Have some grace.

It's been a while since I have last been on here. It is not for any particular reason. My life still has been exciting and interesting. I just have not been able to make it over to the blogging world very much. So have some grace for me please.

A couple days ago, I just finished a great book from author, Philip Yancey, titled "What So Amazing About Grace?" The book has been very rewarding, but challenging to me. We indeed do have a gracious God, but we still reside in a not so gracious world. Something that I know I struggle with, but know I must do, is allow God's Spirit to move in me and let his GRACE shine. God's grace is what this world needs, it is what my family needs, my girlfriend needs, my friends needs, my co-workers needs, that guy that cuts me off on the freeway needs, the rich and famous needs (can't buy), anyone that is still held captive by their sins needs, and is what I need everyday. Even though the world may not be so forgiving to me, I must keep my eyes on the One who taught me Grace. Thank you Lord Jesus Christ!

World Series, Voting, Sharks, and The Ugly

World Series: Well congrats to the Philadelphia Phillies, their fans, and one of the coolest mascots in the world. I did not watch one minute of the World Series and apparently so did many other Americans. While the Rays did lose, they still have at least one season of bragging rights over teams that are not called the "Philadelphia Phillies". Hopefully, the Oakland Athletics will do a better job next season with the young guys that I probably never heard of.

Voting: I voted tonight...absentee style. Now I just want the ads and election talk to end. I can't wait until its November 5th. Remember if you are voting absentee, than you better mail it out by Halloween and use extra postage.

Sharks: The San Jose Sharks are having their best season start ever (8-2). Thursday, they due battle with the defending Stanley Cup Champs, Detroit Red Wings. Something that I would like to seeing in 2009, is the Sharks winning the cup. That would be awesome!

The Ugly: Sin is ugly. I do not really need to say anything more than that, but I will any ways. I do not think I have seen how ugly sin really is, but I hope I do. I live in a world that has become very gray. There are some sins that my culture, my country, my peers, and even myself will not tolerate, but there are still many that have exceptions attached to them or no recognition at all for what it truly is. Based on my experience with sin, the three things that I know about sin is that it separates us from the things we truly desire the most, it ruins relationships, and causes much suffering. While sin is ugly, God is beautiful. I do not have to hope because I know that one day I will just see how beautiful God truly is.

Costumes, Election Polls, and Patience

Costumes: The prices for these costumes are just absolutely ridiculous. It would be like buying a wedding dress every year. That is why I suggest buying a costume that can be worn more than once. Be something that resembles your favorite sports team, so you can also wear it as you are watching the game. Buy something that fits your line of work or the profession you think about going into. If you are a person of faith, than go with those professional religious titles, just in case God calls on you to live that life. Now I know people say you are suppose to dress up like something that you are not, so find someone that is not anyway like you, and borrow their clothes for the evening. If you want to be cheap, than use stuff that you have lying around the house, like aluminum foil that would make you into a giant leftover. Do something clever, like a riddle or a pun. For example, taking a white sheet and cut hundreds of holes in them and you got yourself a "HOLeY ghost" costume. Or you can just buy that overprice costume that you will only wear once.

Election Day: I am getting annoyed by these early projections because it makes me wonder what is the point in voting for president, if we already know who is going to win. Saying that Obama has locked up this state and McCain had locked this state, is taking away the excitement of election day. Now in some areas, people are literally going to the polls early. I understand the use of absentees, but why do we have early voting. Now November 4th, 2008 is not election day, but election deadline. I know its good that people are at least voting, but the spirit and excitement of election day is fading and not so eventful.

Patience: I have learned that this is one of the hardest things to do. I live in a very impatient world, but serve a very patient God. Patience is not easy, at least not for me. When I am not patient, I become frustrated and angry. I sometimes wonder how God can be so patient with us, when there is so much that needs to be done with, what it seems like, so little time. Then I remember that God has a plan for me and my time is not the same as His time. In fact, I do not know really when my time will be up. I may have more time and I may have less. If patience involves waiting, than I should be thinking about what is it that God is being so patient with me over.

Absent, Baseball, Sharks, Job, and My Love

My Absence: I haven't blogged in a while and for doing so I feel like I have not given myself much time to reflect and read others reflection. That is not to say that I have not been thinking because I have, but I feel like God wants me to be writing on here again. So here I am.

Baseball: Since my beloved Oakland A's has not been in the playoff hunt, I haven't been watching baseball. I do know that our rival, Angels, are out, the Yankees Empire has crumpled...for now, and the Rays are having the best season of their short franchise history. I guess I will cheer for the Rays if they are in the World Series, since their names rhymes with "A's" and I have nothing against them.

Sharks: Now here is a team that I am excited for. I like watching all sports, even the weird ones from other countries. My favorite team is the San Jose Sharks. I really would like to see them win Lord Stanley's Cup and this year looks like their year. Of course, there is many more games to play, so its too early to tell, but I like the direction the team is heading. I especially enjoy the fact that they signed veteran defensivemen, Rob BLAKE. Go Sharks!!!

Job Search: Something that has changed since my last blog is that I did graduate from graduate school with my degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. Something that has NOT change is my job. I am still working at the bookstore. Job searching is no fun and can be very self deflating. Please pray for me as I search for where God wants me to work. I know there are people in Fresno that could use my help and service, but making that connection is the current challenge I am facing. Do thank the Lord for me, for having some kind of a job so that I can pay my bills and enjoy life with my Love.

My Love: Sharon and I are approaching the date, that I first asked her out. I love my Princess very much and I am thankful of the time God gives us to have together. God has been good to us and we have been drawing closer to Him too.

I am still alive!!!

Hi ya! Well if you are reading this, then you must of not given up on me writing a new blog. I haven't had much time to blog, despite having plenty of things to blog about. Here is a quick run through of some things that have happen to me over the last couple of months.

-I have a girlfriend!!! She is beautiful and a real blessing to me. I could not ask for a better lady to have in my life.

-Both of my sisters are engaged now! Congrats to them and my future brother-in-laws.

-I am graduating in a couple of weeks with my Masters.

-That also means I am job hunting too. Not so thrill about this part. Keep this in your prayers.

-The college age group at my church is growing this year...which has been an answered prayer.

-My internship with the County of Fresno is ending in about a week. I will miss all those people, both the co-workers and clients.

-In sports, the Sharks are in the playoffs, but are having trouble....the San Jose Earthquakes are BACK in action...the Oakland A's are having one of the best "rebuilding" years I have ever seen....Barry Zito continues to rob the SF Giants...."okay" is the word that best describes my feelings for the Niners draft picks.

-Top 3 Movies I can't wait to see...
1) Batman Begins
2) Indiana Jones 4
3) Iron Man

-Finally, God is AMAZING!

Hopefully, I will be blogging more, once school is over and I got more time. That is all for now. Take care!

Good-bye Hope

I just talked with my friend and she said little baby Hope passed away around 3PM. They also said thank you for praying. Please keep this family in your prayers. This can't be an easy time for them, especially with it being Christmas and the holiday season. I hope all of you are having a better day.

Hope and A Prayer

Hello everyone! I have not blogged in quite a while because I have been quite busy with school work and life in general. This is a good time for me to return to the blogging world. I was thinking about the word "hope" today. Hope can be strong to some people and seen as a weakness to others. Hope also leads to some uncertainty, but in an optimistic sort of way. Having hope reminds us that we are only human and are unable to predict what will happen to us next. This year, there has been some things in my life that I hope would happen and it did. At the same time, some things that I hoped for did not happen either. Hope is expectations. So why do we hope? Well that is a question that I cannot answer for you. For me, it has always been because of what I had my hope in.

"And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You." ~Psalm 39:7

Right now, there is another Hope I want you to think about. The following comes from a friend who has a prayer request for a baby girl named Hope and her family who still has some hope.

"Hope is doing a lot worse than they originally realized. Her heart, kidneys, and liver are not functioning as they should be. She is still on a respirator, and there is still no sign of brain activity.

I got more info as to what happened earlier. I guess that once Nita's water broke the baby was sideways and she delivered the umbilical cord first. When that happens it is difficult to keep the cord from pinching, so they rushed Nita to the hospital for a cesarean. Unfortunately, they cut her E to W but in order to get the baby out they needed to cut N to S - so she ended up getting cut open both directions. No fun. In any case, they finally got Hope out and realized that her lungs were full of liquid. To help them drain they placed tubes inside her lungs. Unfortunately, the tubes were not working correctly, and they did not realize that her lungs were still filled with liquid. It was at least twenty-five minutes before they realized what had happened. Hope ended up going into cardiac arrest - they were able to revive her and they have put her on a respirator/life support and have to give her a whole bunch of different enzymes due to her organs not functioning correctly.

So that's basically where they are now. It's really not looking good. Hope probably will not make it, unless God steps in and performs a miracle. Please pray for Nita and Mark and their five children (Jj (Joseph), Grace, Luke, John, and cocoa (Cosette!)). They're all really struggling with this and rightly so. We haven't been able to get a hold of Christopher (who is overseas with the Navy) yet, so he has no idea what's going on with his family."