Meet Joan and Lloyd...

I worked out and decided to drive down to Laguna for my lunch/writing/reading spot today. I'm glad I did. It was cloudy, windy and cold at first, but soon a bus load of elderly people showed up and brought the sunshine with them. The clouds cleared as they slowly emerged from the bus one by one. They made their way down to the beautiful view overlooking the ocean. I took some pictures and was walking back to my chair when I noticed a couple of late comers deciding to get out and see the view. An elderly man was trying to help a shaky, wobbly woman out. I ran over to help and "Lloyd" and I each grabbed "Joan's" arms as she slowly shuffled along to a cement seating area. 

She kept telling me I was going to earn my Girl Scout buttons today!😃 After I sat her down she said, "You better tell your scout master that you helped a little old lady today." Lol! 

 I said, "Oh I think He already knows...my Scout Master is Jesus."

They smiled as I said, "Just give me a holler when you're ready to go back." I loved that even though Joan had trouble walking, she refused to just sit there in that bus.

Soon she was ready to head back. Lloyd and I were able to get her all the way to the steps when two young lifeguards came by and helped her the rest of the way in.

Im thankful for meeting wonderful people today who still know how to enjoy life in the midst of their trials!

Jump on today's "THANKFUL TRAIN"...what are you thankful for?

Mother's Day...What a Day!

It's always nice to have a day just for you. A day when the people who are your heart come together and make you feel special. Yesterday, my Mother's Day was more than I could've hoped for. I was touched, moved to tears, heart bursting...love. My kids, sister, & hubby spent the whole day with me. There was lunch, shopping at the local street fair, presents (lots and lots of presents), and dinner...where my youngest son was working and he served us.

Time. What a precious gift. It's those moments that make it all worthwhile; fleeting, stand still, breathe in and hold it tightly. Right here and now. Words of love, affirmation and just knowing that this moment is perfect because it is filled with laughter, hugs, memories, and family. God's amazing gift...MOTHERHOOD.

Just when I thought this day couldn't be any more special...my new son, my foster son, lil' J, wrote a special note on Instagram for me. It touched my heart to know that even though this child has been through so much with the recent loss of his mother to breast cancer, he's still able to open his heart. Share his heart. What a gift. To give your trust and love to someone who was a complete stranger 5 months ago.

God is good. He is amazing. He asks us to step up. To be the hands and feet of Christ. He will put things on your heart and ask you to say yes to where He's leading. The hardest part is, "Yes, Lord...Your will not mine." The easiest part is once you finally relinquish to His will...He works miracles. Miracles that you never imagined. A life transformed through Jesus Christ.

Yesterday, God blessed me with yet another confirmation of His life giving, restoring love. It read, "Happy Mother's Day to my new fun loving sweet mom Lisa. I love you and you do a lot for me and your the best mother in the world to me!!!!! Happy Mother's Day. #funmom #imhappyyourinmylife #yourawesome #yourfunny #iloveyourpranks #bestmother" And this was the picture he posted with it.

Never doubt that Jesus makes ALL things new! I hope you all had an AMAZING Day!

Step Into My Office-In McDonald's?

Are You Serious?

It was Sunday afternoon and my hubby, son and I stopped into McDonald's for a quick bite to eat. We sat down and began talking about the day, football (of course) and just normal family chit chat, joking and laughing. All of a sudden a man sitting in the booth directly behind's us says, "Hello, Mr. James, I'm calling from Equity Liquidation Firm" (or something like that).

We all instinctively stopped talking mid-sentence, not wanting to interrupt this very professional sounding business call. He continued, "We have some property that I'm sure you'll be interested in. Please call me at (714) --- ---- (whatever the number was.) I look forward to hearing from you."

After he hung up, we looked at each other and started laughing realizing that we had been very courteous "employees" by remaining very quiet for his call. The man seemed oblivious to us. He was set up with his office computer and paperwork in place. He also apparently didn't worry about fellow "employees."

We started to carry on where we left off when all of a sudden..."Hello, Mr. Macks, I'm calling from Equity Liquidation Firm, we have some property that I'm sure you'll be interested in. Please call me at (714) --- ----. I look forward to hearing from you." 

Yes...we once again stopped talking, so as not to disturb the business transaction taking place. But after that call we looked at each other and said, "Is he serious?"

Oh he was..."Hello Mr. Simon..."

By the third call, my hubby blurted something out really loud & we started cracking up. The man didn't turn around or say a word. He just went down his list to find the next name. I found myself trying to hurry and eat so we could get out of there. It was like having a telemarketer on your phone and never being able to hang up to get rid of him.

Bet you never knew that McDonald's now rents out "Business Booths?!" LOL! WOW!

Strange

Today my boss took us out to lunch. We usually go to the same high end restaurant & he likes to sit at the bar. He know's everyone and even has a special item on the menu named after him. As we sat down, the regular bar tender (a girl in her late 20's/early 30's) who always serves us & is usually very nice, seemed to be a little 'off.' She was kind of spacey & said she was just tired. As we all sat there, we noticed that she was having a lot of difficulty performing normal tasks. She walked up to take our order but just stood there staring blankly at us. We had to ask for a menu. She was stumbling around & struggling to pour drinks without spilling.

Her boss came behind the bar, 'to say hi to us,' but really seemed to be searching for something. She found it...a tall glass with 2 straws, pushed back, hidden under the bar. She quickly dumped a little of it into a shot glass, without letting the bar tender know or missing a beat in our conversation. She took a quick sip, rolled her eyes, then quickly turned and left. Next thing we knew, our bar tender, with her back turned to us, began doing a praying movement, placing her hands together, while bending in ballet plies.

We quickly looked at each other, feeling very sorry for her, but we couldn't take our eyes off her, wondering what she'd do next. It was obvious by the blank stare, she was more than drunk...probably a mixture of prescription drugs along with the alcohol. Finally, her bosses came in & made her go home, (which in restaurant terms=she just lost her job.)

Well, that made for a very quiet & interesting lunch to say the least...we were speechless.
I still felt bad for her knowing that when she wakes up tomorrow and realizes the stupid thing she did, she'll have some big regrets.