N'Sync Said It Best...

BYE BYE BYE!!!!!!!!!

PTL for vacations!!!!!

A Semester Passed...

It's 4:30 in the morning and I can't sleep so I thought I would get up for a bit before I return to sleep.

My first semester at Fresno Pacific is now part of my past. I concluded my last final on Thursday at about 10:30am. What a relief I now feel and also a sense of accomplishment. It feels like it was just yesterday that it was August and I was scared out of my mind of the thought of balancing full time work with full time (14 units) of school. I remember thinking there was no way that I could do it. There were a few times along the way that I felt like I wanted to give up but by God's grace and the encouragement of friends, I made it to the finish line. A few semesters remain and I will be done. I am sure they will fly by just as fast as this one and shall become just memories in mind.

Overall this semester was pretty awesome. I made some amazing new friends at FPU as well as met some pretty cool professors and staff. I was challenged with the information that I learned and really have began to analyze what I want to do in my future. There were many frustrations with things such as units transferring, trying to get my schedule just right, and issues with financial aid, but all in all I am grateful for this semester...it was worth the stress at times, the little frustrations, and even the feelings of fear that I could not make it.

Thank you to my friends at FPU, my processors, the staff, and especially one of my bestest friends, Becky Kruse, for her commitment to FPU and her friendship to me. Thank you BK for letting me ask your questions, vent in frustration, and come over to steal your food...I love ya! PTL this semester is complete!

I don't want this to be me, how about you?

“Years wasted in vain regrets, energies dissipated in haphazard relationships and projects, emotions blunted, passive before whatever experiences the day brings, they are like snoring sleepers who resent having their peace disturbed. Their existential mistrust of God, the world, and even themselves underlies their inability to make a passionate commitment to anyone or anything.” -Brennan Manning

Gotta Love Christmas

So, I was driving yesterday and I saw this small little car. It was two-door and had a Christmas tree tied to the roof and no joke the tree was longer than the car. The funny part is that the car had a sunroof...the passenger in the car was reaching up through the sunroof and had his arms wrapped around the tree, holding it for dear life. I stopped, laughed in amusement, and thought this is why I love Christmas!

A passage put pretty bluntly...

"Look at your life and see how you have filled its emptiness with people. As a result they have a stranglehold on you. See how they control your behavior by their approval and disapproval. They hold the power to ease your loneliness with their company, to send your spirits soaring with their praise, to bring you down to the depths with their criticism and rejection. Take a look at yourself spending almost every waking moment of your day placating and pleasing people, whether they are living or dead. You live by their norms, conform to their standards, seek their company, desire their love, dread their ridicule, long for their applause, meekly submit to the guild they lay upon you; you are terrified to go against the fashion in the way you dress or speak or act or event think. And observe how even when you control them you depend on them and are enslaved to them. People have become so much a part of your being that you cannot even imagine living a life that is unaffected or uncontrolled by them." -Anthony DeMello in The Way To Love

This really made me pause for a moment and take in everything that is being said. It is scary how true this can actually be and the people so often are our friends, family, loved ones. Who am I outside of people, that is a hard question to answer. People have such a control and persuasiveness over us that it is scary. My take away from this is to really evaluate how I am without having to change that for others.

Aha Moments

-The feeling of getting my Christmas shopping done start to finish in six hours.

-Seeing two high school teen boys holding signs outside of the major shopping center saying "Free Hugs". I actually got a free hug and it made me smile. I am sure those two boys made a lot of people smile, what a random act of kindness.

-Sitting in church and watching a thirteen or fourteen year old boy lean over and kiss his mom on the shoulder. Made me wish that I had experiences like that as a kid.

-Driving 20 minutes home from church with the cell phone off and the car stereo off. Just reflecting in the silence.

-That affirmation you receive when someone tells you "We appreciate what you do".

-Understanding that two hours of my time meant the world to my mom.

-Knowing that no matter how crazy life is, it's going to be okay.

A really good weekend in a nutshell.

Man Cold!

This is a shoot out to all my boys who suffer "Man Colds"!

Long time no blog...

Sorry that I have been lacking in the blog area of my life lately. I has been a bit crazy these past few weeks. Work has been non-stop busy as we are planning for a lot of upcoming events and trips. In addition, I have been working closely with my new boss to try and get him up to speed on a lot of stuff. School has also been intense! I finished my first semester of classes at FPU on Friday afternoon. This week is finals and I still have a few last minute assignments to work on and then studying for exams. But come Thursday around 11am I will be a free man!!! I will have my first semester done...seems like just yesterday I was starting FPU. Time flies when your having fun! Anywho, after this week things should slow down. I am also looking forward to my vacation! PTL for a little rest, relaxation, fun, friends, and the holidays!