A lesson in forgiveness

Last Wednesday, 6 year-old Noe Balderrama was crossing a street with his 14 year-old sister. His sister got to the other side but Noe had turned around to get a book he dropped. The driver of the pickup truck didn’t see him. After the accident, the driver stopped to give aid, but Noe died at the hospital.

Noe’s funeral was yesterday. James Hoehl attended. James was the driver of the pickup.

During the funeral, Noe’s father called James forward and embraced him saying, “It’s not your fault. It’s God’s decision. There’s nothing we can do about it.” Noe’s mother followed and also embraced James saying, “It’s not your fault. He was an angel and it’s not your fault.”

We can all stand to learn a lesson from these parents on how to forgive.

May God bless Noe Balderrama and the family he left behind.

Teaching your daughter to date

I was talking to a friend at work last night about how to teach a daughter to make good decisions in the men she dates. Now I don’t have to worry about this at the moment, but that moment will arrive one day and I want to be prepared.

I think he had the best point in the discussion. You don’t necessarily need to teach her a list of rules in teaching her how to date. Just be there and be an example for her while she is growing up. She will learn by observing her father about how men should treat women. This is why girls need fathers in the home.

Still, I figure it can’t hurt to teach her what she should be looking for. I’ve noticed that women who pick bad men to date usually miss a number of warning signs. So far I have a couple rules. Care to help pitch in?

1. Date a man who goes to church regularly (preferrably a Catholic Church – of course). These men are more likely to treat a woman well, but less likely to use drugs or be in other kinds of trouble.

2. Do not date a man who does not have a job. Preferably date a man who earns more than you.
(Correllary: Don’t date a man whose job is selling drugs.)

3. Do not date a man who has been to prison or jail.

Updates:

4. Watch how a man treats his mother and sisters. Also note how he treats waitstaff. If he treats these people poorly, he will treat you poorly. (Thank you Laura).

5. Do not date a man who does not come to the door to pick you up. If he honks his horn at the curb, my daughter will not be allowed to leave the house.