I know I posted a comment about this on my last post, but I wanted to make it an official blog post topic for today. We have been the recipients of a miracle, the likes of which we never would have been able to believe had it not happened to us personally.
Today (the 16th) is my 30th birthday. Since my wife's nephew and I share a birthday, Amy's family has habitually visited me for my birthday the night before my special day. And so, yesterday night (the 15th), they did visit us.
We appreciated their visit. We have not been around them a lot lately because health has prevented it. But their visit brought us much needed comfort.
As if that weren't enough, I was beyond grateful for the many prayers and expressions of love and support we have received. We have been the recipients of a Christmas miracle for which I at least am most unworthy. The details aren't important. But suffice it to say that, thanks to things happening the way they did, we will be more than okay throughout the rest of this month, until I get my next check from the government. Our Christmas miracle, such as it was, was a direct answer to our prayers, and we will be forever grateful for the reminder that the Lord does hear and answers prayers. And sometimes, those answers come in the least expected way.
Maybe it's not much by the standards of others, but it means the world to us. And the really amazing thing about the whole situation is that the Lord has always seemed to know whenever we do need the help. I have been bailed out of situations created by my own stupidity and poor choices more than I can count. We wish we didn't, need such miracles, but we are grateful that the Lord knows our needs and meets them in miraculous and unexpected ways.
I am eternally and everlastingly grateful for this additional witness and confirmation to us that the Lord is very much aware of our situation, and, in His mercy, He always sends what we need when we need it. I am humbled and overwhelmed. I feel we can truly say, as have so many others in the past, that God is in His heaven, and all is right with the world.
Thanks to all who have so willingly offered help and prayers in our behalf. We appreciate it more than we can ever express. We hope that, at some point, the Lord will bless us to the point where we can pay it forward and do for others what has been so willingly done for us. Thanks again.
Friday, December 16, 2016
We have been the recipients of a miracle
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Prayers would be appreciated
Hey guys! I know of a few of you, my readers, who have expressed sympathy and promised to send prayers our way as a result of the health problems my wife and I are both having. But I wanted to put out a request for prayers in our behalf for an additional reason.
Due to some very imprudent and downright stupid financial decisions I have recently made, we are in deep trouble. Most of the problem has been the result of our December Tithing and Fast Offerings somehow being processed twice through the online system. That was a bad enough problem. But we also were dropped from what dental coverage we had, and I got us set up with a new dental plan. Ordinarily, that would not be a problem. But being the naive and rather stupid person I have always been when it comes to impulsive financial decisions, I somehow neglected to consider our lack of resources and arranged for automatic payments from my bank account this month. Because I forgot to delay the start of our coverage until next month when we would have the resources to cover it, and because I had neglected to tell my wife that an automatic payment would be processed from our account, when the payment came through today, it resulted in our maxing out anything we had left of our already meager resources.
I am disgusted with myself for my stupidity, imprudence, and idiocy. The result of my folly is that we have absolutely nothing left for the holidays. So instead of spoiling my wife as I hoped to do, I have to wait to do that until next month.
It seems we are always impoverished beyond belief round about Christmastime each year. I think it was my first year blogging that, in response to my post about our financial destitution, someone anonymously sent us enough money to get us through the holidays to my next paycheck in January. I would love nothing more than to find that another Christmas miracle of that sort bails us out. But I have a notoriously bad habit of not doing nearly enough to keep us in good financial condition, make imprudent financial decisions, and then expect someone to bail us out of a situation that is solely and completely my fault and doing. I can't do that anymore.
Thankfully, we may be okay. I signed us up for food assistance with the state a long time ago, and my monthly allowance for that comes tomorrow. And in the meantime, if we do need anything, we do have access to funds from a PayPal credit line my wife was able to get for us solely on the basis of her good credit history. This will help us get what we need for the holidays. As for my own credit history, it's been tanked by the fact that I applied for and was given a line of credit with my bank, but have struggled to get it paid off. In fact, because we haven't been able to pay it off and have had to withdraw any such payment right back out again within days of putting it in, my bank doesn't have enough faith in my ability to pay it back and won't grant an extension of those resources.
My unemployed status and the fact that I get less than $800 dollars per month from the government does not lend itself to paying off our continually increasing amount of debt, including the Paypal. We just get anything partially paid off only to find ourselves increasing our use of these resources. And now, with the holidays approaching, we will once again have to tighten our belts.
I am just brutally honest enough to admit that most, if not all, of our problems stem from my financial imprudence and from the fact that I didn't work nearly as hard as I should have to retain the first and only job I've ever had, and that I have been too ill lately to look for another job, let alone actually working one. I feel in so many ways as though I am constantly running up a brick wall. And it doesn't help the hopelessness of my situation to realize and acknowledge that my wife is suffering the most from what amounts to my lack of a sufficiently committed work ethic, and my continual selfishness in believing and asserting that I am too sick to work another job, assuming I could even find one with any degree of sufficient swiftness. This is especially true in light of the fact that my wife almost risked her own life just to keep us going by working the only job she could get for the first two years of our marriage.
For all I have made her suffer through for the entirety of our marriage, and especially for the enormity of my most recent blunders, I think that I despise myself. And it absolutely kills me to realize that, not for the first time, my wife won't get a proper Christmas until January at the earliest, thanks to my stupidity and lack of foresight.
Because of all of this, in addition to the health issues we both are suffering which I outlined in that previous post done in the very early hours of this morning, prayers are desperately needed and would be so very much more appreciated than I can ever express or show. Thanks for your readership, interest, support, and prayers.
Due to some very imprudent and downright stupid financial decisions I have recently made, we are in deep trouble. Most of the problem has been the result of our December Tithing and Fast Offerings somehow being processed twice through the online system. That was a bad enough problem. But we also were dropped from what dental coverage we had, and I got us set up with a new dental plan. Ordinarily, that would not be a problem. But being the naive and rather stupid person I have always been when it comes to impulsive financial decisions, I somehow neglected to consider our lack of resources and arranged for automatic payments from my bank account this month. Because I forgot to delay the start of our coverage until next month when we would have the resources to cover it, and because I had neglected to tell my wife that an automatic payment would be processed from our account, when the payment came through today, it resulted in our maxing out anything we had left of our already meager resources.
I am disgusted with myself for my stupidity, imprudence, and idiocy. The result of my folly is that we have absolutely nothing left for the holidays. So instead of spoiling my wife as I hoped to do, I have to wait to do that until next month.
It seems we are always impoverished beyond belief round about Christmastime each year. I think it was my first year blogging that, in response to my post about our financial destitution, someone anonymously sent us enough money to get us through the holidays to my next paycheck in January. I would love nothing more than to find that another Christmas miracle of that sort bails us out. But I have a notoriously bad habit of not doing nearly enough to keep us in good financial condition, make imprudent financial decisions, and then expect someone to bail us out of a situation that is solely and completely my fault and doing. I can't do that anymore.
Thankfully, we may be okay. I signed us up for food assistance with the state a long time ago, and my monthly allowance for that comes tomorrow. And in the meantime, if we do need anything, we do have access to funds from a PayPal credit line my wife was able to get for us solely on the basis of her good credit history. This will help us get what we need for the holidays. As for my own credit history, it's been tanked by the fact that I applied for and was given a line of credit with my bank, but have struggled to get it paid off. In fact, because we haven't been able to pay it off and have had to withdraw any such payment right back out again within days of putting it in, my bank doesn't have enough faith in my ability to pay it back and won't grant an extension of those resources.
My unemployed status and the fact that I get less than $800 dollars per month from the government does not lend itself to paying off our continually increasing amount of debt, including the Paypal. We just get anything partially paid off only to find ourselves increasing our use of these resources. And now, with the holidays approaching, we will once again have to tighten our belts.
I am just brutally honest enough to admit that most, if not all, of our problems stem from my financial imprudence and from the fact that I didn't work nearly as hard as I should have to retain the first and only job I've ever had, and that I have been too ill lately to look for another job, let alone actually working one. I feel in so many ways as though I am constantly running up a brick wall. And it doesn't help the hopelessness of my situation to realize and acknowledge that my wife is suffering the most from what amounts to my lack of a sufficiently committed work ethic, and my continual selfishness in believing and asserting that I am too sick to work another job, assuming I could even find one with any degree of sufficient swiftness. This is especially true in light of the fact that my wife almost risked her own life just to keep us going by working the only job she could get for the first two years of our marriage.
For all I have made her suffer through for the entirety of our marriage, and especially for the enormity of my most recent blunders, I think that I despise myself. And it absolutely kills me to realize that, not for the first time, my wife won't get a proper Christmas until January at the earliest, thanks to my stupidity and lack of foresight.
Because of all of this, in addition to the health issues we both are suffering which I outlined in that previous post done in the very early hours of this morning, prayers are desperately needed and would be so very much more appreciated than I can ever express or show. Thanks for your readership, interest, support, and prayers.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Temple Construction Progress Update
Because it was my mom's birthday today, and also because my older sister and her family, who have been in St. Kitts and Nevis for the last couple of years while her husband (my brother-in-law) attended an accelerated medical school program, surprised us by arriving back in town in time to celebrate her birthday, it wasn't until now that I had a chance to do my first daily reading of the Church websites. When I checked LDS Church Temples, much to my surprise and great delight, mammoth progress was reported on most of the temples under construction, undergoing renovation, or announced. It has therefore become necessary for me to post today with an updated version of my temple construction progress report.
Before I do so, there are two particular changes upon which I am happy to report: The Jordan River Utah temple, originally listed as having its extensive renovation completed by the end of next year, is now predicted to either be complete then or, if not then, during the early part of 2018. I will keep an eye on that and let you know any further developments as I hear of them. In the meantime, given what is happening with the Arequipa Peru and Rio de Janeiro Brazil temples, I feel confident enough to have reversed them in the listed order in which their future groundbreakings may take place.
That said, here's my new report. As always, please let me know in the comments below if you have any feedback of any kind.
Before I do so, there are two particular changes upon which I am happy to report: The Jordan River Utah temple, originally listed as having its extensive renovation completed by the end of next year, is now predicted to either be complete then or, if not then, during the early part of 2018. I will keep an eye on that and let you know any further developments as I hear of them. In the meantime, given what is happening with the Arequipa Peru and Rio de Janeiro Brazil temples, I feel confident enough to have reversed them in the listed order in which their future groundbreakings may take place.
That said, here's my new report. As always, please let me know in the comments below if you have any feedback of any kind.
Temple Construction Progress Report
(current as of 12/14/16)
Current Temple Status: 155 operating; 1 scheduled
for dedication; 11 under construction; 1 scheduled for rededication; 2
undergoing renovation; 10 announced;
(NOTE: Up to 3
additional temples may soon have a groundbreaking announced).
Dedication scheduled:
156. Paris
France Temple: Interior work underway; open house and dedication dates
announced; scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday
May 21, 2017.
Under Construction:
157. Meridian Idaho
Temple: Exterior lighting tests underway; welcome center reopens in stake
center; completion anticipated sometime in late 2017.
158. Cedar City Utah
Temple: Fencing progressing; entrance plaza created; garden and
natural landscaping areas defined; completion anticipated
sometime in late 2017.
159. Tucson Arizona
Temple: Plumbing water feature; pouring walkways;
installing fencing; completion anticipated sometime in late
2017.
160. Rome Italy Temple:
Interior work progressing; completion
anticipated sometime in 2018.
161. Concepcion Chile
Temple: Cupola assembly attached to steeple framework; paving main entrance; completion
anticipated sometime in 2018.
162. Kinshasa Democratic
Republic of the Congo Temple: Building
the exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.
163.
Durban South Africa Temple: Pouring temple foundation;
setting rebar for missionary housing walls; palm trees planted along entrance
road; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.
164. Barranquilla
Colombia Temple: Exterior walls rising; completion anticipated sometime between 2018 and 2019.
165.
Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016;
completion anticipated sometime between 2018
and 2019.
166.
Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Concrete
forms going up for second floor exterior walls; completion
anticipated sometime in 2019.
167. Lisbon Portugal Temple:
Laying meetinghouse footings and foundation; excavating for maintenance
building; temple site cleared; completion anticipated sometime in 2019.
Scheduled for rededication:
8. Idaho Falls Idaho
Temple: Closed for renovation; finish work underway; rededication scheduled for
Sunday June 4, 2017.
Undergoing Renovation:
20. Jordan River Utah
Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime between late 2017 and early 2018.
41. Frankfurt Germany
Temple: Closed for renovation; some exterior stone
removed; foundation exposed; old meetinghouse razed; rededication
anticipated sometime in 2018.
Announced:
168.
Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; official
site announcement anticipated in early 2017, with the groundbreaking
anticipated to take place shortly following the site announcement.
169. Rio
de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Governmental approval phase;
preliminary environmental license issued in November 2016; groundbreaking
pending.
170.
Arequipa Peru Temple: General contractor selected; groundbreaking pending.
171. Urdaneta
Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site
announcement.
172. Port-au-Prince
Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
173. Bangkok Thailand
Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
174. Abidjan Ivory
Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
175. Quito Ecuador
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
176. Belem Brazil
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
177. Lima Peru Los
Olivos Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
Key:
Bolded numbers and text denote
temples whose numbers already exists (for renovations), or is certain due to a
scheduled dedication, as well as information that is certain, such as
dedication or groundbreaking dates.
Italicized numbers and
text denote temples whose numbers may change based on the order in
which future dedications and groundbreakings are scheduled.
Underlined numbers and text denote
temples whose numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval,
and groundbreaking.
Red text denotes
changes from the last posted temple progress update.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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