PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN !

I don't care what side of the fence you were on during this last election, but today was occasion to be a proud American.  It was the Inauguration of Donald Trump as 45th  President of the United States.

I'm not a TV junkie who sits and watches stuff like this for the minute by minute detailed coverage of the event.  I usually find it boring and would rather read about it in the paper.  I've got better things to do than experience something second hand.  And since I would never be there in person, it would definitely be a second hand experience.

But.... Call it curiosity.  Call it sentimentality.  Heck, you can call it old age.   I watched this historic culmination of one man's journey to Washington.  Here was a man  NEVER  having held any kind of public office accept the responsibility of the HIGHEST OFFICE of the land to govern over 300 million people in this country.

I'm not saying I like or approve of some of the things Donald Trump has done and said.  I prefer conservatism, personal integrity, and public courtesy myself.  But, I am willing to give the guy his opportunity to lead the country.  And, it didn't hurt, for me, that he THREE times referenced God in his inaugural speech to our country: 1) God as our protector, 2) when God's people live in unity,      3) that we all have life by the same Creator.  And then he closed with "God bless you and God bless America." 

I am hoping that wasn't just penned into his address by his speech writer to make things sound good.  However, if we as Americans accept the challenge each of us has personally to make America great again, I believe we will certainly invoke the blessings of heaven as we repent of past transgressions as a nation.

Truthfully, it was the ceremony and the pomp relative to respect for the Presidential Office that made me feel patriotic today.   I loved seeing the historic traditions, some of which began when George Washington went to New York to be sworn in as the first president of the United States.  Washington used a Bible for his swearing in.  President Trump used TWO Bibles, the one Abraham Lincoln used and the one his mother gave him in 1955.  The Continental Army followed George Washington to New York.  Hence, representatives of the military were on display today.  My favorite was the fife and drum corps dressed as Revolutionary War soldiers.  President Trump is the Commander in Chief.  I liked to see him salute the military as they saluted him.  All that sent a thrill through me.

I wasn't happy to see so many in the crowd still protesting and raising angry voices against what they feel was a stolen victory from the popular vote.  Or, the many agendas brandished about on posters that huge pockets of people feel are not being addressed to their satisfaction.  Then I remembered.  Oh, yeah!  We're STILL a free country.  People can protest with vigor and malice without fear of reprisal or punishment.  That's a good thing!  We are definitely a very blessed people!

And the flags....!    Red, white and blue hanging on the front of the Capitol Building.  Bouquets of them springing out of windows and lining the streets as the Presidential Cavalcade slowly made its way to the White House. .We do have a beautiful flag! 

Just seeing all of them and the various branches of the military in their dress uniforms brought tears to my eyes. Even the solemnity of the Secret Service men walking alongside the limousine for the President's safety added to the ceremony.  I am glad I have this occasion now in my memory.

Yes, God bless America!  And help me to make America great again!

PS  I was totally impressed with the modest and simple powder blue coat/suit Melania Trump wore for the ceremonies.  With matching gloves, even!  Very tasteful.  No sleeveless....yet!

WALTZING DOWN THE BEAUTIFUL BLUE DANUBE

                   

                              VIENNA                                                            

A brochure for Viking River Cruises came in the mail the other day.  But instead of wishing that we could do something like that--but can't because it is too cost prohibitive--we really went out on a limb and booked a cruise.  After all, it is BOGO--but only until the end of January.  That spells big money savings         when it comes to this kind of a vacation.

My vacation award with United is the last two weeks of May.  That is not changeable.  I chose that because Mackson is graduating from high school at 2 pm on Thursday, May 25th.    Louis gets about four weeks for anything he wants--sick, vacation, personal time.  However, his time isn't set in stone a whole year in advance like mine is .  But we did want to make sure we are around                   for Mackson's new beginning.

So, we decided to do a river cruise on the Danube.  I will have to finagle days off, though,  from the 12th-16th in order to make everything work.  We will begin May 13th and spend three days in Prague before the cruise, then we will begin the cruise on May 17th in Passau, Germany, and spend eight days going east from there through five countries, including stops in Vienna and Bratislava before ending in Budapest and coming home on the 24th from there. Just BARELY in time for Mackson's graduation on the 25th.  Whew!

I decided to take the money out of my 401K.  I could have spent the same amount to pay half of the loan I financed for my new car.  But....I looked at all the pros and cons of VACATION vs. PAYING OFF MY CAR.  The vacation won.                     For better or worse.

And it is MY kind of vacation.  No beaches.  No sand.  No hot, humid weather. No tropical sun.  No bathing suit.  Since it is May, it could be cool.  Cold even.  And rainy.  But I know how to deal with those kinds of contingencies.  Another layer.  A warmer sweater.  Hot chocolate. Dry shoes.                                      Hey!  I can do this!

You may think it irresponsible.  And probably it is.  Just wanted to see how the rest of the world did their vacation time.  I think it's going to be fun.           Interesting, at the very least.

Dancing school, here we come!

TWO DOLLAR TREATS...

I was at WalMart today.  The place is cleared out and aleady showing major signs of Valentine's Day pressure to buy chocolates, stuffed animals, fancy pants pajamas and anything else that can have a heart stamped on it.

Not interested in that--yet.  Just wanted to get the soap, eye drops and mundane items I needed.  But, I thought it wouldn't hurt to walk all the way to the opposite end of the store and check out what they had in the garden department. This is the time of year when green house plants start showing up.  I need some replacements

 Black thumb that I have, some of my favorite little friends didn't make it to a new year.  We had a lot of warmer weather for way longer than usual.  That kind of screwed up the temperature in the house.  One trip I would come back and my plants would be drooping because I hadn't watered them enough before I left  in order for them to survive in the still warm days of October and November.   Then I would monitor the plants and make sure I watered them especially well before going on another trip--only to come home and find out that I had actually drowned them.  It was a see-saw like that for several weeks.  Finally, most of them succumbed to the "black thumb death".  I cannot win!

So, there went the delicate ferns, some of the really unusual cacti, the miniature poinsettia plants I got last Christmas--those two were doing soooo well after I had pruned them, nurtured them, and let them begin all over again.  Gone.  Gone.  Gone.  It was like I had lost some of my best friends.

But there, just inside the glass doors to the garden department at WalMart--and almost all alone in that now empty and cavernous area of the store--a whole display of cacti.  I'm not interested in those bigger yukky desert blobs that look like barrels or stumps or paddles all with gaudy singular blossoms poking out from  needle-like things that prick fingers, toes, and dog feet if you get too close.  We had those in the backyard at the Secrest Court house.  D.R. could tell you a thing or two about needling.

                                                

However, on the bottom of that display was a huge tray, maybe 48, tiny little cactus plants in pots barely 1.5 inches across and maybe 2 inches deep.  Nothing fancier than the basic Mother Hen and Chicks, and the other standards--no "String of Pearls" or the wonderful one that looked like a stalagmite which I managed to drown.  No, these were mini miniatures, each complete with a cellophane sheaf encasing it just like a bouquet of flowers comes from the florist.  Rainbow Mix from Rocket Farms in Half Moon Bay, California, they cost just two dollars each.  I bought five and a small clay saucer to showcase three of them in my kitchen window.

It might have been all of 5 frigid degrees outside, but I walked out of WalMart with a smile on my face that would melt an iceberg. 

It's the little things.....

TEMPLE VOLUNTEER...AGAIN

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

I was set apart today by President Max E. Lehman, 1st Counselor in the Fort Collins Temple presidency, to be a volunteer service person.  My first responsibility will be as chapel organist prior to the Endowment sessions, and second, to assist in the temple office with any clerical work such as recording ordinances and transcribing the Prayer Roll recording.

President Lehman called me the other night and said he had my name in front of him as consequence of information submitted by my bishop and stake president as recommendation to be an ordinance worker.  I told him I had left my name with the temple secretary in reference to any organ volunteer program the temple might be putting in place because I had played the organ at the Denver Temple.  However, since I still work full time, and have a very erratic and irregular schedule as a flight attendant with United Airlines, I am not in a position to have a regular calling as an ordinance worker until I retire.

President Lehman was okay with that. Told me to come in on my day off this week and he would set me apart as a volunteer.  He also told me he had only seen one woman ever play the organ--once--but that whenever I was available I could come in and play the organ. 

Today during my meeting with him, he told me that since I wouldn't be playing probably more than 30 minutes to an hour when patrons were in the chapel, he would put down on my information sheet that I would also be able to assist in the office for the other amount of time I was there. And...if the baptistery were especially busy, I would record ordinances there, as well. 

It was a very good visit.  The blessing President Lehman gave me underscored my willingness to serve and share my talent in building the Lord's Kingdom here...that it takes all kinds of different work to accomplish that.  Then he told me to become familiar with Chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel and study in depth--as the missionaries would, over time--how I can better develop Christlike Attributes. He said that temple work means a lot of scripture study.  That there are wonderful promises directly connected to temple service but the key is scripture study and becoming more like the Savior.

I'm beginning to feel more comfortable at the Fort Collins Temple now.  I have been every week except one since the opening after the dedication in October.  I have attended Endowment sessions.  And I have done a lot of Initiatory work.  There is a need for a LOT of people in Initiatory, and sometimes I am the only person so I am allowed to do far more names than the few we were allotted at the Denver Temple. 

The procedures are different in some ways than the Denver Temple.  Far more relaxed, like there is no set way to fill up the chapel or even leave to go to each of the instruction rooms once we are ready to begin.  My counselor, who is an ordinance worker on Wednesday nights with her husband, tells me they don't have to stand the whole time they are assigned to the Celestial Room or the Grand Hall or the entrance either.  They can sit even if there are people in there.  Plus, Jana's favorite, they can cross their legs at the knees instead of only being able to cross their ankles when they are sitting. 

Still a lot of new beginnings for a great many of the ordinance workers learning the blessings, etc.  There are a ton of nervous people!  And a lot of starting over to get it right.  So, that takes longer.  Also, each of the instruction rooms holds 76 people, so just dealing with that many more people takes longer, too.  That's why there aren't as many sessions during the day.  Last week I was in the very extreme corner of the very back row--the very LAST person to go through the veil.  It seemed weird to have all the workers standing in line waiting until the last patron (ME) left for the Celestial Room.

Anyway, I now have directions to visit with another temple matron--her husband  is the 2nd counselor in the temple presidency.  Sister Stock knows the temple organ and will show me how it works.  I'm sure it is way more sophisticated than our chapel organ, though probably the same kind. Allen.   But the Stocks live in Wyoming and weren't at the temple today.  (President Lehman explained how they rotate so only two of the presidency and matrons are there every day.)

I am looking forward to my new assignment.  In the beginning I will have to coordinate my days off so they align with the days the Stocks are at the temple so I can be instructed.  Maybe my opportunity will be the beginning of a modest volunteer program for other organists who would like to participate in the temple that way, too.  I always thought it such a special privilege to serve the Lord by playing prelude music in the temple.  It has a profound effect on setting the stage for a wonderful temple experience for those who are doing Family History work for their own family names as well as for those who are doing names in the temple file.

It had been snowing lightly for two days.  But because it had also been so cold, everything looked more like it was dusted with white.  However,when I came out of the temple it was snowing hard.  The ground was covered with a white blanket that literally covered everything and made the temple grounds and the surrounding fields look so pure and lovely! 

But I can assure you, there was NO blue sky today!  It was pure snowstorm!  And that was okay, too.  I knew I was in a safe place, and I would get home without incident.  And...I did!

SUNDAY CHRISTMAS....

I'm writing this on  Sunday, Christmas Day 2016.

Christmas has been on a Sunday only a half dozen times during my life.  I don't remember much about any of them except 1983.  We were sitting in the chapel on 72nd Avenue  in Arvada during a combined one hour Sacrament Meeting with the 4th Ward when I suddenly realized I hadn't put on my bra that morning when I got dressed!  I thought about that today and decided to look in my journal to see what was happening in my life that I would forget something like that. 

Oh. I was Primary president.  I coded work orders for Bill Jones.  Harold and Brice were delivering The Arvada Sentinel every week.  Ross had been in Germany for work.  The weather was frightfully cold, like as low as 22 degrees BELOW zero.  The kids were sick. And there was just the everyday stuff that went on as usual.

Here's a little snapshot of the Nichols Family for the several days preceding Sunday Christmas that year.

Monday, 12th  Left the house dirty so I could do all of the washing--left the ironing, though--and work on gifts for my sisters and finally buying one for the folks (my mother and father).  I ended up calling Glenda to see if she could give me an idea of what to buy for them. Then went shopping, to Drake to give Brice some money, to the post office to pick up work orders to code--7 more accounts, ugh!  Then went visiting teaching and to the grocery store.  Put up the Christmas tree for FHE.  After a Mexican supper and ice cream sundaes, we are FAT!

Tuesday, 13th  The newspaper printing press broke down, so no papers until tomorrow.  Since it was Lucia Day I decided to sit down and write cards to our Swedish friends.  Birgitta Brodin called while I was doing that.  I was glad to know we were thinking about each other.  Wrapped presents to my sisters and went to mail them.  More money to mail than to purchase.  Ross is in a bad mood.  Looks like Germany might be off.  Am still coding work orders.

Wednesday, 14th  Stayed up until 2 a.m. coding w/o's last night.  I just laid in bed when I heard Brice turn off the alarm at 6 a.m.  But it was no use, no one will let me rest.  Schuyler let Britty out of bed.  Dragged around until presidency meeting.  Short one--I failed to make an agenda.  Took Linda Johnson (my counselor) with me on errands.  Came home with papers so the boys could fold them.  Made carrot pudding for the Relief Society Christmas dinner.  It was okay.  I am too tired to have a good time.  Kept going to sleep.

Thursday, 15th  Gray day and snowing until we were about half finished with the papers.  Picked up more papers for an additional route tomorrow, about $7.00 extra.  Worked on balancing the checkbook.  Took until after midnight to find the dumb error.  Took Harold and Jeremy with me to go practice at the chapel.   Harold and I practiced the organ/piano duet we have to play for the Sunday Christmas program on the 18th.

Friday, 16th  Ross left for Europe on a 4 p.m. flight to Chicago.  but when he got there, his next flight had been delayed for 12 hours, so they gave him a hotel room for the night at the O'Hare Sheraton and money to eat .  Meanwhile Brittany threw up on the way home from the airport.  We still had an extra paper route to do, so she just had to go along.  Went to the ward party.  Good food.  Harold and I practiced afterward on the organ/piano duet.   Bishop Lewis brought Schuyler to me. He had thrown up in the bathroom and was trying to clean it up himself.  Brittany so ill she just sat in her stroller and didn't move.

Saturday, 17th   After being up so much in the night with vomiting kids, I just wanted to sleep in.  Didn't sleep.  Just laid in bed until 11 a.m. when I had to take Harold to the chapel for his Sunday School party.  Cathy Callahan took me to lunch for my birthday, then we shopped and came home.  The kids had kind of done the work.  Took Harold back to the chapel for practice, then he went babysitting to Del Vecchio's while I went shopping again and then to Callahan's to watch a movie on their new VCR.

Sunday, 18th  If I could have stayed home from Church, I would have.  But there is always Primary. And Harold and I were on the Christmas program. Schuyler and Brittany are just lethargic.  Britty messed her diaper so badly I had to take off all her clothes to clean her up.  Organ/piano duet went okay, but not good like we practiced.  Went to King Soopers to get money for Harold.  Accidentally pierced a can of pop and it sprayed all over me.  Ross called from France.  Britty soooo sick!

Monday, 19th  Cold out today.  Harold left at 6:30 a.m. to go skiing with the teachers quorum.  Decided to spend the day getting ready for Christmas, but only got as far as wrapping several presents.  Let the kids do as they pleased.  No one did any work.  We went to do errands and ate at McDonald's with the coupons we got as CARRIER OF THE WEEK.  The little kids are still sick with diarrhea.  I've tried everything to stop it.  Did some more work orders before bed.

Tuesday, 20th  Really cold now--about 15 degrees below zero.  Britty and Schuyler still sick.  Called the doctor again.  The nurse gave me more suggestions.  Finished the last of the seven accounts of work orders I picked up yesterday. Went to Church and sacked goodies for the Primary activity tomorrow.  Jerry and Sue Birkinshaw brought out some candy as a birthday present.  Grandpa and Grandma Huggins called.  Dad is in bad shape.  Might have to go to the hospital.  Harold came back early from skiing.  Also sick.

Wednesday, 21st  Decided this was my last chance to get cards out.  Spent almost the entire afternoon writing after we did papers.  It had been minus 22 degrees, but was only minus 16 degrees when we started the papers at 10 a.m.  Wanted to get the car washed, but even the car wash was frozen up.  Went to the chapel a 3:30 p.m. Had to run home for a tablecloth.   Finally got the Primary activity over and the tree delivered to Wilsons.  A waste as far as I was concerned  Came home, fed the kids, and put them to bed so I could code more work orders.  Did three accounts and I am so tired.  I am going to bed. Ross never called.

Thursday, 22nd  Woke up at 7:30 and pulled the work orders over to me and sat in bed coding until about 10 a.m.  Philip called and talked only about himself.  It was a laugh. Went downstairs and did the last account.  It was a big box, but the work orders were thick cardboard so I finished by noon.  Took Brice with me to take them to Bill Jones' office.  Went to the post office for more--only one skinny account this time.  Whew!  Shopped for hours.  Took Brice to eat at Arby's.  Ross called while we were gone.  Supposed to land by 11:30 p.m.

Friday, 23rd  Wished I could have left a message last night to have Ross take a taxi home from Stapleton.  The plane was delayed until 12:36 a.m., so I left at 12:10 in a snow storm.  Waited at DOOR 2 for 30 minutes before taking the chance to leave the car in the loading zone and run in and call the kids.  No sign of Ross and he hadn't called home.  Right then I saw him!  But he didn't get his luggage for another hour and a half.  The cargo door was frozen shut and they had to take a blow torch to melt the ice.  We got home at 3 am.  Phone rang at 9:50 a.m.  Rosalie with the news that Lou Sylvester had died and his funeral was at 11 that morning.  (How did I not know that before?)  We jumped out of bed, got ready and went to the funeral.  After that Ross and I went to buy a new Christmas tree, a real full-sized one after using the little one we got our first Christmas so long ago.  The kids were SO excited.  We tried to decorate it, but we were all too tired.

Saturday, 24th  Finished decorating the new tree after Schuyler and Ross got back with three more strings of lights.  Meanwhile we cleaned house and put the other decoration out.  I said "no later than midnight to bed" but it took until about 12:30 a.m. to get all the presents ready to have Christmas. 

Sunday, 25th  CHRISTMAS DAY!  Everyone is so exhausted from the cold weather and being sick and the late, late hours.  Kids didn't wake up until 7:30.  I had a hard time getting up.  Ross was worse.  It was 8:30 before we started opening presents.  Rushed and got to our combined Sacrament Meeting about 10:50 instead of 10:30.  Realized during the meeting that I hadn't put my bra on when I got dressed.  I hoped no one would notice.  Came home, ate spaghetti, and I went to bed.  Never got to rest though.  All the shouting and screaming that was going on.  Looked at 12 years of Christmas slides in the evening.  And now it is all over until next year!

And so, that is what led up to my wardrobe malfunction on Sunday Christmas 1983.  I know this was long, but I thought maybe it would be interesting to read the kinds of things that went on and compare them to what may have been parked in memories from growing up years.

I also read a little farther on in my journal.  We had a Christmas Open House on the 27th and invited 42 people from the ward and in the neighborhood.  But only EIGHT people showed up!  Yet Ross and I had gone to the Lawyers, the Schows, the Callahans, and the Birkinshaws--most of them were for refreshments and to watch movies on the new VCRs everyone was buying. (We got ours the following Christmas when we were in Berlin.) We'd spent over $80 on food and worked for two days preparing for guests that never showed up.  I wrote that I put all the stuff away and went to bed disappointed and depressed.  Isn't that a shock!

THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS...ALL YEAR LONG!

NOTE:  I GAVE THE FOLLOWING REMARKS FOR A TALK IN SACRAMENT MEETING—CARLSON FARM WARD—DECEMBER 28, 2014.  I RAN ACROSS IT RECENTLY AND THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE IT HERE AS A TESTIMONY THAT CHRISTMAS ISN'T JUST A ONE-DAY CELEBRATION.  WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CELEBRATE CHRIST EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR!

THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

Long ago, in a former life when I wasn't flying around the Friendly Skies on Christmas Day, I had a little ritual.  After all the presents were opened, the Christmas breakfast was over with, and the kids were contented and happily playing with their new stash of treasures, I would sit down at my desk and read these words from Henry Van Dyke.  They had struck a chord with me some years before when I found the poem, and they were a wonderful reminder of what Christmas is all about--The Spirit of Christ.  And then I would write the annual letter to be sent as New Years greetings to our friends and family.

I am thinking of you today because it is Christmas,                              and I wish you happiness.
And tomorrow, because it will be the day after Christmas,                       I shall still wish you happiness;
and so on throughout the year.
I may not be able to tell you about it every day...
But that makes no difference.                                                                 The thought and the wish will be here just the same...
May the Spirit of Christmas be yours throughout the year.

You may think it odd that now, three days after Christmas I am going to talk about the Spirit of Christmas, but as Henry Van Dyke wrote in 1908 the Spirit of Christmas can be yours throughout the year--indeed that is our very goal.

Actually, President Monson in the Christmas Devotional broadcast to the Church in December of 2003 expanded the idea of the spirit of Christmas lasting throughout the entire year when he said, "To catch the real meaning of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable and it becomes the spirit of Christ."  When we come more interested in people than in things we have caught the vision of the true meaning of Christmas. 

There are many ways we can make Christmas and that spirit of Christ last all year long, but I have chosen to talk about just a few of the ways I have found helpful for me.

Today I would like to share with you what I call the Three P's.   They are important activities that can recall the Spirit of Christmas every time you participate in them:  They are Emulating Christ's Parables, Preparing for the Second Coming and establishing a Personal Ministry.

#1  Emulating Christ's Parables:

Christ taught the people very important gospel principles through stories about everyday things they were familiar with.  When we emulate the actions of the characters in His parables, we embody the ideals of Christ such as compassion, comfort, concern, and charity.

Take for example the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Now we’re not likely to find a traveler who has been beaten and robbed lying by the side of Highway 60 as it approaches Johnstown.  (I know because I would probably see them first!) But we might encounter opportunities to help people that have been “robbed” of good health through illness or rendered homeless for a dozen reasons—none of which matter.  But what does matter is what we do to take care of the poor and needy. 

Mother Teresa didn’t worry about the masses who needed help, she took care of those in need who were around her.  At times she was chastised for trying to help when her efforts were such a small drop in the bucket of miserable humanity.  But she reminded her detractors that the small help she gave those few was still an important drop.  President Monson has always been the same, taking care of the needs of the one nearby who needed help then.

So, how can we translate the parable of the Good Samaritan into our everyday, 21^st Century life?  I’m sure all of you participated within the last month to make sure someone without the means had a good Christmas.  But you can make that spirit of Christmas last through the year in other acts of service, too. 

Have you thought about reading to someone who is blind or who can no longer read because of failing eyesight?  Perhaps there is someone with a chronic illness who would appreciate a volunteer who could write letters for them—yes, even email letters.  There are dozens of community projects which operate all year long.  They collect warm coats—Roosevelt high school just did one—necessities for women’s shelters (Cub Scouts did that), toiletries for those in the military, house and yard cleanup for those too old or frail to do the yard work or housework like they used to do.  Go sing to someone—it doesn’t have to be perfectly on pitch, just genuine and loving to people who might not get out because of age or illness.  Or go play the radio for them or a CD.  Kick around a soccer ball or play an impromptu game of softball at the park.  Get out the old board games and get people together when they are on the fringes.  Think up something that you have never helped with before and blaze a new trail of concern as the Good Johnstonian.

How about the parable of the Lost Sheep.  Go after the ONE who doesn’t get picked, the one no one else has noticed, the one who doesn’t dress like the rest, the one who has secret sorrows of the heart.  You never know what a kind word, an invitation, a genuine greeting can do for those who are on the outer fringes of the in-crowd.  Make a difference in that ONE’s life!

Then there’s the parable of the Prodigal Son.  There are many around us—in our community and at our workplace—who once enjoyed the blessings of the gospel in their lives.  But for various reasons they have fallen away from activity and association with the Church.  Know this—there is usually a parent or a family member somewhere who is praying for that person’s return and for someone to care about them in a way that will kindle that spark of a spirit which I believe never dies.  Be THAT home teacher. Be THAT Visiting Teacher.  Be THAT Young Women or Young Men leader. Be THAT neighbor.  Be THAT Ward member who reaches out as a friend—over and over and over again, even when you think it isn’t making one bit of difference in the other person’s attitude or altitude in the world. When you see that person’s name on the ward list, think of them in terms of being an important part of a family who still embraces the gospel and wants very much for their family member to return. This I know because I pray for my son and his family.  I pray that their bishop and their ward won’t write them off as being without gospel roots and with no one to care about them.  

Don’t forget either that in all this giving you are doing to keep the Spirit of Christ in your life year round, you will be blessed.  Elder L. Tom Perry in a CES Devotional address in March 2011 said, “The Lord literally answers our prayers through the service we give to others.”

#2  Preparing for the Second Coming:

Now we come to the second P—Preparing for the Second Coming. 

Last week in our Relief Society and Priesthood lessons there was a great discussion about some very important aspects of our preparation for Christ to come in his glory.  One aspect was to watch and pray.  Another was to get our houses in order.  I won’t go into detail about either of those significant preparations.

However, the one preparation I want to touch on is missionary work.  We know from our prophets and apostles that the work is hastening in preparation for the Second Coming.  We can either be part of that hastening, or we can hang back and feel uncomfortable every time the subject comes up.  I hope you will feel comfortable.

The Church gives us wonderful tools to use as we participate in missionary work.  Just one month ago today the Christmas initiative He is the Gift began.  We received instructions on how to help people discover Christ, embrace Him, and then share that gift with others.  We even received pass along cards to invite our friends and associates to view that terrific 2.5 minute video which focused on Christ as the first gift of Christmas. Using social media and other means, we can reach out to an unprecedented number of people even in our small scope.

During this last month I have left for the housekeeper in each of the hotel rooms I have stayed, my written testimony of Christ, along with one of those He is the Gift pass along cards and an invitation to see the video. In addition I have handed those little cards out to my flying partners and emailed passengers and flight attendants, too, whom I have met on the plane over the years, the same invitation and the link to the video.  It’s not much, I assure you, but it’s still missionary work.  During the rest of the year I leave regular pass along cards, or I’m a Mormon cards with an invitation to read my testimony of Christ at mormon.org.

Missionary work also includes donations to the ward or church missionary funds.  Your widow’s mite along with many other widow’s mites combine to make a big difference.  Having the missionaries to dinner, inviting them to teach your friends, and yes—even having them live in your home is missionary work!

L. Tom Perry also said in that same CES Devotional in 2011 “The world has fallen away from a belief in Christ.  We must help others return to their Christian faith.”

#3  Establishing a Personal Ministry:

And now we come to my favorite P—Establishing a Personal ministry.

I always felt comfortable with the Relief Society General Presidency when   Bonnie D. Parkin was the president.  She and her counselors were my contemporaries and peers.  They went to high school the same time I did.  They were having children the same time I did.  They could relate to experiences growing up in the 50’s and 60’s. 

Sister Parkin’s messages were always homespun, down-to-earth discussions about how any one of us ordinary people could do extraordinary things.  I believed her every time she expressed those thoughts, and I felt like I had been empowered to become a better person by continuing with the good I had already established in my life.

Sister Parkin mentioned the Savior’s ministry in her BYU Devotional Address February 13, 2007. Then she asked the question, “Have you ever wondered if you have a personal ministry?”  She said she believed we all do, and that we received that personal ministry in the premortal world, that it was divinely given and lasts a lifetime.  She quoted President Kimball, “…You are accountable for those things which long ago were expected of you just as are those we sustain as prophets and apostles!”

I have listened to or read, many, many talks in my lifetime.  The majority of them have been spiritually uplifting or have been an answer to prayer, or an encouragement to go on in the face of tough circumstances, but I cannot remember a talk that resonated with me on such a deep, personal level.  Before I read this article, I knew it was important to me that I write notes to people.  But I had never really thought of it as a “personal ministry”.  But that is what it has evolved into.  Now I recognize those gestures as purposeful to my own premortal assignment. 

So I guess you are just going to keep on receiving those notes and post cards from far away places!

Your own personal ministry can be any number of things.  For some people they include acts of service, cooking, sewing, and other talents, being a peacemaker or extending oneself in friendship. 

I like to think Louis’ personal ministry is bearing testimony of the plan of salvation.  He does that almost daily with the people he works with, people he runs into—everywhere.  Case in point.  Louis went with me on my last trip.  We left early Christmas Eve morning and went first to Los Angeles and then to New Orleans for Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning.  It was nice because in 14 years I have been alone among a plethora of passengers every other Christmas except one.  He traveled with me on Christmas day, too, to Houston and then to West Palm Beach.  What a lucky individual because there was an empty seat for him on each of those four flights!  Unheard of during the holidays!  Then we got to Newark where he spent 15 hours on Friday waiting through several full flights until there was finally an empty seat about midnight.  (And so there goes the romance you might think of as getting to fly on the plane with my tickets.)  But…Louis made the best of it.  He struck up a friendship with a couple from Fort Collins who were also waiting for pass-riding seats to get to Denver.  He bore his testimony to them of the plan of salvation—they didn’t know he did—and invited them to the open house when the Fort Collins Temple is finished.  He told me all about it when he picked me up from DIA late last night.  Just another day in the life of Louis Bateman.

So, you may want to spend some time thinking about your personal ministry and pinpoint how it will ensure a spirit of Christ all year long.

CONCLUSION:

I wasn’t too keen on the short story A Christmas Carol when I was younger.  It probably wasn’t until I was in college as an English major when we studied Charles Dickens that I began to appreciate his writings and I became a fan of this classic story about Ebenezer Scrooge.  I have made it a tradition of my own ever since to either reread it every Christmas season or watch the movie—the one with George C. Scott as Scrooge is my favorite. 

You recall the story, I’m sure.  It echoes this scripture from Mosiah, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” 

Jacob Marley’s ghost spoke sadly to Ebenezer Scrooge of lost opportunities when he said, “Not to know that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness!  Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunities misused!  Yet such was I! Oh! Such was I!”

Marley added:  “Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led Wise Men to a poor abode!  Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!”

We can learn a valuable lesson from both Charles Dickens and the example of Christ.  President Monson in a First Presidency message in December 1987 said, “As we…remember to look outward into the lives of others, as we remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive, we, during this Christmas season, will come to see a bright, particular star that will guide us to our precious opportunity.” 

And I will add this as I close with my testimony of the Spirit of Christmas being real in our lives—it can also be always in our lives! All year long!

In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME !

I went out and bought a car for my own 71st birthday present. 

The BIG fireworks were last year for my step into the world of the Septaugenarian when my children threw a surprise birthday party for me.  Any celebration this year was going to be hard to top the one in 2015: the Thanksgiving Dinner the day before the party with EVERYONE in attendance, the family picture shoot, the make-your-own pizzas, and the homemade donuts ala Maude Huggins who used to make them per my request for my birthday instead of an ordinary cake when I was growing up .  Oh, and the personalized Trivial Pursuit Game with questions straight from 10 years worth of the Nichols Family News.

Yeah.  That was a show-stopper event.  One that could never be duplicated or even measured up to.  So, I bought a new car. 

Actually, I didn't set out to do that.  I knew I needed to purchase a new vehicle pretty soon since the Momma G Eclipse was 14 years old.  And, though it is still a near-perfect ride, I knew it would soon begin to need major replacement parts.  The original ones weren't designed to last forever.  But I just couldn't bring myself to even THINK about the overwhelming prospect of finding a car that I liked or could afford.

So, I thought I would just keep my eyes open for something that struck my fancy.  There was a little criteria I had already set up :  had to be more than just a reasonable car for one person i.e. something with four doors and room for TWO car seats if we had family visit--but on the sporty side.  Plus, I wanted to make sure the back window wasn't just one of those little peep hole things but an opening with lots of space to look out of when checking the rear view mirror.  I still wanted "four on the floor".  Oh, and the price had to be right.  Whew!  I guess that was just a little more than a few requirements. 

Still....I was in no market to even begin looking, though Louis kept trying to entice me to jump start the process by test-driving several vehicles.  Beginning with a BMW which he thought I would look good in.  (Incidentally, Brice thought the same thing and even offered an incentive.)  Not ready.  Not interested. 

Then I got a letter from Mitsubishi with news that the visor over the passenger side window was defective, and I needed to take it to the car dealership to get it repaired.  No money involved.  Why not.  So, I went up to Fort Collins Mitsubishi and had the recall taken care of.  (They put a "bra" on the visor because there were some Eclipses in which the visors just flipped down on their own and caused some kind of mayhem--however minor.  Mine had never even thought about flipping down!)

Louis suggested it was a marketing ploy to try to sell me a new car, but not one word was said about buying a new car or even looking at one of the models on the showroom floor during my visit for the recall/repair.  I was pleased about that as I have such a difficult time saying "no" to a salesperson even though I know most of the ploys they use.  I used some of them myself to sell computer memory years ago.

But one day a few weeks later as we passed by that dealership, I remarked to Louis that I kind of thought the little white sporty SUV parked out in front looked sort of like my style.  He turned right into the lot and insisted I take a test drive.  I was embarrassed.  I wasn't ready. I didn't have enough money.   I had a thousand reasons NOT to.   But Louis wouldn't take no for an answer. 

Turns out the little white sporty job was a RAV 4!  Well, I was in the dealership.  It wouldn't hurt just to take a look at the two cars on the showroom floor.  One was a great color blue.  Yet when I found out there was a red one on the lot behind us, I hung with the instant thought to check out the red one.  So, the salesman brought it around.  Turns out it was a full-sized model I was looking at, a car the same size as Louis'.  Didn't want THAT huge thing filling up space in the garage and guzzling gas.  I was used to going between 425 and 450 miles per tank of gas! 

But it was love at first sight when I saw this little Outlander Sport made by Mitsubishi.  I asked the agent why I have never seen them on the highway.  He said it was a model that was mostly marketed in Australia and just recently made its debut in the United States but that they were going to expand across the country in the next year or so.

I went on the test drive.  I was as nervous as could be with Louis to my right and the salesperson in the back seat.  But I hadn't gone more than a few blocks when I had the overwhelming assurance I could handle a car like that.  We went in to see what the damages were going to be.  As it turned out, it was a "doable" offer. 

The car is a 2016 model, so the price came down for that.  Obviously, no credit for my car because it was way too old, but there turned out to be a few thousand dollars in rebates and concessions including $500 because I am a current owner of a Mitsubishi.  And there were only 27 miles on the odometer!  It isn't the fancy version with all the bells and whistles like the back-up screen Louis has on his car or the spoiler or upgraded seats.  And no      four-on-the-floor either--automatic which I am still getting used to (like NOT putting my foot on the non-existent clutch).  I just want a basic, dependable car.  This looked like it was the one.

We left the car dealership telling the salesperson that we were going to go to a couple of other places to check out similar vehicles, but instead we went home.  I knew I wanted to buy this car, so it seemed pointless to  traipse over to Loveland Ford or Peak KIA and get inundated with reasons I should buy their sporty versions of an SUV.  After a sufficient amount of "wait time", we went back to Fort Collins Mitsubishi where I inked the papers and became the proud owner of a Rally Red Outlander Sport for just $254 a month.

There is no pre-payment penalty, so I will double the payments every month for a year, throw any bonuses and profit sharing (if we get some this spring) toward the principle, and add what little I will get from the sale of the Eclipse to that, as well.  That now delays my plan to retire until my 72nd birthday, but I am confident the year will pass quickly.  I may have to get a little job after I retire just to cover the car payment for a while, but my goal is to have the vehicle paid off in two years.

I did ask that they keep it on the lot until the first of December.  I just had sooooo many things on my plate during that time, I couldn't wrap my head around getting a new car home and the old one into the garage and readied for sale.  (That part STILL hasn't happened yet.  It's a work in process.)  I had to change all the info for the toll road, the parking lot for DIA, and the insurance, etc.  Way, way overwhelming those first few days.  Then, I settled in on my next day off and started doing all the paper work so I could take possession of my new ride.  That sporty little car found its spot in the south side of the garage after Louis took ALL the patio furniture and Burgandy's stuff down the basement so he could park the Eclipse behind the little garage door on the north. 

The first trip to DIA was a little disconcerting.  I felt like the car was going to topple over when I was going around curves since I was used to a low car that hugged the ground and responded to down-shifting.  But....all in good time.  I will get used to how this car works and the little ins and outs like how to set the clock.  It took TWO weeks before I figured that one out!

I often get myself something for my own birthday, but this is the first time my happy birthday present to myself was just too big to wrap.  But it was worth it....

A shiny red wagon!

The other pictures didn't turn out so well.  So, you only get to see the rear of the car.  It's "cute" in the front, too!