From Inversion to Paradise

Since Utah had a nasty inversion and very cold temperatures earlier this month and since Cheryl had six days off work, she decided she wanted to come to California to "thaw out".  After persuading her friend Amanda (and her two children) to accompany her they hit the road. We love it when Cheryl comes to town.  She likes to go places and do fun things.....like San Diego, where it is even warmer than here in Lancaster.  Cheryl dreams of being sealed in the San Diego Temple, but had not been inside it since the Open House when she was only 10 years old.  Now was her chance to re-visit that temple.  So on January 18th, we drove down there, arriving in the evening. Not being able to wait any longer, Cheryl and I left our hotel to go see it. Alan, recovering from motion sickness, opted to rest instead. The last thing he wanted to do was get back into the car.  I think this is the most beautiful temple I have ever visited (inside and out). I had been inside a few time before, but had forgotten how beautiful it was.

The Celestial Room there is the most beautiful one I have ever seen.  Because it is surrounded by stained glass windows and it was a beautiful sunny day, it was so bright when I entered that I felt like I needed sunglasses.  This stock photo doesn't do it justice.  The spiral staircase is beautiful and leads to a balcony area overlooking the main room.  The ceiling seems to rise up forever.... at least 4 stories tall or even higher.  It is breathtakingly beautiful.  I have decided that not all temples are created equally.  No wonder Cheryl wants to be sealed here.

Alan & Cheryl

Alan & I

After attending a session in the temple, we changed clothes and set out to be "tourists".  We had heard a lot of good things about the Mormon Battalion Museum, but had never visited it.  We were not disappointed. The high-tech presentation was very impressive. 

We even became honorary members of the Mormon Battalion.

Of course, if one is visiting the Old Town portion of San Diego with it's Mexican influence, one must eat lunch at a Mexican restaurant, which is what we did.  No pictures, but I can tell you that the food was delicious.  After lunch we headed to a nearby beach to soak up the sun and relax a little before heading home.  The temps were in the upper 70's -- not bad for January.

Alan and Cheryl walked the pier - a portion of it pictured below.  It is the longest pier I have seen in California (but I haven't really paid attention to most of them).  It took about 20-25 min. for them to walk it.  Perfect time for father & daughter to spend quality time together and get to know each other a little better.

Now that Cheryl is considering moving back to California, I can imagine many other fun outings on the horizon.  Where should we go next?

Tender Mercies

Ever since Elder Bednar gave a talk entitled "The Tender Mercies of the Lord" in the April 2005 session of General Conference, I have tried to be more aware of the many tender mercies afforded me by the Lord in my life.  One thing that has always been uppermost in my mind is how the Lord answers prayers even though some things you ask for may seem trivial.  I have come to the conclusion that if it is important to you, it is important to the Lord.  I recently had an experience with prayer that illustrates that point.  

I have sensitive ears and can't wear cheap earrings or I will get an infection.  I buy only 14 carat gold earrings unless it is something I will only be wearing for a short period of time and even then I need to soak the stems in Neosporin before inserting them in my ears.  Long story short, I am cheap so I only have one set of earrings that I wear almost all the time because they don't irritate my ears.  Unfortunately, I lost one of them.  I looked all over for it, but was unsuccessful.  I couldn't find it anywhere.  I didn't want to have to purchase a new pair, but knew I would have to if I didn't find it.  I had been praying off and on for a couple of days without any success.  I guess a lack of faith led me to the mall on our anniversary where I did end up purchasing another pair.  I almost purchased a pair that looked very similar to the previous pair, but decided on another set, thank goodness.  

As the days passed, I continued to pray that it would be found.  Finally, almost a week after losing it, while I was dressing for Church in my walk-in closet I noticed something shiny on the floor under my hanging clothes.  It was my earring!  I was elated to finally find it.  I was glad that the Lord answered my prayer even though it was a seemingly trivial request.  Now I have two sets I can alternate between instead of just one.  Life is good and the Lord is good for showering tender mercies upon me and my family.  Have you noticed any tender mercies in your life lately?