Yes, Virginia, There Are Still Flowers in England

"And now, behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and you whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out."  2 Nephi 25:29

Another great Sunday has come and gone.  Elder Blain spoke in the Stoke Ward today and did an excellent talk on commitment and blessings.  Since he tells lots of stories, I cannot post his talk, but one of the stories is on lds.org with one of the Mormon Message YouTube things entitled, "What I Learned as a Boy," under the topic of gratitude.  The first speaker only took about five minutes, so he had about 35 minutes to fill and he still had material left.  He only got a couple hours sleep last night, so he really put in a huge effort to prepare.  All his years of experience on the stand in his various positions pays off when he is a speaker and he seems comfortable at the podium. 

One more lost sheep returned today, so we were excited.  Several others continue to come, but one who promised to come didn't show.  Typical Sunday.  You win some and lose some.  I hope the "lose" part isn't permanent.

Speaking of lost, we almost lost a new member over something that can be a caution for all of us.  Some over zealous members may try to "reform" new members too quickly.  It isn't fair to expect a brand new member to know all of the standards perfectly.  They will learn step-by-step, here a little and there a little--precept upon precept.  What new members need more than anything is love, acceptance, and gentle guidance in the way of example.  Preaching at them about everything they "should" be doing as a member of the Church isn't helpful.  People forget they were once in the same place as far as understanding all the gospel principles.  Judging others isn't a member's duty, nor counseling, nor giving advice, but loving and serving others is.  I must remember the mote in my own eye!


On my walk the other day, I took more pictures of the last flowers still hanging in there after the weather has turned cold.  It is an assurance that winter isn't really here yet and that we shall still get to enjoy a rerun next spring and summer.

This is the queen of flower gardens.  I met her while taking pictures of her flowers.  She is a lovely lady who named all of the flowers.  Unfortunately, I didn't write them down and my memory bank is a sieve.

There are still a few hardy roses left, even after being beaten with rain and wind the past couple weeks.

Red, red rose . . .

A female Holly plant--no berries.

The Garden Queen pointing out the ladders on Jacob's Ladder

Chinese Lantern

English Pumpkin--no, just kidding--Chinese Lantern closer up

Pals--the last of the Begonias

Name that flower

Some kind of leaf plant

Bees are still busy

Looks like a fairy flower

Pink for Nick and Zalata's new baby

Ivy takes an opportunity to climb anywhere

Yes, this tree is saying it is fall and the roses are arguing it isn't

A pond near our home.  The white duck hasn't a clue it is not a Mallard.  Maybe I haven't a clue.  Are there such things as white Mallards?  It has been there with them for six months.

Water from the duck pond

Yes, there are palm trees of different kinds in England

Love this flower!

Another bee doing its work

Primrose?  Delicate and dainty

These are still hanging in there--long season!

A bit nibbled on but nice two tone

Light, shadow, color--such beauty

I marvel.  Is there no end to the variety?

These have been blooming all summer

Another shot of our address sign--we are still here!