21 June 2018
This week has been so busy. Monday at work went by so fast that I started lunch late, losing track of time.
Sunday was Father's Day. We bought root beer and vanilla ice cream because John Ledesma wanted it. Jessica's mom got some patio furniture. I never imagined hanging out in their balcony. Jasmine and Lucas came, and I hung out with him. Mercedes bought a yellow metal chair set, which I like, because yellow is my favorite color.
Lucas & I always entertain the idea of buying a duplex. Last time I looked at duplex prices, I saw that it was about half a million dollars. It would be a great deal. I thought that this is only for one half of the house initially, but, giving it a second thought, it might not be. Half a million dollars is a lot for a house in Oregon.
Jessica and I have been busy most every evening with her activities. I have been using my time to prepare my lesson for my Valiant 8 Primary Class. I plan to testify of Jesus Christ. Of course. It has been my theme; although, I am teaching Old Testament content. The Old Testament almost never speaks of him directly as everything testifies of him. Jehovah is the premortal name of Jesus Christ.
Nephi wrote: “… all things which have been given of God … unto man, are the typifying of him.” (2 Ne. 11:14).
24 June 2018
My lesson went well. Jessica had to join me because Brother Kuhn felt sick. This morning I review my lesson on my tablet, finding that it was not saved.
I related several doctrines. I like to customize my lessons. The lesson was a Sabbath lesson because the Israelites lived off manna for forty years as the journeyed. I didn't just want to teach a Sabbath day lesson not relating it to bread. I used the following scriptures in the lesson:
Exodus 16:1 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
4 ¶ Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
Why did God have the Israelites gather double the food on the sixth day?
Bread of Life: Christ
John 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
How is Jesus the Bread of Life?
Sacrament
JST John 26:22 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and brake it, and blessed it, and gave to his disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is in remembrance of my body which I give a ransom for you.
Holy Ghost
3 Nephi 20:8 And he said unto them: He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled. 9 Now, when the multitude had all eaten and drunk, behold, they were filled with the Spirit; and they did cry out with one voice, and gave glory to Jesus, whom they both saw and heard
How does the Holy Ghost fill us?
Covenant
Exodus 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
Why is your baptismal covenant important?
Perpetual: never ending or changing
The Sacrament is a perpetual covenant.
Eternal Life
John 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
What is eternal life?
This actually was my lesson plan. I was surprised that I was not rushed, and I completed it during my hour to teach.
Jesus Christ is the bread of life because his atoning sacrifice provides the means for everlasting life as the manna sustained the life of the Israelites during their journey.
The bread in the sacrament or communion is symbolic of Jesus Christ's torn flesh, reminding us of him. This deep symbolism is awesome.
I believe in the high carb diet at I wrote in last week’s entry. The bread is filling unlike other foods that I will write about.
The Holy Ghost fills us with joy, comfort, and love. One thing that I pointed out is that people feel empty without the gift of the Holy Ghost. Its duty to testify and teach us truth is fulfilling too. We feel whole when we learn the fullness of the Gospel.
The Israelites depended of Heavenly Father for daily manna as our covenants are renewed weekly by partaking of the sacrament. We depend on Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, the bread of life symbolized in the broken bread of the ordinance, for the spiritual sustentation of our covenants that the promises and commitments may be fulfilled.
The promise of the covenant is eternal life, if we endure to the end, living the restored gospel of Christ. We ought to labor for the bread of life that sustains us for eternity rather than a few hours. Eternal Life is an eternal family. We spoke about the work of the millennium to perform the ordinance work of temples that all mankind will be part of the covenant people. The fruits of each family can be eternal with an eternal posterity. Is this not eternal joy?
The food that I was going to write about, which is not filling is cold cereal. Last Friday night we were too lazy to go grocery shopping, prepare food, or go out to eat. We ended up eating practically all of Jessica’s oat squares, confirming once again my theory on the product. Milk and cereal companies have developed a culture in America to eat a food that feels like it is never going to fill you, and the cereal needs the milk to soften the crunchy crispy mouth shredding texture. Cereal also has the convenient attribute of absorbing a lot of milk further perpetuating the consumption of milk and cereal. I don't think that cereal is a wholesome food. I did not feel full of food after dinner Friday. I felt more like full of milk. Jessica likes it though. I rarely eat cereal. I have been eating oatmeal for the past fifteen years.
Last night we watched Ladyhawke. It is good chick and guy flick. The story is not predictable, and the characters are well developed. I appreciated the actors’ reaction to death. This is missing in modern films. It was produced in the 80's.
1 July 2018
This past week I have been focusing my evenings on updating my passive income website; alexycles.com. There seems to be a good amount of content there. Jessica seems hesitant to buy a GoPro for my cycling adventures.
A Mormon YouTuber named Shannon Gurr, creatively giving herself the account name of shgurr, is an animator. She has inspired me to draw again. I don't have a drawing tablet, but I have a tablet. I downloaded AutoDesk Sketchbook. I seem to set myself up, and I am ready to draw. I think that I can animate my cycling stories. My wife gave me a pen a long time ago with a tip for writing a phones or tablets. I was surprised that found the pen in seconds after starting to look for it.
AutoDesk Sketchbook looks like the best sketching app for Android, but I am just getting back into drawing. I mainly want to use it because I don't have to deal with purchasing so many different art supplies. I don't have to sharpen my pencil, or maintain other color medium. The app has many different mark utensils and mediums. I look forward to experimenting. I love being creative again.
Romrik Flores, the Moroni Channel founder, asked me if I have content to post on his channel. Since I have been converting my segments of journal to posts for alexycles.com. I felt productive enough to convert my segments of journal to articles for the Moroni Channel. I submitted the following paragraphs for the article:
"Hi. I am Alex Hicken, the founder of the Mormon YSA Blog Spot. My current calling is to teach Valiant 8 in the Primary, the Sunday School Education System for Children of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I plan to testify of Jesus Christ in each lesson. It has been my theme; although, I am teaching Old Testament content. The Old Testament almost never speaks of him directly as everything testifies of him. Jehovah is the premortal name of Jesus Christ. I hope that this article brings some clarity to how the Old Testament testifies of Christ; although, it does not mention the word “Christ” in the literature. Nephi wrote: “… all things which have been given of God … unto man, are the typifying of him.” (2 Ne. 11:14).
I related several doctrines in my lesson to teach a revelation that I had recently. I like to customize my lessons, following the purpose and the content of the manual, but I don't necessarily follow the suggestions of the manual.
The lesson was a Sabbath Day Lesson because the Israelites lived off manna for forty years as the journeyed. I didn't just want to teach a Sabbath day lesson without relating it to bread, since I had that revelation. I used the following scriptures in the lesson:
"And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. ¶ Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily." (Exodus 16:1-5)
Why did God have the Israelites gather double the food on the sixth day? They collected a second day's worth of food to observe the Sabbath more fully on the seventh day.
The following paragraphs will address the several doctrines related to manna and bread and how it applies today: Bread of Life, Covenants, Sacrament, Holy Ghost, and Eternal Life. Before I start on that I am going to insert the definition of Manna from the Bible Dictionary, so people will more fully understand what I am talking about.
"It is impossible to find any natural product that will answer to the requirements of the scriptural narrative in regard to this heavensent food. With regard to the name, we are told (Ex. 16:15) that the people, seeing the small scale-like substance, said one to another, “Man-hu,” “For they wist not what it was.” This also translates “What is it?” See Ex. 16:31–35; Num. 11:7–9; Josh. 5:12; John 6:31–32; 1 Cor. 10:1–4; Heb. 9:4; Rev. 2:17." (The entry for Manna in the Bible Dictionary of the standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cannon scripture)
Bread of Life
Jesus Christ is the bread of life because his atoning sacrifice provides the means for everlasting life as the manna sustained the life of the Israelites during their journey. John the Beloved quoted Christ in the sixth chapter of an epistle of his, writing the following segment:
"Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (John 6:31-35)
How is Jesus the Bread of Life? As man would die physically without food so would man die spiritually without Jesus Christ's atonement. In order to be given eternal life, one must repent after obtaining faith on him by revelation; then, man must join his people by taking upon them the covenant of baptism.
Covenant
A covenant is a binding promise with God, where we promise obedience to his commands, in order to be given eternal life. The Israelites depended on Heavenly Father for daily manna to sustain them temporally; however, the bread of the sacrament ordinance sustains our covenants, renewing them weekly. Exodus 31 verse 16 expresses "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant." Perpetual means never ending or changing, and the Sacrament is a perpetual covenant.
The Sacrament
The bread in the sacrament or communion is symbolic of Jesus Christ's torn flesh, reminding us of him. This deep symbolism is awesome. Joseph Smith's translation of John 26:22 is "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and brake it, and blessed it, and gave to his disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is in remembrance of my body which I give a ransom for you." Ransom means "a sum of money or other payment demanded or paid for the release of a prisoner." Every man were all held captive by Satan until Jesus broke the bands of death. Another promise in the sacramental prayers is "that they may always have his Spirit to be with them."
Holy Ghost
Bread and food are filling, and the Holy Ghost fills us with joy, comfort, and love. One thing that I pointed out in my lesson is that people feel empty without the gift of the Holy Ghost. Its duty to testify and teach us truth is fulfilling too. We feel whole when we learn and apply the fullness of the Gospel. The gift of Holy Ghost is the second part of the baptismal covenant called "Confirmation," where people are given the Holy Ghost. The following scripture was planned to be read in my lesson: "And he said unto them: He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled." (3 Nephi 20:8)
Eternal Life
Eternal Life is the final doctrine that I addressed because it is the purpose of everything, reading the following scripture in John chapter 6 verse 27: "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed." The promise of the covenant is eternal life, if we endure to the end, living the restored gospel of Christ. We ought to labor for the bread of life that sustains us for eternity rather than food that sustains man for a few hours. Eternal Life is an eternal family. We spoke about the work of the millennium to perform the ordinance work that all mankind will be part of covenant people in temples. The fruits of each family can be eternal with an eternal posterity. Is this not eternal joy?
I hope that this article is a testimony that God does exist and that he communicates to man. This communication is called revelation. Faith in Christ is based on revelation, a knowledge of him. God has given many revelations as this article is an explanation of one. If you don't believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the true way to happiness with God and family for mortality and immortality, please receive this plea. Read the Book of Mormon from the very first page to the last chapter. This book is the Keystone of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, holding the arch of the entrance to the kingdom strong and together. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God restored on Earth. As you read the Book of Mormon, heed to the words therein especially the last chapter's invitation to pray."
I composed this yesterday.
On our monthly date on the nineteenth, which is the date that Jessica and I got married. We went to the Grand Central Bakery. Their sandwiches are not filling. I wanted to taste their most original dish. The cashier recommend a bread with olives; then, he recommend the Mediterranean Melt. I did not like this recommendation because it tasted like a pizza in a different format. We had to purchase seconds. My second sandwich was a lot more enjoyable. The bread is cut very thin. If I had a bakery, I would let my customers choose the calorie size of the meal, adjusting the thickness of the slice of bread.
Yesterday I was finally able to finish assembling my Ikea dresser that we bought about two months ago. Lucas and Jasmine came over with a drill that I need. We were able to finish in less than twenty minutes. It looks nice.
More than two years ago I purchased an augmented reality glasses from a company called LaForge Optics. I heard of the company about a year previous to my purchase. The purchase was similar to a Kickstarter product. It actually started as a Kickstarter, but the CEO, Corey Macker, unlisted it because he did not want to be stuck with a vision that he pitched to an audience, which was not developed well. LaForge has been working on releasing their alpha program to their customers, since I remember. They are finally producing them at a fifty per week. About six months ago LaForge Optics offered a pair of free glasses as a token of their appreciation.There was a catch though. I could not ask for a refund, if I consented to this gift. I usually got an update from the LaForge Optics once a month or so. I did not receive any updates after this email.
4 July 2018
I emailed them, asking for an estimated time arrival within two weeks. I got a reply, saying that the glasses are in customs. I was not convinced that they are actually getting the shipment, asking for more transparency. I wanted more information on when the shipment arrived. My second email told them to shut down their operation, if they will never deliver. It was starting to feel fraudulent. The glasses finally arrived on Monday. They are not augmented reality, but something is embedded in the right lense. The CEO uploaded a video to YouTube, sending it to me in an email that the transparency of the company has been published on their blog. I think that it was odd that I was not emailed the new blog posts. The thing in the lense is not uncomfortable for myself or other people around me. This is one thing that the CEO wanted to assess.
This is actually the second pair of glasses that LaForge gave me. I emailed the CEO, saying that my glasses were broken. I asked if he could send me a pair of glasses, since I am waiting for the alpha pair of glasses and purchased it. The CEO is actually very nice. He called me last Sunday because the glasses were shipped to my old address in Rexburg. I was asked to send him the receipt for paying for the interception of the package rerouting it to Multnomah Village in Portland.
Today Jessica and I are celebrating the establishment of the United States of America with my in-laws, including Jasmine, Lucas, Mercedes, and John. We were planning to go to see the Tigard Parade, but we got caught up in our kabob supper, missing it. We are waiting for the fireworks in the Tigard High School Football Field. The Tualatin Valley Community Band is currently playing for the children's sack races.
Since I caught up on my journal, I was able begin to practicing drawing as I hoped. My drawing is a still life of my hat. AutoDesk Sketchbook is very intuitive to learn. One thing that I found curious is that I think that I reached the limit of how many marks that I could make with a pencil. I had to switch mediums to finish it. The drawing is not complete, but I am done with the exercise.
5 July 2018
Making some sketches to explain construction ideas to Jessica, I realized that my pencil medium quit working because I adjusted the thickness of the pencil to be so thin that my marks can't be seen.
This week Jessica and I began practicing more zero waste applications. We bought the following products to reduce our consumption of non-biodegradable waste products: toilet paper, floss, tooth brush, body wash, shampoo, shaving razor, and cotton mesh grocery shopping bags. Zero waste has several principles. The five Rs are Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot. Refuse refers to the beginning the discipline to stop purchasing products designed to be thrown away especially the ones that will practically never biodegrade. Rot mean the actually practice biodegrading by composting. Zero Waste is not about recycling more, but the higher standard is to use reusable products, reducing your dependency on consumable products. Jessica used to love using paper towels to clean, but we purchased many rags instead of purchasing paper towels regularly. We have been practicing these principles for a long time, but we are deciding to apply the principles to more things.
The practices that we finally implemented are mostly not a frugal subscription.
The toilet paper comes from "Who gives a crap." The material of their product comes from completely recycled products, and it doesn't come in plastic packaging.
The floss that we purchase comes in biodegradable packaging and form. The floss is produced by "Dental Lace."
Our tooth brushes are wooden. I think that it is odd that the complete product is not compostable. The manufacture is named "Brush with Bamboo." The user of the product is instructed to pluck the bristles with pliers for recycling.
Jessica bought "Tom's of Maine" toothpaste because they will reuse the tube if we send it back.
Our shampoo, conditioner, and body wash comes from "Plaine Products". The ingredients are all natural, and the container is not disposed of; however, the company refills it. The refills are not free unlike soda. It is actually expensive. They pay for shipping though to return the metal container. We went with Plaine because it would be a pain to purchase all of the ingredients for the many soap recipes.
The cotton mesh grocery bags are to replace the ever increasing amount of plastic bags. One apartment on my mission literally had all the kitchen drawers full of plastic bags because the previous residence did not have the guts to throw them away. These cotton mesh bags avoids the situation all together. They are made by "Simple Ecology.''
The shaving razor is metal, coming with razors that can be reused by the manufacture when the consumer is done with them. It is manufactured by "Albatross."
8 July 2018
Last weekend we finished assembling our Ikea dresser, and this weekend we started a new Ikea project. It is the assembly of a sleeper couch. When we purchased it, we were told to go to another warehouse. The size of the boxes were too big for the car, so we had to drive back to set up the delivery.
On the fourth of July, we watched Sandlot, and I will tell you my review of it. The category of the movie is the one, where the producers sell their morals to Hollywood to make a popular movie. The movie expresses an attitude that viewing Playboy is cool, and chewing tobacco is cool as well. It also displays that sexual assault is acceptable. Other than these inexcusable content that can easily be removed. The characters are well developed. The story is great, and the story telling is incredible. I would not recommend anyone to watch it.
Cleaning the apartment yesterday.
I am going to write an article that I am inspired to write from my co-teacher’s lesson today. His lesson is not too the point, and he likes to cover a lot of history. It supposed to be on the Ten Commandments, but he explained the story of Abraham as he was commanded to sacrifice his only begotten son. This article will relate the symbolism of Abraham’s sacrifice to Heavenly Father’s sacrifice.
Since the Old Testament never mentions Jesus Christ in the text, I like to testify of Christ by relating that all prophets are a similitude of God. The reason that I do this is because every covenant person commits witness of Christ. I don’t want the children to feel that the Old Testament or Sunday school does not teach of Christ. Most prophets are a similitude of the son, but Abraham had the rare life, being a similitude of Heavenly Father. Abraham is known for his covenant with Jehovah, the premortal name of Jesus Christ, that he will be the father of many nations. The following scriptural versus in Jacob chapter four is a scriptural expression that parts of Abraham’s life is a similitude of God:
“Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son.” (Jacob 4: 5)
Brother Kuhn is my co-teacher, and he is a great story teller. Telling the story of Abraham’s sacrifice, he related Abraham’s thoughts of sorrow that he had to sacrifice his only begotten son in the flesh. He was promised to be father of many nations. The commandment seems to contradict his covenant as his wife’s conception of Isaac in the first place was a miracle, since she is barren. The story can be found in Genesis chapter twenty-two. I have extracted the story for your review as the following quotation:
“And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.” Genesis 22: 1-19
The symbolism in Abraham’s test is easy to see that Heavenly Father is in a similar situation as he can only have one begotten son, and he needed to sacrifice him; however, there is a deeper meaning to the similitude of Abraham to Heavenly Father, which I tried to explain to the children.
Both Heavenly Father and Abraham are promised that they will be father of many nations. They both have one son that they are depending on to fulfill that promise; however, Abraham’s promise is manifested in his posterity and mortality while Heavenly Father’s promise is manifested spiritually in the resurrection of man. They are both are commanded to sacrifice their son, and they both fulfilled the commandment. If Jesus Christ was not sacrificed, Heavenly Father could not be the father of many nations, since all his spirit children would never be resurrected. Heavenly Father’s sacrifice of his only begotten son in the flesh was necessary for his posterity to live immortally. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17)
I testify that God is the father of your spirit, and he desires that you communicate with him, hoping that it will be in the most sacred reverence that a Heavenly Father should expect. His love is beyond any patriarchal love expressed on Earth. He wants to hear of your concerns, desires, worries, and gratitude. He will grant you of your righteous desires. He appeared to Joseph Smith with Jesus Christ to call him as a prophet to restore the gospel after the priesthood was lost in the Great Apostasy. We are commanded to pray in the name of Jesus Christ, for he is the mediator and our advocate to the Father.
I started looking at my transcript of my science fiction book; however, my second paragraph turns into first person of the main character. I need to avoid that.
10 July 2018
On Sunday night for family prayer, I asked Google to tell me how to say 'kneel' in Thai. I heard Ku Kai at first as Jessica heard Ku Kow. I confirmed with my mother the pronunciation, and Jessica was right. This is my first experience being tone-deaf. I hear Ku Kow now from Google, but I should double check with Jessica, if I am hearing it right. I make feeble attempts to learn Thai.
Another thing happened on Sunday night, we practiced teaching the first discussion with the sister missionaries. I had a hard time deciding how to begin, but once I did; it went well. Jessica's input was too simple, but she concluded the lesson well.
Last night for Family Home Evening, we decided on our lesson plan. We were asked to share the blessing of Temple Marriage, and how we prepared for it to the senior primary sharing time. I decided to say that the Temple Marriage covenant is the way to obtain faith that Jessica and I will be sealed together with our children for all eternity. I decided to teach that practicing self-reliance is how I prepared for marriage. Children can practice self-reliance by cleaning up after themselves, taking care of the body, and helping cook. No one is going to do this for you when you grow up. We have been working on this for a few weeks now. The short time given to us to address the children requires precise planning.
13 July 2018
I haven't felt competitive for a while. Recovering from a fear of getting passed by cyclists, who have gear bikes, I stood before Terwilliger Blvd. One came, & I asked myself 'How far could I go without him passing me?' I was passed eventually after a few miles, learning that I can stay ahead; although, I have a fixed gear bicycle. Just don't let up. I was able to keep ahead for all of Terwilliger Boulevard, but he passed me on Capitol Highway. Maybe I shouldn't be hard on myself because I waited at a couple stoplights for a while.
15 July 2018
Yesterday I cleaned the house to prepare to receive our new sleeper sofa from Ikea. They came about 1:30 pm. I immediately invited Lucas and Jasmine over to help, since it arrived at a good time. Lucas is my right hand man, coming with a bunch of handy tools that sped up the process. The assembly was a lot more simple and quick than expected. There is storage space in it to put blankets and pillows. The dimensions of the bed are not typical, so I used a queen size fitted sheet that has stretched out a little bit, which worked great for our first night.
This week I started an art project. I am starting to get into drawing by practicing still objects. My first drawing was a hat, which is not very good. My second drawing is a cross training pair of Nike shoes. It looks a lot better than my first. I am going to redo the left side, since it looks flat.
