Quotes on Virtue

FREE downloads.  Right click and save the above images.  If you need a higher resolution, email me at jodirobinson2182@hotmail.com and I'll email you the files.  These are great for decoupage' tiles for Young Womens handouts.  The girls can make them for an activity.  Thanks to http://www.shabbyblogs.com/ and Michelle Underwood for designing such an adorable pink frame!   The pink frame can be found on http://www.shabbyblogsblog.blogspot.com/.

Twelve Steps to Recovery--A Mighty Miracle that Changes Lives

"I believe that people are good if you give them half a chance and that good is more powerful than evil."  Lois Wilson—birth mother of AL-ANON

Sitting on the window ledge in my kitchen is a geode. It was given to me by my friends at House of Hope, a drug recovery treatment center in downtown Salt Lake. For ten years, I've spent most of my Friday's teaching motivational and life skills classes to women trying to overcome substance abuse.  When someone new shows up in my class, her insecurities, despair, and hopelessness are not hard to miss.  Her countenance is dark.  She is clearly unsure of House of Hope and most certainly is unsure of me.  She questions if she's even going to make it.

Some women come in fighting, full of anger at the "world" for doing "this" to them that, at first, they are hard to reach. But then something miraculous happens.  They spend time in the program and they begin to soften. They begin to, as their counselors call it, "trust the process." In group and in one-on-ones, these women begin to learn tools and coping skills that help them deal with life's stresses.  They slowly uncover the reasons for using drugs and drinking alcohol and then a new acceptance emergers as they admit they need help and surrender to their higher power. I've seen it happen over and over and over. Women who have been to jail. Women who have lost custody of their kids. Women who have experienced domestic violence, done drug deals, prostituted themselves.  Anything and everything that comes with drug life, they've seen and done it; and I've watched them shed their skin and transform into beautiful, confident, radiant souls anxious to tackle the world clean and sober.  It happens. And it happens every day at House of Hope.

So, back to my geode. Lisa presented it to me at the Alumni Tea, a yearly celebration for all those women in recovery. Almost two hundred were in attendeance this year.  Lisa placed the broken rock full of crystals in my hands.  She said, "Jodi, this is how you see the women of House of Hope. When the world sees the rough, rock exterior. You see the crystals inside." And I do.  Thank you, Lisa.  I will treasure that rock and every time I look at it sitting on my kitchen ledge I'll say a quick prayer for a woman still living in her addiction.

"I never thought I was good enough," one woman told me. "I didn't deserve to be happy," another shared. Oh, the tragedies of living at a time when the Adversary wreaks havoc on the self-esteems of young women and women.  As we journey towards becoming better people, let us understand as C.S. Lewis did:

"(The Christian) does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us." — C.S. Lewis

 Beautifully said.

If any of you watched the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV Movie on April 25th, Sunday night, it was fabulous.  The Lois Wilson Story reveals the dedication and devotion one woman had in her quest to help her husband overcome addiction, a courageous journey that gave birth to Al-ANON.  So, in honor of AA founder Bill Wilson...and his angel wife, Lois Wilson, who stood by her husband to witness the making of a new man, today I post the Twelve Steps.  

Thank you, Bill Wilson. Because you chose to turn your addiction into a miracle of change, millions upon millions live free of their addictions. And thank you, Lois, for bringing millions of women support and help through your brainchild, AL-ANON. 

You don't need to be a recovering-anything to recognize we are all in need of reaching out to our higher power and surrendering our will. Let the steps inspire you as they have me.  And to my friends at House of Hope...NEVER give up! 

THE TWELVE STEPS OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

 1. We admitted we were powerless...that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to [others], and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

 Copyright _ A.A. World Services, Inc.

Today’s Book Review: I’ll Know You By Heart by Kimberly Job

If you're looking for "clean" fiction, book reviews are the way to go especially when you're dealing with sensitive topics. How many times have you picked up a book thinking it would decent and by the third page you're disappointed? I'll post some suggestions for book review blogs later in this post. If you have any you'd like to add, feel free to post your comment.

Clean fiction that deals with hard topics. I can suggest such a book. I had the privilege of reviewing Valor Publishing's latest romance novel; I'll Know You By Heart. One woman's emotional journey of overcoming abuse, saving her family, and finding new love. Author, Kimberly Job, deals sensitively with the topic of domestic violence, but also doesn't sugar coat it. I'm a sunny-side up kind of reader so when I know a book deals with a hard topic sensitively I appreciate it.

Kimberly allows her main characters to fall in love through friendship, which makes the love story between Stephanie and Jared believable, although, the book doesn't deliver the whole story simply because it can't. Lasting effects of abuse can't be tidied up just because it's the last page. I'm a bit of a skeptic in that way. I believe writing about abuse can be tricky, yet, it can be done cleanly. I can assure you that the author tastefully writes about a broken marriage and family life, but wraps a love story around it that leaves you feeling hopeful and happy—for the main character and for her children.

I've never had to heal from a wrench in my gut because the someone I loved physically betrayed me. I've not known such personal pain, but, through my work with women at the House of Hope, I know women who have. If we don't talk about it, we can't understand it and we can't help fix it. I believe that.

Domestic violence affects one in every four women (Bureau of Justice Statistics). That's a statistic I hope someday we can eradicate. May the Stephanie's of the world find the Jared's of the world. Now that would be sunny-side-up.


Question of the Day: What Book Reivew Blogs do you recommend? Post your comment.

 Me?  Where do I go?  ANSWER:  I go to my friend Holly. She knows exactly what I like and every recommendation she gives me I love. Too bad I can't give you her phone number.

Book Review Blogs

http://ldswbr.blogspot.com/2010/03/ill-know-you-by-heart.html
http://www.queenoftheclan.com/2010/04/book-review-ill-know-you-by-heart-by.html
http://writing4me2.blogspot.com/2010/04/book-review-ill-know-you-by-heart.html
http://galesears.blogspot.com/,http://www.kathiswritingnook.com/2010/04/interview-with-tristi-pinkston.html,
http://whynotbecauseisaidso.blogspot.com/http://www.daronfraley.com/2010/04/book-review-ill-know-you-by-heart-by-kimberly-job.html

Live for Time and for Eternity

I ran into an old acquaintenance recently.  She told me she remembered me singing in the junior high talent show.  Ah, the 80s.  Big permed hair and leg warmers.  I humbly replied, "Oh!  You remember that.  I hope you don't remember what I was wearing."  Ha.  Ha. 

I thought about my my slick, satin pants with my sparkly red, sequin top.  Oh, dear.  That was an outfit I'd like to forget.  After some short pleasantries with this friend, our visit ended but it got me thinking. What are we going to be remembered for?  And, better yet, how do we want to be remembered?

We need to ask ourselves this question each day so that we stay focussed on what is most important.  How we will be remembered will be determined by how we spend our time. 

In this past weekend's General Conference, I heard this wonderful quote:  We live for time and for eternity. It's the best quote of whole conference!  How would you like to be remembered as someone who lived for time and for eternity?  What does that look like?  How does someone who lives for time and for eternity spend her time?  How does she live?  How does she serve?  How does she give? 

Living for time and for eternity is the concept of begining with the end in mind.  Looking to the future and charting a steady course along the straight and narrow path.  When you live for time only, your choices are different than when you live for eternity.  Eternity brings time into persepctive.  The difference between right and wrong crystalizes. 

Never before has so much been expected of a generation. Never before has so much been given.  We've been told we've been prepared, called, and chosen. This is our time!  How will we spend it?  Time will tell what we value, what we hold precious and dear.  We don't have time to waste or squander.  Once it's spent we can never it get it back. 

Let us not become "distracted, delayed, or disqualified from...doing the very work [we] have been prepared and reserved to do" (Elaine S. Dalton).

Let us live for time and for eternity.  Let us be the generation that keeps our eye on the prize. 

And, by the way, the song I sang in the Union Middle School talent show?  Ice Castles  (oh, the memories)

Read CHAPTERS for FREE--The Chapter One Club--Join Today

This is exciting news! My publisher is offering a FREE service for readers who would like to try before they buy.  It's FREE.  All you have to do is sign up for the Chapter One Club and you will receive (via email) the first chapter of ANY BOOK that you're interested in reading (current or upcoming titles are available.)

Sure, you can read book reviews online, but nothing tells you if you want to read a book more than reading the first chapter to see if you want to read chapter 2… and 3… and 4, and more!

Read the first chapter of my book for FREE.  See below for details. 

HOW DO I SIGN UP?  If you are interested, email spratt (at) cedarfort (dot) com with "CHAPTER ONE" in the subject and “Sign me up!” in the body of the email. That's it! You will be added and begin to receive free weekly chapters of current and upcoming titles!  (spratt@cedarfort.com)

Note: As an added bonus of joining the Chapter One Club, you are also likely to receive discount coupons and other sweet goodies, so you may want to join just for that!

Unsung Heroes Living the Dream

I sat down the other night at 9:15 p.m. It was the first time I had sat down all day. I glanced over at the four pair of shoes sitting next to the shoe basket and sighed.

"Why can't the kids put their shoes in the shoe basket. That's what a shoe basket is for!" It felt good to complain even if it was only to myself.

"Tired?" My husband asked as he handed me a red, wooden rocket. "Here. Hold this," he said.

It was my son's Space Derby Rocket for the next night's pack meeting. Surprisingly, it was light as a feather, yet, it took every ounce in me to stay focused and hold it straight while my husband put tape around it. I was really that tired. But why? What I had done with the last twelve hours of my life that brought me to the brink of exhaustion? It certainly wasn't anything worth writing about. Or, was it?

Well, let's see. It started at 6:30 that morning. Breakfast for the three oldest kids. At 6:45 a.m. I made sure my oldest daughter was up and getting ready for school. I then started packing lunches for the two youngest kids. Then I woke up kids #2 and #3. We had family scriptures at 7:00 a.m. followed by a quick run to the bus stop to drop off daughter #1. I then helped my son with his hair and inspected his spelling sentences, signed my daughter's permission slip and helped her find her shoes (which by the way were NOT in the shoe basket). By this time daughter #3 was up and ready to eat her cereal. I poured the cereal and milk in the bowl and then said goodbye to the two older kids, who left out the front door for their carpool. And wall-ah! It was 7:55 a.m. I headed into the laundry room to start a load of whites and the phone rang at 8:01 a.m. Wouldn't you know it, it was daughter #2. She was calling from a friend's cell phone to tell me she had forgotten her glasses.

"I'll get dressed and bring them to school," I told her.

I dressed my youngest daughter . Splashed on some mascara and lip gloss. Pulled my hair back in a pony. Got in the car. Drove to school. Dropped off the glasses. And from there decided to run to two stores to use up some coupons that were about to expire. Hmmmm. Not a life brimming with excitement, right?

The rest of the day was much the same. Housework, laundry, and changing shavings in the hamster cage. I whipped up a quick batch of brownie pops for the PTA's Family Reading night. While they were in the oven, I made a phone call to arrange a play date for my youngest daughter. My husband was working from home that day and needed some cough drops and sandpaper to finish off my son's Space Derby rocket. So, I got back in the car and headed to Wal-mart. While I was there, I picked up a frozen pizza for dinner and a Hershey chocolate bar. (For sanity.)

Once the kids got home from school, it was off to dance lessons for daughter #2 and the store (AGAIN) for daughter #1, who needed something green for St. Patrick's day. We got home just in time to heat up the pizza and head back over to the school for Family Reading Night. For the next hour and half, there I was, dressed up like a witch, reading to the kids from one of my favorite children's storybooks. We returned home at 8:45 p.m—time to get kids ready for bed, which brings us up to speed to where I was sitting on the couch staring at the red, wooden rocket in my hand, wondering why I was so tired.

I looked at my husband. His fingers were stained with red and black paint. His hair had traces of saw dust in it. And it got me thinking. My husband is a bright man. He makes financial decisions everyday that affect a company's bottom line. And, yet, at 9:15 p.m. on a Monday evening, the most important job he has is touching up paint on his son's Space Derby rocket. Not necessarily Nobel Peace Prize material. But had you seen the reaction of our son who, upon seeing the finished rocket, leaped into his father's arms yelling, "Dad! You're the coolest!" you'd have thought otherwise.

That night before bed, I read this quote from Max Lucado's book "Facing Your Giants."

"Quiet heroes dot the landscape of our society. They don't wear ribbons or kiss trophies; they wear spit-up and kiss boo-boos. They don't make the headlines, but they do sew the hemlines and check the outlines and stand on the sidelines. You won't find their names on the Nobel Prize short list, but you will find their names on the homeroom, carpool, and Bible teacher lists.  They are the parents, both by blood and deed, name and calendar. Heroes. News programs don't call them. But that's okay. Because their kids do…They call them Mom. They call them Dad. And these moms and dads, more valuable than all the executives and lawmakers west of the Mississippi, quietly hold the world together. "

"Be numbered among them. Read books to your kids. Play ball while you can and they want you to. Make it your aim to watch every game they play, read every story they write, hear every recital in which they perform."  

"Love the one who wears your ring and cherish the children who share your name. Succeed at home first." 

Rewind the calendar twenty years. I was a hopeful soon-to-be college graduate; the recipient of a Poynter Institute Fellowship for journalists, one of 12 graduating seniors nationwide. I was lucky enough to rub shoulders with some of the finest journalists in the country, dreaming of a career that would take me to far off places. Fast forward 20 years, and, well, some days the farthest I go is the elementary school. One could look at my life and say, "She gave up on the dream." Or, one could say, "She just traded in one dream for another."

Instead of covering news in war-torn countries, I'm teaching my four children how wars start and how we can avoid them. Rather than covering a story about the growing homeless population in a downtown park, my kids and I tie fleece blankets and deliver them to the shelter. It's not what headlines are made of on the nightly news, but maybe our world would be nicer, kinder, and happier if the stories we saw were about mom's making cookies for the PTA bake sale and father's building space rockets for pack meetings.

(Side note:  Just now my two youngest children ran through the living room with underwear on the heads screaming and laughing. I guess you can count that as a commercial break.)

Hat's off to moms and dads, the unsung heroes living the dream. Oh, and to Mrs. Jensen—a grandmother whom I met at my kids' school. She's "doing it all over again" meaning she's raising her grandchildren. You, dear lady, are the true heroine!

"Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother's image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child's mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world."  
--David O. McKay

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What do you love about being a mom?

Going GREEN for St. Patrick's Day--What's for DINNER?

GO GREEN for dinner tonight! 

Give your family a GREEN feast.

Here's what we're doing in honor of
St. Patrick’s Day.  Here's our menu and the links you can go to for easy and delicious recipes.

Start off with sliced green peppers and dip.  Easy enough! 

Next is avacado and pear salad. 

Recipe for the Pear and Avacado Salad

For dessert we've prepared these ahead of time.

Oreo Mint Truffles.

Recipe for Oreo Mint Truffles.

To drink we're having Lime Sherbet punch. 

Lime Sherbet Punch

(Simple version is Sprite mixed with lime green sherbert.) 

How I'm decorating my table. 

Green Apple and Candle Centerpiece 

For the Main Dish it's Buttermilk Chicken with Spinach served over rice.    

Here's the link for the recipe:  Buttermilk Chicken

Happy St. Patty's Day!