A Bird Always Gets the Worm

 For some reason I got the urge to get back on here and wright a little bit. It has been almost a year since I have taken the time to jot down my thoughts and just go through my day. My life has changed so much in the last year and I have been through so many obstacles that I never would of been able to get through if it wasn't for God. Baseball has been going great, I had a fantastic summer and season was going great until I got hurt during a game and have been unable to play for the past few weeks. This has been my biggest obstacle as of late and I am trying my best to trust God in it all and hopefully I will be able to get back out there soon.

I remember my freshman year when I got hurt and I was writing about it on this very blog. I thought the world was over and that I wasn't going to be able to play for the rest of the year. I had such a bad negative attitude about the whole process and never thought to give it all to God until a wise women decided to give me her advice. She told me that God always has a plan and that he never stops working in my life to make it better. She reminded me of all the times that we as a family have been through so many difficult times but God always put us on top, especially to see where we are at today. The fact that I was going through so much trouble and she would never take no for an answer and wouldn't stop talking to me no matter how late or inconvenient it was has meant so much to me. Then I realized something through the whole process. If a human such as this women can dedicate their time, energy, love, compassion, mercy, and generosity, why wouldn't a God who created her and me, who loves us so much not do any of those things?

The answer is simple, he is. God is giving me his time, energy, love, compassion, mercy, and generosity, not just when I need it, but all the time. He never stops looking for new ways for me to bring the glory back to Him. Although I may not ever understand what is going on in my life, he always has a plan and it is up to me to completely trust Him through that plan. After all he provided me with this wise women to share this information with me in the first place.

Matthew 6 is a great chapter to look at when having worries or struggles that are going on in your life. My favorite part about the chapter is verse 26 and 27, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"

If God provides for the animals then why wouldn't he provide for us? 

So God,
It's all yours. Have me, take my life, let it be, everything all of me, here I am, all I want to do is live for your glory. Not mine. I want to be able to trust you in the things you do. God help me not to worry about what is going in the future, help me not to think so negatively about what is going on around me. Help me to be able to see and realize all the blessings you have provided me with. There is no negative with you God there is all positive. You are my everything. I want you to fill me with your Holy Spirit, guide me in the right direction. Show me the path you laid for me. Help me to not veer off the path but to stay true to you. Thank you so much for all that you are doing in my life, thank you for that wonderful women you put in my life that serves you every day and night. Bless her, and continue to guide her on the path you have laid for her. Help me remain the man you want to me. God help me to take life one step at a time and know that you are in complete control of it. I love you. AMEN.


Thank you Mom, I love you.

Crazy Win

Today was our first game of the summer season it was an exciting one. Things didn't look to good at first when we found ourselves in a 5-1 deficit almost the entire game. After chipping away in the 7th and making it 5 -2 we found ourselves loosing going into the bottom of the 9th. Through the game our bats were quiet as we only had 4 hits in the entire game. But the bats finally came around and we ended up scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the game. It was a great way to start the season and a win like that really brings the guys together and we could start bonding better as a team.

Thinking about it now, preparing and getting ready for the game is all I really did and not to much really went on besides that. I did feel a little rusty at the plate today seeing that I haven't seen live pitching in well over a month. With time I know that I'll come around and begin to feel more comfortable.

Today I would like to talk about trust. When we are looking for things from God, which can be various different things, sometimes they take a significant amount of time to be answered. Whether it is days, weeks, or even years God will always point us in the right direction. It may not always be what we are expecting or what we want, but it is always right. Although God appears to be catastrophically late at times, His timing is always perfect. Through the time waiting and wondering we should continue to pray and trust God that he will show us the right way or give us the right answer. This can obviously be a tough thing to do as we want things to happen quickly and clearly. If God just gave us answers to prayers right away, then we wouldn't learn anything from Him. For example if someone were to ask God to give him/her more patience, would it be better for God to just give the person patience right away, or to give the person a opportunity to be patient?

Through life God strives in having us learn new things through bad and good experiences. God is always teaching us new things and at times we don't even realize it. So when going through the day, lets try to open up our minds and learn from the situations we encounter. Lets trust God that he will show us the right way and give us the answers he knows that are best for us. When things take to long we can tend to go to what we think is best instead of what God wants for us. No matter how long things may take just keep praying and trusting God and he will show you the way.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
       and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
       and he will make your paths straight.

The word lean is perfectly used in the verse as it typically means putting your whole weight on something. Instead of putting your whole weight or resting on your own understanding, put it all on God. We should bring our decisions to God in prayer, and use the Bible as your guide to follow what God is leading. He will make our paths straight by both guiding and protecting us. This wont be easy so take it one "at bat" at a time and trust God with everything.

GODISHERENOW.

Sweet Ride for the Summer

Today was great, I was able to sleep in and wake up to pancakes for breakfast. The meals keep getting better by the night and I love it. After pancakes, I headed to Buffalo Wild Wings to do a "meet and greet" with the team for the fans. No one really showed up once again probably because it is way to early in the season to really do anything. I mean not even all of the players are here yet. Well at least we were able to get free food out of the whole thing. After that I headed back to the house and basically relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. My host parents also surprised me last night with a Jeep Wrangler to drive for the summer. It is pretty sweet and we all spent a majority of the day cleaning it. It basically is transformed from what it looked like before. Even though the car is 12 years old it looks brand new. There is still more we are going to do to make the thing look even better. It will be great to see how it turns out.

Well after cleaning we had a super light practice today since the field was basically un-playable because of the super intense storm over the night. It was literally thunder and lightning after thunder and lightning. It just wouldn't stop I had never seen anything like it. I don't think they could even recreate something like that in the movies. Anyways, practice went well and hopefully we will be ready for our season opener tomorrow night! I can't wait to see how that goes and I am anxious to get back on the baseball field and compete.

As you could see lately, I have been imputing a new theme within my writings and kind of taking a different aim then I did the last time around. I try to pick something out from each day and try my best to relate it with my walk with Christ and how I typically see things.

I didn't really think anyone read this, but after people asking me what happened last night, I guess I will have to use my time a bit better.

Anyways what I am going to use today is the analogy of making a dirty old car and making it look brand new. It is simple comparing this to our lives as Jesus cleanses us when we decide to fully commit to him. Committing to Jesus at first can be one of the most difficult things at first especially with the enemy (Satan) trying to do everything possible to make us stumble. Often times we can be haunted by our past and right when we think things are going good something else happens to put us down. Now I know that while we are on earth this will continue to happen for our life time but when we have Jesus, He can help us come out of the dirty situation and looking better then we did before. Now of course this will take time and there will be times were we just want to give up and fall into the trap but in the end it will be worth all the trouble. Jesus takes hold of each situation and makes us learn from it. Overall we come out of the situation a better and stronger person. Jesus' brother James explains this perfectly in James 1:2-3.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Now considering it "pure joy" may seem ridiculous at times especially when the situation is at full throttle but we must remember that ALL things are possible with Jesus and he can help us overcome anything. We don't really have to be happy about all of these situations, but we have to try our best to have a positive outlook on it all. The fact that we develop positive characteristics (perseverance) through the situations is motivating enough. It takes time and patience so at times we will need to bear down and take things one "at bat" at a time.

GODISHERENOW.

Made it on the News

Well today was a really slow and not to much really went on so my blog will be a little short but the stuff that did was pretty exciting. I started the day off going to the gym and getting ready for practice, we were supposed to have a scrimmage today but there still weren't enough players to really field a team so we decided to cancel it. We are improving though, we now have 8 guys with more coming supposedly tomorrow. Hopefully we will be able to field a team come Thursday where we open up our season.

Anyways, practice and everything went good. The local news showed up today at practice and interviewed a few of the guys about the upcoming season. I was blessed enough to be able to make the video and be on TV! I was on it a few times last year and it was pretty cool.



I forgot all my toiletries at home and so I had to run to wal-mart and get a few things. The one fear of travel is forgetting something that is important. When going somewhere for a long period of time we constantly panic the night before while packing. Whether it may be going through every item of clothing, pulling everything out of the bag to double check and make sure you have everything, or making sure you bag doesn't weigh over 50 pounds so the airline doesn't charge you more. After it comes down to it we end up over packing and bring things that we never use. I mean we don't know what we are going to encounter on our trip so we try to go through every situation possibly "just in case" something drastic occurs and we need that T-Shirt that we haven't worn in months. Sometimes the situations occur and sometimes they don't either way we always bring stuff we don't need and most of the time we forget the things we needed most. Thinking about it, we kind of go through life the same way.

Often times, we have a constant fear about missing something special that goes on around us. With that, we tend to over due things and try to not miss anything that is going on around us. (Now this can be a million different situations and I am not really going to go into detail so hopefully you understand.) This can lead to us overwhelming ourselves and forgetting what is most important which is following God's plan. We can fill ourselves with all these "needs,"and can forget the one thing we need most. Now usually we have no idea what God's plan is for us and we spend a constant amount of time searching for it. God gives us many positive things in life that stick with us forever. We have to usually work for these things and they don't come easy. We may not always use them but we must always be ready to just in case the opportunity comes up. In the end just remember that without God we would have nothing. Not a trip to go on, not happiness, not love, not life.

Today's verse is Colossians 3:1-4.
 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Setting our hearts above means striving to put heaven's priorities first on our list and into our daily practice. Also, concentrating on what is above means concentrating on eternal rather than the temporal things. We change our moral and ethical behavior by letting Christ live within us, so that he can shape us into what we should be. So take life one "at bat" at a time and lets let God be in control.

GODISHERENOW.

Waking up to Thunder and Lightning

Today was the first day of practice. At first I didn't think it was going to happen because I woke up to the sound of thunder and rain. It was the first time it has rained since I have been here and it definitely wont be the last. I love the thunderstorms out here for some reason. Probably it's because they are basically unheard of in California. Anyways the rain ended up stopping after about an hour and the sun cleared enough of it up in time to practice. Not to much really went on throughout the practice since there was only 6 guys that showed up. It is still early and a few guys just got done playing with their college teams so they are still on their way. Hopefully they will be on there way sometime soon and we can get things going. So far all the guys seem like they are pretty cool dudes and I can't wait to see what the rest of the team is going to be like.

After the practice I headed back to the house and relaxed for a while and watched some Lost. I was kind of tired due to the fact I couldn't really sleep last night and because it was the first time going through a practice in well over a month so it wore me out. I absolutely missed baseball though and it was so nice to get back on the field and get things going again. After a while I got the chance to go golfing with my host dad Ray. Ray is hilarious, I enjoy spending the time with him and his wife and they are great Christians that really care about the players they host for the summer. They are treating me wonderful and I couldn't of asked for better host parents. Although I didn't golf very well it was still fun. For some reason I just couldn't adjust to Ray's clubs and it through off my game (not that I have much of a game anyway).

As golfing came to end we headed home and waiting for us was a delicious home cooked meal. It has been years since I have consistently been able to eat home cooked meals on a daily basis and I love every single one of them. I mean anything is really better then eating at the Biola cafe for two years but this is even better. As you can see I am really enjoying my time here once again in Illinois and the season hasn't even started yet! Tomorrow we have a scrimmage depending on how many players show up. There are supposed to be a few more that came in later on today but I guess I will find out at 2:00.

The thing I would like to talk about and get off my mind is addiction. Now there are many different forms of addiction and they could be good or bad. Right now I would like to talk about the bad ones and things I have struggled with in the past and still do today. I won't really get into details about the whole thing but it is as honest as I can be. Addictions can basically control our lives. Even though we know they are doing nothing but bad to ourselves we still continue to go through with them. There are times where we can go days, weeks, or even months without going through with the addiction but for some reason right when we think we have fixed the problem it comes back to haunt us. Even when we are in the most friendly sort of environments. One little thing can trigger it off and then you forget everything that you were working for.

In my case I am working hard to please God and addictions take place of this action. Whether it be anger, frustration, or being negative none of this pleases God. Like I talked about yesterday I may not show my emotion on the outside but when I am by myself it comes more often. It is tough to look to God in these sort of situations but this is the number one thing we need to do. Now I know we are being selfish in the first place with having the anger and everything so its hard to snap out of it and start praying. I know for one example is when I am basically venting to my mom and she stops me and asks me to pray. For some reason I constantly have to push myself to pray with her when I am upset with something even though that would be the best thing for me. I wonder why it is so difficult to do..is it because I am ashamed of how I am feeling? Ashamed of my sin? Forgetting that He is there? Thinking there is nothing he can do? Well whatever it may be I need to understand and realize that there is nothing he can't fix and no matter what my sins are forgiven because Jesus sat up there on the cross and died for each one of my sinful actions or thoughts. Overall when times are low or things get difficult we need to just get on our knees and pray. To get through the bad addictions try to start up a good addiction to take place of the old one. The first one could in fact be prayer.

Today I am going to look in Matthew 6:19-23. It reads "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "No one can serve two masters." 

Jesus made it clear that having the wrong treasures leads to our hearts being in the wrong place. These wrong treasures can be our addictions and they can control us whether we admit it or not. Lets not be in the dark but in the light and fix our eyes on the heaven not on the earth! Lets please Jesus!

GODISHERENOW. 

Adjusting to Life Once Again in the Midwest

Well today was the first full day I spent out here in the small town of Quincy, IL. I slept great in my new environment and it is already starting to feel like home. Walked down stairs, had a delicious homemade breakfast, and headed to Church. Church was awesome it is called The Crossing and it reminded me a lot of my home church back in Corona. Between the worship, message, and seeing how much the church is growing I can really tell that the church is having a large impact not only on the community but throughout the world.

Later on in the day I had a "meet an greet" with the team and other host parents along with the coaches. It was kind of small seeing that there was only 5 players who showed up. There are a lot of players that are still in the NCAA tournament and wont be here till sometime next week. That means that we may struggle in the first week of play but hopefully we will get enough players to get things going. Games couldn't come any sooner I can't wait to get on the baseball field and compete again. It has been over a month since I have been able to play in a game and it's killing me.

Lately I have been watching the T.V. "Lost." Yea I know it has taken me a while to get into the loop of things but I felt like if I missed the first season then there would be no point in following it. Finally my friend talked me into starting from season 1 and getting all the way through. Well that was a few weeks ago and I have become almost addicted to the whole thing. I am on season 3 and each season has about 24 episodes. As you can see I have been spending a lot of my free time watching Lost even on the airplane which is kind of weird but I really enjoy it. Through thinking about the situation I often wonder what I would do in certain situations if I survived something like that. Obviously there are two separate groups in the show. The leaders and the followers. What one would I be? How Would I handle it? Well in the next section I explain.

As Christians we are being lead by the ultimate leader which is Jesus but we should always be leaders to one another, and to those who do not believe. We need to be able to set a positive example for those around us. One of the biggest things I pray for is that Jesus will shine through me and my actions. After spending enough time in the Word and having that personal relationship with Jesus, this can become an everyday part of life and we wont even know we are doing it. Sometimes we don't even need to say anything to impact others. Whether it be positive thoughts, not showing anger, controlling your words, thoughts, and actions we can be an influence without preaching. Jesus works in funny and mysterious ways and this could be one of them. As long as we have him living through us then he can help us have a Christ like attitude through life. So let us follow Him so we can lead others to Him. So I want to be a leader.

Now I know all of that isn't easy. Although I pray about it all the time it is one of my biggest struggles. Whether it be anger in a baseball game, frustration with school, negative thoughts, or even acting one way when around others but sinning behind closed doors. Lately it has been pretty rough to be honest and I have been having to fight through it all. What I do know, is that no matter what happens Jesus forgives me for my sins and that things can only get better when I am closer to him. Although this is only my second writing in over six months, it is already impacting me in more ways then you would believe. I pray that I can continue to take the time to write whenever I can and that this summer will be unforgettable.

Well tomorrow is our first practice. I don't know what we can really do with five guys but maybe more will show up.


Titus 2:11-14
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

GODISNOWHERE.

One "At Bat" at a Time

Well first things first, I have been totally avoiding this blog. For some reason I can't even push my self to look at the thing. I don't know what it is but I just feel like it is some kind of failed attempted and I don't like to look at it but now here I am taking the time to write again. So again it isn't really Vinnie Everyday anymore so I have changed the name to One "At Bat" at a time. I am taking a baseball term into an everyday life experience. Through the game of baseball we can't focus on the outs we have made but we just need to focus on what is happening now and what we need to do to help the team win. That is is the same thing that we as Christians need to to when working on our relationship with Jesus. We shouldn't focus on what has happened but we need to focus on what is going on now around us one "at bat" at a time.

A few weeks ago I received a random email about how my blog was found through a google search. The man had no intentions of finding my blog he was actually searching for a picture for his sons T-ball team and for some reason my blog popped up. It is funny the way God works through people in order to inspire others. After receiving the email and learning that he writes a blog I decided that I would start writing every once in a while during the summer and see where it takes me.

While I was writing I never felt so more connected with God and others around me. I learned so much by taking note of my thoughts and actions. I learned how to focus on the positive and work through the negative things in my life. Now with the time I have been away from the writings I have struggled in some areas and I am looking to get back on the right track with things.

Through the last 6 months or so it has been a wild ride. I have gotten through my sophomore year of baseball and school. The year was of course filled with ups and downs but it was really one that I will remember forever. It was my best college year yet and I hope it only goes up from here on out. I really enjoyed meeting all of the people that I was blessed with this year. Each an every single one of them were an answer to prayer and I am thankful for them all.

Baseball this year wasn't really what we hoped for as a team but the season was definitely filled with exciting memories and experiences. I was fortunate enough to make the All-Conference team for the GSAC after hitting .409 with 14 HR's and 53 RBI in 45 games played. It was my best year by far of any baseball I have played in the past. I am truly blessed by Jesus to have this ability to play baseball and I hope to continue playing for as long as possible.

Right now, I am currently in Quincy, IL once again to play baseball for the summer. This time I will obviously staying for an entire season (2 and a half months) rather then the half the season I played last year. I am excited to see what this summer brings me. I am with another awesome host family that I really enjoy hanging out with. There will be two other guys staying with the family but aren't here yet because their seasons are still going on. Hopefully we can defend our title well this year and come out on top!

Well I will leave it like this for now, I hope to continue writing and sharing my life experiences in the future.

Matthew 6:25