Monday, April 18, 2016

April 2016 General Conference quote

 All the snow that is left from Saturday's storm

is on the mountains.

Today for scripture study James and I read Mosiah 11:1-15.  The question is: How are King Benjamin and King Noah different, and how can we develop character traits of King Benjamin?  I would say the basic differences are that one had charity and the other had pride.  One was spiritual and the other was carnal.  One remembered the Savior and the other did not.  If we remember the Savior and try to emulate Him we can become more like King Benjamin.

 Congratulations Jackson!

Vickie called me this morning in response to my message about our satellite failing to record some shows.  She helped me do a switch test and told me that if we have the problem to do the switch test again.  I am grateful to know there is someone out there who knows more about technology than I do!

James actually has walls up on the storage shed.  I don't know how he is managing to build this thing by himself.  I told him if he needs help to call me, but so far he has not.

James went in to town to get some lumber and do some other errands.  I decided to stay home and get some things done.  One of the things I did was clean the mud off the carpet and floor from Saturday.  

We are praying for Ecuador.

Today was Senior Ditch Day at Chandler High School.  This is what Alex did.

Looks like fun.

I fancied up our leftovers from Saturday and Sunday by adding some corn to the rice and putting the chicken in the rice.  It was quite tasty.  

For FHE we listened to Elder Duncan's conference talk on forgiveness.  After FHE we watched our Hallmark movie.  This one was called "The Generation Gap".

 Ed Asner and Alex Black.

The story is about a boy growing up in New York City with his single mom.  He has alot of anger because his dad left and he keeps getting into fights at school.  His mom sends him to stay with his grandpa in a small town for the summer.  Grandpa is a veteran of World War II and everyone calls him the colonel.  It's a great story about a boy learning respect, coming of age, and developing a strong bond with his grandpa.  We both enjoyed it.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Sunday morning session of stake conference.

We sat by Owen and Donna Peeler, our friends and neighbors

from Vernon.

 Speaker: President Ken Van Winkle - Stay the course.  Mosiah 2:22 - "Behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you."

Elder Corbridge: "Don't be deceived."  How do we avoid being deceived?  (See Elder Corbridge's five primary questions in stake conference journal, November 8, 2015.)  

Stand firm in the faith, and hold fast.

Fernando Thompson, Jr. - Recently returned missionary.  He is the first and only missionary to leave from the Cibeque branch.  My mission taught me how to be closer to Heavenly Father.  Never lose the focus of bringing our families to God.  Help them endure to the end  Never lose focus on the things that you know to be true.  

Paige Bennie, Laurel from the Country Club Manor ward.  How can we use social media to uplift?  1. Keep posts positive.  1972 prophecy by President Kimball about technology.  2.  Make sure you edify and uplift.  3. Be authentic and consistent  4. Be wise and vigilant.  Don't post anything you don't want everyone in the world to see.  Elder Bednar's talk on social media given in August, 2014.

Ben Dike, Priest from the Pinedale ward.  Language and how we communicate with others.   (see 'For the Strength of Youth').

Story of McKay Hatch and his 'No Cussing Club.'  It became a media sensation, reaching people all over the world.  Don't gossip or show anger to others.  Laman and Lemuel's murmuring caused a standstill in their spiritual progression.  President Uchtdorf: "Stop It!"  Agape - Greek word meant to lover everyone unconditionally.  Brother's mission journal: Charity vs. Pride, two kinds of love.  One is the love of others and the other is the love of self.  Our speech defines us.  We represent the Savior as members of His Church.

Sister Miller of the Snowflake Temple Presidency - From Joseph City.  Grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  Hastening the work is now and includes missionary and temple work.  The Snowflake temple performs 100's and even 1000's of ordinances each day.  Youth are more involved than ever in temple work.

President Miller, counselor in the Snowflake temple presidency - President Hancock is the temple president and President Scott is his other counselor.  Service is the essence of the gospel.  Related President Nelsons' story he told in General Conference about the Hatfield family and doing their temple work.  Elder Kevin R. Duncan quote from April 2016 G.C. on forgiveness.  Elder Rasband: "I need my Savior now more than ever before."  Quote from Bishop Waddell in April 2016 G.C. Quinten L. Cook: "We are equal before God in the temple."  Kent F. Richards, General Temple Director, "Sanctify yourselves."

Speaker: David Larue Crockett, stake patriarch - I believe in miracles and I am grateful for the miracle of forgiveness.  Story of woman in prison for drug abuse.  Her bishop sees a vision of who she was in the premortal life before he gives her a blessing.  She becomes a valiant disciple of Jesus Christ, serving with charity and love those in her ward.

President Danny Crandall, 2nd counselor in stake presidency - When the world is in commotion what are you going to hang on to?  By their fruits ye shall know them.  Why do I stay on the old ship Zion?  Do I believe in the miracles of the Restoration.  We as a church are not on a pedestal but in a place of rescue.  We are built upon a foundation of prophets and apostles. (See Ephesians).  Keys were given to Joseph and Oliver and when Oliver left the Church, Joseph and Hyrum had the keys.  Our mission is to bring people to Christ, and stay on the ole' ship Zion.  Exaltation is the destination.  

President Steven Williams, Show Low stake president - We need each other.  Examples of service. "I think of...."  The list could go on and on on ways we can help each other.  told a story from his family history  Wales-America.  Father joined the Church and moved to SLC when he married an LDS woman.  His 10 year old son, William Williams, for some reason, stayed in Wales.  His temple work needed to be done and President Williams is determined to do it.  This is the Spirit of Elijah.  New Church program, Find, Take, Teach.  What can we become in the process.  President Williams gave a blessing to those who would accept this Find, Take, Teach challenge.  Here is the blessing: "We will receive impressions from beyond the veil, and feel greater peace in our lives and more forgiveness from others.  We will have a deepened appreciation for prophets, temples, and our covenants.  We will feel the Spirit stronger on a daily basis.  We will have more strength to overcome trials and as we serve we will become more Christlike.

Thank you President Williams.

After stake conference we came home and James fixed us a nice lunch of potatoes, eggs, onions, and various veggies all cooked together.  After lunch it was nap time.  

I did my gospel study this morning and this afternoon I copied notes from my stake conference notebook to my Sunday journal.  For dinner I made strawberry shortcake and James dipped strawberries, raspberries, and nuts in chocolate.  

James had a pretty awesome Sabbath.  He did indexing for several hours, wrote in his journal, and HE FOUND HIS TRUCK KEYS!!

I think that last one was his greatest accomplishment of the day.

We did watch a Hallmark movie tonight.  I was disappointed again when something I tried to tape failed to tape because the satellite signal was lost.  I messaged Vickie on Facebook and ask her to call me.

 "Love By Chance"

Alex's Birthday Celebration

 Happy 18th!

Wish we were there to help celebrate.

This week's ponderize scripture:

 

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Snow on April 16th.

It snowed most all day in Vernon but the snow was so wet that by the end of the day it was all gone.  Our friend took this picture.

This is about the most white we got on the ground.

In spite of the cold, wet weather James and I went to the temple.  We left the house around 6:40 and made it to the 8 am. session.  We had 25 brothers in our session and 16 sisters.  

 The Snowflake temple

We saw people from our ward who are temple workers: Mel and Ruth Wilhelm, Jim and Linda Diewald, and Blaine Curtis.  

After our session we stopped at El Cupido's for something to eat.  I got a breakfast burrito with bacon, one of my favorite things.  James got a chicken quesadilla.  

On the way home we passed by the Taylor Walmart.  It is definitely smaller than the one we have in Show Low.

Back at home I put some chicken in the crockpot for dinner.  James is very worried about losing his keys.  He called Hatch Dodge in Show Low and they said he could get a key for $39.  When he got there he found out that to activate the key he has to tow his truck in and they will activate the chip for $109.  He was pretty upset!

I waited in the car and stared at this window.

Back at home we took a nap and then got up to have dinner before stake conference.  Yes, that's right we made one trip to Snowflake, and two trips to Show Low today.

The basalmic chicken I made for dinner wasn't that great, but the rice and asparagus made it better.

Today is Alex's 18th birthday and it is also prom.  Here he is with his prom date.

The prom theme was James Bond.

I think Alex makes a handsome James Bond.

Michael also went to prom.

Michael and Alexis.

Our adult session of stake conference began at 7pm. at the Show Low stake center.  The program went something like this:

Speaker: President Danny Crandall - What have I done to hasten the work?  More women than men are joining the Church  There are 1,647 homes in our stake and only 644 have Melchizedek priesthood holders.  What can we do?

Speaker: LaRee Price - Sister Price told her story of growing up in the Church, going astray and breaking her temple covenants.  She was divorced twice and her children became inactive  She then married a nonmember who joined the Church and became her eternal companion, but her grown children are still inactive.

Speaker: Malita Jackson - The importance of keeping the Sabbath day holy.  The choice to ignore prophetic doctrine changes the very ground upon which we stand.  It becomes dangerous.  Hold a family council to determine Sabbath activities.  What sign do I want to give God.  The Sabbath is a sign between God and man.

We need to shut out the world on the Sabbath.

Speaker: Joan Pearce - She took an online class at BYU-Idaho on the New Testament.  It made her more appreciative of the Atonement.  "By using the Sabbath as we should, we can retain a remission of our sins." - Elder Bednar.  She referred to Elder Wirthlin's talk, "Come What May and Love It."  We should not make a big deal about other people's mistakes.

Musical Number- Primary girl sang "Gethsemane."  It was very sweet.

Speaker: President Ken Van Winkle - Teach the Children.  Mark 10:13-14, Mark 4:15.  "Show them the virtue of our virtues." - Sister Sheri Dew.  Remember Primary class birthdays.  President Van Winkle gave examples of teaching children and then ended by reading the words to "Dearest Children God Is Near You."

Speaker: President Steven Williams, Show Low Stake President.

Recalled when he was called to be the stake president by Eder Golden.  He had 30 minutes to choose his counselors.  He said he didn't need 30 minutes because he already knew who the Lord wanted.  The Lord is in charge of this stake.  April 22, 2004 he was sad to hear the news that Pat Tillman had died.  Pat's football number was 42.  The Pat Tillman run is 4.2 miles long and it ends on the 42 yard line in Sun Devil stadium.  President Williams decided to do the run but he didn't prepare and it was a miserable experience.  In Lehi's dream, some were continuously partaking of the fruit so they were prepared when trials came.  

 President Williams challenged us to memorize The Family Proclamation and The Living Christ.

Friday, April 15, 2016

One of my all time favorite photos.

As I was upstairs cleaning and vacuuming in James's office I came across this picture that Tricia made for James years ago.  I absolutely love it!  Thank you so much Tricia!  I will always treasure it.  James was the sweetest little boy and he loved his grandpa almost as much as grandpa loved, and still loves, him.

 

When I got up this morning around 5 am. I noticed a couple of elk feeding in our back yard.  I got James up so he could see them too.  Sometimes they don't stay long.  Awhile later we looked outside and there was a herd of 10 antelope and 16 elk.  

I love the antelope.  They are so cute,

and curious too.

The elk just turned their backs to us.

I guess the two elk this morning went back to get their friends.

 

A few weeks ago James ran over his chainsaw with his truck.  Here he is trying to fix it.

 Is this normal!  After posting this on Facebook I have

come to realize it is done by lots of men,

many of them either Lambson's or living in Vernon.

 

I have made some changes to improve my gospel study.  I am now getting up at five until of six.  I am going to include family history in my daily schedule, and I am going to go to the temple on a weekly basis.  

 I am reading Sister Wendy Nelson's book, "Covenant Keepers" where she offers a 21 day challenge of great family history and temple work.  My friend Karen and I are taking the challenge.  We officially start on Monday.  I am just preparing myself.

 

I went grocery shopping this afternoon after James got back from his home teaching appointment with the Wallace's.  Brother Wallace is building a ballfield at his place and preparing for thousands of girls who will be coming this summer for girls camp.  I don't know how he does it.  He is older than we are and in very poor health.  He is an amazing person!

I got back from grocery shopping after four, and before five we were leaving for town again to go to the wrestling fund raiser steak dinner at the high school.  We have several boys in our ward on the wrestling teams in Show Low, including Talon and Andy Wilhelm, Ty Applegate, and Jackson Allen.  Jackson is a state champ.  

We saw Brian and Cheri Maxwell there with Cher's sister whose son is on the team.  It was a nice dinner for $12.50 and we went home with leftovers.  I especially loved the cowboy beans!

 

Two books I am currently reading.

I love Sister Nelson.

I was privileged to meet her several years ago at

a BYU Women's Conference.

I also love this book.

 

 

 

Thursday, April 14, 2016

I love these old family pictures!

This was at the end of 1978.

As we read Mosiah 7:18-33 two verses impress me: 27 ...

Man was created after the image of God.

33 - But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to His own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage. 

James got already to go home teaching today, but Rick Lauritzen, his partner, never came to pick him up.  I was sure when I took the message that Rick said he would come at 11:40 to pick him up.  When he finally got to talk to Rick, I told him the wrong day, it's tomorrow!

  Maybe it wasn't a bad decision, just

poor listening skills.

As a reward for my error James took me in to town to get our favorite pizza, Pappa John's thin crust veggie.

This pizza is delicious!

Our main reason for going into town was to check the car to see if it was going to heat up.  It didn't.  The pizza was an added bonus.  

James worked on the shed today in spite of the wind.  I made menus for the coming week and plan on going grocery shopping tomorrow.  I wonder how many trips to town we will make this week?

Our movie tonight was a good one called, "After the Fall."  It's about a girl who falls from her horse and is paralyzed from the waist down.  Her boyfriend leaves her and she's pretty down in the dumps until she meets this guy.

Goodbye Loser, Hello Winner!

She thinks her horse died in the jump, but lo and behold, Mr. Winner has nursed him back to health.  She has surgery and does intensive physical therapy and eventually is able to walk again.  A happy ending in true Hallmark fashion!  P.S. I am becoming quite partial to cowboys.  Maybe it's because there are so many here in Vernon.

Did I mention that James has misplaced his truck keys and is so stressed about finding them?  He stresses me when he is stressed.  

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

C.S. Lewis got so many things right!

Allen Matthias, Gail's friend from Oregon came to see James this morning.  He has a building project starting in Queen Creek soon, and he is going to use James's contractor's license.  Also James is helping get subcontractor bids for him.  They met for three or four hours before Allen left to go back to the valley.  James ask me to fix breakfast for them so I made scrambled eggs, ham, and biscuits.  James made orange juice.  

For scripture study this morning we read Mosiah 7:8-17.    We are counseled to be meek (3 Nephi 12:5) yet be bold (Mosiah 712).  How do we juggle these two attributes?

Answer: Meekly before the Lord and boldly before men.

I read today online an article in The White Mountain Independent that some is accusing the Vernon Fire Chief of the following:

1.) Creating a secret "slush" fund with tax payer dollars.

2.) Accepting a pay raise that is allegedly illegal.

3.) Cover-up of alleged illegal actions before he became chief.

As James and I recall it was Collin DeWitt who appointed this fire chief.  I wonder how much of this, if any, is tree.  I noticed today a sign by the post office that said fire chief recall.  

As I was dusting and cleaning today I took a break and came across this picture on Facebook.  Talk about a makeover!

I went to the post office in Vernon this afternoon to mail Alex's birthday card, money, and gift card.  While I was there I visited with Debbie Holyoak, Lorraine Vaught, and  Debbie Miller.  The post office is the happening place in Vernon!

I noticed on my way back to the house that the car was heating up so I turned off the air conditioner.

James worked outside today in gorgeous weather.  The high was around 65.  

For dinner I made fresh green beans, red onions, mushrooms, and ham stirfry.  It was good but not nearly as good as the cabbage and broccoli and ham.

I read James a chapter from "The Magician's Nephew" this evening and then we watched our Hallmark movie, "Cupid."

It was a little silly but I still liked it.

Facebook finds:

  Our friends Kathy and Cliff Arnett

 Lola, and Addy in the background, at

Rowan and Evan's soccer practice.

Natalie Nicoll making an announcement.

Eli, Ethan, Edmund and Ephraim Pope.

 

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

This week's ponderize scripture

The chapter I read from "The Blueprint of Christ's Church" today was entitled, 'Why Do I Need The Book of Mormon If I Already Have The Bible?'  The following are some of the reasons we need the Book of Mormon:

1.  The Book of Mormon answers questions of the soul.

2.  The Book of Mormon is another witness of Jesus Christ and His teachings.

3.  The Book of Mormon brings us nearer to God.

I studied from Preach My Gospel today, the chapter was, 'How Do I Recognize and Understand the Spirit?'  Here are some questions to ponder:

1.  Why do I need to receive personal revelation?

2.  Why must I pray in faith?

3.  How can I recognize the promptings of the Spirit?

I listened to two articles in the Ensign about the need for senior missionaries.  It made me realize that James and I should be praying that we might be able to serve a mission.

Around noon we left to go into town.  James needed to pick up something for his project and I needed to pick up a prescription.  

I wanted to get mexican food for lunch, but James wasn't in the mood.  He wanted to go to Darbi's again, so away we went, clear to Pinetop.  This time I had the Arizona roast beef sandwich which includes a green chili and pepper jack cheese.  It was delicious and so were my sweet potato fries.  James had the Reuben sandwich and potato salad.  His was yummy too.

James dropped me off at Walmart while he went to Home Depot.  When I went to pick up my prescription I realized that the text I got was from the Walmart in Chandler.  The pharmacist in Show Low told me he would ask for a transfer, but it probably wouldn't be ready until tomorrow.

I found out something very disturbing today.  When I deleted all the photos and contacts from my old phone, it also deleted all the photos and contacts on my new phone.  I downloaded Itunes on my computer and tried to sync my phone, but it didn't work.  James stopped at the Verizon store on the way home but the guy said he didn't know what to do if going on Itunes didn't work.  These are the kinds of things I don't like about technology!

On the way home we watched the huge black clouds that seemed to be hovering over Vernon, but by the time we got home they had moved, leaving very little rain.  

On the way home we read from our first Chronicles of Narnia book, "The Magician's Nephew."  

When I got home I sat down to watch "Chopped", and fell asleep. 

For dinner we had Marie Callender's lemon meringue pie.  I also shared the last half of my sandwich from lunch with James. 

  I was going to get a coconut cream pie but there were more

than twice as many fat grams in the coconut cream and quite a

few more calories. The lemon was yummy!

We watched a Hallmark movie that was sad and inspirational all at the same time.  It was called "Chasing a Dream."  It's about a high school football played who feels responsible for his best friend's death.  Before he died his friend's dream was to run the mile in under four minutes.  Cam quits the high school football team, his dad just happens to be the coach, and goes out for track and fulfills his friends dream of running the mile in under 4 minutes.

Needless to say his dad wasn't too happy when he quit football, but of course he comes around and supports him in his goal of fulfilling his friends dream.