A Bird Always Gets the Worm

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

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

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

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

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

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


Thank you Mom, I love you.

Crazy Win

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

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

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

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

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

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

GODISHERENOW.

Sweet Ride for the Summer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GODISHERENOW.

Made it on the News

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

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



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

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

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

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

GODISHERENOW.

Waking up to Thunder and Lightning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GODISHERENOW. 

Adjusting to Life Once Again in the Midwest

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

GODISNOWHERE.

One "At Bat" at a Time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Matthew 6:25

Things Have Been Going Great

Lately as always, I have been pretty busy with everything and had no time on the computer whatsoever. I don't even know how I find the time to do my homework. I'm lucky that I don't have class till 10:30 everyday otherwise I probably wouldn't get a lot of it done. Well besides that fact everything has been going really well for me and everything around me. Baseball is getting much better, school work is slowing down, and Jesus and I are having the times of our lives. I have so much peace about the troubles and problems that surround me on a daily basis. I have been taking different more positive approaches to these problems and putting God first before anyone or anything else. I am meeting many new friends and hanging with them almost everyday and some that I am becoming real close too. I look back an think of how awesome God is and the wonderful ways in which he works. A few weeks ago I was at an all time low and now I am up in the clouds. It is crazy to go back and really look at the negatives and I am sure they will come my way again. Despite that fact I have learned a lot through this last couple of weeks and I am glad it all happened the way it did.

Well just wanted to post a good update and I will try to post again soon.

I Lost My Keys

I believe that nothing is more frustrating then being in a rush, getting everything ready to pile up in the car and head home, then finding out you lost your keys. 

And yes I looked everywhere and no they are not locked in my car.

Satan Will Never Win

Well after having a good week, things seemed to go back to the way they were before I had the whole conviction experience. For some reason I let it all get to me and I began to feel down again. Baseball really wasn't going my way, I made some decisions that didn't turn out very positive so i just began to become frustrated with a lot of things. Like I wrote about a week ago baseball is a frustrating game and some times it can depict on how my mood is towards everyday life. I tried my best not to mend the two together and really separate life on the field from life off of the field. Despite the frustration I have actually been able to do exactly that. Although I may have been in a bad mood between the lines, I was able to be myself outside of the lines and not let it all bring me down throughout the day.

The whole week kind of wen through this motions up until yesterday during practice. Things were at an all time low point when one of the coaches pulled me aside to talk to me. This particular coach hasn't been around all that much since he got a new job but still manages to take his free time and spend it out on the field helping us out. First of all I am real grateful for all that he does and he is one of the smartest coaches out there and I have learned a lot from him. After the discussion we had I learned a lot more. One of the first things he asked me was how was me and God. Right away I new that nothing but good was going to come out of this conversation. I starting opening up to him as much as I could because the conversation was totally unexpected. After getting some things off my chest I felt a big weight lifted off my shoulders. The one thing he explained to me that has stuck was that, Satan had me right where he wanted me. The moment I started to turn things back around a few weeks ago was the moment he started trying harder to bring me down. It all started to make sense and I realized that there is no way that I could let Satan win this battle so I forgot about all I was going through and just tried becoming myself again. After that I began feeling more comfortable out on the field and especially during my at bats. I am very thankful for my coach and that he took the time to do that.

Well after all that I literally did nothing the whole Halloween night, not to mention the fact that I lost my car keys for the second year in a row. It is pretty lame when I have to have my mom drive all the way down here, pick me up, then take me to work. Plus I was late to work which didn't make things any better. Although I lost my keys, I had some sort of peace during the whole process, yea it sucked, but I new I would either find them or everything would work out. I sure hope it does otherwise my car will be in the parking lot for a long time. 

To end things, as I was sitting in Church today and listening to the wonderful message I couldn't help but think about how much I really spend reading and meditating on scripture. The pastor really emphasized on how important it really is with your walk with Jesus. It is astonishing to realize how much God promises us if we practice spiritual meditation. I would like to be able to spend more time on this and I hope that it will become a habit.

Alright, Alright

Okay so things lately have been going smoothly for the most part. Still struggling in some areas and I am also realizing more and more the things that God really wants from me. They are simple things but for some reason I am making them difficult. 

I am not much more easy going about the things that are going on around me. Including baseball, school work, and any other area that is going on in my life. I am catching my tongue and trying my best to put God first no matter what the situation may be.

Through all of this I have failed at a few things that have just kind of been bothering me. I have found a solutions to these so it wont happen again. I had to delete their number out of my phone which I usually have trouble doing but after I did I felt relieved. Like I said before, solutions to problems can be so easy but it is up to defeat our stubborn attitudes and just go for it. For example the other day I lost my wallet. Now I lost it in my car but for some reason no matter how many times I went through my car searching for it, it never popped up. I retraced my footsteps time and time again but the one place where I set my wallet seemed to be a blur. I talked to God throughout this search and tried my best to keep peace about it and know that somehow it was going to pop up. After a few hours I wanted real bad to get frustrated and at times I did but then something happened. I was about to give up so I went, parked my car, and something was telling me to retrace my footsteps one more time. Of course my stubborn attitude I didn't want to even though it was real easy. So after thinking about it I did it one more time. Sure enough nothing was a blur anymore and I reached over and it was right on the side of the passenger seat. Right out in the open! I laughed and realized how much of a big deal I made out of nothing. I feel that God just wanted me to take the time to talk to him and trust in him. Sometimes the smallest situations can have the largest impact. God definitely works in unusual ways but they always work perfectly. 


Anyways, it has been a good week and I am glad that I am able to jot a few things down from time to time. I hope and pray that more writing will be coming soon.


Dear God,
Thank you for making me realize that talking and trusting in you is very important in order to go through everyday life. I pray that I can find peace in everything I do and I praise you through each task of the day. I pray that I can stay away from any type of action that displeases you Father. I pray that I can find time to write more and spend more time with you. I pray that I can mantain a positive attitude. I love you so much.
AMEN

Relax! It's just a game!

Well I got super busy the last couple days and haven't had the opportunity for an update. Things are still going smoothly for the most part. I am still struggling in some areas but I have people helping and praying for me every step of the way.


 www.eatball.com

One thing that has really gone through my mind lately is my attitude. I tend to act differently depending on the situation I am involved in or who I may be hanging out with. I especially notice that I am a totally different person when I am playing baseball. I am what you call an emotional player, I am literally affected by every play that goes on during the game or even practice. This week we had a few games where I really let my emotions get the best of me and I was unable to perform the way I normally should. It is somewhat embarrassing to look back on the ridiculous things I think and say during a game but it is best to go back and laugh at what I actually did. The thing is that baseball is the one sport where it is acceptable to fail a certain amount of times and still be declared great. The problem is that I don't deal to well with failure which gets me into more trouble. Failure is not only embarrassing to me but it is also fills my mind with anger. I know I know, it seems like I am this crazy guy but sometimes I can be. I try my best to get my mind off things and laugh it off with teammates but for some reason I can't shake off certain at bats or plays on the field and they tear me up inside. So I have realized that this too is something I need to work on and just relax because it is just a game. There is no need to be the superstar or the well known athlete. I would rather be known as a superior follower of Jesus then a superior baseball player and getting upset during a game or after an at bat wont help either of those situations. It will only hurt it. So in the end I have learned a lot through this week of conviction and I can definitely see some improvement coming my way! We got a day off today from baseball and I was really able to clear my mind away from all the negative areas and just work to get better!

Ecclesiastes 10:4 (New International Version)

 ⁴ If a ruler's anger rises against you,
       do not leave your post;
       calmness can lay great errors to rest.



Dear God,
Please help me to be able to have a positive attitude and use the talent you gave me to glorify you. Help me to be able to control my anger and tongue during games and practice Lord. Help me to be able to trust my talent and work hard to get better. Give me the energy I need to be able to get through the day and for me to find time to work out on a daily basis. Help me to continue to write and enjoy what I do Lord. I love you very much.
AMEN

Still Climbing

Ever since the other night for some reason I wake up much better even though I only average about 7 and a half hours a night. I just go about the day with a much brighter sense and positive attitude. I look at things brighter and try to remain happy and joyful when around others. One thing I have to continue to do is fight off the enemy and really spend some time talking with God. This sometime can be a tough thing to do especially since I am so caught up on pointless earthly pleasures. I am going to continue this climb up the hill and not give up along the way. 


One thing that I definitely to start doing consistently is reading more of scripture. Going to class is one thing but actually taking time out of my own day to read the word of God is real important. It doesn't really matter what I read, it always seems to apply to my life one way or another. One thing that I recently became interested in was the gospels. Reading about the life of Jesus for some reason just fascinates me. I am sure it is normal for believers but just learning about how the way he went about things and the certain ways he debt with temptations, Jesus is not only my savior he is my hero. My goal in life is to live my life just as he lived his. There is no way I can be perfect but there are millions of ways that I can please him. 


Another positive note is that God keeps showing me signs in different ways telling me not to give up and stay strong! I am so thankful that I am able to take the time to write! I haven't been able to really do this in well over a month and I can't remember the last time I posted things three days in a row! Praise God


Well I leave here tonight with a prayer and a bible verse!

“A man finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!”- Proverbs 15:23

Dear God,
Thank you for another good day. Although there were times I did struggle I thank you for letting me realize each area where I need to improve my walk with you. I pray that I can be able to get in your word more and spend more time with you. Please continue to help me walk not run this climb by your side God. Help me to have a positive attitude and be an example to others. Help me to live by your standards not mine and help me to focus on Godly things not on earthly things. I pray for my friends and family that may be struggling in specific areas of their life. Help them to look to you for answers whether they know you or not. I love you very much.
AMEN 

Step Forward

Well after a rough couple weeks I went through today with a totally different approach to how I handled things. I was definitely a little shaky but over felt some what accomplished after listing the things that I have been struggling with lately. My game really didn't go as well I as I have hoped and I got angry at points but I kept trying to stay in control with God and he helped me through the rough patches through the day. I also had to fight off the enemy a few times especially when I went to college group tonight. The thoughts that just get caught up in m head, I don't even know where they come from.

Anyways, I see change in my life and I am starting to notice every little thing I do that is unnecessary and the things that I say I sometimes should just keep to myself. I have learned that I am a pretty emotional guy and I like to express how I feel whether it may be positive or negative.

I definitely have a long way to go and it is going to be a tough process but I am going to use all the strength I have in order to make it through this rough patch and come out on top. Since I have God on my side I am guaranteed to come out on top %100 of the time.

Having 3 days off of school starting tomorrow is definitely a plus and will relieve a lot for stress, hopefully I'll be able to get caught up on homework and hit up the gym.

Dear God,
Thank you for the progress today. Please help me to continue to seek you and follow your ways as I go through my everyday walk Lord. Help me to think positively and get rid of all negativeness. Help me to admit when I am wrong and help me to be able to listen to others as they let me know when I do something wrong Lord. Keep me away form any kind of sexual temptation and lustful thoughts. Help me to be able to pay attention through Church and class sessions Lord. Keep me safe through the day and help me to have a Christ like attitude. I love you.
Amen

Oh yea and...

www.BibleGateway.com must of knew what I was going through and picked the daily verse just for me.

Psalm 51:12 (New International Version)

¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

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Facing My Faults

I know it has been way too long since the last time I have taken the time to write things down here. Honestly since the last time I wrote consistently it seems as if I have lost my fire for the Lord. I see myself getting lazy not only through my everyday life agenda but lazy in seeking and honoring God. I seem to be getting caught up in little pointless things that keep me from the things that need to get done. The only real time that I have picked up the Bible lately was for class and that is the one thing professors told us not to do. I am literally spending no time with God and prayer. I feel down and broken many times during the day. My grades are slipping, I don't have the energy to work out, and I am slowly getting over playing baseball. Sound ridiculous? Well it is. For some reason I thought that I would be able to handle a full schedule this semester. So far it hasn't worked out for me. Not only do I have practice every day except Sunday but I also have class Monday through Friday then work on Saturdays and Sundays. Leaving me basically no time to do anything really and by the time I am done with practice all I want to do is eat and be lazy. I see other people studying for test, working out, telling me what God is doing in their lives, and then I can't even think about the last time I studied for a test, the last time I worked out, or the last time I had a real encounter with my Jesus. I get caught up in making friends, girls, and pointless things on the computer. I try to distance my self from certain things but for some reason they keep popping up. I try to pray real hard but for some reason I just can't figure out what the real problem is. Basically I just want to give up even though that isn't an option. I need to be able to man up and face my faults and open up to others about what is going on in my life. I know that there are people in my life that are willing to listen but I don't know if I know them well enough to open up to help me through this slump. Things I am struggling in include: lustful thoughts, anger, hate, stress, time management, prayer, frustration, love, judging, stealing, laziness, money management, not going to church Sunday morning, selfish thoughts and actions, inappropriate jokes and thoughts, watching R films, looking more then once on bad things that my eyes stumble upon, and many more that I can't even think of. Now I am not running around doing all of these things at once. Honestly I am praying for each and everyone of these things and I can feel the conviction everyday. Every time I commit one of these faults I often have to fight off the enemy and try my best not to slip up and regret something that I do later. This does lead to frustration and lame thoughts that posses me throughout the day. God awakened me today while sitting in my favorite class of the semester New Testament History and Literature with Dr. Mickey Klink. I have never met a man that truly loves scripture like he does. The way he talks about it makes me feel like a child again upon how excited he gets when talking about certain verses and chapters throughout the new testament. Today he talked about letting others know about your faults and for some reason it hit me like a ton of bricks. I new right away that I needed to get things off of my chest and I didn't know how to do it, so after I got up in bed I decided that I was going to read the Bible but when I got up in here for some reason I felt the need to write and talk about what is going on in my life. So I dusted off the good ol blog and decided to pump some stuff out. It feels real good to be able to flow freely on the keyboard without having to really think about what to write about. It is also nice to type something that isn't notes or an essay. It makes me realize how much I miss taking the time to write everyday about my life and my experiences with God. I pray that I will be able to do this more especially since I go to bed late every night now. I definitely have the time to put something up hear everyday but for some reason I just don't. So today I am going to do something that I have never done and just list some stuff asking if you can pray for me. Although no one may really go on here anymore, I need all the prayer I can get. I could probably go on and on with the things that are really going on inside my head lately but I just wanted to get the point across...it is 1AM so i don't know if the whole thought process really worked but I am glad that I actually took the time to get this stuff off my chest.

Although reading this may seem like I am being selfish, it is because I am just trying to get a lot of stuff off of my chest that I have built up inside of me. Everything I think of I write it down no matter how big or small of a circumstance it may be. Once I am able to cope all these things together and figure them out I will be able to help others who may be struggling just like I am today.
Please pray for God to help me for:
Being able to use my time wisely
Help me to keep from committing any type of sin
Keep me away from sexual lust
Keep me away from the love of money
Help me manage my money better
Help me not to judge others
Help me to not be lazy
Help me to not get caught up in pointless necessaries
Help me to seek God and have a burning desire to desire him
Help me to find time to sleep and to wake up refreshed
Help me to love others as Jesus loved me
Help me to be able to represent Jesus everywhere I go
Keep me from looking at things I shouldn't
Keep me humble
Help me to be able to read the Bible and understand Jesus more
Help me not to get frustrated
Help me to be able to do my homework
Help me to take things seriously
Help me to get closer to the guys on my team
Help me to be able to set the good example
Help me not to boast
Help me to be fair
Keep me from steeling anything whatsoever
Pray that I am able to find someone close to me that I can talk to about anything and have them understand what the heck is going on in my unusual brain.

Dear God,
Thank you for pushing me into writing the things I did here today. Help me to be able to find the time to do this on a daily basis. Help me to get closer to you and not do this for myself but to do it all for you! I pray that I can be able to spend time with my family more often and be able to go to church on Sunday mornings. Help me to work harder in both school, baseball, and most of all reading the Bible. Give me a good night sleep so that I may be refreshed for the oncoming day. Help me to do anything I can to serve you God. Help me to keep my eyes and thoughts away form anything sexual God. Help me not to judge others but to love them. Please guide me on the right path to righteousness. Help me to kick off this the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep. Give me the strength I need to be able to keep you in my thoughts throughout the day.
I love You.
Amen

Finally 19

Well after a very stressful couple of weeks I finally got a 3 day weekend to settle down and relax. Not to mention the fact that it was my birthday. I finally turned 19! Looking back this year absolutely is flying by. I can't believe my birthday just passed. It seems like just yesterday I was moving into the dorms for my first year of college and now I am already on my second! Shoot before I know it I will be graduating. Ahh lets not get ahead of ourselves now. It kind of scares me to be honest. I don't really like to think about what the future brings. All I know is that God has a plan for me and I need to be able to trust Him. It is going to be awesome and that is all I need to know. Even with all the stress and down times that I am going through, I still have to realize that this is all learning experiences for me and once I figure out a way to work out of them then everything will find its place and I wont have to worry about it happening again. For instance I am having a horrible time trying to figure out my school paper work. My meal plan has been shut off and my classes are about to be dropped. I have literally began to pack up all of my things and go home but for some reason God finds a small way for me to stay here and I know this is the place where he wants me to be. Anyways after all this is finally complete I will know exactly what I need to do in order for me to be able to be done with it all before I step onto campus next year. Well with school kicking up again I have a completely different schedule then I did last semester. I went from having class basically 2 days a week to having class all 5! It is a hard thing to adjust to but I am toughing it out and trying my best to get through it. I know it is going to be a long semester. Hopefully I'm wrong and it will fly by. Well anyways I am going to start writing more hopefully so we will see what happens.

Stressed

Well the first week of school really didn't go as planned and nothing really seems to be going the right way. For some reason Biola didn't notify me that I still needed to turn in certain paper work until I got to the school and they shut off my meal plan and warned me that they were going to drop my classes if I don't pay them by Wednesday. So I have been down to the office almost every day to try and figure everything out and it doesn't seem to be working. So if your checking this please just pray for me, I am having big time trouble with all of this and just want it to be over! Shoot well on a positive note my birthday is coming up and my money for the video project is coming next week! I can't wait. God Bless.

Coming Home a Champion

Well after spending about a month and a half in the middle of the country my journey has finally come to an end. I have to say that the time that I was able to spend in the Midwest was truly one of the greatest experiences that I have ever been through. Not only the fact that I was able to be a part of a championship team but just the people that I was able to meet, the places I was able to see, and the amount of baseball that I was able to play. When I first got there I second guessed my quick decision in going out there on such short notice. To tell you the truth I really didn't know what to expect when I got there. For some reason when the opportunity struck I didn't really have the time to think about going or not I just got up and left. The first week went by and I wasn't really playing at all and I wasn't bonding with the guys very quickly. I thought about just packing up and heading home after a few days but I prayed about it and God said stick it out so that is exactly what I did. So as I sat through a couple games patiently waiting for my opportunity to play I decided that I would make the best of it and would play hard every out of every inning. I did exactly that and I was able to be a part of the team that one the whole league. It was indeed one of the funnest championships that I have ever been apart of. The 10 hour bus rides where well worth it all when we were able to dog pile on one another after the last out was made. Well anyways, the people I met out there were just amazing all around. Every single one of my teammates seemed to be a comedian and even when times where rough they were still able to put a smile on my face even if they weren't trying to. I am not 100% sure but it seemed that most of the kids didn't really grow up the way I was raised but we still seemed to get along. I prayed before and while I was there that I would be able to somehow share Jesus with those around me. I thought that there would be many opportunities for me to be able to share since I was going to be there for so long. Well it didn't really turn out that way. I became frustrated at times because I wasn't really able to talk about God to anyone because I couldn't meet any Christians. Then God put this host family in my life that were just straight out awesome people. I met them because they were my host families friends and we went out to dinner with them after the game. I talked with them quite a while and hung out with them from time to time. At times they made me feel more at home and it made me not really miss home at all. I really appreciated all that they did for me. Not to mention the fact that they were awesome Christians and loved Jesus as much as I did. It was great to see that they were using their hosting as a ministry to young student athletes. Well since I didn't come up with any opportunities to talk about God to others, I decided to just walk around having a positive attitude and just shine his light and just see what happens. I didn't really expect anything to happen but God had other plans. While saying goodbye to some of the guys the last night we were there hanging out after the championship, one of the guys sat down and talked with me for about 30 minuets on what an impact I had on him through God. I realized that I didn't really do much at all but somehow God rubbed off on him. It was truly an answer to prayer and I couldn't believe what just happened at the time. Coming home a champion is one thing, but coming home having impact someone in a Godly way is much more important. I know that God put me there for a reason and now I now exactly why. It wasn't to play baseball it was to put thoughts and lights in peoples head that God is out there and God truly has an effect on those who follow Him. Well there ya have it. My trip was one that I will remember for the rest of my life and I can't wait to go back and play in the Midwest once again.

Been a Great Trip

Well my month long trip is finally coming to an end. I have spent well over a month out here in the Midwest and have visited places I thought I would never have the chance to visit. I spent most of my time in a small little town right on the border of Missouri and Illinois called Quincy. From there I visited Chicago, St. Louis, Indiana, and Ohio. I had the chance and played in front of 1,000’s of fans, be on the news, and in the newspaper. I was able to compete with kids from Division 1 colleges. It was really cool to be able to say that I was from an NAIA school because they are so looked down upon these days. There are times where I feel like I should of worked harder and got my name out so I would have been able to go to a big time division 1 school but I know that God put me at Biola for a reason and I believe that it is best for me to stay there and be as much of a leader as I can be. This trip has put me through many obstacles involving my faith but God put me in a home where I was able to be myself. They may have not been Christians but understood the background that I come from. God also brought me to a family that is indeed Christians and that have really had an impact on me for the little amount of time that I have known them. Beyond all of this I had no teammates that really had a Christian background but I was able to have an influence on them that made them know that I was indeed a follower of Jesus and not one of them tried to persuade me to do anything wrong whatsoever. Although I was different then most around me I never once felt lonely or anything like that because I had so many cool people around me. My team was full of comedians that I always seemed to be laughing at. So in other words my time out here has been beyond amazing and I can’t see what God has planned for me next summer. I am just glad that I will actually be prepared to go far away from home instead of getting a call one day and leaving the next. It has been great and I have been invited to come back next year and play so we will see what happens. I am just excited to come back home and relax for a week before I have to head back to school and start the year all over again. Anyways I am in Ohio for the playoffs now and I will be home this Saturday! I can’t wait!