All I really need is the man
In reflection of today’s marriage between my dear friends Lindsey & Derek…
A free gift to my sisters!
(not quite Romans 6:23 good, but it’s real close)
This is (was?) written as encouragement, especially to those who despair that they may just end up living the rest of their natural lives without a helpmate that they can cherish and grow old with.
At the original time of composition, neither Sir Cole nor Uncle Tang were dating, much less had anyone in mind to pursue. So they really had little idea on the implications and effect this would have. However, the 100% success rate of this tried-and-true method to “get the man” is a clear demonstration that if you, dear sister, follow these six simple steps YOU TOO can be on the road to catching the eye of a righteous and upright man. :)
(not to mention the 8 year, 1 month anniversary to the day and time! of the original post “All I really need is the man” on LiveJournal)
http://tinyurl.com/6thyowt
Porkchop & (not so) Silent KayKay Strike Back
If you are a faithful reader to my occasional blog posts, you’ll recall a somewhat recent encounter with some neighbors I met. After nearly two months, I saw all the kids (Nick, Braden - also known as Porkchop, and Katelyn - with nickname KayKay) outside their home tonight and decided to stop by to say hello as they were putting on the finishing touches on washing the family minivan.
The highlight of my discourse went something like this:
——-
Porkchop: Yeah, I had a girlfriend once.
Me: And what is your age?
Porkchop: 9.
Me: What did you do?
Porkchop: Oh, I went over to her house and had dinner.
Then she dumped me.
——-
Katelyn: How did you get dumped?
Me: ????
Katelyn: Into the ocean. You said you got dumped into the ocean once.
——
Katelyn: How old are you again?
Me: 29.
Katelyn: You can get married at your age! Why aren’t you married?
Me: I know. You know your [LDS] neighbor across the street? She is my age and has four kids already. It’s just different for different people!
Katelyn: What’s so hard about it? You need to get married. Find a pretty girl…and then get married. START TOMORROW!!!
——-
And she said it in such a sweet 5-year old voice, too :)
Katelyn is the real deal. Indeed, our previous conversation was not a fluke.
Perhaps I’ll go over for some more overpriced lemonade later this week (perhaps with a dozen famous chocolate chip cookies in hand, too) and investigate where/how she comes up with these amazing insights from.
If she is a glimpse of the future of America, then there may actually be some hope. Or perhaps she is just a statistical outlier. But we need more of her :D
What a difference (nearly) a year makes.
(click on the photos to see detailed captions)
How to Save Gas
Today we’re deviating from heartfelt musings to something a little more practical.
As you know, the price of gasoline (for a myriad of reasons) is skyrocketing. I’m sure there are numerous articles available detailing how to get more mileage out of a tank of gas. But here are a few tips I will gladly share to you:
- Make sure your tires are properly filled. The inside portion of the driver’s door should have the specs on how much to fill the front and rear tires. This can provide a gas savings up to 20% (somebody said that…somewhere)
- Drive between 55-65 mph on the highway. Also, no rapid acceleration if you can help it.
- Change your air filter. It is located under the hood. A maximum investment of $15 can go a long ways for 15,000 miles (the frequency of changing out air filters, depending on driving conditions & environment). Sometimes it is difficult to access so if you are a girl, do not be bashful to pull a brother aside to help you change it out.
- While you’re at it, change the cabin air filter. Fresh air into the engine (from the aforementioned point) should warrant fresh air coming into the vehicle, right? So for your own health, treat yourself to a new cabin air filter :D
- Have enough oil in the engine. Don’t make your engine work unnecessarily harder than it has to by having low oil. Jiāyoú! Keep 1-2 extra bottles of same-grade oil (should be the same weight as that currently in your engine too) in your trunk for good measure. Don’t know how to check the oil level? Ask a brother. He should know.
- Don’t drive around with excess weight. So if you don’t need it in your car, don’t keep it in there. This includes pallets of water, heavy tools/materials, etc. But keep the essentials in case of emergency (oil, drinking & radiator H2O, blankets).
There are urban myths about drafting, driving with your windows up, and not using A/C. I doubt these work. In fact I think they were stories made up by Chinese people to make themselves “think” that these tactics serve some good when they really don’t. At any rate, I still do them (to a moderate degree).
Enjoy!
Out of the Mouths of Babes
This afternoon I passed by a simple lemonade stand one block from my residence. Upon parking, I decided to walk back and pick up an over-sugared, grossly overpriced cup of summer. It was also a good opportunity to meet some neighbors - a practice that I had been neglecting ever since I started living in the neighborhood.
The kid running the stand was a 7 year old named Braden (nicknamed “Porkchop” - he certainly lived up to his name!). He introduced me to his two siblings, Nick (older brother) and Katelyn (younger sister), both of whom exhibited more maturity than their price gouging brother.
It was a good time. I spent over an hour talking to the kids, and eventually meeting their mom. I immensely enjoyed my interaction with Katelyn, who is in preschool. Here are two noteworthy snippets of our time together (when she wasn’t running around me trying to hide from being chased by Braden):
——-
Katelyn: How old are you?
Me: How old do you think I am?
Katelyn: 88
——-
Katelyn (overhearing from another neighbor about my age): You’re 28?
Me: Yes.
Katelyn: Are you married?
Me: (smiling) No, I’m not.
Katelyn: Why not?
Me: I guess it’s not the right time.
Katelyn: How come? Don’t you want to be married?
——-
I think I will be back visiting that family again very soon :)
Ouch.
And even then, our saying the pseudo-comforting “I’ll-pray-for-you” phrase often goes unfulfilled.
Encouragement here :)
In Pursuit of the Golden Corral
Last night, I took out a couple of the Nevins guys out to the local Golden Corral. It was their suggestion, and my first time.
When we sat down with our food, I asked the guys to pray with me to thank the Lord for our food. Fighting their ravenous hunger, they quietly submitted and we asked for God’s blessing upon our meal. Afterwards, an older couple sitting across the aisle piped up and said:
You guys are the only ones we’ve seen in this place that have prayed for their food.
I smiled and mumbled something about how we as Christians have no reason to be ashamed. And they responded positively, quoting Matthew 10:33 about how He will deny us if we deny him.
Although I should have engaged them further about what they believe or where they go to church, my appetite got the better of me and I did not. When I looked over to my right, they had left. I trust it was because they were done eating, not because of the rapture.
It was of great encouragement to me, to not be ashamed of the Gospel. For indeed it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Hopefully it is an indication of a trajectory of godliness, and that our hearts may be set upon the conformity of our wills to His & the beautiful glory of the coming King with the brethren - an eternal golden corral of sorts.
Six years ago marked the first day of the second annual Resolved Conference. It was my first time attending, and would certainly not be my last.
I had no idea how the Lord would work through it to mold my heart.
To those of you who see me regularly…hopefully I have shown myself to be growing in grace, abiding in Christ, and the trajectory of breaking of my own will for that of the Father’s. Some time in the next few weeks, I encourage you to please have grace with me by pulling me aside & truthfully letting me know what you have seen, and how I can grow some more (both happy and hard love).
Here’s to at least another six years of continued growth and love for the Savior. Or as long as the Lord allows me life to exalt His name, and to see many saved!
——————————————————————————————————-
P.S. For you earlier risers, this is a queued post. Priorities are (hopefully) straight with a study of systematic theology w/ the brothers @ 6A! :D
S.D.G.
The Secret of Contentment
