God In Us
Living a simple life in Orange County (the Orange Bubble) has afforded me many freedoms.
St. Norbert Parish is one of the main pathways that allows me to teach and guide others to God’s truth. For instance when catechism came to an end in late May, I felt compelled to do more. As a result, after reading from the students’ Testimony Worksheet, I discovered that their hearts were yielded to understand the Word of God deeper.
An interesting question from the survey was My Life Before I Knew Jesus Christ. “I was lost and unhappy, I didn’t know what/who to believe.” This is a response from a former student, who is now attending the Bible study.
I sincerely cannot stop praising His Name! Teaching the Word of God always opens the door to truth and studying the Bible gives you godly wisdom.
Deep within us all God is ever present. I want to hear the Lord say, ” Well done, good and faithful servant.” It’s all for His glory!
Family
This past week we hosted some of our family from Louisiana. Torie is the middle child of my sister Jo. He married his high school sweetheart Stacie. He also played football for Tulane. They have three children, 15-year-old Julia and twins, Jake and Tyson, who are 12 years old.
Before they arrived Jacob and I picked up some plain wood artwork that needed painting. As they were busy painting, Julie shared her tips on how to be a good boyfriend.
Julia’s Advice
Julia made up these rules when she discovered that her younger brother Jake had broken up with his girlfriend and was no longer on speaking terms with her. Julia sat both of her brothers down for a lesson on how to be a good boyfriend.
There are 30 points; here are a few of my favorites:
Must be polite, have good manners and be respectful;
Get along with her parents and friends;
Remember dates, such as birthdays, first date;
Show that you love Jesus, go to church and pray;
Be good with kids, be playful;
Take pictures of her, make sure she looks cute;
Be funny but not too funny. Don’t be desperate, have inside jokes;
Tell the girl you like her if she knows that she likes you;
Always pay for dinner;
Don’t be too flirty with other girls;
Be friends with her friends, but not too friendly;
Remind her how beautiful she is;
Make sure your standards are high, don’t settle for less than you deserve;
Don’t be in a toxic relationship and don’t date her because she’s popular.
What a life lesson for her brothers! Julia’s rules are pure, sincere and filled with wisdom. She is well on her way to becoming the best girlfriend a boy could ever imagine.
The Car Switch
I do not organize or plan things well because of my disability; I suffer from dyslexia and ADHD. So this means that when I read a text message, I do not necessarily comprehend the meaning, and if it includes dates and times, it’s more confusing. Understandably, I would much rather have a normal telephone conversation to avoid all the drama.
Aside from my car, I do not like driving anyone else’s vehicle. Torie and the boys were meeting with Russ and our grandsons at Boomers to play miniature golf. Sonja was supposed to meet us there to take Stacie, Julia and me shopping at the Irvine Spectrum. When we arrived Sonja was nowhere to be found. Because of a misread text message I was asked to drive Russ’ car. This car is not equipped with back up cameras nor does it have navigation. When we got on the freeway, I had forgotten to adjust the mirrors. It was a nightmare in broad daylight!
After finding a great parking spot, I parked the car. Stacie was not happy with my parking, “You parked really crooked, there is not enough room for the other car to open the door.” “Would you like to fix it?” I responded. Stacie is petite, just shy of five feet and took on the task of fixing the problem. But what happened next was worse than any nightmare. She got into the car, backed it up, then could not put it back into drive. The car kept rolling in reverse! By this time she had taken up the driveway so no other vehicles could pass. We are in Southern California and our citizen’s patience no longer exists. The more Stacie tried to drive the car forward, the further back it was going, to the point that it was about to hit another car. “Lynda, what do I do? Help me! It won’t go into drive!” By this time Julia and I were out of the car laughing because there was nothing more we could do.
In the meantime, because Stacie blocked the driveway for both sides of the traffic, the horns were blowing! In great distress to make the matter better or perhaps worse, I approached the couple in the car closest to us. “We are having problems parking the car, please be patient. Then I added, “Can you help us? ” The Asian man looked at me and said, “NO!” Again Stacie was desperate, “Lynda, please help! What do I do?”
Suddenly a light switched in Stacie’s head. “Julia, I’m going to put the car in neutral, and you’re going to push it into the parking slot.” Then I yelled, “Do you want to kill her? The car is stuck in reverse. Julia, move out of the way!” Between the horns blaring and my phone blowing up with Sonja wondering where we were, it was truly by the grace of God that we got out of this mess without being shot. To add to the drama, Julia, who only has a drivers permit kept asking if she could drive!
Stacie had the keys and asked, “Should we lock the car?” I answered. “No, let’s go!” We were so flustered that we did not pay attention to where we parked. By the time we reached the elevators Julia announced that she left her purse in the car! We walked two levels of the parking lot, but still could not find it. Suffering from dehydration and delusional thoughts, I said a silent prayer to help us find the car. Finally we found it, and this time we paid attention to where it was parked.
My Prayer
Dear Lord, I thank You for family and that we can unite in Your love. May we always have You in our hearts, and may You continually guide us to always show love. Amen.
