Look familiar? Strangely familiar like you've been there before? Well, this is the chapel of the Avalon Ward we will be attending in Mesa. The guy at the pulpit is the 2nd counselor in the bishopric. They cute boys? I guess Haley and Robyn will have to learn their names! I'm not so good with names... Anyway, I was wondering what you all learned at church today? I guess you didn't read my instructions in my last post. So, you all have to tell me something you learned at church today. I had a great time at church and actually took notes during the meetings so I could reflect back on what I heard and impressions I had. I think it helped me to pay attention a lot more. Anyway, I learned a new nickname that Jesus used for two of his apostles. Did you know Jesus gave out nicknames? I guess I'd never noticed, but he called James and John (as in Peter, James and John), the "Sons of Thunder". They were filled with great zeal in following the Lord, and were men of action. When a Samaritan village refused to let Jesus and His disciples pass through on their way to Jerusalem, they wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy the city. I guess you didn't want to get on their bad side!! Anyway, it is nice to learn things like that about the savior, to know he had nicknames for people. It makes him more personable to me and helps me to realize that although he loved a perfect life, he probably had a warmth and personality to him that made others around him feel his love for them. Also, during testimony meeting, many of the members talked about how they had been asked to plead, read, act, and record daily. I liked this idea. I don't know exactly the whole idea, but what I gathered was this is a simple formula to keep our focus on eternal things. Plead would be to pray in the morning for things we would like to or need strength to accomplish, read refers to our scriptures, act in faith throughout the day and look for instances where God plays a direct roll in your life, and record what happened throughout the day in your journal. The act of recording this will help you to see what happened throughout the day in terms of eternal significance. It's a good idea. Maybe this blog will be a part of my recording for the day!! Anyway, I love you all and miss you very much! I hope you have a great day tomorrow! Hope you can stay warm!!!! Love, Dad

p.s. I wrote this yesterday, but for some reason, there was no internet connection, so I couldn't post this until this morning!