Monday, June 19th, 2023: Juneteenth, Brkfst, Prayer, puzzle, Trip to town, Longview, Texas call, Charlie's song, Sue's daughter in ICU

 

Star Valley, Wyoming

154th operating temple

Dedicated: 30 Oct 2016

By: David A. Bednar

Jesus Christ, Types of, Anticipation of

1 Peter 1:19

But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Book of Mormon

Alma 18:24-19:11

Come Follow Me

Matt 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19 "It Is Finished"

Jesus' Name

Son of God

Word

Love

Phrase

Truly this is the Son of God

Affirmation

With unwavering faith I declare that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I find strength and peace in my testimony of Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

AprGenCon

When To Receive Your Patriarchal Blessing

Elder Kazuhiko Yamashita

Of the Seventy

As members of the Church, we are children of the covenant. We receive the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant as we obey the laws and ordinances of the gospel.

Preparation for your patriarchal blessing will help you increase your faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. And when you receive your patriarchal blessing and read and ponder it, you can focus on Them more often.

Kim and Brian were supposed to come today but Kim isn't feeling well so she is going to rest and come tomorrow. 

I got an advertisement from Sonic this morning about tropical slushies. There are two new flavors and I talked James into going into town to give them a try. I placed our Sonic order for 11:40 and we arrived exactly on time. We got our slushies, a small Polynesian Punch for me and a small Tropical Colada for James. We each took a sip and immediately got brain freezes. So cold, and so sweet, and so good.  We were careful as we ate our lunch and sipped our slushies very slowly and carefully.

I watched two movies today while walking and working on my computer. One had Stephanie Powers in it. She played a fortune teller called Madam Rue. It reminded me of the song, "Love Potion Number Nine" from the 60's. "I took my troubles down to Madam Rue, you know that gypsy with the gold capped tooth. She's got a little pad down at 34th and Vine, sellin' little bottles of Love Potion Number 9." Rachel Boston is also in the movie and the name of it is "A Ring by Spring." The other one was a more recent Hallmark summer movie, "Love is Greek to Me." This movie was filmed in Greece and it looks so beautiful!

On the spiritual side I listened to Jack Welch on "Follow Him." He is the founder of Book of Mormon Central, now Scripture Central and is an interesting gospel scholar.

This afternoon somewhere between 5:30 and 6 we FaceTimed with Jared, Charlie, and Kacey. 

Charlie sang, "My Dad" for us. She is a good little singer!

Jared has a lot of health issues. His back still bothers him and he will probably eventually have to have surgery. His sciatic nerve is causing pain and I know what that is like. He has drop foot and numbness in his left foot. He has also been diagnosed with C.O.P.D. (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder). This made me want to cry. He was supposed to go in to day for an MRI but because part of the town is still out of electricity because of a recent tornado he had to reschedule. The tornado was last Wednesday or Thursday and 250,000 people were out of electricity at first, including Jared and Kacey. There are still 90,000 homes, etc. out of electricity and the temperature is 95 with 90 percent humidity. 

Stake youth conference is coming up and Jared and Kacey are heavily involved. Jared is in the stake young men's presidency and Kacey is the young women's president in their ward. They will be traveling somewhere else and will have to get a babysitter for Charlie. I wish we were closer. 

Jared invited Anna to watch general conference and now she doesn't speak to him anymore. She told him she didn't like the Church because of the way they treat women and she knew that he would always put the Church before her. That is pretty harsh.

Also they only get to see Molly for a week this summer because of a 45 day vacation Tricia has planned to take Emmy back to school in Oregon. 

I am so proud of Jared and the way he handles all of these hardships and for his faith in the Savior. I love him and his family so very much and wish we were closer so we could give them more support.

I got a text from my friend Sue Hubble today. Her daughter has terminal, inoperable brain cancer and today she was taken to the ICU in Show Low. Sue is asking for prayers. I pray for her daughter Tabitha everyday and for Sue but will increase my efforts and pray throughout the day until I hear she is better.

Autumn & Scarlett at the Dallas temple.

These two!

Nice glasses, Charlie

Charlie memory

Joshua memory

 

Sunday, June 18, 2023: Sheri's talk, Laura, lunch @ Sheri's, cake @ Kim's, hearing aid @ Lois & Dawn's, 51st Avenue, home again,

Fort Collins, Colorado

153rd operating temple

Dedicated: 16 Oct 2016

By: Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Jesus Christ, Types of, in Anticipation

Exodus 12:5

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

Book of Mormon

Alma 18:8-23

Come Follow Me

Review, "Not My Will But Thine Be Done"

AprGenCon

Followers Of The Prince Of Peace

Elder Ulisses Soares

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

When we think of charity, our minds usually turn to generous acts and donations to relieve the suffering of those who are experiencing physical, material, or emotional difficulties. Still, charity is not only related to something we donate to someone, but it's an attribute of the Savior and can become part of our character. It is not surprising that the Lord instructed us to clothe ourselves "with the bond of charity, ... which is the bond of perfectness and peace." Without charity, we are nothing and we cannot inherit the place the Lord has prepared for us in the mansions of our Heavenly Father.

Happy Father's Day and Happy Birthday to Ruby!

I got up early this morning so I could have my prayers, write in a Father's day card for James, and get ready to go to the valley to attend Sheri's ward to hear her speak. Here is the card I gave James:

Mr. Incredible and his favorite treat.

We left our house at 7 a.m. and arrived in the parking lot of the Galveston building in Chandler at 10:10 a.m. The first person we saw was Robin Finlinson who came over to give us hugs. Her kids were in Primary when we left Chandler and now Sydney is 18 and going to BYU-Idaho and Tanner is 16, driving, and 6'3" tall. Next I saw my friend Gerri Price. We sat in the back of the chapel and it wasn't long before Dave & Laura came in. Laura had a mask on, but no oxygen. Her color was good and she has lost a lot of weight. Her arms are covered in purple splotches. I wasn't sure if I could give her a hug and she said it was fine, she would just turn her face in the opposite direction. Lynda Cull came over and gave both of us a hug. Bishop Blaser came over and spoke to us. He is quite young but has developed a relationship with Sheri's boys. He gave Max a key to the building and the boys all play basketball every Tuesday evening. Alex said after sacrament meeting he wanted to thank the bishop for allowing them to play basketball. Bishop said he hoped the boys were here today. They were except for Max and Ian.

Other people we spoke with before the meeting started: Cathi & Terry, the Gunther's, who had no children when we left and we weren't sure if they would ever be able to have children. They now have three of the cutest kids. Hillary Jiminez and her youngest, Elena who will be going to BYU in the fall. Jen Coffey and her daughter. 

After the meeting we spoke to Diana Dowdle and Paula Casto. James calls Paula "Tinkerbell". She is tiny and blonde and she and I were good friends before we left. 

I did not recognize any of the boys who blessed or passed the sacrament. I know Evan was the only priest for a long time and blessed the sacrament every week but now that there are other boys I wonder if he blesses anymore. The program went something like this:

Tanner Finlinson and the Allen boy talked about the recent High Adventure they had and FSY. The High Adventure was held at Bill Valentic's place in Nutrioso which James says is beautiful. He has a creek running through his property. Nutrioso is where my grandpa Maxwell was born and where his family lived. Both boys said FSY was awesome and talked about getting to meet so many new people. I asked Evan if he liked it and he said yes. (More about this later). 

The next speaker was a young mother named Heather Clark. The basis for her talk was Elder Meurs talk, "He Could Heal Me." 

RMN: "When the Savior atoned for all mankind, He opened a way that those who follow Him can have access to His healing, strengthening, and redeeming power. These spiritual privileges are available to all who seek to Hear Him and follow Him." The Savior's healing and redeeming power applies to accidental mistakes, poor decisions, challenges and trials of every kind - as well as to our sins.

The Primary children sang a song I had never heard before called, "I See A Hero." It was for the dads.

Sheri Trezise: Sheri began her talk by thanking her dad for all that he has done for her and what a great dad he is. Her talk is based on Elder Basset's talk, "After the Fourth Day." One of the greatest miracles Jesus performed was the raising of Lazarus from the dead four days after he died. Sheri told about her trial with Max when he was not taking care of his diabetes and she was afraid he was going to die. She shared the things she did to get closer to the Savior and how she felt after doing that. It was so good and I am going to use her story in my lesson next week on Elder Uchtdorf's talk, "Jesus Christ is the Strength of Parents." One of the lessons we learn from the story of Lazarus is "sometimes we have to wait." We need to hold on and keep going. We must do what we can and He will do what only He can do. Are we spiritually prepared? Storms are coming. We must bind ourselves to God.

 Our friend Bill Valentic taught gospel doctrine. The class was cut short because the Relief Society had prepared dessert for the ward. Originally is was for the men but they included the entire ward. Class was let out 20 minutes early at 21:10. Sheri turned to me and said, "We don't need to get dessert, I have dessert at home, brownies, ice cream and caramel apple cake. So we left not ever getting a peek at the dessert. 

I forgot to mention that Alex and Shayna came to here Sheri's talk. Alex quit going to church after high school and Shayna is a non-believer. I wonder what they thought of Sheri's talk. Shayna is so sweet and kind, you just can't help but like her. 

While Sheri was fixing chicken tacos and Ben was making homemade salsa James and I went over to Kim's to pick up pieces of cake from Kim. We got four pieces, two of each kind of German chocolate, one of each for us and one of each for Lois and Dawn. 

Back at Sheri's we had chicken tacos, homemade salsa, brownies and ice cream. We visited with Alex and Shayna. I got to see all of Sheri's kids except Max. He was gone to the gym. Thanks Sheri for the delicious lunch.

The first thing James's mom did when we arrived at their house was to give James her old hearing aid. She got a new one. She says she really likes the old one better but her doctor wants her to have the new one so she is giving the old one to James. He was so excited when he put them in his ears. He said he could hear so much better. 

He is grateful and so am I. 

Lois and Dawn told us about their plumbing problems and how it had cost them more than $18,000 to get new pipes for the entire house. The old ones were corroded and beyond repair. They are trying to get the home owners insurance to help pay for them. Oh yes, Gail is coming tomorrow and they are very excited. He is going to do some work on the house for them.

We left with new hearing aids for James, diamond dot pictures for me to do, and two fresh pineapples. We never go away empty handed.

James wanted to go over to 51st Avenue to check on the progress on the job. This is a 45 minute detour out of our way both ways. I'm glad we went if it gives him some peace of mind and after all, it is Father's Day. 

One the way home we listened to Jared Halverson's come follow me podcast. Well James listened to it, I fell asleep. It was almost 7:30 when we arrived home. We were gone for over 12 hours. Jared wanted to Facetime but it was too late so we will do it tomorrow night. 

Elder Stevenson dedicated the Helena, Montana temple today. It is the Church's 178th temple.

Kathy, Channy, & Cliff Arnett

Dawn Lambson

Ruby memory four years ago

Happy 14th Birthday!

 

 

 

Saturday, June 17, 2023: Bear kills a man in Yavapai county, Town in Texas wiped out by tornado, Sprinklers in, septic tank @ Barbara's in, wood floor is giving me grief

 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

152nd operating temple

Dedicated: 18 Sep 2016

By: Henry B. Eyring

Jesus Christ, Types of, in anticipation 

Genesis 22:8

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

Book of Mormon

Alma 17:32-18:7

Come Follow Me

John 18:28-38 The Savior's "kingdom is not of this world."

Jesus' Name

King of Kings

Word

Gethsemane

Phrase

Not my will but Thine be done.

Affirmation

As I listen to God in prayer, my desires align with His divine purposes. I discover that His plans exceed my own and that true joy is found in following Him and His higher purposes.

AprGenCon

Jesus Christ Is Relief

President Camille N. Johnson

Relief Society General President

Our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, invited us to overcome the world and find rest. He defined "true rest" as "relief and peace." President Nelson said, "Because the Savior, through His infinite Atonement, redeemed each of us from weakness, mistakes, and sin, and because He experienced every pain, worry, and burden you have ever had, then as you truly repent and seek His help, you can rise above this present precarious world." That is the relief Jesus Christ offers us!

This is what happens when I read the news first:

A man in Yavapai county, Arizona was killed by a bear as he was sitting on his property drinking a cup of coffee.

A town in the panhandle of Texas was destroyed by a tornado.

We live in Arizona and Jared & Kacey live in Texas. Thank goodness we are all safe but I feel so sad for the man's family who was killed by the bear and those poor people in Texas.  

No more news, at least not the first thing in the morning.

James got the sprinklers working on the back lawn but one of them is leaking and the pump doesn't go off by himself. There are always so many problems to get things to work the way they are supposed to. Also, the septic tank is in at Barbara's, now it just needs to be connected to the house. 

James had to make a trip to town and he wanted me to go with him but I with just about ready to take a nap and I was comfy and cozy on my recliner in the bedroom. 

After my nap I listened to Sister Johnson's conference talk, "Jesus Christ is Relief." I love this talk and I love the title of the talk. So many talks in conference were the Savior which is how is should be.

I worked on cleaning the wood floor in the great area. I tried stripping off the polish but it is a tedious job and I didn't get it all. I think on Monday I will put new polish on which makes the floor look beautiful.

I texted Rita recently to ask how her mother is doing. This is the response I got:

She's doing pretty good. She's lost alot of strength and can't even stand up anymore but her spirits are good. She ask me yesterday if I would go get KFC for her and the four other people at the home, so I did, and they partied for about two hours. Mom is still the bell of the ball and loving life. Thanks for checking on her. Hope all is well with you. Love you mucho!!

Aunt Gene has always had a positive, upbeat attitude and is so fun to be around. I wish I could be more like her. She is just a few months younger than James's mom.

I am a little concerned about James. He says that his knee keeps giving out on him. This happened while he was standing on the septic tank at Barbara's and he almost fell down into the hole. When he walks he hurries around and I am afraid he is going to get hurt.

I turned the air conditioning on for the first time today just for about an hour.

James and I watched the latest Hallmark movie together this evening. It's about a Jewish couple preparing to get married and the troubles they run in to. Jake Epstein plays the guy and I love him. He is such a good actor. It was called, "The Wedding Contract." It was fun to learn about Jewish culture and weddings.

Love everything except the white shoes

Is this The Jesus Trail?

Addy and Evan

Friday, June 16, 2023: I dreamed about a white shirt, Barbara's job is coming along, lunch at home & then town, Culver's custard,

 

Sapporo, Japan

151st operating temple

Dedicated: 21 Aug 2016

By: Russell M. Nelson

Jesus Christ, Types of, in Anticipation

Moses 5:20

And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering.

Book of Mormon

Alma 17:18-31

Come Follow Me

Luke 22:39-46 The Savior suffered for me in Gethsemane.

Jesus' Name

King of Kings

Word

Gethsemane

Phrase

Not my will but Thine be done.

Affirmation

As I listen to God in prayer, my desires align with His divine purposes. I discover that His plans exceed my own and that true joy is found in following Him and embracing His higher purposes.

AprGenCon

One in Christ

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

In our extremely contentious world, how can unity be achieved, especially in the Church, where we are to have "one Lord, one faith, one baptism"? Paul gives us the key:

"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ."

I got up at 5:18 thinking about buying a white shirt for Brandon Crane, one of the boys in our ward who passes the sacrament. My only problem is I'm not sure what size he wears. I'm going to ask one of the other moms.

James worked at Barbara's sporadically throughout the day. We also went to town after having lunch at home. I needed to pick up a prescription and look to see if Walmart had any dress shirts for boys. They didn't. I was also craving a custard from Culver's. James needed to get something at either Home Depot or Lowe's. 

We listened to "I'm Not Charlotte Lucas" and got into a disagreement over something that happened in the book. Charlie's boyfriend, or rather x-boyfriend, snuck into Charlie's art studio and took some paintings she did of some of the characters and scenes from her favorite book, "Pride and Prejudice." The high school was putting on the play and Liam, the guy who took the paintings, set them up in the lobby for people to admire. James says he was doing it to prove to Charlie that her paintings were good and that people would like them. I said that could be true but he had no right to take them. Of course everyone loved them and Charlie and Liam get back together but Charlie was very upset at him for what he did. We finished this book and now James wants me to find another book for us to read. He is into these romance novels just as much or more than I am. 

Jesus loves us perfectly.

If you see me with a bag of these in my grocery cart,

grab them and run!

Sweet Charlie!

President Beeler and his family

My 50's puzzle