Day 89 "Get After It"

Daily Summary: Today was pretty much a normal Tuesday. I woke up and didn't feel like rushing around so I got to class on time and went to breakfast afterward instead of before. There isn't a day that goes by where I realize how cool it is being on your own. You wake up when you want, go to bed when you want, and heck you even get to eat when you want. Lol that might have been a little sarcastic but we wont get into that. Anyways, the day was pretty much flowing by for the most part. Class went well in the morning surprisingly it wasn't all that boring. Probably because I was day dreaming the whole time. My mind is always wondering and it is tough for me to actually stay in one place for a long period of time. Yesterday was a true example of that as I just sat around random places around school all day long. Well I got through that and then headed to breakfast. Getting there right before it closes around 9:30 is tough because half of the stuff that they have to eat is usually gone or there are no more bowls for cereal. Lame. After that I once again sat around in a few places around campus and just kind of relaxed up until my next class. We weren't doing anything besides working on our projects so it was definitely pretty simple. I wasn't really all that hungry afterwords since I had a late breakfast but I decided to just chill at lunch and eat something little anyways. After that I just played some ping pong before getting ready to practice. It went by pretty quick today and it was actually a lot of fun. My shoulder was bothering me a little bit but it now feels fine since I iced it and everything. After practice I just headed to dinner then sat around waiting for class to start. We were just going over a few things and I was hoping that we got out nice and early so that way I could get to the housing meeting but it didn't really work that way. He talked for hours about how we should do our projects. It was pretty wack but I wasn't complaining because the pictures were all really cool. After a while though I couldn't take it and needed to get to the meeting so I left early. The meeting was kinda boring but meaningful as I learned a lot of information about what we needed to do to reserve rooms for next year. I caught up with Gab afterwards and hung out for a bit before just going to bed nice an early for the night. We have a game tomorrow at Cal Baptist that I am really looking forward to!
Daily Reading: James 4:17
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. This verse here obviously explains how we should never pass a chance to do good here in the world. We tend to think that doing wrong is sin. Here James tells us that sin is also not doing right. It is a in to lie it can be a sin to know the truth and not tell it. It is a sin to speak evil of someone, it is a sin to avoid someone when you know they they need a friendship. We should be willing to help as the Holy Spirit guides us. If God has directed us to do a kid act, to render a service, or to restore a relationship. DO IT! We will experience a renewed and refreshed vitality to our Christian Faith. I couldn't tell you how many times I have actually failed at doing this. There are millions of Non-Christians around me and I have had so many opportunities to share something but I don't. Now that I look back at it I realize how horrible it really is not to share God with everyone. I have also failed this kind of thing in my writings. I sometimes am not positive things when I always should be positive if I have God in my life. I have even spoken evil on people and I sometimes do it on a daily basis. When in reality I should be working harder to fix my relationship with them. I think the hardest thing to do is really get along with someone that is completely different then you. A person that I am struggling with I have to deal with a daily basis and I never give them a chance to even be accepted by me. It is hard to admit but it is something that has been going on for quite a long time now. So with that I could literally be sinning everyday when I even think about something negative with this person. I am truly convicted of this after reading this verse and the footnotes and it is something that I will be praying for big time.


Daily Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank You once again for another beautiful day here at school. I that l You for the fact that I was able to get through all my classes on a positive note and that I am actually learning some things. I pray that I continue to work hard to learn things at school rather then just go through the motions and take the easy way out. Another thing I would like to pray for is baseball. It seems to be going real well right now. I pray that whether I play of not I will be able to have fun and that my teammates will play hard and we are able to pump out some victories. I pray for all of the injuries that we are going through that they will heal with Your awesome power. I pray that I will trust in You trough all of the things that I pray about and that Your answers won't frustrated me but will thrill me. I pray for those around me who I may not get along with or may not have a stable friendship with. help me to not talk evil about them and to work hard to have a stable relationship with them. Help me not to get frustrated over simple things and for me to just shine Your light wherever I go. Help people to be able to see You through me and my actions. Help me to deal with problems as You would Father. I pray for the ones that don't know You God. I pray that they will somehow find You and that I will be used in the process. I pray that I will never look down an opportunity to be able to share You. Please give me the courage to do so. I now pray for school Father. Help me to be able to read and understand what is going on and that I will continue to work hard and get good grades. I pray for the same effort in baseball. Help me to stick to what I have been playing my whole life and work to get better at it. I pray that we will continue to succeed as a team and come out on top of the charts. I pray for a certain situation that You only know God. I pray that if it is what I feel for it to keep moving forward and if it isn't right please help things to slow down and for me to not even be affected by Your decision. Help me to find my dream girl God someway somehow. Help me to love her unconditionally and help her to love me for who I am, and not want to change a thing about me. I pray for the ones suffering just by claiming that they love You God. Help them to keep on praising You and for them to realize that they are being blessed for standing up for their Faith. I love You so much God and thank You again for such another awesome day.
AMEN

Day 88 "Beautiful Day"

Daily Summary: Today was definitely one of the most laid back days I have had in a long time. I woke up when I felt like it and still had time to be able to get something to eat and head to chapel. Chapel was awesome. Although the women seemed like she was speaking in front of a crowd for the first time I understood after all of the things she talked about. She talked about what she has been through her entire life and how God was always whispering in her ear but she never gave in up until she had nothing left. From extensive use of drugs to being on the streets prostituting she came out on top by becoming a follower of Christ. Her story was truly inspiring and pumped me up for the day. I really didn't have anything to really do for the day. Since practice got canceled I scheduled to make up my mid term around 4:00. I was pretty nervous about how hard it was going to be so I attempted to study for it. It didn't really go as planned. I headed to the library and sat down in a nice comfortable seat. I didn't bring my computer or anything so that way I wouldn't get distracted. The comfortable seat distracted me enough as I caught myself drifting off and I eventually fell asleep. I realized that the whole library thing wasn't a good idea so I headed over and sat outside by the fountain. I thank got distracted with others conversations and everything so I just kind of sat there and enjoyed what a beautiful day it was outside. I did this for a while before grabbing something to eat then heading back to the dorm room for a while. I tried again to study up before taking the mid term, it happened to be quite difficult as expected. If I had any study skills whatsoever then it probably would have been a little easier. All well that is what I get for going through high school not letting myself learn anything. After the test I hung out in the library for a little bit then walked around and read a book a friend of mine let me borrow. It is an amazing book but she took it back from me once she was done with some homework. So I guess I will have to wait until she finishes before I could pick it back up again. I actually thought I was going to be able to read something on my own! Ha probably not but it was worth the try. After that I had the opportunity to sit and talk with my buddy Josh Brubaker. I haven't seen him in so long. It was awesome to connect with him and really talk about what has been going on in our lives through the past couple of weeks. Then Gabby and I headed to dinner to hang out for a while and catch up on how our weekends went. She had tons of stories about Jesus and what He had done over the weekend. It was some amazing stuff. Through all of the things that go on in peoples minds, hers always has something to do with Jesus. That is what really excites me every time we get to hang out with one another. It was definitely awesome fellow shipping with her once again today. For the remainder of the night I didn't really do much. I went an worked out for a while until my shoulder started to hurt a little bit then I just chilled up in my room. Today was one of the best days that I have had in a while. I literally went around campus and just sat in various spots just either reading or sitting there and thinking about the most random stuff. I finally realised how to really entertain myself without a computer, a cell phone, or anything else like that. Just enjoying the beautiful day God gave us is entertaining enough.
Daily Reading: Jeremiah 15:17-21
Well first of all I would like to thank Lydia for this verse tonight. I would also like to thank everyone who gave me verses to use tonight. I obviously wont be able to use them all in one night but I will definitely be using them in the future! Ha well on with the verse. This verse is awesome. Footnotes- Jeremiah first accused God of not helping him when he really needed it. Jeremiah had taken his eyes off God's purposes and was feeling sorry for himself. He was angry, hurt, and afraid. In response, God didn't get angry at Jeremiah; He answered by rearranging Jeremiah's priorities. As God's mouthpiece, he was to influence the people, not let them influence him. There are three important lessons in this passage, one is that in prayer we can reveal our deepest thoughts to God. Another is that God expects us to trust Him no matter what, and last is that we are here to influence others to God. My thoughts on these three things would include this. For the first one it brings many thoughts to my head. What comes up to the most is friendship. In order to maintain a stable friendship with someone you obviously have to be in a relationship with them. In that friendship we may share things that we may not share to others and trust in them that they aren't going to spread the word to others about what you said. This is how we need to talk to God, like He is our friend and closest friend. We need to share every last bit of what is on our mind with Him. No matter how big or small it may be. Now God obviously isn't going to go around telling all your friends what you just prayed to Him about but you get what I mean. For the second one, back to the whole trust thing. As we are throwing out these deepest thoughts to Him we need to be able to trust in what He brings us. One of the hardest things that I go through is not trusting Jesus it is just accepting His answers to my prayers. Sometimes I don't want to have to listen to what He has brought to my attention but I hit myself in the head and realize who the heck I am dealing with here. It is God. The One who knows best and is just setting my life up according to His will and I need to accept what He has given me even if it is what I don't want. Tough love but great love as long as Jesus is involved! For the last one influencing others to God should be one of our main goals on a daily basis. Sometimes the littlest things can bring people to God. I can go through some crazy stories about how people have really influenced by the simplest acts of Godliness. This is another thing that I have failed in the last couple of days. I have been okay when I am around others but I haven't really been when talking to random people online. I play a stupid browser game online and I am sometimes messaged by random people around me and I think nothing of it and either ignore them or say something I shouldn't. One in particular was kind of saying some lame things then when I started talking back I realized what I was doing. I wasn't setting an example and shinning a light that I try my best to do every single day. I quickly caught myself and apologized to the person and instantly told them who I was and what I was about. I have started asking about their faith but they have yet to get back to me. My lesson was that I should look at every situation with a stranger as a chance to be able to share Christ with them. Even if it isn't a stranger sharing Christ should always be on my mind. I talked more about what I have been struggling in my examples today only because I am trying to be more open to what I am struggling with to others. If I only talk about the positives then it will seem like everything is always okay and perfect. It definitely isn't so I am working towards being more honest and open! Woo hoo! Praise God.

Daily Reading:
Dear Lord,
Thank You for such a beautiful day today! I thank You for the fact that I was able to literally do nothing but still be able to entertain myself all day. I thank You for the time I got to spend with others and just for the fact that I am able to be here at such an awesome school that is literally surrounded by Your presence. I now would like to pray for the things that I talked about in my daily reading section. Through the three things that were being taught through the message I would like to work on each one Father. Help me to be more open to You and others and for me to trust You in everything that You do for me. I pray for the fact that I may not want the answers that You have given me. Help me to keep on realizing that I have so much more then what others have an how truly blessed I really am. So with that I thank You for all that You have done for me and I pray that I will continue to be blessed by You wonderful Grace. I now would like to pray for my friend Allee as her family has to deal with a funeral tomorrow. Although I myself haven't had to experience one yet Father I am sure they are a tough thing to swallow. I pray that You be with that family and help them to praise You through it all and know that He is with You right now and everything is going to be okay. I pray for any other friends or family that may be going through a rough time. I pray that they will look to You and trust You with their problems God. I pray for the ones that don't know You God. I pray that they will somehow find You and that I will be used in the process. I pray that I will never look down an opportunity to be able to share You. Please give me the courage to do so. I now pray for school Father. Help me to be able to read and understand what is going on and that I will continue to work hard and get good grades. I pray for the same effort in baseball. Help me to stick to what I have been playing my whole life and work to get better at it. I pray that we will continue to succeed as a team and come out on top of the charts. I pray for a certain situation that You only know God. I pray that if it is what I feel for it to keep moving forward and if it isn't right please help things to slow down and for me to not even be affected by Your decision. Help me to find my dream girl God someway somehow. Help me to love her unconditionally and help her to love me for who I am, and not want to change a thing about me. I pray for the ones suffering just by claiming that they love You God. Help them to keep on praising You and for them to realize that they are being blessed for standing up for their Faith. I love You so much God and thank You again for such an awesome day.
AMEN

Day 87 "Refreshed"

Daily Summary: I woke up awake and ready for the day. I was excited to be able to hang out with my old coach and buddy from way back in my travel ball days. We went to a high school and hit for a while. It was awesome being able to hang out and hit with them. I haven't seem them in I don't know how long. I am trying to get Jeff to come to Biola for a tryout and come here. That would be awesome I literally grew up with this kid playing baseball all over the country. Well after that I jumped in the car and headed over to Long Beach State University. My buddy Andy from high school is a pitcher at UNLV and got the start against Long Beach this afternoon. I was thrilled to see him on the mound competing at the next level. He did an amazing job despite the fact that he not only had little to none run support but his team made 8 errors behind him. Shoot. I got to talk to him after the game and his positive attitude afterwards really pumped me up. It pumped me up because I was able to realize and look at how I handle myself through those types of situations. For example when our team wins a game and I may not get to play or not do well then I get in a bad mood. I need to be able to look at the positives and be in a good mood no matter what happens during the game. I mean I have God in my life so there is nothing ever to look down upon when He is always at my side. Andy is an awesome man and is also a believer and it is awesome in seeing the man he is becoming! I hope I am able to make it to more games and hopefully hang out with him this summer. Well after the game I just headed back to school and relaxed for the rest of the night. I went over to the cafe got some food. Then did some major laundry that has been piling up over the past week. After that I really cleaned up my room or at least tried to. I realized that I have too much stuff here that I will never loose. I am the type of guy that always brings everything for that one time I think I might have to use it but in reality I know I never will. Ha well it was a pretty boring night for the most part. Nothing really went on besides those exciting events. Tomorrow is going to be pretty simple as well. Practice got cancelled so I have the whole day to really just do homework and relax. Catch up on some sleep!


Daily Reading: Romans 2:1
Whenever we find ourselves feeling justifiably angry about someones sin, we should be careful. We need to speak out against sin, but we must do so in a Spirit of humility. Often the sins we notice most clarity in others are the ones that have taken root in us. If we look closely at ourselves, we may find that we are committing the same sin in more socially acceptable forms. For example, a person who gossips may be very critical of others who gossip about him or her. Gossip is one thing that I struggle with in some ways. I usually pick out a few people that I may not like and just ind of nag on them to others. When I do these things I can feel and sense that what I am doing is wrong and I still continue to do them. That is pretty sad I know. Reading this verse and understanding it will make me think twice before I speak and before I pick on other people. I know if others were talking about me behind my back which I am sure that they do, I would want to know what I am doing wrong to displease them so I can fix it. So rather then me going out and talking bad about someone to someone else I should be a man about the situation and talk to whatever is going on with them one on one. This may be hard but like I always say, with the help of God and trusting in Him then all things are possible. Even if what needs to be done is uncommon.

Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank You for today. Thank You for the fact that I was able to see many of my friends that I have been unable to see in the last few months. Thank You for letting me be able to go and support my good friend from high school and watch him compete. Thank You for the fact that he has found You God. Please help Him to continue going strong in the Lord and for everything to work out for him. Help him to go to You through both rough and good times Father. I pray now for gossip and the things that I ma say about other people that I shouldn't. Please forgive me for the times that I may have said some things that I shouldn't of out of anger God and I pray that I will be able to tame my tongue. I pray that I can be an influence to others in a positive way and shine Your light to others. I pray that my acts will only be ones of holiness. Without this holiness no one will be able to see You. I pray that I will choose the right words in the future and that I can trust You that everything is going to be okay. Please keep Satan from my thoughts in telling me that my life sucks, and for me to just quit everything that I have worked so hard for. I pray that I will never give up on anything that I have started God. Help me to stay strong and to stick to the things I believe in. I love You so much. Help me not to feel any type of pain that is going on in my body. I now pray for the people who think that they can sin just because You will forgive them anyway. Help them to understand the right system God and for them to know that excepting You as there Lord and Savior and having that relationship with You is the only way that their sins will be ultimately forgiven. I now pray for my friends and family. I pray for all of the rough times that they may be going through Lord that they will look to You for guidance and for strength God. I pray for the ones that don't know You. Please help them to some how find You God and for You to use me in the process. I pray for our country and for our fairly new President. Please help him to make the right decisions and for our economy to be turned around for the better. Please help those who are loosing their homes and jobs to stay up on their feet and not give up on life or anything like that. Help them to figure out that there is a Savior that loves them and will help them through it all. I pray that You continue to push me to take my writings to the extra level and for me to not get lazy in writing them. I pray that I will be able to get my full thoughts every single day and also for them to do so. I pray for my dream girl Father. Please help me find her and for me to be patient int he process. Help me to be absolutely sure and for me not to make any mistakes. I pray for my Dad and his family Lord that You will lift them up and keep them on their feet and if any way possible for them to all come to know You God. Let me be a light in their lives so that they may become curious to why I am the way I am. Help them to have a better understanding of it all. Help everyone to be able to see You through me and for me to be myself no matter who I may be around. Most of all God help me to be a living example of You. I pray that You hep me through school and everything and for me to not become lazy and for me to get my work done. I pray for all of these things in Your wonderful name.
AMEN!

Day 86 "Not Using My Time Wisely"

Daily Summary: Well I woke up this morning hope to be awakened and ready to play an exciting day of baseball. I guess I felt alright but I still needed to go out and get a nice ice coffee before heading to the field. Today was our two games against Point Loma University. They were ranked number 3 in the nation and we needed to win both to really put us up in the standings. The first game didn't look to good as we quickly trailed 6 to 0 after the 3rd inning. Then we turned things around and started hitting big time. I just pinch ran this game but I was cheering everyone on big time. We rallied back and ended up tieng the game after a five run inning and a solo shot by Hawkins Gebbers. The next inning we scored two then scored another and that held the lead as we won 9 to 7. We were pumped and ready to play the second game but it didn't turn out the way we wanted to. We got smoked 11 to 0. I got to start in right field this game and ended up going 1 for 3. Having 1 of only 4 hits in the game wasn't to bad I guess. I would of rather had no hits and won the ball game but I guess that didn't happen. I got a lot of action in the field today as well. About 5 fly balls or so. I usually never get fly balls when I play so it was cool to get a few. After the game I just relaxed for the night and didn't do much of anything. I went to bed super early since I kind of have a long day tomorrow and I need to get a good blog in. Hanging with an old coach and friend then seeing my buddy pitch for UNLV at Long Beach State. Night Y'all.

Daily Reading: Luke 6:45
Jesus reminds us that our speech an actions reveal out true underlying beliefs, attitudes, and motivations. The good impressions we try to make cannot last if we are being deceptive. What is in your heart will come in your speech and behavior. This makes so much sense and it is something I pray for on a daily basis. I always ask God to help me to walk in His eyes and have others be able to see me through me and my actions. I may have not been the best example of that by not really sticking to what I have been committed to do. I seem to always be getting on the computer way to late and so by the time I do I am distracted with other things on the computer it is hard to me to actually take the time to write. So tomorrow I am promising that I will write and write like I usually for the first time in a few days. I am going to trust God in having Him help me get this task done and I hope to share my experience in writing. It may not seem like such a big deal but it really is to me. I keep wanting to give up this whole blog thing but I am going to stick to it for as long as I can. I love Jesus.

Daily Prayer:
Dear Jesus,
The last few days have been tough and I would like to ask for Your forgiveness for not using my time wisely. I pray that I will be able to write a full blog tomorrow and will put my absolute full effort into doing so. I pray that I will not get distracted by the things around me and that I will stay fully committed to my writings. I love You so much and thank You for giving me the chance to again play baseball today as the season basically almost seemed hopeless for me. I love You.
AMEN

Day 85 "Staying Busy"

Daily Summary: Once again I wasn't able to sit in front of the computer till around 11:30 and I have a game tomorrow. I literally feel horrible that I don't have any time whatsoever to write. The thing is I have so many fabulous things that I have been going on in my life it is tough not being able to account all of them and putting them into words. I am really disappointing that I am unable to express my complete and full thought into each blog. I am currently coming up with a plan so that I will have time each and everyday to write. It may be tough and I literally wont have any free time but God is definitely worth it.

Daily Reading: Isaiah 40:29-31
I found this verse after looking for one that involved something to do with being tired and weary. I feel like I haven't had a good night sleep in a while and I need one big time tonight. I need to know that God is with me and there is always going to be times like this going on in my life. I need to trust God that I will always be able to come out on top through the situation. I need to also learn from the mistakes and the things that I handled wrong. This truly is an amazing verse and I am sure I will be writing about it more in the future.

Daily Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank You for this beautiful day. Please forgive me for the frustrations I encountered and also for the lack of humbleness. Please also forgive me for the times I complained about lame things God. I pray that I will be able to be more Christ-like in the things that I do. I pray for someone in my life right now that has been having a huge impact as of late. Please guide me in making the right decisions when it comes with them. Please help me get a good nights rest tonight and for my body to feel rejuvanated in the morning. I pray also that I can come up with a schedual to have all of my writings done before it is time for bed. I love You so much God please keep the fire in my heart burning.
AMEN

Day 84 "Uh Oh"

Daily Summary: Well I definitley didn't get enough sleep for the night but I woke up and got ready for class anyways. My favorite class of the day is at 8 o clock. Not! Ha maybe it is just because they are in the morning but one thing that I have notice through the years of school is that every single class that I have in the morning I always seem to get behind in. I usually just don't like the class so I choose not to really pay all that much atention and things really haven't changed while being in college. I chose to have the early class so I have to deal with it. I felt like a zombiee throughout the entire class until she passed out this piece of paper with an explenation on how to write different kinds of sentences. At the end we had to write our own sentences using these specific strategies and we could write about anything. So for some reason I got the urge to write about Jesus and that is exactly what I did. It was tons of fun trying to come up with all these fansy adjectives and everything. It definitley lifted up my zombiness up for the day and I was ready to get rolling. After class I headed over to breakfast and just kind of chilled in the cafe for a while. I could of went to chapel but I wanted to get something to eat and get a jump start on my blog. It was preety nice to be able to get ahead and actually not rush so I could get to bed at a decent hour. I know tonight is going to be preety busy so writing when I have the chance to definitley is good. After chilling in the cafe for an hour or so I headed to class. We had to finish our part of the project that I already finished so I just get to sit back and watch commercials the whole time. How cool is that!? Well I am going to have to finish everything in the morning because I just got in from class and I am super tired. Just to let you know I still read and pray but I just don't have the time to really write everything. :] Good Night. Well the rest of my day went kind of like this. We played another awesome game. Through the first three inning we kept going back and fourth each scoring one run a peace. I got to start in right field today so I was pretty pumped about that. In my first at bat I got a fielders choice groundout but got the RBI which was okay I guess. Through the years getting a hit in my first at bat has been uncommon. After the third inning we started hitting the crap out of the ball. We pounded out 23 hits and put up a score of 18 runs. We won the game 18 to 6 and I ended up going 2 for 3 after getting taken out of the game after the 5th inning. It was a lot of fun and we got into it a few times on the field with the other team, but I won't really get into all of that. Ha well for the rest of the night I just went to class and got my photos critiqued and everything. It took a while to get out of there and by that time I was already falling asleep just sitting in my chair so I just headed to bed and decided to call it a night.

Daily Reading:

Day 83 "The Philedelphia Eagles vs. The Detroit Lions"

Daily Summary: Interesting day. I didn't really do all that much but everything all happened kind of fast. I wanted to get a good night sleep but I woke up around 8:00 for no apparent reason and couldn't fall back asleep. It kind of sucked but I guess God was just waking me up for a reason. Since I was up I went to breakfast and chapel. I haven’t gone to a chapel in over two weeks so it was good to get another one in there. I need 12 more then I am all done! After chapel I headed down to the art area do matte up my photos and get them ready for out critique. My friend helped me get it going then left. After she left everything kind of went down hill. The press that sticks the photo to the matte board ruined 3 of my photos and there was nothing I could do about it. Hopefully my teacher understands and my grade wont be to affected by it. After that I rushed over to lunch before having to get on the bus to head to our big game against Vanguard. I felt totally down today for some reason about the game. I just kind of felt tired and everything and I just was basically over all of the things that were going on within the team. It wasn’t the players at all it just was about my lame attitude towards it all. I caught myself, and thank God I did because today was an interesting game. After being in that lame mood I prayed to God to get me out of it and really get pumped up and cheer on my team. I was in it the whole game and loved every second of it. Well not exactly. Vanguard came out swinging the bats.. Before we new it we were down 8 to 0 in the 3rd inning! We then started swinging the bats and put up a 3 spot. They then returned with 2 more runs. Now the score being 10 to 3 we still didn’t let us get us down. We continued to rally on and ended tying the score 10 to 10. It was amazing that we came back from from such a deep deficit. Then in the next half inning they came back with 6 more runs! We just couldn't figure it all out and now we were back down 6 more runs. 10-16! The next half inning we came back with 4! 14-16 going into the bottom of the 6th inning! The game had already lasted 2 hours and 45 minuets and wasn't slowing down. Since the Vanguard team we were playing was called the Lions. I started treating it like a football game. The Philadelphia Eagles Vs. the Detroit Lions. We needed a safety to get back into business. We were a little frustrated because we let them get two extra points since their kicker was hurt. It was kind of fun announcing the game and it was even better when we got the safety! That is right we again tied the game up 16 to 16. We couldn't get anything going in the rest of the game and ended up loosing the game 16-18. It was a tough fight and a tough way to loose especially after scoring that many runs. I got in the game a few times, I ran once and scored one of the 34 runs and also pinch hit but flew out to center. Get them next time though! Tomorrow we need to come out swinging like we did today and get more runs and come out with two big victories. If we don't get these wins then we will be in trouble but we will won't give up. After the game I missed a final since the game lasted 4 hours and 10 minuets and used just about 20 different pitchers between the two teams. Dang. I am going to email the guy and hopefully take it sometime next week. This gives me a little more time to actually study and what not. So that is a blessing. I again wrote my blog in eagles nest for the 3rd night in a row! It was awesome and today was good except for the loss. I also got to work out for the first time in a while with my buddy Owen. We are starting a T-Shirt company and realized today that we are going to need investors because it cost so much money! We will just pray and see where it takes us! Praise God.

Daily Reading: Philippians 1:29
I talked a little bit about suffering just by having a relationship with Jesus and I read this verse. I have been dealing with this kind of thing through the past couple of weeks so that is why I focused on it the last two days. I am not going to have time to write about it tonight but hopefully I can find the time to write about my experiences through the next couple days. I am really sorry today was just super busy and I wasn't able to open up my Bible stuff till around 11:30PM. Philippians is definitely becoming one of my favorite books to read.
Daily Prayer: Dear God, I thank You for today. I thank you for the fact that I was able to snap out of that mood and get in the game today. Although we lost I thank you for having us stay in the game the whole time and never giving up. I pray that we can bring this attitude into tomorrows game and come out playing hard and pitching well. I pray that I will be able to deal with the fact that I am not going to do good every time I step onto that field and I am going to fail at times. I pray that I wont beat myself over it and I will be able to keep my head up and work hard to get better. I pray that I will be able to get more opportunities up to bat and for me to make the best of it. Help me to be able to find the time to write more in the next couple days God and give me the encouragement to do so. I love You so much.
AMEN

Day 82 "Farmers Tan"

Daily Summary: Tiring day. From start to finish I was tired the whole time. Usually when I am tired I become kind of cranky and everything but for some reason I wasn't today. I was more laid back and kept quite the whole time. I got kind of stressed a few times having to deal with my English class. I feel really behind in the class and I really need a C or better otherwise I could get in trouble with my scholarship. I am sure everything will turn out for the better, I just need to crack down and really work hard to get my grade up to par. I can do this with my man Jesus! Ha prayer calms me down so much it is amazing. After class I had to prepare for my presentation I had on advertising. I realized that coming up with the speech isn't really the difficult part it is the whole talking in front of people deal that really gets me nervous. I probably should of prayed before I got up there but I was to nervous to figure out what I was missing. I am definitely glad it is over, even though our group didn't finish I am done with my part so that is all that matters. Woo hoo! I got some lunch after that before getting ready for practice. In the morning it was kind of cool and I actually wore a jacket. Practice wasn't so cold. It was super hot! My farmers tan is getting worse and worse everyday haha. Shoooooot. I think a farmers tan is expected amongst anyone who plays a sport that is outdoors. It is quite embarrassing sometimes though ha. Practice went great for the most part. My shoulder is still hurting a little bit but I am trying my best not let it affect the way I play. We have a big week this week in baseball. Tomorrow and Thursday we have Vanguard then on Saturday we have a double header with Point Loma. Both teams are playing really well and if we can pull off 5 wins this week it would be huge and it could possibly put us in first in the standings. This is something that was definitely unexpected after the way our season started out. I am excited to compete hopefully I will get some chances to get out there and play! If not I will try my best to maintain a positive attitude during the games and cheer my team on big time. This Thursday we will get to finish that one game against Vanguard that was called due to darkness. It is the game where I went 3 for 4 with a home run but still isn't in the stats because the game hasn't been finished yet. It currently is in the bottom of the 9th inning with us down 6 to 5. I would be due up third but I am out of the game due to some pitching situations. It is hard to explain but I was the DH so when a particular guy on our team pitches he comes in from playing first base so that means they have to put a replacement at first base therefore taking out the DH spot. So now whoever pitches will also hit. Bleh well hopefully whoever is going to hit will get some hits and we can come back and pull off that win. Well for the remainder of the night I spent most of it in the darkroom finishing up my project and everything. I still need to mount them onto a mat board but that shouldn't take all that long. We will see. I once again came down to the Eagles Nest to write the blog. I have came up with the fact that this is my favorite place to write on campus. Although there are sounds and everything that may seem distracting I can get a lot done because I am always staying alert. I am a weird dude I must admit. Today was a good day and lets pray that I get some sleep tonight!

Daily Reading: 1 Peter 2:21-23
Be like Christ. We may suffer for many reasons. Some suffering is the direct result of our own sin; some happens because of our foolishness; some is the result of living in a fallen world. Peter is writing about suffering that comes from doing good. Christ never sinned, and yet He has suffered so that we could be set free. Jesus suffering was part of God's plan and was intended to save us. All who follow Jesus must be prepared to suffer. Our goal should be to face suffering as he did, with patience, calmness, and confidence that God is in control of the future. So with all this suffering could be a part of our everyday lives just for doing things that are good. When we are made fun of, picked on, or even when someone tries to start a fight with us. We should not be the one to strike back with unkind words, pick on someone else to bring our spirits back up, or punch back. We need to act upon these sinful acts by doing what Jesus would do. Could you imagine if Jesus made fun of the people that made fun of Him? Or if Jesus picked on someone? Heck could you imagine Jesus punching someone!? I couldn't imagine Him doing such a thing. So the main point is that if we can't picture Jesus doing these kind of sinful acts then we as Christians should never do these types of sinful things. Of course there are going to be rough times where we are going to sin but that is why Jesus set the example and was up on a cross for us. He forgave us for all that we did and therefore we have been set free. Jesus easily could of had everything disappear just by saying a few words but He stayed up there for hours just to die for me. If that isn't an inspiration I don't know what is.

Daily Prayer:
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for today. Thank You for the fact that although I was super tired I did not let my condition get the best of me and have it affect my mood. thank You so much for the positive attitude I had today and I pray that I am able to keep it going. I now pray for me and others in having us act like You. I pray with the situations that we are given we will treat them as if You were right next to us. Help others to see You through us and our actions. Let us spread around and express out love to one another. Help us also to love those who we may not get along with. I myself have been struggling in that situation and I need to be better in it. I pray for the things that You God have blessed me with yet I don't seem to be using them in the proper way. I pray for the strength to be able to get through my selfish ambitions and to use the wonderful gifts You have blessed me with. I pray for my friends and family God that whatever tough things that they may be going through please lift them up God. I pray for the ones that don't know You, please help them to somehow find You, please use me in that process Father. I now pray for my Friends and family in the good things that they may be going through. Please make them realize what person is actually blessing them with these wonderful things and for them to praise them every single day that they are alive. I now pray for my wonderful friend Gabby. She is one girl that has inspired me to take my relationship with You to the next level and I am truly thankful for the fact that You put her in my life. I pray for the lame cough deal she has had for the last 3 weeks. Take whatever is causing that cough and make them disappear with Your power God. I pray for my school Father that You help me get through it all with good grades. Give me the work ethic I need to be able to do this Father. I pray for baseball God. Please help me shoulder to be okay if I am able to play tomorrow. Help us to be able to play to the best of our ability and to not give up no matter how many runs we are loosing or winning bye. Please keep other players from injury God. I now pray for my dream girl as I do every single day God. I pray that You will bring her into my life somehow and that I will be patient in the process. I pray that You continue to work in my life by helping me not complain anymore and for me to shine Your light where ever I go. I pray all of these things in Your wonderful name.
AMEN.

Day 81 "Pulled Over"

Daily Summary: Today God really tested me with my patience and with the whole no complaining thing. I woke up earlier then I should of because I had to do my fantasy baseball draft which took about 45 minuets. My team looks like it should be pretty decent but we will see! It was around 9 when I headed downstairs and got some breakfast. I talked to my pops for a little bit and he said that if I end up going to Nebraska for a tournament over the summer that he is going to come with me. The cool part is that we are going to drive all the way over there. It will take a while, but it will definitely be worth it with the time we get to spend with each other. Later on I packed up all my stuff and headed back to school. I had to buy some photo stuff for my class since my paper was kind of messing things up so I stopped on the way. I was worried because I wasn't going to be able to pay for it all. I decided to pray about it and God blessed me with some money from my parents that I was totally thankful for. The journey home was going great up until I got on the 5. Traffic started to get pretty hectic but I didn't let it get me frustrated and I thought getting off a couple exits before would help me out. Not so much. Taking the side streets definitely took way longer and it almost took me 2 hours to get to the photo place that was about an hour away! Oops. I kept my cool and got all my photo supplies. $60! I thought I was only going to have to spend 40 but it didn't work out that way. Ha all well though. I actually caught myself complaining about the money and I instantly admitted it and text Phil letting him now that I owe him 5 cents. Then on my way back to school from the store something kind of funny happened. I was making a left turn on to some street and I saw an under cover cop. He was kind of starring at my car and just joking around I said to myself shoot I wonder if they are out looking for some silver Ford Focus. Meaning that there was some criminal who stole my same kind of car or something. As it past from my mind almost instantly I was about to take a right turn and looked into my rear view mirror. Uh oh, a marked dodge charger cop was right on my tail. Then I thought wow something is about to go down here. I took the turn and he continued to follow me then put on his lights. I new that I did nothing wrong so I thought wow maybe I was right. He asked me if I new some girl and I said no and asked why what's going on? He said that my license plate brought up a warrant for an arrest for that particular girl. I couldn't believe it. Out of no where! My little car? Shoot he said it was from way back in September and that every cop that runs my plate is going to pull me over. He was really cool the whole time and let me know how to take care of it. I just though I would share it with you all because of how I kind of saw the future. Ha funny way God works, it is like he prepared me for what was about to come by seeing the under cover cop. Shoot well I finally made it back to school and headed straight to practice. I got through practice and everything without a single complaint which was awesome. I had to slow down and figure out the difference between complaining and just stating a bold statement. They both seem like complaints but they are completely different. It is funny how I notice it all when money is on the line. Ha well practice went great we just hit for a long time and what not. Afterwords I rushed over to dinner since it was almost 5 and I had to meet some fellow students at the library by 6. I got there a little early since I wasn't able to make it last week because of my doctor visit. So I waited outside for them to show up. After waiting for about a half hour I gave up and realized that they weren't going to be coming. I got stood up! I eventually did get a hold of them and figured everything out. Got to love facebook. Ha and since they didn't show I got to hang out with Gabby since she was already at the library. It was awesome to see her since she just got back from Maryland this morning. She hasn't slept in like two days. I can't believe she was actually functioning. She headed out and I went over to the dark room to make some prints for the project that is due on Thursday. I got three out of 5 done in a little over two hours and complained 3 more times! So I am now up to 20 cents to Phil shoot. I got tired of the dark room so I headed over to eagles nest for some late night food. I talked to my buddy Nick for a little while before getting after it on my blog. Today was a great and busy day. God really tested my patience and also is helping me to realize the times that I actually complain. Good stuff. Can't wait for what tomorrow brings me. It looks like it is going to be a tough day but I am ready!
Daily Reading: Hebrews 12:14
Well I was trying to find a verse or a section of Scripture where Jesus or something talks about how we should treat others and how far we should take out joking around with each other. I feel that I myself sometimes take it too far and often feel guilty for the things that I say. Part of my personality is being sarcastic and just trying to get laughs out of people. I don't like it when things are silent when I am with a person so I will do anything to get it all going into a conversation. Sometimes it can be really lame and wont work but other times it works good and there is no more awkward silence. I ended up finding this verse in Hebrews. I think I might of actually used this one before in one of my writings but I wasn't sure. I went on with it anyways and I love it! Make EVERY effort. Again just like yesterday. Not some, not every once in a while, not most, but EVERY effort. We need to spread holiness to others and set and example so that people may see Christ through us and out actions. Sometimes all it takes is one mistake to lead someone away from Christ. People can be stubborn and never give it a go. So it is one shot them to choose life or death and it is up to us to help them make that life changing decision. That is why there definitely is a line that we shouldn't cross when joking around. Yea it may seem funny and everything but it just isn't right. The only things that should be coming out of our mouths is the words that would come out of Jesus's mouth. Would he be making fun of someone just for a laugh? I don't think so. Yea I think Jesus definitely does have a sense of humor but I think He is the most serious funny person in my life. He knows when it is time for me to be serious and when it is time to go ahead and be sarcastic. I am going to have to cut my thoughts short tonight. I am literally falling asleep while typing in the Eagles Nest where there is a lot of people hanging out. Hopefully I will have more time tomorrow to talk about this but I highly doubt it. I am sorry. I love Jesus and that's all that matters :]

Daily Prayer:
Dear God,
Today was awesome and I thank You for the opportunities to show how my patience is doing along with my complaining. I pray that You will give me the strength to be able to not complain about anything throughout the day and I also pray for patience God and that I will not easily become frustrated. I pray that I can be an influence to others in a positive way and shine Your light to others. I pray that my acts will only be ones of holiness. Without this holiness no one will be able to see You. I pray that I will choose the right words in the future and that I can trust You that everything is going to be okay. Please keep Satan from my thoughts in telling me that my life sucks, and for me to just quit everything that I have worked so hard for. I pray that I will never give up on anything that I have started God. Help me to stay strong and to stick to the things I believe in. I love You so much. Help me not to feel any type of pain that is going on in my body. I now pray for the people who think that they can sin just because You will forgive them anyway. Help them to understand the right system God and for them to know that excepting You as there Lord and Savior and having that relationship with You is the only way that their sins will be ultimately forgiven. I now pray for my friends and family. I pray for all of the rough times that they may be going through Lord that they will look to You for guidance and for strength God. I pray for the ones that don't know You. Please help them to some how find You God and for You to use me in the process. I pray for our country and for our fairly new President. Please help him to make the right decisions and for our economy to be turned around for the better. Please help those who are loosing their homes and jobs to stay up on their feet and not give up on life or anything like that. Help them to figure out that there is a Savior that loves them and will help them through it all. I pray that You continue to push me to take my writings to the extra level and for me to not get lazy in writing them. I pray that I will be able to get my full thoughts every single day and also for them to do so. I pray for my dream girl Father. Please help me find her and for me to be patient int he process. Help me to be absolutely sure and for me not to make any mistakes. I pray for my Dad and his family Lord that You will lift them up and keep them on their feet and if any way possible for them to all come to know You God. Let me be a light in their lives so that they may become curious to why I am the way I am. Help them to have a better understanding of it all. Help everyone to be able to see You through me and for me to be myself no matter who I may be around. Most of all God help me to be a living example of You. I pray that You hep me through school and everything and for me to not become lazy and for me to get my work done. I pray for all of these things in Your wonderful name.
AMEN!

Day 80 "No More Complaining"

Daily Summary: Today was awesome. I woke up with a totally exhausted type of feeling but just felt 100% better then yesterday. I was supposed to go down to the park and hang with my dad and little bro but it was raining. We were going to hit a few buckets of baseballs and get some work in. If there is one thing that definitely doesn't mix well it would have to be baseball and rain. I am sure if they were people they probably wouldn't get along. Since that didn't work out I just hung around for the whole morning with the family before heading to church. It was amazing. It was all about being a pessimist. Basically we as Christians should never complain about anything or anyone! I felt totally convicted through the message and I really enjoyed it. I am so thankful that I am able to make it to church every week. They seem to be getting more and more encouraging every time I go. After church I got to talk to some people that I havn't been able to talk to in a long time which also was really nice. Then I met up with my mom. We had the opportunity to talk things out. I had to let a lot of things off my mind and so did she. I think that missing out Friday lunch this week really affected me Saturday. I didn't realize how important one hour a week quality time with my mother really can be. Since we missed Friday we made up for the time today. We spent a little over 2 hours together and had a great time. Since we usually go to the NYPD out in Fullerton every Friday, we went to the NYPD here in Corona today! It is totally different from the one in Fullerton but still just as good and appetizing! After our great talk I just headed back to my dad's and hung out here for the rest of the night. We talked about what I am going to be doing over the summer. I basically have a job lined up, actually I don't even know if it is because I haven't heard from them in a while. Then I also have a couple offers to play baseball which I would absolutely love to do. I also need to take summer school. Then I would like to start a family tradition by going down and up California visiting every single ball park along the way. Probably just major league but some minor league games would be cool as well. Fact of the matter is that I am not going to worry about what I am going to end up doing this summer because I know that God will put me in the place He wants me. No matter what happens this summer I will praise Him along the way! I can't wait for what He has in store for me. Nothing really went on for the rest of the night. I hung out with my little brother which I never really get to do. I have said previously that we don't have the best brother and brother relationship but I am trying hard to get that going. One day he might be able to beat me up so I need to be on his good side. ;] I also talked to my step mom about my blog and everything. She really enjoyed it all and I got to mention some things about Jesus which was also really cool. Today was definitely a great day. I didn't really do all that much but I made the best of it all. I have a busy week and need to really crack down on some homework tomorrow. Good night.
Daily Reading: Philippians 2:14
That's right. Not sometimes, not most of the time, but all time! Sounds impossible right? It isn't. Complaining is the one thing we do not only as Christians but as Human beings do on a daily basis. For some of us it is a routine that we do on a daily basis. I never even really thought about how much I really complain. I then looked to others that seem like all they do is complain and realize how annoying it can be. I came up with the fact that I too am one of those annoying people that complain all of the time. I couldn't help myself but look up the reasons why people complain. I found out that, some people do it because they get so overwhelmed with things going on around them they cannot see any other thing but the complaint about their lives...they cannot move forward and are stuck...others do it to be in with the "in crowd"...at work most people stand around and complain so that is a popular thing but in real life most people don't do that...and yet others complain because they are looking for someway out of a situation they don't know how to get out of or are in need of some compassion to help them move on. I am making it a goal to overall stop complaining. Another thing I found out through the reading is that complaining dims our light for God. So it brings a thought into others heads that aren't Christian, that being a Christian must not be that great because that one over there is always complaining about things. The light we shine as believers is one of the most important things that we should have on our everyday walk. It is something I pray for on a daily basis. So get out there and shine your light anyway you can and try your best to keep from complaining about what goes on around you no matter how lame it may be. I have made a few deals with my friends and have to give them a nickle for every time I complain. Once I believe I am getting better at it I am going to make it a quarter then a whole dollar! I am confident that God will help me through this new task and I need to be able to trust Him through His answers to prayer!

Daily Prayer:
Dear God, thank You for this awesome day. Right when I was getting used to the sun again You brought us another day of rain. It wasn't a full day but it definitely felt like it with all the wind and coldness. For whatever the random day of rain was for God, I thank You for it. I now would like to get going on the whole complaining aspect. Paul clearly wrote that we as Christians should never complain or argue about anything! Just thinking about that makes me instantly cringe. Please keep me from complaining God so that I may continue to shine Your light everyday. I pray that others will be able to see You through me and my actions. I pray that I will have a positive attitude and not worry about the things that are going on around me. I pray for my friends and family that may be going through some rough times. I pray also for the family members that I may not be getting along with at the moment. I pray that You will both lift them up and lift us up in our relationship. I pray that we can talk things out and make our relationship stronger. I pray for he ones that don't know You God. I pray that they will somehow find a way to find You and give them the burning desire to desire You. I pray that I too will have the burning desire to desire You. I pray now for friends God. I pray that You will help me find some new friends God and also help me build relationships with the ones I have. I pray that I will open up and share my experiences with You to everyone even if they may not even be Christians Father. Help me to plant those seeds all over God. Help my shoulder to heal more then it already has, help me to work hard to get to that 100% God and for me to not re injure it. You do all things well Father. You answer all of my prayers even if I don't like how they are answered. You give me all of the things I need even though they may not be the things I want. You even appear to be late at times. Yet your timing is always perfect. God, You do all things well. So overall I would like to thank You for all the things You are doing for others and myself God. I pray that You will continue to work in your amazing ways. Keep our country positive Father and also for my dream girl to show up. Help me to be patient in the process and for me to trust You in the decisions You make. Help me to be honest and not to hide any type of feeling to others God. Keep me humble God. Keep me from getting frustrated, angry, worrying, complaining, and any kind of sexual temptation. Keep me from getting bored God and for me to be on top of my homework. Help me in baseball and for me to stay positive no matter how bad practice or a game goes. I love You so much Father and once again thank You for this awesome day. In You name I pray.
AMEN!

Day 79 "Relax"

Daily Summary: Today just wasn't my day. I had a tough day at baseball and everything and I just kind of felt lonely all day. I am know just drained, overwhelmed, and a lot more. The devil has been wrapping me around his finger and I am putting up with it. I can't snap out of it. I need God's help big time. Tonight really helped me. I hung out with some friends from home that I haven't in a while. Just being around the Christian brother's and sisters really pumped me up. We sung worship and everything and I thought everything was okay. When I got home I just felt it all over again. I am going to have to re write all of this tomorrow. Okay so I finally got to bed and everything lightened up. I just realised that I was basically just not giving it all to God and that was the main problem. It was just like I am feeling sorry for myself. I came up with that yea I did have a bad day at baseball today. Not that I didn't play well or anything because I didn't really play at all it was just the fact that I was just over it basically. Coming off being injured sucks for sure after this lame week. Instead of mopping around about baseball I should be basically praising God. Everyday can't be perfect and not everyday is going to be the best day ever. There is definitely going to be bumps in the road and with those bumps there is something positive that could come out of every bad day. For instance, we won both games yesterday which put us 4th place in our conference which is totally awesome because we started out in last place. Our record is now 16-13 after starting out the year 2-8. I am getting along with just about everyone on the team and I am having a blast every time they are around. Most of all I thought I would be out for the season yet here I am getting myself back into the game. There are people that are going through way tougher situations than me and I need to look at that and realize that I don't have it that bad at all. Things will turn our for the better as they always do with God's help. We have a big week this week and definitely need to come out swinging against a tough Vangaurd and Point Loma teams. I can't wait to compete whether I am just doing the chart or just sitting the bench I am going to keep my head high and try my best not to be put down. As far as the loneliness thing goes I believe I am just being impatient with it all. I am not really going to go into to details with this one but the main point is that I am not getting through this alone. I feel God answering my prayers all of the time and I may not like some of the things that he brings towards me but I must know that it is His will and not mine so I have to go with it. He knows what is best for me and I need not to really on my own selfish ambitions. I just need to relax.


Daily Reading: James 1:2/ Proverbs 3:5/ Matthew 6:25/ Matthew 11:28-30
Consider is pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds. My life verse. The one that has brought me up when things are down. It has once again done so today. I know that this whole experience has made me stronger as a person. It will help me deal with the situation the next time it rolls around. Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your OWN understanding. This verse is one of the toughest to deal with. The hardest thing to do for some people is actually trust someone. When we finally trust God for the things that He is going to do in our lives then there is nothing to worry about. That brings on Matthew 6:25, do not worry! One thing that us Americans are doing right now is worrying. I myself am dealing with it on a daily basis. Calm down Vinnie everything is going to be okay. Love God. Now last but not least, come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. I definitely need this rest and I am going to be praying for it big time. I thank God for this experience rather then look down upon it. I am up and ready to go for the day and I can't wait for what it brings me. Hopefully it isn't tomorrow that has enough trouble of it's own. :]

Daily Prayer:
Dear God,
Right now I just give myself to You. I feel like there is someone just following me around putting me down. I pray in Your name for Satan to flee. Get his evil thoughts out of my head. Help me get rid of guilt, hate, doubt, or any other kind of negative thought God. I need You now God. Please forgive me for the things that I have done today. The times I got frustrated and everything God. The times I may have ran off my mind. The times where I wanted to give up. Help me get rid of those thoughts God. Be with me fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Thank You God for everything that has happened to me throughout the day. Please help me to learn from these experiences and for me to trust in You when it happens again. Help me also to not worry about what goes on in my life good or bad. Please give me rest Father and for I am overwhelmed. Please help me to deal with the answers You give me and for me to stay positive throughout the day. I love You so much.
AMEN.
AMEN.

Day 78 "In the Name of the Lord"

Daily Summary: Woke up kind of exhausted but was totally woken up by an awesome missions conference this morning. This missionary lady spent over 20 years in Papa Nueguene (don't know how to spell that) translating the Bible into a small villages language. Her story is amazing and it really woke me up spiritually in letting me realize how many people truly don't know about the Bible or even God. I am not sure if is my calling to be able to do something like that but it is definitely something that I will always be supportive of. It was a great way to end off missions conference. I am now done with attending them for the week even though there was only one left. It was definitely a great experience and I will look forward to attending them next year. After that although I didn't really feel like it I headed back to the room just to relax before getting ready for practice. For some reason I had to again fight off the enemy this morning because I was filled with a little bit of anger. I realized that I was like this for no reason and I right away started to pray really hard to get Satan out. I had to fight off a few times but like always God came out on top and really lifted me up. Well through practice and everything things really didn't to much easier. I got myself into trouble at practice and payed for it big time. Today really didn't go as well as I planned. I got over it really quick though and turned things around. I just knocked it out of my head. I was going to write about how lame everything was today but it really wasn't. Yes today at practice wasn't the most eventful, I did get to hit today so that was definitely a plus. After practice I really didn't do much but at dinner I got to have a good talk with my roommate Phil about some stuff going on in my life. We got to share stories and experiences in order to help out some decisions I am going to have to make in the next couple of weeks. It brought me at ease for the most part and made me realize that I just need to trust God and He will put everything right in its perfect place. I sat around for a couple houirs after that I actually watched a few episodes of Nip/Tuck which I haven't done so in a while. I wasn't going to do anything for the rest of the night but my bud Owen text me and asked to chill. I don't know how many times I have made plans with him and didn't work out so I am glad they did tonight. We had a lot of fun just playing some video games and making some pancakes. Totally random but totally fun! Ha well yesterday I talked about making nice thoughts to others. Honestly it was a lot of work. It was really hard while being frustrated for the most part of the day to really give out random appreciations. Overall I made those appreciations and I felt at ease after each one of them. It made me smile along with them. They probably didn't know what the heck I was doing it for, but if they read my blog they would figure it out. Ha well good night ya'll. I have two games tommarow that I am not sure that I am going to be playing in. I will talk about it tommarow!
Daily Reading: Colossians 3:17
In the name of the Lord. We should be doing everything in the name of the Lord. Nothing that we do should be against His will. Easier said then done for sure. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish the things we do and separate them from bad to good. I was reading up on the verse and searching for some stuff online. Every once in a while I like to do so that way I to can learn alone with the people who read it. I found this explanation the most useful. Putting it in its context, Paul is writing to the Colossian church about maintaining proper relationships. In the first part of the third chapter he instructs the church about those things they must keep out of their lives - things that destroy relationships. Then beginning in verse 12, he writes about things they must put into their lives -- things that make for peaceful and happy relationships. After telling the church to put on things like mercy and kindness and humility and forgiveness and love, Paul tells them to teach and admonish one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. He then reminds them in verse 17 that everything they say and do must be done in the name of the Lord Jesus. In the remainder of the chapter, and on into chapter four, Paul takes up specific relationships - husbands and wives, children and parents, servants and masters, Christians and unbelievers - telling the church what God expects them to say and/or do in those relationships.God has a way for us in every relationship. We are never left in the dark as to how we should conduct ourselves at play or at work, in the home or in the church. Paul reminds us that we are never free to make up our own rules for any relationship; whatever we do, in word or deed, must be done in the name of the Lord Jesus.


Daily Prayer:
Dear God,
Today was indeed another rough day. Without these rough days God I wouldn't learn from my mistakes and prepare myself for the troubles of the future. So therefore I thank You for the rough patches in life that I go through. I do pray for the strength to be able to get through them and also for me to remain positive through it all. Though I may be frustrated throughout part of the day, continue to help me with my attitude so that others will still be able to see Your light through my actions and the way I handle my problems. I pray God for forgiveness for the lame things I have done today. I said some unkind words to others that were completely unnecessary. I pray that I will choose the right words in the future and that I can trust You that everything is going to be okay. Please keep Satan from my thoughts in telling me that my life sucks, and for me to just quit everything that I have worked so hard for. I pray that I will never give up on anything that I have started God. Help me to stay strong and to stick to the things I believe in. I love You so much. Help me not to feel any type of pain that is going on in my body. I now pray for the people who think that they can sin just because You will forgive them anyway. Help them to understand the right system God and for them to know that excepting You as there Lord and Savior and having that relationship with You is the only way that their sins will be ultimately forgiven. I now pray for my friends and family. I pray for all of the rough times that they may be going through Lord that they will look to You for guidance and for strength God. I pray for the ones that don't know You. Please help them to some how find You God and for You to use me in the process. I pray for our country and for our fairly new President. Please help him to make the right decisions and for our economy to be turned around for the better. Please help those who are loosing their homes and jobs to stay up on their feet and not give up on life or anything like that. Help them to figure out that there is a Savior that loves them and will help them through it all. I pray that You continue to push me to take my writings to the extra level and for me to not get lazy in writing them. I pray that I will be able to get my full thoughts every single day and also for them to do so. I pray for my dream girl Father. Please help me find her and for me to be patient int he process. Help me to be absolutely sure and for me not to make any mistakes. I pray for my Dad and his family Lord that You will lift them up and keep them on their feet and if any way possible for them to all come to know You God. Let me be a light in their lives so that they may become curious to why I am the way I am. Help them to have a better understanding of it all. Help everyone to be able to see You through me and for me to be myself no matter who I may be around. Most of all God help me to be a living example of You. I pray that You hep me through school and everything and for me to not become lazy and for me to get my work done. I pray for all of these things in Your wonderful name.
AMEN!

Day 77 "So Short"

Daily Summary: Woke up feeling good. I was bound to have a wonderful day no matter what happened. I ended up being really busy and had no time to really sit and right down everything that really went on. Basically I did have a wonderful day today despite the fact that we lost to a crappy team that really played well today. That kind of brought me down but I was able to bounce back and get over it in about an hour. I just am excited for the fact that I am going to be able to play this weekend! I really hope I get the chance to play and get back in the game. I probably have lost a lot of my power by hurting my shoulder so I will need to change some things up hitting wise so I will be able to get going. God is really good. What looked like I wouldn't even be able to make it out there for the rest of the season is looking like it is just a strain injury that would only last 2 weeks. Woo hoo! Other than the game nothing really went on. I tried to keep a smile on my face the whole day and I really just had a positive attitude. Oh yea I have no broken my personal record for the longest beard I have ever grown on myself. If it wasn't pitch black dark in my room I would take a picture. Sorry my roommates are sleeping ha. Well like I said I didn't really have to much time to write tonight it is almost 12:00am so I am a little tired. Yesterday hopefully will make up for today's since I kind of wrote a lot. I hope to take more time to write tomorrow and I will talk to ya'll soon.

Daily Reading: Proverbs 16:24
Giving a complement to someone could easily make their day when it may be going bad. I know for me that totally works. When I am just having a super bad day and nothing seems to be going right the simplest positive comment could put me back up on my feet. Here in this proverb, obviously pleasant words are compared to a honeycomb and what the words can do to ones soul. Since I am not writing to much today I am going to leave you off with a challenge instead of an explanation. Tomorrow/today whether you are working, school, or whatever give someone random a nice and plea sent compliment. If I know you please talk to me about the experience or even if I don't know you. I will be doing this tomorrow and will be talking about my experience in that. I guarantee it will make a persons day or at least get them thinking. If you get a weird look don't worry it is completely normal.

Daily Prayer:
As today was short God I praise You for moving in my life today. I apologize on not being able to find the time to really write tonight. I pray that I will be able to get back up and write strong for tomorrows blog. I thank You for how far You have gotten me through it all so far and that my blog will continue to grow. I love You so much and I pray that tomorrow when I hit batting practice that I will be able to not feel the pain God. I pray that when I wake up tomorrow that I will not feel stiff but alive and ready to play. I pray for the situation I am in which only You know about God. I pray that between the two things that I may have to choose from or may not have to choose from that You will make the answer clear to me and single out the one which is of Your will. Help me to trust in Your decision God and know that You never make mistakes. Again God I love You! Can't wait to meet You.
AMEN.

Day 76 "The Enemy Has Been Defeated"

Daily Summary: Usually I write my blogs saying that today was great and just really uplifting and happy! Well today is going to be a little different. After praying to God on how I can change some things up in order for people to maybe understand me more, I figured that I need to be more open and honest about the things I think rather then just writing a summary down. I want to be able to talk about what really goes on in this weird head of mine. I want to relate to peoples lives and find out if they to go through the same kind of things I do. What really inspired me to do this today was listening to the first speaker, right away he admitted to his problems. Yes instead of throwing it all out there motivating us to go on missions and everything he was just simply honest about his lifestyle and what he struggles with on a daily basis. This man has been a devoted Christian and missionary for over 50 years of his life and he isn't slowing down one bit! Yet he is still admitting to his problems in his life! A true inspiration! Anyways well today I woke up just in one of those moods. All day I was really trying to put it all together and I just couldn't figure it out. I definitely felt like I was being attacked for most of the day. For some reason I just couldn't communicate with God. It is actually hard to admit but it was true. Satan beat me up for sure today. It seems every time I learn something new about Jesus (like last night) the next day basically well just sucks. Ha every time I get pumped up! Shoot well I know that I need to be able to block out the enemy and that I need to be able to deal with these kind of situations especially when I expect them. Today I was just a zombie. When I was sitting through an awesome conference this morning I couldn't laugh at the jokes even though they were hilarious, I couldn't clap, cheer, or anything. I sat by myself and literally just sat there and waited till it was over. I really enjoyed the speaker like I mentioned before but really didn't feel alive and motivated to go love Jesus like I should of. Afterwards I didn't feel like going back to the room so I just walked around some of the mission booths that were around and found out some information. I got some free books and pamphlets that I hopefully will look over someday. For some reason I really can't sit down and read a book. I can write for hours obviously but I just can't take the time to read books. News articles are easy but novels and stories full of information just gets me lost. I definitely be praying that I do get to reading the books because they all seem like it would be something I am interested in. Anyways I moped around for a while then went to the trainers to get iced up and what not. Got through that then headed to the our game. I head to do the official score book today and it was super tough to keep up! I definitely kept myself in the game though! It also went by super quick which was nice since I am still wasn't able to play. You no what the best part was!?!? We won! Ha that's right ever since my 0 and 5 blog last month we have gone 14 and 7. We are 14 and 12 overall and if we sweep the rest of the games this week then we will come out 17 and 12 which would make it a huge turning point in our season. I can't wait to compete the trainer said I could be able to get back out there and start running this Saturday! I am so pumped to get out there. This shows me that doubt should never cross out of my mind. My shoulder has healed like crazy ever since last Saturday and hopefully it will be ready by the weekend! Yes. Well that pumped me up then I started to get back in the mood after the game. I sucked it up and met with Gabby for dinner. We were supposed to eat with a missionary but they never showed. Maybe it was for a reason because I got to explain how I was feeling to Gab and she always has something to say to make me feel better. The best part of it all that it is all related to God. She just got me out of the mood completely and I just have had so much fun hanging out with her and talking with her lately. She has actually been in my dreams the last few nights over the week. Kind of interesting to me. Haha they were actually quite interesting and totally random. That is a whole other story though haha. Anyways. She sat with me for a little bit before the conference started then left because she was headed off to Maryland. Then it happened again! My lame mood. Throughout the whole conference I just wanted to leave. I began falling asleep then I was trying to make it so I wouldn't. I think my phone going off when it was quite really woke me up but probably just with embarrassment. Ha I tried my best to pay attention but really couldn't get the message out. I cam back to the room, played some ping pong then headed up stairs. I was still kind of in the mood then my friend Allee called me asking for some prayer. As I was praying for her I kept on getting distracted with everything. So I basically just yelled out for me to focus on God and to let all the distractions be gone! Instantly they were I prayed with no distractions even though there was a bunch of people walking around and everything. Instantly! After getting off the phone with her, I realized what I needed to do to pop everything out of my mind and get rid of this lame mood! Not only get on my knees and force myself into throwing away the enemy and ask God to take control but I needed to write! That's right I have figured out what pumps me up and gets things off my mind. When I write my blog, I go through my day and when I write about the positive things that happened throughout the day, I can't help but be lifted up and just straight up happy! Gosh I am just flowing right now. Flowing with happiness, peace, and joy. I just want to go outside and yell out that I love Jesus. He is so awesome! Wake me up Jesus and get me out of this funk! You are the master and You control my life! In God's name I command you Satan to flee from my thoughts. God fill me with the joy of the Holy Spirit and lift me up! I love You so much! AMEN! Woo hoo! Praise God! Today has turned from bad to awesome just by the grace of God. He is so darn cool I love Him!

Daily Reading: Galatians 5:22-23
Footnotes: The fruit of the spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are by-products of Christ's control- we can't obtain them by trying to get them with out His help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our lives to his. We must know Him, love Him, remember Him, and imitate Him. As a result we will fulfill the intended purpose of the law- to love God and our neighbors. We should also look through all of these and figure out what one most applies to us and use it to our advantage by expressing your faith in God through the specific action. We could have on we could have them all. Because the God who sent the law also sent the Spirit, the by products of the Spirit filled life are in perfect harmony with the intent of God's law. A person who exhibits the fruit of the Spirit fulfills the law far better than a person who observes the rituals but has little love in his or her heart. In order to accept Christ as Savior, we need to turn from our sins and willingly nail our sinful nature to the cross. This doesn't mean, however, that we will never see the traces of its evil, we have been set free from sin's power over us and no longer have to give in to it. We must daily commit our sinful tendencies to God's control, daily crucify them, and moment by moment draw on the Spirit's power to overcome them. Just like today, I need to be able to block out these lame moods and before I do anything get on my knees and throw everything to God. I don't care if I have to write my blog in the morning instead of the night I just need to stay positive and uplifted throughout the day so I can express his love and shine his light to others!

Daily Prayer:
Dear God,
Through the ups and downs that went on today, I pray that I will be able to look to You and overall defeat the enemy with Your power. I pray that I will be happy and positive throughout the day and not have to deal with any type of quarrel. I pray for my friendships that I have God. I pray that they will continue to grow and I will also be willing to make new friends. I pray that my attitude will remain one like You God. I pray that others will be able to see You through me and my actions. I pray for my friends God. I pray that whatever they are going through, that You will lift them up. I pray that they will trust you in the decisions they make and that they will not go against Your will. I pray for the ones that don't know You. I pray that they will somehow find You God and be save by Your grace. Help new believers to get rid of their old selves and to focus on their new self. I pray for my friend Allee and their family, I pray that with her grandpa Carl will heal God. I pray that whatever he may be going through to be lifted up. I pray that the part of the family that may not be believers, will be brought to You through this situation. I pray God for my relationship with You. Help me to work hard to get better in talking to You throughout the day and for me to stay away from any type of sin. I pray that You keep me away from sexual sin, frustration, anger, and also for me to keep my tongue tamed. I pray for my injury God. I pray that I will be ready as soon as possible and that I wont push myself and be honest to see if it hurts or not. I pray now for my dream girl. I pray that You will bring her to me in any way possible God. I pray that I will not blow off the chance I meet here and that I will treat her like a true gift from You. I pray that I will not get jelous or mad at stupid things God. Help me to trust her like I trust You. Help me to be patient in this process and other processes that You are involved in. I love You so much God and thank You for the great lessons You taught me today. In Your Name I pray all of these things.
AMEN.