Waking up to Thunder and Lightning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GODISHERENOW. 

Adjusting to Life Once Again in the Midwest

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

GODISNOWHERE.

One "At Bat" at a Time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Matthew 6:25