Bailey's Blog

On Sunday 1 December we attended the Plantation Ward with Sue and David. Our lesson in the high priests quorum was on tithing using Elder David A. Bednar's talk from October General conference.

Elder David A. Bednar of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tithe on their income. They hand an envelope with their tithes and offerings to a member of the ward bishopric (or in our case to a member of our branch presidency). No collection plate is passed during our meetings. The principle of tithing, or voluntarily giving one-tenth of one’s income to God’s work, has been known since Old Testament times. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-20).

The law of tithing is how the Lord funds His Church. Tithing funds are used for:

Constructing temples, chapels, and other buildings.
Providing operating funds for the Church.
Funding the missionary program (This does not include individual missionary expenses.)
Preparing materials used in Church classes and organizations.
Temple work, family history, and many other important Church functions.
Education.

When the Lord reminded His people of this law through the prophet Malachi in the Old Testament, He promised to bless those who were willing to pay an honest tithe (Malachi 3:10).

I finished reading "Tom Swift and His Big Tunnel, Or, The Hidden City of the Andes" by Victor Appleton. It only took four weeks as the stories aren't long.

We watched the Broncos - Chiefs football game and some of the Giants - Redskins game. It’s difficult to not watch football on Sunday when you’re visiting someone else.

I posted the following on Facebook: President Thomas S. Monson has counseled, "Our children today are growing up surrounded by voices urging them to abandon that which is right and pursue, instead, the pleasures of the world. Unless they have a firm foundation in the gospel of Jesus Christ, a testimony of the truth, and a determination to live righteously, they are susceptible to such influences. It is our responsibility to fortify and protect them."

President Monson said, "In a Latter-day Saint home, children are not simply tolerated, but welcomed; not commanded, but encouraged; not driven, but guided; not neglected, but loved.

President Monson is the 16th president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

On Monday 2 December we left Sue's and drove north to Russ and Gail's home in Brooker, Florida. That area of Central Florida is very pretty with so much Spanish moss (which is neither Spanish nor moss!).

Spanish moss dangling from the trees

We enjoyed lunch at the Cracker Barrel in Belleview near Ocala. I finished reading "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

I have read "Treasure Island," "Kidnapped," "The Black Arrow," "Edinburgh Picturesque Notes," and "The Master of Ballantrae" by Stevenson. I read “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

On Tuesday 3 December we drove home to Ellijay. Nice weather in Florida and increasingly rainy as we drove north in Georgia. It is nice having the Sun Pass on the windshield to go through the tolls on Florida's Turnpike.

We saw a great many cotton fields along I-75.

We enjoyed lunch at the Cracker Barrel in Tifton. We were last there in March when on the way to Florida. We dropped off two loaves of Cuban bread at Sabrina Bayless's that we bought for her the day before in Florida. As we neared home we saw some wild turkeys on the shoulder of Big Creek Road.

All was well at home.

148 Cartecay Cove Drive

I enjoyed the haggis that we bought at the British Depot in Florida last Saturday. I tried it with steak sauce (too strong), Grey Poupon mustard, and ketchup. Good with those last two!

Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a sausage casing rather than an actual stomach.

As the 2001 English edition of the Larousse Gastronomique puts it, "Although its description is not immediately appealing, haggis has an excellent nutty texture and delicious savoury flavour".

Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish, considered the national dish of Scotland as a result of Robert Burns' poem Ode to a Haggis of 1787. Haggis is traditionally served with "neeps and tatties" (Scots for turnip and potato), boiled and mashed separately.

Haggis with neeps and tatties

I finished reading "The Lake Gun" by James Fenimore Cooper. I have read his “Last of the Mohicans."

James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851)

On Wednesday 4 December we were at the Gilmer Community Food Pantry in the morning where we volunteer whenever we're in town. We provided a ride for the sister missionaries Childs and Wilcox. I was asked to offer the prayer at the end of our meeting prior to the pantry opening. After taking the sisters home, we drove to Canton and shopped at Hallmark for Christmas. Back in Ellijay we picked up the three issues of the Times-Courier which had the last two pictures that I'd sent them of us with the newspaper at the Kirtland Temple and with Terry and Linda Hale in front of the Dubliners Pub in Ft. Lauderdale. Terry and Linda served with us on our LDS mission on the British Floor of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. They succeeded us as the British zone leaders. They had just disembarked from their Caribbean cruise.

Kirtland Ohio Temple

Terry and Linda Hale, Ben and Eileen

On the way home we stopped at the new location of the Food Pantry and visited with Emil and Judy Harvey who were working to help get it ready for its opening in January.

We watched the general conference talk by Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela of the Seventy.

I went through the ton of mail that the post office holds for us when we are away.

On Thursday 5 December Marvin Knight called and asked if I could teach the Gospel Doctrine lesson on Sunday. It is lesson 44 entitled "Being Good Citizens." I spent most of the evening working on the lesson. I called some of the branch members whom we home teach to make sure that they knew of the Christmas party on Saturday. The power went out, flickering off and on about 7 pm. The generator came on! We watched the first part of the DVD "The 3 Great Scottish Castles" about Urquhart Castle which we visited on August 12th.

Urquhart Castle with Loch Ness in the background

Eileen at Urquhart

I finished reading "A Desert Drama" by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Statue of Arthur Conan Doyle
in Crowborough,
East Sussex, England

I have read a lot of Conan Doyle's work to include "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes," "The Return of Sherlock Holmes," "The Hound of the Baskervilles," "The Sign of the Four," "A Study in Scarlet," "His Last Bow," "The White Company," "The Lost World," "Sir Nigel," "The Green Flag," "Through the Magic Door," "The Adventure of the Dying Detective," "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax," and "The Adventure of the Red Circle," the last three being Holmes' short stories.

We noticed at 10 pm that the generator was no longer running as the power had come back on.

On Friday 6 December we had an appointment at our doctor's office in Ellijay. We shopped at Food Lion, Walmart, and Ingles. I finished the Bacon's Castle guidebook.

Bacon's Castle

We began Christmas decorating.

Mary and Joseph with the baby Jesus

Over 30 years of "Frosty Friends" from Hallmark

Just the lights on so far

Old Nativity Scene on the Mantel

Hummel Nativity Scene

I accumulated the Hummel Nativity Scene piece by piece years ago and surprised Eileen when I had all of them.

The Calliope was a gift to Eileen's mom.

Calliope

German Pyramid

Wreath and Bells on the Front Door

Dresden China Nativity Scene
on our German Wall Unit (Wohnzimmerschrank)

We watched the second part of the DVD "The 3 Great Scottish Castles" about Stirling Castle which we visited on August 8th.

And I spent some more time on my upcoming lesson.

On Saturday 7 December I finished reading "Scotland Yard : The Methods and Organisation of the Metropolitan Police" by George Dilnot written in 1915.

We continued Christmas decorating and began doing Christmas cards as I had finished our Christmas letter to accompany the cards. We enjoyed our branch Christmas party in the evening. Eileen's corn bread and peasant salad were big hits!