070426 Saturday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! (250th)

Weight: 232.5

BP and Pulse: 129/83, 66

GMI: 7.2, Glucose level:142 @ 0555, Three day Average: 157

Finger Prick:

Reported Sleep: 7:00 (83)

Yesterday's Steps: 4,368

Journal Entry:

Mosiah 29:16 Now I say unto you, that because all men are not just it is not expedient that ye should have a king or kings to rule over you.17 For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!

21 And behold, now I say unto you, ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous king save it be through much contention, and the shedding of much blood.

22 For behold, he has his friends in iniquity, and he keepeth his guards about him; and he teareth up the laws of those who have reigned in righteousness before him; and he trampleth under his feet the commandments of God;

23 And he enacteth laws, and sendeth them forth among his people, yea, laws after the manner of his own wickedness; and whosoever doth not obey his laws he causeth to be destroyed; and whosoever doth rebel against him he will send his armies against them to war, and if he can he will destroy them; and thus an unrighteous king doth pervert the ways of all righteousness.

25 Therefore, choose you by the voice of this people, judges, that ye may be judged according to the laws which have been given you by our fathers, which are correct, and which were given them by the hand of the Lord.

26 Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people.

27 And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land.

Come Follow Me:

1 Kings 18:37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.

"When Elijah petitioned his God, the fire of the Lord came down and consumed everything—the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust—and it licked up the water in the trench. Following this exhibition, the people said, “The Lord, he is the God,” …Choices would not be a dilemma if good were rewarded as quickly and spectacularly as was Elijah…But it is not that simple when our work is to increase our faith.

Our faith and commitment are tested when the world offers tempting and enticing alternatives that can turn our faces from the Lord’s kingdom. Some would like to live in that eternal city and still keep a “summer home” in Babylon. If we are not consciously and deliberately choosing the kingdom of God, we will in fact be moving backwards as the kingdom of God moves forward “boldly, nobly, and independent.” Choosing which way we face will determine our blessings or our burdens."

Sister Sharon G. Larsen, Second Counselor, Young Women General Presidency, October 1999

070326, Friday, Happy Birthday Beth

Weight: 231.9

BP and Pulse: 

GMI: 7.3, Glucose level:151 @ 0320, Three day Average: 160

Finger Prick:

Reported Sleep: 5:49 (75)

Yesterday's Steps: 9,369

Journal Entry:

Serving in the temple this morning. 

Craig Merrill stopped by for a visit yesterday. That was very enjoyable.

Went to Costco yesterday to get two new tires for the Prius. While there, Jake visited with me for awhile. He was also there to get new tires for his van.

So a good day.

Today we are going to see a reportedly good movie about George Washington and then go out to lunch with my sister, Beth. So looking forward to an exceptional day.

Come Follow Me:

070226, Thursday

Weight: 230.8

BP and Pulse: 115/74,74

GMI: 7.2, Glucose level:156 @ 0410, Three day Average: 158

Finger Prick:

Reported Sleep: 6:25 (78)

Yesterday's Steps: 5,165

Journal Entry:

Come Follow Me:

1 Kings 17:15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.

 "Imagine for a moment the difficulty of what the prophet was asking a starving mother to do. Certainly, God Himself could have provided food for His faithful servant. But, acting in the name of the Lord, Elijah did as directed, which was to ask a beloved daughter of God to sacrifice that which she had in order to sustain the prophet.

…In a world threatened by a famine of righteousness and spiritual starvation, we have been commanded to sustain the prophet. As we give heed to, uphold, and affirm prophetic word, we witness that we have the faith to humbly submit to the will, the wisdom, and the timing of the Lord."

Sister Carol F. McConkie,  First Counselor, Young Women General Presidency 

070126, Wednesday

Weight: 231.2

BP and Pulse: 115/72, 76

GMI: 7.2, Glucose level:142 @ 0400, Three day Average: 162

Finger Prick:

Reported Sleep: 5:01

Yesterday's Steps: 3,305

Journal Entry:

Come Follow Me:

1 Kings 17:12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.

"It is interesting that Elijah is not told to go to Zarephath until the widow and her son are at the point of death. It is at this extreme moment—facing starvation—that her faith will be tested…

Now doesn’t that sound selfish, asking not just for the first piece, but possibly the only piece? Didn’t our parents teach us to let other people go first and especially for a gentleman to let a lady go first, let alone a starving widow? Her choice—does she eat, or does she sacrifice her last meal and hasten death?…[C]ould she sacrifice the food meant for her starving son?

Elijah understood…that blessings come after the trial of our faith. He wasn’t being selfish…Elijah was there to give, not to take…

One reason the Lord illustrates doctrines with the most extreme circumstances is to eliminate excuses. If the Lord expects even the poorest widow to pay her mite, where does that leave all others who find that it is not convenient or easy to sacrifice?"

Elder Lynn G. Robbins of The Seventy, April  2005

063026, Tuesday

Weight: 231.4

BP and Pulse: 115/78, 74

GMI: 7.1, Glucose level:148 @ 0430, Three day Average: 167

Finger Prick:

Reported Sleep: 7:23 (88)

Yesterday's Steps: 5,851

Journal Entry:

In the Come Follow Me lessons for today, what I'm getting is that today, as well as in Old Testament and Book of Mormon times, there are and were many people attempting to put their own spin on the teachings of the Lord. Some of it is good and some not so good. We need to be careful to stick to what we know are the teachings of our Heavenly Father and we get those with the help of the Holy Ghost from the leaders of today's church exclusively. 

Be careful!

Come Follow Me:

1 Kings 17:5 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

"Even when we do what is right, the circumstances in our life can change from good to bad, from happiness to sadness. God answers our prayers according to His infinite mercy and love and in His own time.

The brook where Elijah drank water dried up…

Circumstances change.

When circumstances change from good and positive to bad and negative, we can still be happy because happiness does not depend on the circumstances but on our attitude toward the circumstances. President Nelson said, “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”

We can sit back and wait for circumstances to change on their own, or we can look for and bring about new circumstances."

Elder Hugo Montoya of The Seventy, October 2022

Mosiah 26:15 Blessed art thou, Alma, and blessed are they who were baptized in the waters of Mormon. Thou art blessed because of thy exceeding faith in the words alone of my servant Abinadi.

16 And blessed are they because of their exceeding faith in the words alone which thou hast spoken unto them.

062926, Monday

Weight: 232.1

BP and Pulse: 122/77, 71

GMI: 7.1, Glucose level:155 @ 0400, Three day Average: 173

Finger Prick:159

Reported Sleep: 5:56 (65)

Yesterday's Steps: 8,431

Journal Entry:

Come Follow Me:

1 Kings 12: 28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

"Jeroboam’s plan to rule the kingdom involved a mixture of good and evil. He established Shechem as the nation’s capital, a city of great religious significance to his people. But sadly he introduced satanic rituals into their worship.

Jeroboam convinced himself that some of God’s commandments were not applicable to him. As a result of his actions, all of his descendants were slain, and because of the heathen practices he had introduced into their sacred ordinances, the ten tribes of Israel were eventually driven from their inheritance.

...[O]ur partial or selective compliance with God’s laws will fail to bring the full blessings of obedience."

Elder Bruce A. Carlson of The Seventy, April 2010

062826, Sunday

Weight: 230.3

BP and Pulse: 129/84, 71

GMI: 7.0, Glucose level:149 @ 0410, Three day Average: 167

Finger Prick:

Reported Sleep: 6:11 (75)

Yesterday's Steps: 6,103

Journal Entry:

Come Follow Me:

1 Kings 11:9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,

10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.

"Are we serving priorities or gods ahead of the God we profess to worship? Have we forgotten to follow the Savior who taught that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments? If so, our priorities have been turned upside down by the spiritual apathy and undisciplined appetites so common in our day."

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Apostle