Day 18 "Woke Up Laughing"

Daily Summary: Okay first of all I have been posting these things up way to late I believe and I am going to make sure this weeks blogs get up on time before most people go to bed. Well today started out pretty interesting I guess. Last night when I came home I tried to pull out the futon into a bed so that way I could sleep on it. Well it didn't go as planned and wouldn't pull out all the way. And much as I wanted to become frustrated with it instead I just threw a few blankets on the floor and crashed. Almost as soon as I laid down I was super tired from the day and the feeling of sleep felt wonderful even though I was on a rock hard floor. I wasn't to comfortable but I dreamed all night so that means I slept well. While I was dreaming, I don't really remember what was going on but I began to laugh. Before I new it I was cracking up full of laughter. It was awesome then as I was laughing, I woke up and I was still laughing! I thought it was one of the coolest ways to wake up ever. Shoot so I was determined to have an awesome day. I went down stairs got some apple jacks, took a shower, then got ready for church. Another thing cool that happened was my hair wasn't to messed up at all so I didn't bother wetting it and just wore the same hair dew two days in a row. What a time saver! Church was amazing! I went to my mom and step dad's church and I enjoyed both the music and the sermon. Their church is about 1/1000 of the size of Crossroads but they still have the same passion and goal and that is to praise our one and only God. What I got out of the message was quite interesting and it made me think of how many times I put God up on a pedestal and just go to Him when I am not busy or when it is convenient to me. When I am busy I am not necessarily doing things that are wrong I am just doing them at the wrong time. For example if someone offered me a job that would pay excellent money but it would conflict with Church so that I would never be able to go, but if a similar job with not as much money was more convenient and gave me the chance to go to church when ever I needed I would probably think hard about the decision. I would be thinking hard but I shouldn't be thinking about it at all. Truth is having more money is awesome, and it is always great to be comfortable financially and I could still have a relationship with God and do the job. With that scripture says we can't love both God and money and it would definitely cause me to stumble by not going to Church. Going to Church to worship God isn't the only thing it is good for. Having relationships with those who are apart of the Church is also very important. Being part of a church family is just as important as being a part of God's family. Someone will always be by your side when you will have any kind of trouble. You may not even know the person but if you walked up to them and asked for prayer they wouldn't hesitate for a second to do so. No matter how different a person may be then you, the one thing you will have in common is Jesus and that alone will bring you into a great relationship with one another. Having Jesus in common is such an awesome thing to have with a friend and it is one that will last longer then any other friendship you may have. I kind of went off on this subject but the message really sparked at what I thought about Church and everything. There is so much more to say but your eyes might get tired by reading it all, ask me more questions if you are still interested. Anyways the main point to all of this is, would you rather have extra money and be comfortable for the rest of your life financialy, or would you rather have a family that never stops growing and one that loves you more then anything and most of all, they all share Jesus with you. I know what I would choose. We shouldn't choose being busy over our time with God. We need to be able to put Him first over all personal pleasures including our jobs and money. God will provide in all ways possible in order to lie your life with peace and joy. Giving that %10 won't hurt as bad as we think. As you can tell I really enjoyed the message and can also probably go on more about that too. Man I just loved today! Well after church we walked outside and it felt like it was summer, I got so hot and it seemed like we were standing out there for hours but we really weren't. My mom likes to talk to everyone and everyone because that is how she grew up and I wasn't about to get frustrated with her. After all that we were about the leave and then my mom asked the dreaded question. "Where would we all like to go to eat?" It may not seem harmful but it is something that has caused family feud in the past. It is not that we all bicker and where to go it is just that everyone gets frustrated because no one knows what they want. While no one can figure it out my mom asks the same question 506 times and still gets the same answer. Then my little brother Jacob always suggest a restaurant that is super expensive. My litter sister Rebekah never gets any input on where she wants to go because she is the youngest and has no authority. Then Ron and I pull the I don't know or just make random suggestions and then feel like no one else wants to go so we change out minds. Then after all of that my mom keeps nagging at the situation and it starts up all over again. This usually leads to everyone becoming annoyed with each other almost 100% of the time. I have been praying about getting frustrated with my family over these kind of situations because it really ruins my time with them. There were so many times that I just wanted to blow up and what not and we went to a few places and it didn't work out and this usually leads to more trouble but for once I kept my cool! It felt so amazing I was tempted to get frustrated but I blocked Satan out and just did what Jesus would do and just play it out. I was so determined to not let it get out of hand and there were so many opportunities where it could of but I kept it real and I had a blast hanging with everyone. After all of that we ended up going to Rubios and I had two of the best fish tacos in the world. After all their fish tacos are indeed "world famous." Then we headed home with are stomachs full and chilled at the house for a while. My sister, Nicole, Nicole's baby Travis, Nicole's sister, and then I can't remember her name but the cool lady that my sister was going to to her hair for were all at my moms and just hung out and what not. Then through the full house and the chaos me and Ron managed to slip out of there and go grocery shopping for my dorm rooms. It was not only cool to get some sweet foods for the dorms but to also hang out with him for a little while one on one and have some Step Father, Step Son time, quality it was I must say. Then we headed back and I went over to my dad's house to see him and my step mom. They were just about to head to bowling as I got there so we didn't do all that much just talked a little bit and everything and then they headed out. During that time my good friend Alissa Johnson text me and wanted to hang out. I was like heck yea and she came over. I became good freinds with here over the summer and she is a really awesome girl to be around. We talked and caught up on a few things before going over to my moms for dinner. I felt bad putting her into that kind of situation where there was a bunch of people that she didn't know there because I know I myself don't really like those type of situations but she insisted and handled it quite well. My mom made this awesome dish of hot dogs, peppers, and rice. It was all chopped up and mixed together in this sweet sauce and it was amazing! I hadn't got a cooked meal like that since Christmas eve and I missed it very much. After dinner Alissa and I played some Nintendo wii for a while and then headed back to my dads to watch a movie. I am sleeping over here tonight since my cousin moved out and I now officially have my room back. I am so excited. Anyways we watched a Disney movie called Meet the Robinson's, it was pretty cheesy but pretty funny and I enjoyed watching it and guessing what was going to happen next. She beat me 2 to 1 in the guessing column but I am determined to get her next time. After that she just headed out and that was basically the rest of the night for me. Today was an awesome day and I really enjoyed so many parts of it. I can see how God is really working on my attitude towards tough situations and I can also see me becoming more Christ Like. I love God so much and I am so blessed to have Him answering my prayers so quickly! Well tomorrow looks good I am waking up, heading back to Biola, practice, and then who knows what is next! See ya tomorrow and praise God!

Daily Reading: Hebrews 10:35-39
I found this verse while searching about verses on the topic of frustration because although I handled frustration well today I still want to be able to get the thought of even being frustrated out of my mind. No matter how good someones day is going one tiny bit of frustration can ruin someones day. One frustration that might be a problem is one in which we are frustrated with God. I need to be able to trust God and be patient in the things I ask Him to do for me. It is so easy to slip and not wait for an answer and to just do my own thing. I don't know how many times God has literally whispered in my ear telling me to just hold on and I completely ignored Him. It actually hurts me to think of all of the times this has actually happened. This verse also brings to me the fact that I often bring myself up spiritually then fall back down once I reach a high. I get burnt out with all of the things Going on in my life that going to God just becomes over whelming. I hate the fact that I have had to deal with that so many times but that is the reason why I pray for God to humble me and to give me the strength to continue to become more lie Him. This blog has truly changed my life. Although this year is only 18 days old, I feel like last year is history and my new beginning has been here all along but I am finally taking the chance to actually use it. I am so blessed to what God is truly doing in my life. Just in these 18 days I have seen Him, heel, bless, get rid of bad habits, make friends, get rid of friends, and most of all I have seen Him grow inside me and help me have the best relationship with Him as possible. There is still so much more I expect out of this experience and from Him but it is nothing compared to what he expects out of me. That is why becoming a person who acts and lives like Christ is so important to me. I want to serve him in all ways possible and the selfish ambitions that cause me to stumble with this I pray that God will help me get rid of them. With the things that I need to keep working on and the things that I am asking for I need to be patient in finding all of them and for me to not loose a step in my walk with Him. It is so easy to stumble and I am so thankful for all the times God has forgiven me for the things I have done and has let me come back to Him. Being saved is one of the best things that could have ever happened to me and no one deserves credit except for my Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Daily Prayer:
Oh God,
Today was amazing and thank you for every second of it. I thank you for helping me deal with tough situations in where I was tempted to become frustrated at my family for something that really wasn't worth getting frustrated over. I also thank You for all the times in where I am tempted to sin Lord that You come to my mind right away and I quickly change my mind about doing the wrong thing. I pray that You will continue to work this way in me Lord and help me to grow into a stronger Christian and to help me also in getting my relationship better with You God. I would like to also thank You for the message you lead me to today in Church God. I enjoyed every second of it and I hope that you will give me more opportunities to be able to make it to church more during the busy baseball season. I pray that I will never become to busy for me to stray away from You God. I pray that you will give me the courage to drop something if it is affecting my walk with You. I pray that this upcoming baseball season wont be to hard on school for me Lord. Having school and practice is hard enough God but traveling and dealing with school is something that I have not yet experienced and I pray that you will give me the strength to get through it all. Help me also to play to the best of my ability with the opportunities I get God. Help me not to be nervous under these circumstances and to stay away from injury. I thank You God for relieving some of the pain in my knees Lord. It is awesome being able to get up after sitting down for and hour without feeling pain. I pray that You will do the same for my shoulder Lord. It hurts 24 hours of the day God, please put Your healing hand on it. Next Lord I would like to pray for my family, I pray that You will continue to help us all grow close to You God and that my dad's side and my older sister will be able to come to You God. I pray for my friends that in any struggles they may be going through for you to lift them up and if they aren't believers help me to show them Your light God. Help others to see You through my actions God. Help me to have a Christ like attitude on everything I do. Keep me away from any kind of sexual temptation Lord and help me to stay pure. With that I pray that You will help me find the dream girl I have been searching for God. I pray that you will help me be patient in finding and seeking this girl and not to jump the gun. I pray for the certain someone that keeps coming up in my mind. Please help me with dealing in this situation God and do with it whatever is right God no matter what I think about it. I pray God that You will help me be me and not try to be anyone else. Help me to not be self cautious and for me to only do things that I am comfortable in doing. Help me to be able to eat healthy God and to work out to become stronger and a better baseball player. I pray for all of the things that may be unspoken or un-thought of during this time of prayer God that you will help the thoughts come to mind so that I may pray for them. I pray for all of these things in Your precious Name.
AMEN.