miss Newbury's List." I love the British girl who is narrating. She is my favorite.

James and I walked and listened to "The Shadow Falls." Kirby Heybourn is the narrator and he is good! If he does all of the voices he is amazing!

Lovie & Charlie

Lola

FHE in Chandler.

Joshua, Alex, Ruby, Evan

Trina's post.

My comment: "I had a dress like this to celebrate the

100th anniversary of the organization

of the Primary and

James had a jacket that very same color"!