This blog entry is without pictures which I will add later.
Opening hymn was #225 "We Are Marching On to Glory" text and music by John M. Chamberlain (1844-1928).
Sister Vandyne (sp?) was confirmed a member of the Church and received the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Sacrament hymn was #174 "While of These Emblems We Partake" text by John Nicholson (1839-1909) and music by Alexander Schreiner (1901-1987).
The first speaker was Elder Barr. He is a recent convert of three years. He spoke on "Be Not Afraid, Only Believe," President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's general conference talk in October 2015. He spoke of growing in his testimony by reading the Book of Mormon after entering the mission field. He bore his testimony and left a lot of time for his companion.
Intermediate hymn was #250 "We Are All Enlisted" text by Anon., The New Golden Chain, New York 1866 and music by William B. Bradbury (1816-1868).
The concluding speaker was Elder Gilstrap. He spoke on "Faith Is Not by Chance, but by Choice" from Elder Neil L. Andersen's general conference talk in October 2015. He related the story of the faith of a young Brazilian brother. He read Alma 5:26. He related the story of the Openshaw brothers when their parents and two of three siblings were killed in a plane crash.
Elder Gilstrap finished at 12:59 so Bishop Riggs had some remarks to share. He concluded with his testimony.
Closing hymn was #83 "Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah" text by William Williams (1717-1791) with the first verse trans. by Peter Williams (1722-1796) and music by John Hughes (1873-1932). This was included in the first LDS hymnbook in 1835.
Gospel Doctrine with Sister Jennifer Oliver was lesson #7 “I Know in Whom I Have Trusted” using 2 Nephi 3-5.
The purpose of the lesson was to help class members strengthen their testimonies of the Prophet Joseph Smith and to encourage them to find happiness through trusting in the Lord and keeping His commandments.
1. Lehi teaches that his descendants will be blessed through the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.
Elder LeGrand Richards said: “The Prophet Joseph Smith brought us the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and many other writings. As far as our records show, he has given us more revealed truth than any prophet who has ever lived upon the face of the earth” (in General Conference, Apr. 1981).
2. Nephi laments his sinfulness but glories in the goodness of God. (The Psalm of Nephi).
President Ezra Taft Benson said: “Just as a man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ. No one adequately and properly knows why he needs Christ until he understands and accepts the doctrine of the Fall and its effect upon all mankind” (in General Conference, Apr. 1987).
3. The anger of Laman and Lemuel increases against Nephi, and the Lord commands the followers of Nephi to separate from the followers of Laman.
President Howard W. Hunter taught: “We need a more peaceful world, growing out of more peaceful families and neighborhoods and communities. To secure and cultivate such peace, ‘we must love others, even our enemies as well as our friends.’ … We need to extend the hand of friendship. We need to be kinder, more gentle, more forgiving, and slower to anger. We need to love one another with the pure love of Christ. May this be our course and our desire” (in General Conference, Apr. 1992).
The hymn in priesthood was #237 "Do What Is Right" text by Anon., The Psalms of Life, Boston 1857 and music by George Kaillmark (1781-1835).
The priesthood lesson should have been #3 from "Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Howard W. Hunter" entitled "Part of God’s Plan for Our Eternal Progress" but somehow the teacher taught lesson #2 which would have been done last month!!
From lesson #3: “When [the difficulties of mortality] humble us and refine us and teach us and bless us, they can be powerful instruments in the hands of God to make us better people."
Just as at home the brethren were given readings but the teacher also asked questions after each reading and there was some discussion.
Eileen said that Relief Society and the elders quorum had lesson 3 (Sean taught the latter).
I did 39 G's in Essex. Eileen began doing Surrey with 7 A's and 4 of the B's.
Eileen enjoyed the Jacquie Lawson valentine that I sent to her!
On Monday 15 February we finished packing and left Colleen's about 10 am after having another slice of fruit cake and finishing the sugar-free ice cream. Our odometer was at 127346.
We filled up in Deming, New Mexico, for $1.499 at 3:20 pm.
We reached our next palindrome 127721 near Las Cruces.
We checked into the Quality Inn and had supper at the nearby Cafe La Malinche Mexican Restaurant in El Paso.
I did 28 H's, 3 I's, and 4 K's in Essex. Eileen did 22 more B's and 30 C's in Surrey.
On Tuesday 16 February we left about 9:30. Driving 82 in a 75 mph zone got us a warning not long after getting on I-10. He should have gotten the people cruising along in the left lane! From the website elpaso411.com it states, "The police invasion has begun in El Paso. Pope Francis’ historic visit to the Borderland is not only attracting hundreds of thousands of people to our area. About two hundred additional law enforcement personnel are in the El Paso side of the border for the event, which takes place on Wednesday, February 17 in Juárez. In the meantime, more than twenty extra Texas State Troopers are on state duty, right here in El Paso, ticketing dozens of citizens for random minor traffic violations."
We stopped at Walmart in Fort Stockton and filled up for $1.579 with our three-cent discount.
As we neared Kerrville, Texas, the check engine light and the VSC/TRAC/TRC indicator came on! So we're taking the car in to Boerne Toyota at 8 am tomorrow.
We reached the Quality Inn about 6 pm. The desk clerk Tammy said "yes" to my two Book of Mormon questions.
We had supper at Billy Gene's Restaurant in Kerrville at Tammy's recommendation.
Back at the hotel we called the Boye's who served with us on our mission. They live in Boerne and will stop by the Toyota dealer in the morning to see us.
On Wednesday 17 February we were up at 6 am for our 8 am appointment. The clerk at the hotel said "yes" to my two Book of Mormon questions.
We got to Boerne Toyota at 7:55 and proceeded to explain everything about the oil control valves and the indicator lights. Even though they could have replaced just one set of valves, we opted to do both input and output valves. I called Toyota Corporate to let them know the latest.
The Boye's came by and we enjoyed lunch with them at Las Palapas Mexican Restaurant in Boerne. It was fun visiting with them and talking about missions and family history.
When we returned to the dealer I could see the mechanic working on our car. We left at 12:55 after faxing the invoice and my receipt to Toyota Corporate. Albert, the service advisor, said "yes" to my two Book of Mormon questions.
We filled up in San Antonio at Valero for $1.569. Later we filled up just east of Houston for $1.359!
Driving in the dark, we reached the Sleep Inn about 8:20 pm. We enjoyed a nice snack in our room of cheese, tapenade, and jalapeños (which Eileen liked). It was disastrous, however, for my weight and Eileen's blood sugar the next morning!!
On I-12 we reached our next palindrome of 128821.
On Thursday 18 February we reported the deficiencies in our room and the manager said that he reversed the charge for our room! We left about 7:35.
We filled up for $1.499 at RaceTrac right by the hotel.
We reached Charlie and Lynn Brown's in Foley at 1:20pm. Shortly thereafter Lynn had to go to a Primary meeting (she is Primary president and Charlie is Young Men president). We went with Charlie to O'Charley's for lunch, our first time ever to that restaurant. As good as it was, however, it seems that many salads at many restaurants are so very similar to each other.
We filled up in Brewton for $1.499. Eileen had me pass up getting gas in Foley for $1.519 in hopes that we'd find some in the $1.40s. Thanks to the GasBuddy app on my iPhone, we did!
We arrived at the Comfort Inn in Montgomery about 6:45 pm.
We were wicked and had supper at Schlotzky's next door. It was our last splurge before we get home. And it was late besides!
On Friday 19 February we left the hotel before 8 am. Our blood sugars and weights were up! We filled up at Kroger in Opelika, Alabama, for $1.469 with our three-cent discount,
Eileen called Ralph and Holly and we'll meet them for lunch at Longhorn Steakhouse at 2 pm in Ellijay.
When we got to Ellijay we stopped at Walmart, the post office where I mailed our correspondence to Oppenheimer, and Ingles.
We enjoyed lunch with Ralph and Holly. The salads at Longhorn Steakhouse are superior to salads at most other places.
All was well at home and the power had not gone off at all in our absence! It took hours to unpack and (for me) to go through all the mail. There was no need for supper after the lunch we had.
In our mail was a letter from Cuna Mutual Group dated January 20 in response to our letter. It stated that Eileen was eligible for the Contingent Benefit upon Lapse Option in her long-term care policy. The amount of coverage that will remain in force is $38,121.42.
We almost forgot to sing to Liam on this, his 3rd birthday. We FaceTimed with Tom and Liam who was already in his new Lightning McQueen bed. No more crib for him! Heather was already sacked out, ready to deliver any day now.
Eileen did 6 D's, 7 E's, 6 F's, 7 G's, and 17 H's in Surrey.
On Saturday 20 February we enjoyed being back in our own bed and got up barely before 10 am. Our blood sugars and weights were much better!
We went into town but our bank is no longer open on Saturday. So we dropped off the container at the post office that had held our mail that was on hold. Then on to Walmart for several things. Eileen asked to stop at North Georgia Diamond to have them look at one of her rings. They took care of that and we went to Rite-aid for sugar-free Peeps and more blood glucose test strips.
We enjoyed watching recorded episodes of "America's Test Kitchen," "Cook's Country,” “Pioneer Woman,” and "Sara's Weeknight Meals" which we actually began doing last night.
I did 57 L's in Essex. Then I worked on our photos on my laptop to put some of them in my blog. During supper we enjoyed "Small Town Big Deal" with Rodney Miller and Jann Carl from Moline, Illinois. Whitey's Ice Cream looked pretty good!
Afterwards Eileen watched some ice skating and then "Treehouse Masters" with Pete Nelson.
I finished adding photos to my 12 July blog entry and republished it. Due to formatting problems I had to copy it, delete it, and add it back, hence it is listed under the January 2016 blog entries!
Eileen did 8 K's, 12 L's, 11 M's, 6 N's, 4 O's, and 6 of the P's in Surrey.
No comments:
Post a Comment