Sandi's Struggle - Part 1

 

Sandi’s Struggle

Sandi Griffin was annoyed. She still had Laryngitis. And yet her mother was insistent on her going to school.

 

Her mother read what she had written. “You may not be able to speak, Sandi, but you can still learn.”

 

She wrote ‘That’s crazy.’

 

“I have called Ms. Li. She said that you can still attend school without a voice.”

 

 

Sandi arrived at school. Most people she didn’t (usually) speak to, but her friends?

 

Quinn Morgendorffer was talking about her job at Governor’s Park. “… I mean, how was I to know that she dumped that guy for the other one?”

 

“Quinn, that’s terrible!” Stacy Rowe said.

 

It wasn’t often that Sandi agreed with Stacy, but she did in this case.

 

“I know! The first guy was a lot cuter,” Quinn said. “Hey Sandi!”

 

“How are you?” Stacy asked.

 

Sandi tried to say “Hello, Quinn and others,” but no sound came out.

 

“What did you say, Sandi?” Quinn asked.

 

Sandi tried again. “I have laryngitis!”

 

“Whaaat?” Tiffany Blum-Deckler asked.

 

‘It wouldn’t make much of a difference if she was the one afflicted with this affliction!’ Sandi thought quickly and with a glare. She wrote something on a notepad and handed it to Quinn.

 

“Can’t talk, Laryngitis,” Quinn repeated. “Sandi! You lost your voice.”

 

Sandi heard Stacy inhale sharply in shock as she glared back at Quinn.

 

 

Quinn noticed Sandi’s glare. “Um, sorry. It’s just a little shocking.”

 

Sandi gave a small smile. Apology accepted.

 

“But, I don’t think I’ll be coming to Fashion Club meetings for a while.”

 

Sandi gave a look of surprise and motioned for the notepad. Quinn gave it back and Sandi wrote: Why, Qui-inn?

 

“I have found that the job at Governors Park is taking up a lot of my free time in the afternoons,” Quinn answered.

 

Sandi wrote again. We’ll discuss this later.

 

“Sure,” Quinn said.

 

 

First class was Science, where Ms. Barch had taken the opportunity provided by Sandi’s condition to further her misandrist agenda. She pointed to the blackboard where she had drawn a diagram of the human respiratory system. “Sandi, I’d like you to show me where the Larynx is,” she said.

 

Sandi glared at the teacher. ‘Quinn would be much better choice,’ she thought. She went up anyway and pointed to a spot above where the passages from the lungs connected.

 

“Very good, Sandi. That is where the sounds of our voice are usually produced. That is where you have an infection and are inflamed.”

 

Sandi frowned.

 

“I’m making a point here,” the teacher said.

 

Sandi knew what point the teacher was making, and many of the boys in the class groaned.

 

“I heard that!” Barch said. “I wish it were one of you, instead of Sandi up here. In fact, I wish that all males were mute!”

 

Sandi tapped the board, where she had pointed out the Larynx earlier.

 

“What’s that?” Barch asked.

 

Sandi grabbed the chalk and wrote: How does voice box work?

 

“I was getting to that,” the teacher said. “You can go to your desk now.”

 

Sandi breathed a sigh of relief.

 

 

“You did well up there, Sandi,” Quinn said.

 

‘Really?’ Sandi wondered. How would Quinn do if she didn’t have a voice? She realised that she wouldn’t wish it on her. She shrugged.

 

“I mean it.”

 

 

Janet Barch looked at what Sandi had written, then turned back to the class. She grabbed the ruler and used it to point at the larynx on the diagram. “The voice box works by the vocal chords vibrating as air moves over them. However, infection can occur such that they can become swollen and stop vibrating for a time.”

 

She saw Sandi nod in understanding.

 

“Now, open your textbook to page 145. Not to page 178, Joey!”

 

 

Sandi came out of the classroom annoyed. Ms. Barch didn’t need to call her up in front of the class! That was a very embarrassing experience. She would write a note to Ms. Li. ‘I will do that!’

 

 

After her next class, she wrote the note and went to Ms. Li’s office.

 

 

“Come in, Ms. Griffin,” Angela said.

 

Sandi took a seat and placed a note on the desk.

 

Angela read it. “I see.”

 

Sandi crossed her arms.

 

“Ms. Barch is good at what she does, Ms. Griffin!”

 

Sandi wrote something.

 

Angela read it. “I’m well aware of her views of males. The grades of various males in her classes are unaffected. You think that Mrs. Morgendorffer wouldn’t have found out by now if it was otherwise?”

 

 

Sandi had to agree with that, remembering the time earlier in the spring when she had tried to get her to sue that caricature artist.

 

She wrote; I see.

 

“Is that all?” the principal asked.

 

Sandi nodded.

 

 

The rest of the day went by smoothly. As smoothly as it could while one couldn’t speak, anyway.

 

“Is there a Fashion Club meeting?” Tiffany asked.

 

Sandi shook her head. She then wrote something.

 

“Not today?”

 

Sandi shook her head.

 

“Oh.”

 

She wrote something.

 

“Another day?” Tiffany asked after reading.

 

Sandi nodded.

 

 

Church notes in 2023 so far

 January '23: https://www.deviantart.com/brenorenz/journal/Church-notes-January-2023-947138369

February '23: http://fardell30.deadjournal.com/250591.html

March, April '23: http://fardell30.deadjournal.com/255728.html

May '23: https://fardell24b.tumblr.com/post/718541734433406976/church-notes-may-2023

The Youngest Barksdale - Part 7

 

It didn’t take long for Daria to find out what happened. As she and Scarlett left school that afternoon, they found Andrea waiting for them in the parking lot. “How did it go?” Scarlett asked.

 

“Rather poorly,” Andrea answered before explaining everything that she had witnessed.

 

 

Daria took in what Andrea had said. It wasn’t surprising. “I suppose she’ll be writing a piece to disparage you.”

 

“Of course, but I don’t care!” Andrea said.

 

“That’s good, but how did Ms. Li react?”

 

“She was slowly losing her cool,” Andrea answered.

 

“That’s not surprising,” Scarlett commented.

 

“I’ll ask my sister about the Modelling thing,” Daria decided. “She’ll be more forthcoming than Quinn.

 

“Are you sure?” Scarlett asked..

 

“Yes.”

 

 

Helen arrived home around the usual time and found Daria reading in the lounge room. “Daria?” she asked.

 

“Hi, Helen,” Daria said as she put the book aside.

 

“You want something, don’t you?” Helen asked, remembering similar behaviour from her sister in the past.

 

“Yes. I heard that there were modelling agents at school last year.”

 

She sat next to her sister. “Oh that! Quinn was very annoying about it, but nothing came of it.”

 

“Oh? I also heard that she was involved.”

 

“What are you getting at, Daria?”

 

Daria sighed. “The editor of Val magazine was there today…”

 

“Quinn told me yesterday. Another student won a contest.”

 

“And the Principal bent over backwards to accommodate her.”

 

“That’s not surprising. There’s a lot that’s happened in the past year. But the accusations have come off Angela Li like water off a duck’s back.”

 

“I see,” Daria said neutrally, although Helen could tell that she was annoyed.

 

She had heard what Daria had done at her past schools. ‘Could she do the same at Lawndale?’ she wondered, not for the first time. “But maybe you could find something that would stick before you graduate.”

 

“I intend to. If there is something, I will find it.”

 

“But first, what happened with Val?”

 

 

Daria told Helen what she had heard from Andrea.

 

“I see,” Helen said. “That’s not much evidence against the Principal though.”

 

“It certainly isn’t,” Daria admitted, “although it is against Val’s character.”

 

“She’s certainly vain and narcissistic,” Helen said. “Tell you what I can tell you what I know about the Modelling incident as we prepare dinner.”

 

“Deal!”

 

 

Ten Months Earlier

“Mom! Dad! Guess what? I've been accepted into a really exclusive modelling class!” Quinn announced.

 

Helen looked at her daughter. “What do you mean?”

 

“A Modelling agency is holding classes at school!”

 

“Quinn, how often have I told you that appearance doesn’t matter.”

 

“Like, a lot!”

 

“But…”

 

“And?”

 

“I’m saying that something is happening at school,” Helen said.

 

“You told me about the principal before.”

 

“I will allow you to go to the classes on one condition.”

 

“Find out what Ms. Li is up to. That’s all?”

 

“And dirt on that Monica.”

 

“Sure,” Quinn said.

 

“Wait,” Jake said. “You’re allowing her?”

 

“Jake! You know something is up with Ms. Li.”

 

“Just rumors, damn it!”

 

“But there must be something behind them,” Helen said.

 

“So, you want Quinn to find out?”

 

“Yes.”

“Right,” Jake said.

 

 

Present

“That’s all I heard about it until I learned the next day that Monica had booked Kevin Thompson as a model,” Helen said. “That didn’t last long, apparently.”

 

“I guess I’ll have to ask Quinn after-all,” Daria responded.

 

“She may tell you,” Helen said.

 

 

After dinner, Quinn was surprised when she heard Daria knocked at her door. “What do you want? You’re not annoyed about me trying to talk to Val, are you? Let it go!” She said as she put her Gameboy aside.

 

“That’s not it,” Daria responded. “Although Val has something to do with it.”

 

“What do you mean?” Quinn asked.

 

“Your Mom and I talked about the modelling incident last year.”

 

“Oh that!” Quinn said with a shudder. “I suppose I could tell you about it. I don’t think you could prove that Ms. Li did anything wrong.”

 

Daria looked to be in thought. “And other things happened to?”

 

“Plenty, but I’ll just talk about the Modelling incident tonight. I have stuff to do,” she said with a glance at her Gameboy and another at her notepad.

 

Church notes - 14th May 2023

 14th

1 John 5:6 - 21

Who is Jesus?

The answer

- Vitally important.

- It needs to be a lot more than 'Just a man'!

He was fully qualified to die for our sins.

To be certain about where we're spending eternity, we need to be certain about who Jesus is.

Fully God and Fully Man.

vs 6 - 8

Witnesses

Water - His baptism by John as a man.

Mark 1:9 - 12

All three persons of the Trinity.

The Blood

He actually experienced the death on the Cross.

The Spirit

The Truth

John is testifying to the truth.

vs 11, 12

To have the Son

- We are forgiven!

Do you have the Son?

If so, you have confidence that you are Saved and have eternal life.

Eternal life is not a prize to be earned, but an undeserved gift.

Eternal life is found in Christ.

This gift of life in Christ is a present possession to be enjoyed now.

vs 13

An encouragement. If you have faith in Jesus. You can have assurance that you are saved.

vs 14, 15

We can approach God with confidence.

vs 16, 17

James 5:16

Galatians 6:1

We need to encourage each other in difficulty.

Unpardonable sin

Denial of the saving truth. The individual refusing to appropriate God's grace.

vs 21

Idol - a substitute for God.

Who is Jesus Christ?

He is the Son of God.

Mystery Incorporated in Lawndale - Part 2

 Daria walked out with Velma to the Mystery Machine. “This is likely to be tedious, Daria,” Velma said.

 

“No doubt.”

 

“You want to help?”

 

“I may have an inspiration you may not,” Daria pointed out.

 

“That’s a good point.”

 

 

“So, how often is there a mystery you can’t solve?” Jane asked after Velma and Daria had left.

 

“Not very often,” Daphne answered. “Velma would say that we always get our man, or woman, as the case might be.”

 

“I see,” Jane said. “I guess I’m concerned that this is something quite difficult.”

 

“There are many times when we had to search for the clues,” Fred said.

 

“So, we are going inside there?” Trent asked.

 

“Yes,” Fred answered.

 

 

It did prove to be tedious. Daria looked around the van as Velma applied another filter to the sound. She was no closer to knowing what it was than when she started.

 

“Jinkies!” Velma exclaimed.

 

“What’s wrong?” Daria asked with concern.

 

“This is proving to be more difficult than I expected,” Velma groused. “Almost as if it were produced electronically, or it’s such a sound mixed with others.”

 

“So, it will take longer?”

 

“Too long.”

 

“So, we’ll have to go inside?” Daria asked.

 

“Yes,” Velma answered with a sigh.

 

 

Daria and Velma exited the van to see the others coming out of the house. “Anything?” Fred asked.

 

Velma shook her head.

 

“I see,” Fred said. “We’re going to look inside the house.”

 

“It’s not nightfall yet,” Daria said.

 

“It’s better to do it in the day time,” Shaggy said.

 

“And they might be home, but chose not to answer the door,” Fred said.

 

“That certainly could be the case,” Daria said.

 

“Let’s do this then,” Fred said.

 

 

Once again, the group approached the front door. Fred looked for traps again, but found that it looked the same as earlier. But he knew that could be deceiving. He walked slowly up to the door before ringing the doorbell. The result was the same as before. Or was it? He suddenly realised. “Get back!”

 

They all jumped off the porch, part of which dropped down.

 

“That was close,” Fred said.

 

“You don’t say,” Daria said.

 

Velma rolled her eyes. “It’s far from our first experience with such things.”

 

“Of course,” Daria said.

 

“So, what now?” Jane asked.

 

“We proceed very carefully,” Daphne said.

 

“At least we try to,” Velma added.

 

“There’s something there,” Daria murmured.

 

‘Daphne isn’t that danger prone! Fred thought. She hadn’t been for a while. “We’re going to find another way in.”

 

“Sure,” Trent said.

 

 

They returned to the Lane’s, where Velma looked at the neighbor’s house from the Gazebo. “There’s definitely something happening.”

 

Fred looked at the Lane’s house, then at the neighbor’s house. “How far apart do you think it is?”

 

“About thirty feet,” Velma answered.

 

“What are you planning?” Daria asked.

 

“We’ll go from the upstairs, to the neighbor’s upstairs,” Fred explained.

 

“Are you sure?” Daria asked.

 

“And how?” Jane asked.

 

“Let me figure that out,” Fred said.

 

 

Having grabbed an extending ladder from the Mystery Machine, Fred and Velma called the others to the upstairs hallway. “Are you sure this is safe?” Jane asked.

 

“Very safe,” Fred said.

 

“That’s not very reassuring,” Daria said.

 

“Don’t worry,” Velma said. “We’ve done it before.”

 

“But not very often,” Shaggy said.

 

“OK, Jane, you open the window, and we’ll slowly push the ladder over to the neighbor’s window,” Fred directed.

 

“Got it,” Jane said. She opened the window and stepped aside.

 

 

It took a few minutes to place the ladder. “This is going to be difficult,” Daria said.

 

“You can say that again,” Shaggy said.

 

“We’ll have to crawl across,” Fred said.

 

Shaggy’s knees knocked together. “I knew you would say that!”

 

“I’ll go first,” Fred said.

 

 

Fred crawled across to the neighbor’s window and carefully opened it. He shone his flashlight into the room beyond and saw that there was no one there, before clambering through it. He beckoned for the others to follow.

 

 

Daria, Velma, Jane and Daphne followed him across, leaving Shaggy, Scooby and Trent on the other side. “After you,” Shaggy said to Trent.

 

“It’s OK to be afraid,” Trent said. “Just don’t look down.”

 

“That’s what the others say. I always look down.”

 

“Hmm. I’ll be right behind you,” Trent said.

 

“Right…” Shaggy steeled himself with a glance at Scooby and then looked at where Velma was encouraging him from the other side. “Here goes.” He began crawling across, with Trent right behind him.

 

It proceeded well enough, but Shaggy did look down when he was almost at the window. “Zoinks!”

 

“I’ve got you, Shaggy,” Velma said as she reached out.

 

Velma helped Shaggy through the window and Trent followed without trouble. Scooby didn’t have much trouble, although his teeth were chattering.

 

 

Daria looked around the room as the Trent and the Great Dane clambered through the window. It was mostly bare, with only a closet on the wall to the right of the window and a chest of drawers opposite. “What’s the plan?” she asked Velma.

 

“It’s up to Fred,” Velma answered. “He usually comes up with the plans.”

 

“I see,” Jane said.

 

“We’ll split up,” Fred began. “Daria, Velma and Daphne will search this floor. Jane and I will search the attic. Shaggy, Scooby and Trent will search the lower floor and the basement.”

 

“Sure,” Daria said.

 

“The B B Basement?” Shaggy asked.

 

“Yes, the basement. Trent would agree that it wouldn’t be a good idea to do it by himself,” Fred said.

 

“It wouldn’t,” Trent agreed.

 

“Sure,” Shaggy said.

 

 

Fred opened the door and saw that the hallway was as empty as the room. He stepped out, followed by Jane, who spotted the attic hatch. “So, why with me?” she asked as she pulled it down.

 

“Either with you, Daria, or your brother,” Fred said.

 

“Yes! But you chose me!” Jane said.

 

“I thought Daria would work well with Velma and Daph, and, and I saw Trent encouraging Shag, and so…”

 

“Got it,” Jane said as she climbed up to the attic.

 

Church notes - 7th May 2023

 7th

Psalm 42

Luke 10:1 - 7

Where is your harvest field?

Matthew 28:16 - 20

vs 1

Wherever you go, you need to bring peace.

How can you be a disciple who makes disciples who makes disciples?