Time dragging by!

This year seems to have slowed things down. It has seemed a bit longer than last year. Maybe its because I have enjoyed it more. I have been married for six months now. Married life is fantastic! We have had arguments but for the most part I have learned to have civilized discussions instead of yelling and going for the jugular like my family does. I’m pretty proud of myself for that. 

Marriage has made me and my wife more mature. Last night we were talking about how far God has brought us and how he has provide and blessed us and we realized God has been so great to us. This year has been a great one and it has dragged by. I love time moving slowly past us. It allows me to enjoy it more. I have enjoyed every minute of it.

Song Of The Month (May [extra]): Turning Page - Sleeping At Last

Yes, May does get two songs! It has been the most important month of my life so it absolutely deserves two songs. If any song stood out not only in the month of May or even the year it is this song! In fact, I will go as far as to say that this song will forever remind me of my beautiful bride, and how for some reason, the rest of the world disappeared when those doors opened and she walked toward me in her white dress, this song, the soundtrack to that beautiful moment. THAT is why this is also the song of the month!

Turning Page - Sleeping At Last



I’ve waited a hundred years.
But I’d wait a million more for you.
Nothing prepared me for
What the privilege of being yours would do.

If I had only felt the warmth within your touch,
If I had only seen how you smile when you blush,
Or how you curl your lip when you concentrate enough,
I would have known what I was living for all along.
What I’ve been living for.

Your love is my turning page,
Where only the sweetest words remain.
Every kiss is a cursive line,
Every touch is a redefining phrase.

I surrender who I’ve been for who you are,
For nothing makes me stronger than your fragile heart.
If I had only felt how it feels to be yours,
Well, I would have known what I’ve been living for all along.
What I’ve been living for.

Though we’re tethered to the story we must tell,
When I saw you, well, I knew we’d tell it well.
With a whisper, we will tame the vicious scenes.
Like a feather bringing kingdoms to their knees.

I Love My Life!

Where do I begin? First off I am a married man! I married the love of my life on May 26th. It was a HUGE wedding and also the most beautiful wedding I have EVER been to! We had room for about 600 people and about 550 showed up.

My family all drove up from California. A 15 hour drive but my family did it, because they love me! Out of 5 uncles on my dads side and 1 aunt, and 1 uncle on my moms side and 1 aunt, Guess how many showed up? ZERO! And I should have expected that. You remember all those posts about my extended family not caring about me? Turns out they were all true. Surprisingly though, I could care less. it was more of a relief than anything. Now I know who my REAL family is so I don't have to try to be "familiar" with the extended family anymore. My duty is done and now I move on with my life.

My true family all showed up though. My buddy Jaime and his wife becky who helped immensely with everything, my buddy alejandro who came up from stockton on a 21 hour bus ride, My best man Luis and art who flew up from Sacramento, my buddies Paloma and Guera who flew up from the monterey area, my small group leaders/ premarital counselors nick and Leti from vacaville, and the pastor from my old church Rev John Gallegos. These people, they are my REAL family!

I moved in to a duplex with my baby. we bought a bed, couches and washer/dryer so we are all set. I look forward to living in this place for a while, working hard and then purchasing our own home.

I am happier than a person could be right now. I don't know what I could possibly do to deserve this amazing life. If anything I deserve the worst this life has to offer but instead God has blessed me with an amazing wife, an awesome family and a happy home. It's probably the first time you will ever hear me say something like this:  I love my life!

When I Was a Child...

I haven't written an honest post on this blog in months! My apologies to anybody who was still following my blog!
What Have I been up to the past few months? A lot! for the longest time I wanted to write but I had so much going on that I just didn't know where to start. And to be honest, i still don't so I will just jump in the thick of it.
I'm getting married in less than two weeks! Last night was my last weekend at my parents house as a single man. I have the rent paid for at the place that me and my wife will call our home for the next couple of years. I am two weeks away from Cabo with My love! It all seems unreal to me! When I started this blog i felt like such a little emo kid, like a  ittle boy. And as I write this entry I don't feel that way anymore. Any confusion I had about love, friendship, family and life has for the most part been cleared up.
Its funny but now that I am engaged i feel like my life makes sense. I don't mean this in the "This person makes me complete" mentality, but more like this is what I am meant to do. Living for my wife gives my life more purpose.  Responsibility is a good thing. In the past I simply lived for myself and that meant I could live frivolously. Now I have to live for my wife and myself and although it’s a bit nerve racking,  it will make me live a more responsible life. It’s like Mark Driscoll says, “men are like trucks, they will drive straighter if they are carrying a heavy load.”
So what have I been up to the past few months, I have been growing up. I pray and trust God. I complain less and work harder. I do ministry to the best of my ability. I live to put a smile on my fiancées face. And when I get an extra minute, I fish! Lol And I do it all to the Glory of God. If I could do these things for the rest of my life, then I will be happy.
I would like to take a moment to thank all of you who have been reading along for the past few years. You have helped me grow up through reading, commenting, encouraging and challenging me. You all mean the world to me. I know I am speaking with finality but this is only a new beginning!
I finish this blog with a quote from the apostle paul: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”

What I have Learned from the 2011 49ers...

Bad years set the stage for success: It doesn’t matter how many games you lose. It doesn’t matter how many losing seasons you have! Eventually, you will work your way to the top again. And when you do, remembering those bad seasons will make the good ones that much sweeter!

Changes aren’t necessarily bad: New coach? New offensive scheme? New Defensive scheme? It doesn’t matter what changes are standing in your way, you will overcome.

Prepare for every game like it’s the biggest one of the year: Work Hard! Train like it’s the big game! It doesn’t matter if it’s a 6-0 team or an 0-6 Team, you work equally as hard. You never know when a team might want the win more than you do so you need to desire the win more!

Shock them All! : don’t believe what they say about you! Don’t pay mind to their mindless comments. You know who you are and you’re the best! Even as you rise in rank, play every game like you’re a champion and one day you will be!

It’s not over yet: This is only the beginning! Nobody will be able to take this season away from you! Win or lose, we can only get better with time! So lace those cleats up, strap on those pads and keep working hard! Let’s do it all over again next year!

A Beautiful Mess...

When I was 21 I went searching for a job at the Chico mall. I wasn't going to leave that mall until I had a job and I ended up finding three. One was at Radio shack, the other was at a verizon wireless store, and the last was at sears hardware. I went with the first one to hire me, Sears. I later found out I got both of the other jobs, which would have paid me a lot more. Well, until I learned how to sell, after which I was making some decent change.

I remember not liking Sears at first. I sat there at my crappy job quiet, isolated, confused, hating the managers, hating the folks I worked with, counting the minutes until the day was over. I hated that job but now, looking back, I realize that keeping that job was one of the best decisions I ever made. It didn't seem like it back then. All I could see in those days was annoying people, lazy hypocritical managers, and low pay, which blinded me to what God was doing in my life.

This weekend I went camping with my buddies from the sears days. Good guys and great friends that I would have missed out on if I had picked a different job. Three out of the 10 guys that I chose to be my groomsmen at our wedding next May worked with me at Sears. After all this time I finally realize why I worked at sears and not at the other places.

What I'm trying to say is that sometimes the near future looks bad. You wish yourself out of those stages in your life because you can't see the greater scheme of your life. You never know what God will do to make the situation better. He creates a beautiful mess out of the irreparable. For that I am eternally grateful!

1 Year Into The Future...

What will my Life look like one year from today? What will I be doing on October 11th 2012? Will I even be Alive? God willing I shall be, unless He comes Early (MARANATHA!!)

I will be:
- Married to the most gorgeous Amazing woman on earth
- Attending TFH
- An Adopt A Block Leader
- Still be blogging about My Life so stay tuned...

I'm hoping:
- I still have a job with my current agency
- I find a higher Paying Job that I love doing
- To become a small group leader at church
- I still get to attend small group with my Current Small group Leader, Louis.
- To be catching big fish again!

I want to:
- Get back into School.
- Get a new Car
- Write a book
- Start a business
- Get into good shape!

I wonder:
- What Married life will be like?
- Who my Close friends will be?
- How everything will be going at church?
- How My health will be doing?
- How Much closer I will get to becoming a Pastor?
- What bands will come out with good albums?
- How the niners will do next season?
- If I will be writing more in here?

I will definitely get answers on Oct 11th 2012. I will check back a year from now and we will answer these questions and probably even ask some new questions! Hope you guys keep reading. God Bless!!

Late night Reflection - Friday June 3, 2011

It’s 1228 am on Friday June 3, 2011. I am Listening to "Please Don't Leave Quite Yet" by Adam Agin. Smooth sounding track, check it out if you get a chance. I'm not drinking any alcohol tonight, just a glass of water. and duchess is snoring the night away!

I was on somebody's facebook earlier, browsing through their pictures and found myself thinking about their life. I was thinking about how they must have grown up, how their parents might have treated them, how their self esteem is doing, etc. So of course I began to think about myself.

What would I be like if everything were different?

Would my personality be different if I had been born to a different set of parents? would I be happier if I was born on the other side of the tracks? Would I smile more if I had grown up with money in my pocket? Would I be a better student if my parents had read me bedtime stories before going to sleep? Would I have a better self esteem if my parents reminded me of my successes and goals instead of failures? Would I be a different person if I had a lucrative career, money in the bank, and a sh.. eating smirk that tells the world to screw itself? would people like me more if I wasn't as awkward? Would anybody care about me if I spent all my time focussing on myself instead of others? Would I have a blog if my pen wasn't itching to write about the pain in my life?

Who would I be if things were different? Would i be the same? better or worse?

Thankful List for 2010

Here are 50 things that I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving. hope you enjoy my list and make your own!

1. My salvation through Jesus Christ!
2. My awesome family even though we are like cats and dogs.
3. The most amazing woman in the world being my girlfriend
4. Football
5. Turkey
6. The Damnwells
7. Hunting with Shotguns
8. The ability to write
9. My job
10. My church
11. Driving with the windows open, arm hanging out, and good tunes playing
12. My calling as a pastor
13. My good sense of humor
14. The San Francisco 49ers
15. $5 pizzas at little Ceasars
16. Freedom!
17. 45 lb weight plates!
18. Skype so I can see my baby!
19. Francis Chan
20. IPods
21. Monterey, CA
22. Sherman Alexie, Tim O’brien, Dan Brown and other contemporary fiction writers.
23. Classic fiction writers! – Steinbeck, Hemingway, Fitzgerald
24. Pollo Encebollado.
25. Cold days
26. Chico, CA
27. Black Niner hats
28. The Church
29. Spoken word Poetry
30. Starbucks, Dutch Bros. and all coffee!
31. Mark Driscoll
32. Stair masters (even though I hate them!)
33. Dimple Records
34. Warm summers
35. The Double Western from Carl’s Jr.
36. Corona’s with salt and a slice of lime
37. Rachel McAdams! Lol
38. Community on NBC
39. My best friends
40. Hip-hop
41. The beach
42. The Bible
43. Las Vegas Nevada
44. My Durango
45. Good times with great friends
46. Filet Mignon
47. Rainy Days
48. Fishing
49. Chocolate
50. Feeling infinite!