From Bristol to Boise with Faith

  Grandmother's Flower Garden First eight blocks

  Doctrine & Covenants 124:49 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might and with  all they have to perform that work, and cease not their  diligence ⁠, and their enemies come upon them and  hinder  them from performing that work, behold, it behooveth me to  require  that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings.”

 This week’s winner is Shawn. The original map: Shawn's interpretive creativity: Runner up is Amy. This is the map: And Amy's intrepretive image:

  Close as a Quiet Prayer Tabernacle Choir At Temple Square

While preparing for a test to determine if my cancer is genetic, I talked to my sister Julie. She knows our family cancer history better than anyone. It was sobering to learn how many of my family members have been affected by cancer.

According to my oncologist: Cancer loves sugar. Eating healthy and exercising is part of what I can do to fight my cancer.

  From Jonathan. The inventor of the heat index recently celebrated a birthday. He was 88, but felt like 107. From Amy Where did the IT guy go? He probably ransomeware. From Andrew

  I am grateful for our children and their involvement in our lives. They are taking this cancer journey with us. Paul started recording our walks on his Apple Watch which creates a map of each of our walks.  We have shared these maps with our children and they draw pictures from them.  Because our neighborhood paths were being resurfaced, we had some unusual maps this week. For Lachlan.  He made me laugh this week when he told his Grandpa that watermelon tastes like chicken. We got approval from the HOA architectural board to build a pergola over our back patio. Greg Mower is beginning to build it this week.  Having a covered patio on these hot summer afternoons will be a blessing.  Our backyard faces west.  Because of some of my medication, I have to avoid being in full sunlight. I made it through Thursday’s appointments.  We arrived at the CIC at 7:15 a.m. and left at 2:15 p.m.  I had a blood draw, met with my oncologist and then had a 3.5...

Elder Gérald Caussé April 2025 General Conference “My dear friends, if you ever feel limited or disadvantaged by the circumstances of your life, I want you to know this: The Lord loves you personally. He knows your circumstances, and the door to His blessings remains wide open to you no matter the challenges you face. When circumstances beyond our control prevent us from fulfilling the righteous desires of our hearts, the Lord will compensate in ways that allow us to receive His promised blessings.”

As I sat awaiting my appointment with the oncologist, I was very nervous.  I knew he would have my blood results and I would learn if my body was responding to the treatment. I said a quiet prayer asking for strength and immediately felt comforted and calm.

  Am I grateful that I am battling cancer? No.    Maybe one day I will look back on this time and my heart will be filled with gratitude that I got to have cancer. However, today I have to choose to follow the counsel given in the following scripture.   Mosiah 26:39 “And they did admonish their brethren; and they were also  admonished ⁠ , everyone by the word of God, according to his sins, or to the sins which he had committed, being commanded of God to  pray  without ceasing, and to give  thanks  in all things. ”   Praying without ceasing has become second nature during this battle. Giving thanks in all things has not. The habit of making daily gratitude lists has been critical to my experience.   Sometimes my list is very short. For example: “I am grateful that I have less pain today than I did yesterday.”  However, one pattern has become clear to me over the past eleven weeks. If I focus on Heavenly Father’s Pl...

Doris began Cycle 2 of her treatment on Thursday. This cycle will have only one infusion, which was on Thursday. She will continue with her first prescription of oral chemo pills - the first of two prescriptions she will take. Her next infusion will be on July 25. July 24 will be the first day of Cycle 3, during which she will be adding a second oral chemo pill to he regimen. We really felt celebratory about completing Cycle 1 of treatment. Considering this is projected to be a 24 month treatment, it does not seem too significant. However, because Doris tolerated three courses of infusions, and the twice daily administration of the first chemo pills for 28 days, AND the results seem very promising, we felt encouraged. It is not unusual for treatments to fail to find traction in patients. We are therefore very grateful for the indication in her blood work - the first since she began treatment - that her white blood cell count was normal. The doctor proclaimed that the treatment was wor...