Thursday, January 23rd, 2020

Porto Alegre, Brazil

102nd operating temple

Dedicated: 17 Dec 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Jehovah

1 Timothy 3:16

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

1 Nephi 13:20-42; Sunday School journal

"The Savior's Touch"

Elder Walter F. Gonzalez

"Whatever our circumstances might be, we can exercise our faith to come unto Christ and find a God we can trust. As one of my children, Gabriel, once wrote:

According to the prophet, God's face is brighter than the sun

and His hair is whiter than snow

and His voice roars like the rushing of a river,

and next to Him man is nothing. ...

I am crushed as I realize that even I am nothing.

And only then do I fumble my way to a god I can trust.

And only then do I discover the God I can trust.

A God we can trust emboldens our hope. We can trust Him because He loves us and wants what is best for us in every circumstance."

Happy 72nd Birthday James!

"Yoda" one for me!

I was up at 3:50 to get everything ready for James's birthday. The first thing I did was write him a message in his birthday card. 

When I went in the bedroom to wish him a Happy Birthday, James said: "I think I got old at midnight." When I told him there was a herd of deer in the yard, he was up and out of bed. Later when people would call to wish him a happy birthday he would say:

I'm just looking out the window at a herd of deer waiting for my Eagle Brand pie to cool. What more could I ask for?

Here are some of the gifts he received besides the ones I mentioned I got for him in yesterday's post. A sweet card from the Trezise's with a message from everyone except Ben who emailed and wished him a Happy Birthday earlier in the week, and a $50 gift card to Brass Pro Shop. Jammies and a fishing bag and a $50 Amazon gift card from his mom and Dawn. He got several phone calls, a FaceTime from Jared and Kacey, and lots of well wishes on Facebook. Here is one of the best happy birthday's he got:

We love this girl!

After our lunch of soup and salad I put candles in the cooled pie and sang "Happy Birthday" to my sweetheart. 

It was a low-key day spent at home, the kind we love. James did go outside and began to remove the bumper from his truck. 

For dinner we had hotdogs and sauerkraut, one of our favorites. Afterwards we watched "A Beautiful Place to Die; A Martha's Vineyard Mystery" starring Jesse Metcalf. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

 Wishing James a Happy Birthday

Cozy jammies from his mom

Lunch

 Eagle Brand pie with meringue

 He got them all. 7 for the decades and 2

for the years.

In his natural habitat

Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020

Recife, Brazil

101st operating temple

Dedicated: 15 Dec 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Jehovah

1 Corinthians 10:4

And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

1 Nephi 13:1-19

"Your Great Adventure"

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"The third thing we strive to master in this journey of life is to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ and not be ashamed of being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. We do not hide our faith. We do not bury it. To the contrary, we talk about our journey with others in normal and natural ways. That's what friends do - they talk about things that are important to them. Things that are close to their heart and make a difference to them. That's what you do. You tell your stories and experiences as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

This quote from Bruce R. McConkie in Sister Dew's book, "Women and the Priesthood", p. 104.

The doctrine of the priesthood is known only by personal revelation."

There was a powder sugar-like dusting of snow on everything when I got up this morning. By noon there was sunshine. 

James cut the hanging shroud from underneath my car. It looks so much better but I'm wondering if we need to order another one as a protection for my cars underbelly.

I blogged January 11th and 12th today. I'm still 10 days behind. I would like to be caught up by the end of this month. 

I did some repricing of books this morning and then made some pasta fagioli soup today. James said he really likes it but he would like it better without the pasta. I guess next time I could make no-pasta fagioli soup. He also said less hamburger. I added 1/2 lb of hamburger and 1/2 lb of Italian sausage and I loved it. Sorry honey, I don't think I can add less meat. He also wanted more beans. 

At 1:45 we left for town. James has a 2:30 appointment at the outpatient center for an MRI. The spine doctore wants to see why he is still having pains in his ribs. The reason I came was because they thought he might have to be sedated and I would need to drive him home. As it turns out he was not sedated.

I went shopping at Walmart for James's birthday. The first thing I did was go to McDonald's for an ice cream and Coke to wake me up. I guess I'm still not used to getting up at 4 am.

I really just needed bananas and lemons but I ended up spending much more because of the birthday gifts. I bought James two flannel shirts, socks, and an ASU stocking cap and some pens to write with since he is always borrowing mine.

At around 3:30 James texted and said he was ready to be picked up. I was checking out. I'm glad that Walmart is right next door to the hospital and the outpatient center. 

I read to James from "Aunt Dimity Next of Kin." 

I walked and repriced this evening and made a salad then went to our monthly Relief Society presidency meeting at the church.

Kerri was in a ward Valentine's Day planning meeting when I arrived. As soon as she was out and Tamara arrived, we went to the Relief Society room and set up shop for our meeting.

We talked about the Relief Society assignments for the ward party, ministering - what to do about Millie, and our lesson schedule. I also gave a report from the stake family history meeting. Kerri said the missionaries are working with Cindy Brady. We decided to let Millie go on a ministering hiatus until her ribs heal and Sister Burkee gets back for the summer. We would like to ask Sister Chandler to be Sheba Myers partner.

We I returned home James made me some tea. I studied "Come Follow Me" and finished getting my steps before bed.

 Michael and Allie's wedding day

 Cute little bundle

"His hand is stretched out still"

 The Milky Way in a desert sky

Restored Truth

Tuesday, January 21st, 2020

Boston, Massachusetts

100th operating temple

Dedicated: 1 Oct 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Jehovah

John 4:25-26

 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

1 Nephi 12 / Sunday Journal

"Finding Joy in Sharing the Gospel"

Christina B. Franco

President Dallin H. Oaks taught:

"There are three things all members can do to help share the gospel. ...

First, we can all pray for a desire to help with this vital part of the work of salvation. ...

Second, we can keep the commandments. ... Faithful members will always have the Savior's Spirit ... with them to guide them as they seek to participate in the great work of sharing the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Third, we can pray for inspiration on what we can do ... to share the gospel with others ... and pray with a commitment to act upon the inspiration we receive."

Today is Kacey's and Jared's third anniversary.

 Happy Anniversary!

A happy and memorable day!

I read a chapter from my book of the month, "Women and the Priesthood" by Sheri Dew. It's a good way to start the day. A cup of peach tea is also a good way to start.

We got no snow today, only rain.

James got a bill from the court in New Mexico. His total fine will be $86.00. They don't take credit cards so I wrote a check. We are glad to have this little episode behind us.

I got ready to make visits this morning. First stop, the Grapp's. I gave Tildy her Elsa doll and Book of Mormon and Cammy handouts for this week's "Come Follow Me" lesson. Lynda had some toys from the nursery that she gave to Leland. He loved them. He also loved Tildy's Elsa doll and was carrying her and making her sing.

Cammy was upset because a member of Tom's family came to the baptism when she was not invited. Cammy said, "I should have went up to her and ask her to leave!" I just said to her, "Cammy, sometimes family gatherings are a time for healing for family members." She said, "Well, that's not why she came!"  I hope whatever is going on, the families can forgive and work things out.

I said a prayer for the family before we left. Cammy took a picture of Tildy and I together.

 Tildy and Elsa

Tildy and me

When Lynda and I arrived at Catherine's Kerri was monogramming baptismal towels and dishcloths, etc. She was putting Vernon ward across the ends. This makes it difficult for people to accidentally take a towel home that says Vernon ward.

Catherine, Lynda, and I went in to the living room where Catherine read a monologue about getting old. She said she read it at their family Christmas party. I think she wants her family to know that she is feeling the limits of her mortality and her inability to do many of the things she could do when she was younger. 

I shared a scripture from the Book of Mormon  from Dave Butler and Emily Freeman's book, "Don't Miss This in the Book of Mormon Exploring One Verse From Each Chapter." I shared 1 Nephi 14:14 - And they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.

I showed Lynda and Catherine a book I made years ago with favorite verses of mine from the Book of Mormon. We chit chatted for awhile and I feel like I am getting to know Lynda a little better. She got married at 31, worked for Home Depot for 11 years, and has two children in Texas who are inactive. 

She has a new calling in the Young Women's goal setting program. She is over social and education. Since her husband is a four time black belt karate champion, she wants him to teach the girls self-defense. She invited Kerri to be a part of it. Sounds like a fun night.

I think Catherine enjoyed our visit. I gave both her and Lynda scripture glue-ins for this week's "Come Follow Me" lesson.

When I got home James had a couple of little venison steaks cooked for me. As a reward, I read to him from his current Aunt Dimity book. 

This afternoon I worked on books, walked, and blogged until my computer started freezing up. We had salad for dinner.

James made several telephone calls to members of the ward regarding our temple cleaning assignment on Saturday. I think he got about 18 commitments.

Spent the evening studying "Come Follow Me."

I finished watching the Hallmark move, "Love on Iceland."

I loved the blue lagoon hot mineral pond!

 This is what Tildy wanted for her birthday.

I wished I would have known. We watched a

video on my phone all about Schleich toys.

They are pretty amazing!

Kate's Quilt

(Kate Gunther)