Our Temporary Home

A few weeks ago, my husband and I were snowmobiling in Paris Canyon in the Cache National Forest on the Utah-Idaho border. It was a chilly 16 degrees. Clouds hung low and it was about to snow. With all my winter gear on, I was warm. My hands were even a tad sweaty after being wrapped around the handle warmers of my snowmobile as we raced up the narrow, snow-covered path leading into what I call the “tundra.” After about 20 minutes, we dropped down off the trail into a valley surrounded by snow-covered mountains. From there, all we could see was a blanket of fresh powder. The scene was pristinely beautiful. 

Just as we turned off our sleds, the sun peeked out from behind a cloud and snowflakes started to fall. My husband and I pulled out some beef jerkey and a bottle of Gatorade and began mapping out our course. For miles and miles, it was just the two of us and some tall evergreens draped in white. It was below freezing so the snowflakes that fell on my black snow pants stayed for while, so I got out my camera to take a few pictures. I don’t have a high-tech camera, but I did my best to shoot a few pictures. This is as close I could get.

Rarely, have I had a chance to see snowflakes up close. They melt too fast. They’re just too temporary.  But on that day it was too cold for them to melt, so I could watch them fall and, against the backdrop of my black pants, I could study the intricacies of each snow crystal. As I looked at them individually, I remembered what I had recently read about snowflakes:

“Snow crystals are crystals that have formed around tiny bits of dirt

that have been carried up into the atmosphere by the wind. So snow crystals are really soil particles that have been dressed up in ice.”

So, isn’t that interesting? Snow crystals are bits of dirt dressed up in ice. I would have never guessed that something so beautiful could come from dirt. As the wind picked up a bit, it was harder to watch these tiny crystals up close. It turns out that snowflake watching, even in freezing temperatures, is only temporary.

Temporary means momentary, passing, or short-term.
Life itself is temporary. This life that we live, here and now, is short-term, not long term. Just like those snowflakes’ brief fall to earth, mortality is a brief dance through eternity. So, what does this mean? How should that affect how we live our life?

I’m blessed to have a strong belief that there is more to this temporary existence. I believe life here on earth is part of something far greater and, just like the snowflakes, we, as human beings, are pieces of dirt, or dust, you could say, on a temporary journey, not meant to last forever. I know we’re just passing through this life going to a better place where God lives, where forever goes on and on.

Recently, I was sitting in a Wal-mart parking lot waiting for my daughter to come out. It was a cloudy day. The rain hadn’t, yet, turned to snow. As I looked out my window, I watched people pushing their shoping carts full of groceries through the automatic doors.  A song called "Temporary Home" by Carrie Underwood came on the radio. The song painted the picture of a young boy in foster care getting a new mommy and daddy and a new home, but he wasn’t afraid because he knew it was just a temporary place with windows and rooms that he was passing through.

The next verse told of a young, single mom with a baby girl, living in a shelter. And the same thing. She wasn’t afraid because she knew it was only temporary and something better would come along. The last verse told of an old man dying ready to pass on to next life.  He told his loved ones it was okay because he was going on to something better.  Here’s the chorus:

This is my temporary home

It’s not where I belong

Windows and rooms that I’m passing through

This is just a stop on the way to where I’m going

I’m not afraid because I know

This is my temporary home.

That song sung truth. Every human being on this earth is in a temporary home. We don’t belong here. We're spiritual beings passing through this mortal existence on our way to live in eternity with God. But how easily we forget that.

For eight years, I have volunteered teaching life-skills and motivational classes to women who are recovering drug addicts. This past Friday, a woman came up to me and said, “Jodi, you have a big heart wanting to do this for people like us.” I immediately corrected the woman and looked her straight in the eye.

"You and I?"  I said pointing to her and then to me, "We’re the same.” I’ve said it hundreds of times before to the women who have passed through the doors of House of Hope; women who have been in my classes; women who are just passing through on their journey to sobriety. Yes, our choices may be different, but our journey is the same. We’re all here temporarily working out our own salvation (Philippians 2:12). At times, some of us get sidetracked on some really bumpy roads. But we’re all here learning, growing and trying to get somewhere better than we were the day before.

When something is temporary, sometimes we don’t take it as seriously as we should. We don’t savor it as we should. We don’t treasure it as we ought to. Sometimes we place too much importance on quick fixes.

Ezra Taft Benson said that because of this temporary existence, “our affections are often too highly placed upon paltry, perishable objects. Material treasures of earth are merely to provide us, as it were, room and board while we are here at school. [We must learn to] place gold, silver, houses, stocks, lands, cattle, and other earthly possessions in their proper place. This is but a place of temporary duration…We live on and on after earth life, even though we ofttimes lose sight of that great basic truth.” 
In the past two weeks, we’ve seen live video of crumbled buildings in the earthquake stricken nation of Haiti. Men, women, and children camped on out on streets. Throngs of hungry people grabbing for any morsel of food they can get from relief workers. Nameless individuals lying on stretchers waiting to receive medical attention for cuts and broken bones. In one newscast, I was broken hearted to see an innocent, little, dark-eyed boy, about 4-years-old--about the same age as my youngest daughter--sitting next to a reporter. His parents were killed in the earthquake the week before. In this world, there is devastation. Heartache. And suffering. What do you say to all of this? What do you tell your children? How do you answer the unanswerable?

How do you find peace in the unjustifiable? Take yesterday, for example. After my son’s basketball game, I stood in the parking lot talking to a young mother, newly divorced. We stopped to chat. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her children get in the car with her ex-husband and his new girlfriend.

“I get the day to myself,” she said behind a quivering voice and held-back tears. She hid it well. I was ready to fall apart, at first, but then she shared her faith with me. She was okay. She was going to be fine because her strength was in her higher power. She wasn’t afraid. She was going to pass through this trial because in her words, “I know this is only temporary.”

No, I don’t have answers to the tragedies of this temporary existence we call our earthly home. But may I offer a “temporary” answer that, for me, brings permanent peace. When I remember that this place; this existence we call mortality is just a temporary home filled with windows and rooms, and that we’re merely passing through on our way to something greater; when I remember that this is just a stop on the way to where God lives, and although sometimes we’re afraid, and sometimes life isn’t what we expect it to be; when I remember this...that there is a plan, an eternal plan of happiness...I feel peace.

President Benson wrote: “As we travel through this topsy-turvy...world filled with temptations and problems, we are humbled....Sadness comes to all of us….But there [should be] gratitude also—gratitude for the assurance...that life is eternal....'I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live....'  We are eternal beings. We lived as intelligent spirits before this mortal life. We are now living part of eternity.” (John 11:25–26.)” (Ezra Taft Benson, “Life Is Eternal,” Ensign, Aug 1991, 2)

Just like those snowflakes, falling in Paris Canyon, we’re dust dressed up as ice just passing through. And as scripture tells us: ‘For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return’ (Gen. 3:19).” “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:25–26).

Everything in this life is temporary except for the ordinances, covenants, and gospel principles that bind us together as eternal beings and families. Knowing that living here is only temporary isn’t a curse. It’s a blessing. I know without a shadow of doubt that there is something beyond, not of this world.

This is my temporary home

It’s not where I belong

Windows and rooms that I’m passing through

This is just a stop on the way to where I’m going

I’m not afraid because I know

This is my temporary home.

--Song by Carrie Underwood, “Temporary Home”

Dear friends...may you find joy in the journey and peace in the temporary.

With love and friendship,


Jodi


QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Have you been feeling a little sidetracked with life? Have you been caught up in temporary fixes for temporary happiness? How are you filling your temporary home? What are you doing in your temporary life to prepare for your eternal journey? How are you filling up your days?

Off The Shelf--Suggested Reading

What's on my shelf?  When you're looking for something to read, good recommendations are helpful.  So, from time to time, I'll keep you posted about some of the books I've enjoyed reading. 

For this post, I have a NEW favorite along with an Oldie but Goodie.  Two books I'd love to suggest for your bookshelf are: 

Women of the Old Testament

by Camille Fronk Olson

&  Eve and The Choice Made in Eden
by Beverly Campbell.

When you read Women of the Old Testament, you're going to learn.  It's not a book you'll be able to read through in one day.  But, don't worry, you won't mind it.  Do want to understand Esther and know Rachel, Leah, and the prophet Moses' older sister, Miriam up close?  I did, and through this book I have come to know my bible sisters better than ever.  I've come to love them and to see them as women--women I could call my friends.  Thanks to Camille Fronk Olson for bringing these women of the old testament to life.  Elspeth Young's illustrations are masterpieces.  A beautiful, keepsake!  Buy the Book.

Eve and the Choice Made in Eden is a book every woman should read.  This book will help illuminate Eve and her choice in a way you've never understood before.  You'll see Mother Eve in an intimate and personal way that will enlighten your understanding of the fall.  This book is doctrinally based, so you can be confident the material has been well researched.  If you're worried about complicated writing.  That's not the case here.  You'll ease into Campbell's writing and love what you learn on every page.  "This compelling book may change forever your perception of our first parents and the choice they made."  It's available in paperback.  Buy the Book

"If we're growing, we're always going to be out of our comfort zone.”   These are two books that will surely help you grow!  Happy reading!

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What's else is NEW?  Check out new releases from Cedar Fort, Inc.  Check out these NEW Releases.  There are MORE where these came from so you're sure to find something you'll want to add to YOUR bookshelf. 

For more NEW releases go to Cedar Fort.com

Confessions of a Junk Drawer Junkie: Turning Weakness into Strength

What's in YOUR drawer?

 
“And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.” --Ether 12:37

I have a confession to make.   I have a junk drawer and it’s full of junk. Lots of it. Pieces, parts, papers, you name it. It’s in there. 

When I moved into a new house recently, I promised I would NEVER create a junk drawer EVER again. Well, sorry to say…it’s ba-ack! I didn’t intend for it to happen. It just happened.

Well, the other day, a guest dropped by and needed a pen. Guess what? Before I could hand her one she did the unthinkable. She reached down to the right-hand side of my kitchen desk drawer and pulled on the handle. I panicked. It was like a Chariots of Fire slow motion run to stop the unthinkable. NOOOOOO! Don’t open that drawer!

Too late. It all happened so fast. Before I could get to the other side of the kitchen, she had already opened the junk drawer and looked down to discover all of my junk for her viewing pleasure, or should I say “displeasure.” There it was; my junk in all its glory and splendor. My secret was out. It was like one of those dreams where you’re naked in school and everyone is starring at you, and for some reason you don’t run out of the room and put on a shirt. (I hate those dreams!) Suddenly, I felt the need to confess.

“My name is Jodi Robinson and I have a junk drawer. I’m not proud of it. But it is what it is. And I accept it.” So, I have a junk drawer. What’s the big deal? I am not a junk-a-holic, but the truth of the matter is I do have a habit of putting stuff in my junk drawer, and I avoid dealing with it because it’s easier to pretend that someday everything in that drawer will magically find a home.

Well, it got me thinking. Why is that we’re afraid to show people our junk? Friends who know me well, know that I’m not bothered by the drop-in visits where I’m caught “naked” so-to-speak with my house not picked up, my kids and I not dressed, and dishes left in the sink from last night’s dinner. Because, when that happens, I’m usually in the middle of a big project or a writing assignment, and I have a good excuse. But… the junk drawer? The hidden, don’t want to deal with “stuff” that feels better if people don’t know it’s there kind of junk? The kind I pretend that’s not really there? That bothers me. I shouldn’t be bothered by the fact that this guest now knows I have a junk drawer and I that own junk. And, better, yet, that I don’t know how to fix it. I have had a junk drawer for as long as I can remember. Oh, sure I get a handle on it temporarily. I throw out the entire junk drawer one day when I feel like de-junking. I say goodbye to whatever is in there without even going through it. I toss it into the garbage can outside, ON garbage day, so I don’t have the option to retrieve it even if I wanted to. And that’s that. But that only happens about once a year. The rest of the time, it’s as if an invisible giant magnet slowly pulls miscellaneous ribbons, coins, dice, and screws, inside that drawer.

In life, we all have junk. There isn’t anybody who doesn’t have junk. So, why are we so afraid to admit it? Why are we so horrified when someone opens that drawer, that personal weakness, to discover buried treasure? As mortal, imperfect beings…it’s no surprise…and it’s no secret that I…you…and everyone around us…has some junk to deal with. It’s life. Either it’s our own personal junk, or our families junk, but, let’s face it…there is going to be junk. There’s no way of getting around it. Marriages are not going to be blissfully perfect all the time. Children are not going to be blissfully perfect much of the time. Jobs, health, relationships—nothing in life is junk averse.

And if it makes you feel any better, I bet that even that lady on your block whose house is so pristine that you could lick her floors…in fact…I’d bet a king size Hershey bar that somewhere in that lady’s house there is a junk drawer, or a box, or a can, or some disorganized holding manifestation full of tiny pieces, parts and papers. It may be smaller…much smaller than your own junk drawer, but it’s there. And guess what? It’s okay. It’s okay because we’re human. And we’re not perfect. We’re supposed to have junk. It’s called mortality. It’s called weakness.

In Ether 12:37 we read, “And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.”

I LOVE this scripture. So, let’s apply it to my junk drawer. There I was. My junk drawer…my weakness…open for the entire world to see. (Okay, maybe not the whole world. She was just one guest. But still.) Once the drawer was opened, I also SAW it. I was forced to acknowledge that it was there. So, the drawer is open. There’s my junk. And I had two choices. Make an excuse and say, “Hey, how did that drawer get in my house?” Now that would have made me look silly. The other option. Accept it. Claim it. And own it with integrity. “Yes, I have a junk drawer. And, it’s all good because by ‘seeing’ this weakness, just like we read in Ether, I can be made strong with God’s help.”

Friends! We’re human beings not GODS! And if we didn’t have junk we’d be translated. God would whisk us away from this complicated experience called mortality and give us our free pass into the Celestial kingdom. But as far as I can tell I’m still here. And you’re still here.

My name is Jodi Robinson. I have a junk drawer. And in that junk drawer, there may not be demons, but there are some untidy things that, at times, are not as nice and neat as I’d like them to be. And you know what? That’s okay. It feels so much better to admit it than pretend it doesn’t exist. Because then I can begin to do something about it. I can draw upon that promise in Ether that God will bless me with strength to overcome. And that is a beautiful promise.

Well, it’s a new year. Let’s commit to cleaning out our junk drawers and fixing what needs fixing. Let’s have the kind of faith that the woman who touched Christ’s garment had. All she did was, in faith, reach out to touch the Master so he could heal her from her weakness. And Christ did it.

God has a mansion prepared for me. And it’s up to me too clear out my junk drawer so that I can be worthy to live in it. And, you know what the best part of living in that beautiful, glorious mansion will be? There will be no junk drawers. Junk drawers will be a thing of the past. There won’t be even a recollection that they ever existed.

Let’s not be afraid of our junk. Or, other people’s junk for that matter. After all, it’s only junk. It’s not the good stuff. It’s not what we’re really made of. We’re made in the image of an Almighty God. We’re his spirit sons and daughters. Even the most desperate junky has more to his/her being than junk. Our Father in Heaven, who made us, knows how to help us fix our junk and he’s not afraid of our junk either.  He knows what it is and he accepts us and loves us and gives us opportunities to learn how to discard it, not to hide it in some drawer. If we’re going to become the children of God that He needs us to be then we have to choose a better way. We have to deal with our weaknesses and trust in the power of the Atonement of God’s son who will help us become stronger, better, more god-fearing, more god-focused individuals. 

Be honest. Open up that junk drawer and deal with it. And better, yet, you take a look at my junk drawer and I’ll take a look at yours and then let’s help each other to become better; to overcome obstacles; to rise to the occasion; to do the impossible and learn a better way.

My name is…and I’m a junk drawer junkie.


QUESTION OF THE DAY:  What’s the craziest thing you've found in your junk drawer?

Answer:  Once I found a hard, piece of toast. I was mortified. But I did get a good laugh out it.

Comments welcome. 

New Years Resolutions--Is God on Your List?

It's a New Year. In fact, it's a brand new decade. Twenty-ten. Or, is it two-thousand and ten? People everywhere are debating how to say it. Well, however we say it, it's still a new year. And a new year always provides us the opportunity to begin with a new slate. So, I've been giving resolutions a great deal of thought.

If you're like me, year after year, you create a list of New Year’s resolutions. But every year, all of the things on the list are the same. They're just worded differently. Like get more organized. Exercise more often. Eat healthier. Be a better wife, mother, friend, and neighbor. Eat more vegetables. (My husband is calling for more broccoli. Does broccoli cheese soup count?) Anyhow, a few weeks ago, I read something that sparked a change in my thinking as far as resolutions go.



The question was: Where is God in your life?



I immediately thought, "Is God at the top of my list?"
I wanted to say, "Of course, he is." And sure enough, if I really spent time thinking about it there would be many evidences where I could support that thought. Scripture study. Check. Family scripture study. Check. Church attendance. Check. Service. Check. But then I thought about it. Does God really come first? And if he does, what does that look like? Well, if God comes first, then everything...EVERYTHING I do...has to show evidence that he really does come first.

If someone where to look at my life, would they see that God is first in my life? Would they know by talking to me that that was the case? Would they see that to be true in how I spend my time? Who I spend my time with and what I think about? What dreams I pursue? How I spend my money? How I treat people? How I serve people? What I do when no one's looking?

Needless to say, I concluded that if God really comes first then you and others around you will able to see it. Feel it. And so with some deep and introspective thought, I took inventory of my life, but not in a list form. I didn't create an endless list of resolutions. I just made one.

New Year’s Resolution for 2010: TO PUT GOD FIRST IN MY LIFE. That's it. There's nothing else on my list. Because with that at the top of my list, there really isn't a need for anything else.

President Ezra Taft Benson once said:  "We must put God in the forefront of everything else in our lives. He must come first, just as He declares in the first of His Ten Commandments: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me’ (Ex. 20:3). “When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives."

Today is January 6th. And I have a lot to do. But I'm starting out the day with that one thing in mind--to put God first. It's going to be good day. I can feel it. I can't assume that for 359 more days I will be able to keep that resolution perfectly. I know there are going to be those days, those moments, when I mess up.  But that's where God has already put a plan in place for when I fall short of my resolution. Repentance. And the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. God is really good at his job!  So I'm heading into a new year, excited and optimistic about 2010. 

I'm hoping that by doing this, when I get to the end of 2010, I will be able to see a difference in my life; in how I feel about my life; and where I've been and what I've done. And when I ask myself on December 31, 2010, "Where is God in your life, Jodi Robinson?" "Does God come first?"  "And what does that look like?" I'll be able to answer with a clear conscience.

"Well, he's first on my list."

What are your New Year's resolutions? And is God at the top of your list? Let me know how you intend to strengthen your relationship with God in 2010. Post your comments. I love hearing from you.


With love and friendship,

Jodi

A Book a Day -- January BOOK GIVEAWAYS -- Beat the Winter Blahs and Win FREE Books

ANNOUNCING . . . One a day BOOK GIVEAWAYS for January 2010

EVERY DAY Jan. 2nd - Jan 30th, some lucky winner will receive a FREE book.  That's 28 chances to WIN!  My book, "Women of Virtue", is being featured on January 25th. 

How do I enter the contest?
Go to the following author's blog:  http://www.camicheckettsbooks.blogspot.com/
and check out which books are being offered and on which days. 
Just do what Cami says and you might be so lucky to win!

Pass this info along to your friends and family. 

Here is a listing of the books that will be given away and the days that they will be featured:

BOOK GIVEAWAYS
January 2nd - 101 Gourmet Cupcakes by Wendy Paul



January 4th - Where the Wind Blows by Caroline Fyffe


January 6th - Guided By Him…to a Thinner, Not So Stressed-Out You by Julie Morris


January 8th - Chickens in the Headlights by Matthew Buckley


January 9th - Loyalty's Web by Joyce DiPastena


January 11th - Altered Plans by Rebecca Talley


January 13th - My Son, John by Kathi Macias


January 15th - Discipline Me Right by Mary Simmons


January 16th - The Sister Pact by Cami Checketts


January 18th - Counting the Cost by Liz Adair


January 20th - Methods of Madness by Stephanie Black


January 22nd - Altered State by Gregg Luke


January 23rd - A Tapestry of Spells by Lynn Kurland


January 25th - Women of Virtue by Jodi Robinson


January 27th - Torn Apart by Diony George


January 29th - All the Stars in Heaven by Michele Holmes


January 30th - Love Your Body by Brooke Parker
 
Have fun and let me know if you WIN!
Book Giveaways by Cami Checketts
 
Happy New Year!

The Piano and the True Meaning of Gift Giving

Years ago, I received a remarkable gift. One that taught me that a true gift is given with love and sacrifice.

Except for the radio playing “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” the commute home from North Dallas to the midcities area was turning out to be just like any other weekday commute. Cars were lined up bumper to bumper on I-35, all the way to the 121 interchange and beyond. I was so relieved to see the shiny, high rises disappearing in my rear view mirror that I yelled out, “Yea, for the holidays!” I then exited the toll road and pushed on the gas. December 25th was only 8 hours away.

An hour and ten minutes later, I pulled into my driveway, pushed the garage door opener, and watched it go up.  Anxious to be home, I didn’t notice the yellow U-haul truck parked in front of my neighbor’s house. I parked next to my husband’s green truck, got out of the car, and opened up the back passenger door. 

“Tomorrow’s Christmas, baby Jacqueline. Your first Christmas,” I said lifting my 9-month-old, baby daughter out of her car set.  Her big brown eyes melted my heart. That day was Jacqueline’s last day at her daycare. I was quitting my job at the end of the month and starting with a new company, so I could work from home. Working in the big city wasn’t as exciting as it once was, because the minute I got to work all I could think about was picking up my baby and listening to her coo, and giggle. My new job would give me more time to be a mommy. Becoming a family was certainly more than I could have ever hoped for. It did, in fact, change everything.

"We're ho-ome!" I called out as we entered the side door.  My husband greeted us and quickly whisked baby Jacqueline away.

“Hold her while I get dinner going and wrap a few more gifts?” I said heading for the bedroom to change my clothes.  As I shut the blinds, I glanced out the window.  Once again, I didn’t pay attention to the yellow U-haul in front of my neighbor’s house. I was too busy thinking about Christmas morning and how Christian and I were going to have so much fun watching our baby play with her new toys.

After dinner, we delivered some goodies to friends, organized the presents under the tree, put Jacqueline to bed, called family members to wish them a Merry Christmas, and finally hit the sack about 11 p.m. I had had a long and busy work week and within minutes of lying down I was out.

As soon as I was asleep, unbeknownst to me, my husband sprung into action. Now, Christian knew I was a sound sleeper, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. So, just as he had planned, he turned on the television for some background noise and placed a pillow over the side of my head. It wasn’t unusual for me to sleep with a pillow on my head. That was a skill I had learned in college, because my roommates were night owls. Since I had early morning classes, the pillow over my head remedied the noise factor so I could get some decent shut eye.

After getting redressed, Christian quietly shut the door to our bedroom. On his way downstairs, he turned up the heater.  That way the cold air from the front door being propped open wouldn’t wake me. He had thought of everything. He then headed out, into a chilly December night, over to our neighbor’s yard, where he climbed into the yellow U-haul, started up the engine, and backed it into our driveway.

To my surprise, my Christmas present was inside the back of that truck. It was a 1962, brown Baldwin upright piano; a gift he had been planning for some time. For years, I played on an electric keyboard, but I dreamed of having my own piano. I had never said it out loud. I only thought it. But Christian knew. He just knew. Getting a piano was the farthest thing from my mind because he hadn’t, yet, graduated from the University of Texas. We had a new baby and had just bought our first house. A piano, at least for now, was out of the question.

To my surprise, though, my husband had thought a lot about a piano.  He started calling on classified ads several months earlier and researching different used pianos. Money was also something he had to secretly keep from me. Saving $800 dollars without my knowing was quite a clever feat.

As Christian unlatched that back door to the truck and uncovered the piano, I’m sure he doubted, for at least a second or two, how he was going to pull off this surprise. Moving an almost 500 pound piano, up two front stairs, across a living room floor, and into a dining room, by himself, in the middle of the night, was not an  easy task, and doing it quietly was nearly impossible. But somehow, two hours and half hours later, my husband had accomplished the impossible. (I’m still not quite sure how he did it.) Next, he set up our video camera on a tripod at the bottom of the stairs, so the big surprise would be caught on tape.

Seven O' clock the next morning, right on schedule, baby Jacqueline woke up. I rushed into her bedroom, scooped her up in my arms, and said, “It’s Christmas! Let’s go see what Santa brought.”

“Hold on,” said my husband. “Let me go turn on the camera.”

“Oh, what a great idea,” I said. “Getting Jacqueline’s reaction on her very first Christmas, you’re brilliant.” I was clueless. After a few minutes, he said he was ready for us and gave us the go ahead to come down the stairs.

“Let’s go see what Santa brought,” I said bouncing my babe in arms. I waved her little arm and I smiled at the camera, thinking that the purpose of capturing that moment was about my baby and not me.

Little did I know the camera was all about me and my surprise.  My husband wanted me to see my reaction so I would remember it forever. And I do remember it.  I remember turning the corner and, to my astonishment, seeing a giant red bow wrapped around a 1962, brown, Baldwin upright piano nestled against the east wall of my dining room. Thanks to his forward thinking, that Christmas morning memory is a priceless family video.

“Ahh! What!?” my hand flew over my mouth. “You!? How!? Oh, my goodness you got me a piano!? Oh, I can’t believe you got me a piano!? What! How on earth did you get this in here? You could have killed yourself! What were you thinking!?” I said hitting him on the shoulder. “Do you know how heavy pianos are?”

“Uh, yea I figured that out,” he replied.

I began to cry and then I was speechless.  My husband went on to explain that my piano was in that yellow, U-haul truck all along.

“What U-haul truck?” I exclaimed. He told me he was so worried that, being the nosey neighbor that I was, he thought for sure I would question why our neighbors had a moving truck in front of their house on Christmas eve and go over there to find out why.  However, he managed to pull off my surprise without any hiccups.  Getting that piano into our house, all by himself, in the middle of the night, without waking me up, or our baby, was purely a Christmas miracle.  I knew I had received a remarkable gift, given with such for-thought, sacrifice and love that my piano became a symbol of what Christmas was truly all about.

“It needs a good tuning. And one of the keys kind of sticks.  But we can fix that,” he said quietly.

I didn’t care if didn't have any keys all!  Given out of love it was the most perfect piano EVER!

Christian and I have now been married 19 years this coming February. Since that 1996 Christmas, I’ve had several chances to upgrade my $800.00, 1962, brown Baldwin to a newer and more modern model. But I’ve never had the heart to do it. You see, every once in awhile, when I sit down to play songs, and my fingers hit those sticky keys, I’m reminded of a tender, Texas Christmas, in the home of a young couple, who was starting out their life together as a family, and, in that moment, I am gently reminded of the love and sacrifice it took to give me that gift, and I realize that there is no better sounding piano, anywhere; for the melodies it plays are priceless.

May this Christmas be a reminder to all of us to remember the gifts that come to us by way of love and sacrifice. Especially the sacrifice of the Christ child, whose birth we celebrate. The Savior, the son of God, paid the ultimate price for our eternal happiness. Of his magnificent gift, of life and death, let us be gracious receivers and value it like no other.

May the spirit of the holidays be with you and your family throughout the coming year.

With love,

Jodi

WINNERS of my GOLD STAR CHALLENGE

How did you do giving out your GOLD STARS?   Our three WINNERS (by random selection...pulling names out of jars...very scientific) are:  Robynl, Elizabeth Morgan, and Teri Nine.    Email me your addresses at jodirobinson2182@hotmail.com, and I will have the authors send you your book.  Thanks again to Jewel, Joyce Dipastena, and Liz Adair for donating their books for our GOLD STAR contest. 

I really had fun giving out GOLD STARS, did you?  Because of this challenge, I did so much better at complimenting and uplifting everyone I was around.  It kept it top-of-mind.  It also taught me how easy it is to think negatively and even say negative things in place of something positive.  So, that's a good New Year's resolution.  To give a GOLD STAR instead of sack of potatoes, or in other words, give a blessing instead of a curse.  I'll write more about that in the New Year.  Here were just a few of my 100 GOLD STARS given out this past week.

Just a few of JODI'S 100 GOLD STARS

1.  Kissed my son and daughter on the forehead as they were heading off to school and told them they were the best kids ever! (My son yelled back, "You're the best mom ever!")


2. Told my husband I admired him.  (He said, "What did you say?"  I went on to explain.  I need to verbally tell him more often how much I really do admire him.  He's a really good man.)

3. Sent an email to someone I had lost track of over the years and told her how much her encouragement meant to me when I was younger. She emailed me back and said she really appreciated it.

4. Clapped my hands when my four-year-old colored me a beautiful picture of Strawberry Shortcake.  "You're a fantastic artist, Zoey."  She smiled and said, "I'm going to make you another one."

5.  This isn't really a verbal gold star, but I earned 2 for cleaning up my daughter's throw up (without complaining) at my older daughter's dance recital in front of a crowd. (I think I earned at least 2 stars for this one.)

6. Said a prayer for someone I knew needed one.

7. Brought some homemade fudge to one of my dear friends and told her thank you for putting up with me. (It's the BEST EVER fudge and I mean it.  Sorry no one else got some...but I had too much fun eating the rest.  That's why I had to give out truffles to the rest of you instead.)

8. Helped my daughter buy flowers for her two friends and before we gave them the flowers we talked about all the good things we liked about each friend.
 
9.  Told my Heavenly Father he was really good at his job.
 
10.  Complimented a stranger coming out of Kohls' telling her that she had a darling haircut.  (She was so flattered.) 
 
11.  Told my hairdresser I was so lucky to have found her.
 
12.  Told my oldest daughter she was beautiful. 
 
13.  Told my second daughter she was beautiful.
 
14.  Told my son he was handsome.
 
15.  Told my youngest daughter that she melted my heart.  "You melt my heart, mommy."  She said back.
 
16.  I told several women throughout the week, whenever I had chance to talk with them, why I loved them and why I was blessed to have them in my life. 
 
17.  Said to the checker at the Fresh Market, "Thank you for being so helpful."
 
18.  Sat next to one of my kid's past teachers at a concert and told her she really made a difference in my daughter's 5th grade year. 
 
19.  Thanked a few of new neighbors for being so welcoming.  
 
20.   Told my oldest daughter's band teacher that he is a fabulous teacher!  That I am grateful for his talents and for giving so much to our kids.  Band teacher's dont' get paid much, but, boy do they make difference in student's lives in helping them develop their love for music.  I dare say, "Mr. Perkins, you rock!"
 
My next post won't be until after January 3, 2010.  I pray that each of us will decide to develop a deeper relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He is the reason for the season...but more than that...he is the reason for everything.  Merry Christmas and may all your Christmas wishes come true. 
 
Love,
Jodi
True beauty if felt more than it is seen.