Tue. 10-29-02

Okay, yesterday we finally got over to the library. I emailed Lynz back & Brett emailed back his mom, Cody, Joey & B.J. I tried to figure out how to change my email address, but I couldn't figure it out & it p***** me off. I also insured the boat. $111.00 a year. So now I've got 799.17 left. We were gonna' bus to Cabrillo yesterday too, but we decided to just bike there today. Which we didn't do! We ended up takin' the bus today & the office wasn't even OPEN! Waste of money!! Oh well, right? We're back now & Brett's swimming & acting demented. Cabrillo's a ******' ghetto! We wanna' stay here now. We hope we can. On the bus ride back, we read parts of the bible aloud. We just saw Don by his car & Brett asked him if he needed help w/ the U-Haul. & he said he had it all under control. I was like, "Well, we gotta' get our stove & fridge somehow too." He said he'd bring 'em down. I'm glad we don't have to help him w/all that now! & I'm not gonna' worry anymore about how this is gonna' work out. I'm just hopin' we can stay in Marina del Rey. We like it here. It's just that we're gonna' have to get towed (hopefully by Augustino) to the park & waste some money there by day, & clean out the boat. & we have to pay for a survey too probably. God please, please, please help us to stay in Marina del Rey & be able to pay for it all. Please help it to all work out & soon!

Sun. 10-27-02

Today's been kinda' crazy I guess. I ended up callin' the cops on Don. We came back from gettin' our breakfast & Don tells us he's takin' a day off (not that he does any work)- but he wasn't gonna' let us work. So I started yellin' at him again. Then I storm in the boat, grab his phone & call the cops. While we were waitin' for 'em to show, Brett & I are speakin' our minds. Pretty much tellin' everything we've been tellin' each other, & everything we've been wanting to say. The cops get there & I tell him what's goin' on, then he talks to Don & comes back w/ the contract. & that's where we screwed up, so the sheriff couldn't do much. He was real nice to me & everything & I could tell he felt bad, but he couldn't do anything. So, we had to get all our **** off the boat & give Don his keys. Brett was in the bathroom prayin' while I was talkin' to the sheriff. He prayed that God has the right thing happen. Whatever happens, God have happen. So I guess God wanted us the **** away from that demon! (Oh my gosh! I was freaking out!)

So now we're at Venice Beach watchin' a basketball game. It's sunny & warm today. God wants us to rest! Take a break finally & relax! We've got a few days to do just that! A guy named Louie, that we've talked to before (he's also called Don a lyin' *******) came right over & let us put all our **** on his boat & told us we can come up & sit on it whenever we want. He's right across from Don, so we can watch & make sure he ain't ruining the boat- or doing anything.

Okay-while I'm waitin' by the payphone to call my mom again, 'cause it's busy & she won't get off the phone, I'll write some more. Louie's lettin' us sleep on the boat-out on top, under a tarp. He's got a big nice boat. He says he goes to work at 10:00 & Brett asks him what kinda' work he does. He's an artist he says. Brett's like,"So are we", blah, blah, & Louie says, "I do silk screening... ya' heard of the artist Andy Warhol?"
"Yeah! We love Andy Warhol!" says Brett
"Well, I do silk screens of his art." says Louie.
He worked with/for him! He knew him! Anyway, Louie's a real good guy. We biked into Santa Monica today after we cooked our little organic shells & cheddar w/liquid aminos (oh, aren't we cool!)- & saw a buncha' people playin' dumb*** pop songs on the street lined w/ stores & I saw a baby Rot! A little Inka! So cute! (Oh- Brett surprised me w/ a large coffee!- went on the Santa Monica pier.) Then we biked along the coast on a bike path into Venice & we went to a couple big drum circles on the beach, Brett played his sax a bit. Now we're layin' on the boat. I talked to my mom. I wanted to call her, 'cause we were lookin' at the boat & Don popped his head out & told me she called & Brett told him that he'd still help w/ the U-Haul too. He kinda' has to, in order for us to be sure to get our stove & fridge. & to make sure he don't take anything off the boat.

Sat. 10-26-02

It's the holy day! The sabbath, but we HAVE to work. God knows this anyway. Jesus worked on the sabbath, performing miracles. Um, yesterday we called & talked to Augustino & he invited us to stay on his friend's sailboat again. It was gonna' rain & besides, Aug. thinks Don's a nut too. I guess Aug. stopped by sometime in the afternoon while we were out eating & Don was tellin' him about his gun collection. So anyway, on our way to Aug.'s (we were takin' out time) Brett gave me a tour of the Ritz Carleton. We ate some food that was outside someone's room & took a look at everything from the roof. Today once we got to the boat, Don was gone & it was locked. So, we got in through the hatch at the front of the boat. We cleaned a lot of the walls & **** & took the mold-infested blinds out & sprayed 'em down. They're a different color now. Eventually Don got there & opened the boat. Augustino also let us borrow his friend's sander, which is gonna' help tremendously! & he gave us the # of another friend who we could ask to store our sails at, so Don can't try & take 'em. But we didn't call the guy. We just stopped over & talked to him. He wasn't too happy, but oh well. We're on our little lunch/dinner break now- or should I say our venting break!? Actually, I've been (amazingly enough)- patient today & Brett's been tellin' Don what's on his mind. We're through bein' fake & playin' the nice people to someone who's so full of evil. (I'll just add this comment: Wow...) So I mean, he knows we don't like him now. Brett's at the West Marine gettin' sand paper for the sander I think. We read a little of the bible this mornin' as we drank our coffee & ate our free cookies & pecan pie samples.

Unstained

James 1:27~ "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

I'd just like to write a misc. something right now. God wants us to stay unstained from the world we live in. How do we do this? What does it look like? It's real easy to not do this.

There's a lot in our society that has changed over the years. I just read a book about a Norwegian-American immigrant mother who walked across the U.S. with her daughter in 1896. Back then women wore dresses down to their feet, stayed home with their children & usually bore as many as they could. I'm not saying this is an example of the golden days or anything. It's just an example to start with. Think about how different our society is now! Yes, that was a long time ago...but things are changing every day. American society is a good example of a lenient society. Just think about it for a minute.

It's okay for there to be half-naked people on billboards- right outside our homes- for those of us who live in the city. I've even watched some very innocent-seeming children's movies w/my daughter & had to either turn them off, or decide we wouldn't be checking that out from the library ever again! With the majority of people in this day & age, a lot of stuff is "okay". I'm all for unschooling (a type of at-home learning) & will be practicing it in my home. Another name for this is "child-led" learning. But some parents go so far as to not discipline at all. To watch their child hit another child, or take from another child, without saying a word. They figure the two children will figure it out for themselves. & will the children ultimately come up with a loving solution? Will they learn to put others first? Or are children selfish by nature?

The Lord wants a pure bride. Unstained. Does this mean we have to be perfect before He'll except us? Of course not. He came to save & love unconditionally the hurt, broken & lost. Does this mean we can do whatever we want? Don't think so. Christianity has gotten a bad rap. Some people think we claim to be perfect & then they see us doing things that are far from that, & think, "Ha! Those Christians are all hypocrites." The most important thing to our Lord regarding His followers, is to love Him whole-heartedly, & to love others above ourselves. How many completely selfless people do you know? There's not a lot. I just read about a group in Portland (one of the least Christian areas in our country), who every Friday night, go under a bridge in the city, where the homeless come & these people feed them & wash their feet! Can you imagine? But that's what Jesus did for those He loved.

A lot of people may call you old-fashioned; a nerd; uptight; a baby. Can you think of any other names a person would be called if they didn't do things that pretty much the whole of society does? A square, sheltered...I could go on & on. People who truly live for Jesus lose friends, sometimes even spouses. Some are pushed away from their own family. Remember when Jesus said that because of Him, a family would be divided? A lot of people say that Jesus came to bring peace. But in Luke 12:51, Jesus says, "Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division." & again in Matt., 10:34, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." He then goes on to talk about division between people because of Him. Even within a family. I suppose He did bring peace in a way. Peace between us & our Creator. He reconciled us, bridged the divide. Thank you Jesus!

So I guess that's it. I was just thinking about how hard it is to not let the world stain you sometimes. I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this. Your experiences... Love you all!

Fri. 10-25-02

Well yesterday we cleaned out half the boat. & now Don says he's missing his medication. & his headphones. Whatever. He wants to dig through the boxes today & find that **** even though he's got enough meds to last him a week! & what the hell does he need his headphones so badly for? It's 7:30 or a little closer to 8:00 & Don's still sleepin' but we're up & ready to work. Last night while I was already layin' down & Don was in the boat watchin' T.V., Brett went in the dumpster & looked through every bag we threw away & he couldn't find the ****. I don't even care! I just wanna' get the work done. After we did all that, we walked to the grocery store (cause my tire's flat) & ate some stuff, then came back, organized some stuff & then walked to Venice Beach. I started freakin' out 'cause I was so exhausted I could've fell asleep if I layed down for a minute. But Brett delt w/me & played sax on the beach & then we layed on the beach together for a while talkin'. After that we walked back (& then, that's when Brett went in the dumpsters-didn't find the ****) & then went to bed. Augustino stopped by earlier yesterday to see if we wanted to go sailin' w/him in his boat, but we were too busy. Today we finish the rest of the boat!

Well I finally freaked out today. I mean, when stuff just gets to be too overwhelming & I can't express my exact feelings, I eventually explode & that's what I did today. In front of Brett, yeah- but Don was there too & that's a good thing! Don tried to tell us we were done today, when we weren't. He was tryin' to tell us we weren't gonna' take anything else off the boat. I told him we were & that I was startin' to get pissed & then eventually it just happened. I stormed off the boat & went along the dock bawling & cussing & sayin' it's all overwhelming & it's all bull**** & his stuff is all garbage & this & that. Then Brett walked w/me up to the bathrooms so I could blow my nose & I came out still cryin'. He thought I needed to go for a walk, but I told him I didn't give a **** that I flipped out, that I wasn't embarrassed & that we could right back down to the boat & Don. I went down there, shouted that it's my ******' boat anyway & we're ******' cleanin' it out. & we did. Don was kinda' quiet for a while & then we all started talkin' to each other about the work & Brett was calmly tryin' to tell this psycho man that it's just work that needs to be done. I mean, he's completely loony! He says, "I know what you guys are tryin' to do- you're tryin' to get it ready for you guys on the 31st." Uh- YEAH! What the hell else do you think we're gonna' do?! I mean, he's just completely illogical & making me go crazy. Then, (this guy is also a compulsive liar) he suddenly tells us he can get a van for half a day & bring all the **** to storage that's sittin' out on the dock in boxes & bags. When before he said he got the van for Monday, because they just didn't have any until then. So the money he says
he doesn't have to be sleeping in a hotel this whole time, he spends on a truck & a new storage space. & he's tryin' to take our sails! I mean, he took 4 already. He says they're for his DINGY! ALL 4 OF THEM! He ain't takin' no more! He's NOT. The only venting Brett gets to do is when we take a break & walk to the store to get food to eat & he repeatedly says things we both already know. But it's alright. At least he stays under control when he needs to.