Pursuit of God

I have forgotten about you during good times but you stayed close by.

I have come running to you during bad times and you watched over me.

I have accused you of playing with my emotions and you laughed at me. 

I asked you to let me carry a burden so that others won't have to and you said okay.

I now know what they mean about being careful what you wish for.

I now know that all of this has been done out of love.

Looking back I can see that your plan is the perfect plan.

Despite my deviate behavior you have always been there for me.

How you have treated me has opened my eyes and my heart.

I am a better person and father because of what I've been through.

You knew what you were doing all along ;)

I now know that in my pursuit to find you all I have to do is pray.

Little Champions

Tonight we had our sports banquet at St. Robert. Unfortunately it was during the Laker game so many of the coaches, athletes, and parents wanted to get out of there as soon as possible to cheer on our team. I love to torture kids with speeches but since I had to summarize it I thought I'd at least put it on my blog.

Besides my good looks I have another gift.

Does anyone know what that is?

I can spot champions and as I look around this room that's all I can see.(Stole this from Zig Ziglar)

You guys are student athletes w/ an emphasis on student.

Remember that God has given us sports as a tool to realize our potential.

You're purpose in life is to use your full potential to glorify God.

Scared of not being able to deliver the first part properly I skipped it or maybe I was scared of people laughing and then I'd be thinking if they really don't think I'm good looking. Well I still think they got the message and I'm thankful that it was a private school function so it was okay to mention God :). 

I am very proud of  to announce that my daughter also received "Athlete of the Year". This award was given to her because of her participation in sports since 5th grade and her dedication to her school and keeping up her grades all those years. Most of the time the award only goes to the boys and so she was very excited. Way to end your stay at St. Robert. Now off to some of the best years of your life in high school.

 

TGIF? How About Just TGIA

How times and our culture have changed. Past generations took a lot of pride in having to go to work and you were defined by your work ethic. They were always in survival mode whereas now we really take employment for granted until it is gone. I guess that is expected in an age of entitlements where almost everything has become a right and not a privilege. Our culture loves the phrase "TGIF, thank God it's Friday" and Fridays seem to be the day we wake up with a little more spring in our step. Sunday nights are probably the most depressing because we have to get ready for another work week. Well I want to be able to wake up everyday and say "TGIA, thank God I'm alive". What can you do to make you feel this way? Well we all have gifts that we have been blessed with and we all have different passions but just don't know how to make money using our gifts or pursuing our passion.

I had found that I had a knack for accounting but it was not a field that I enjoyed. I have always loved helping people and using the knowledge I acquire to help others. This is what really drove me into real estate. I believe that property rights are some of the most fundamental rights here in the United States that we have the privilege of enjoying when we work hard to acquire property. I have loved showing people how to do it and the best thing is that my buying clients don't ever have to pay me. The seller's pay the commissions on most real estate transactions.

I have recently read No More Mondays by Dan Miller and it's an inspiring book for those who keep asking what am I supposed to do with my life. This book really does a great job of pointing out that if you are doing something you love than it does not feel like work. When you have a passion for something you really give it your all and your love for that labor shows in the effort you put in to your service or product. Let's get away from only thanking God for one day of the week and gravitate towards thanking him for everyday we get to be alive.

Does God Exist? My Faith Tells Me Yes

Many people don't believe in the existence of God or any other god. Many people have blind faith. Who is right? Can we rely on science to prove everything? Is the existence of life only on one planet in this vast universe the result of random events? Was everything planned by one supreme being or infinite intelligence? This blog is just to share one of my experiences and why I believe in God and why this faith has me believing in Jesus Christ. Will I judge you if you don't believe, no cause that's not my job. My duty, according to the bible, is to share my belief. Don't ask me where it says this cause I've mentioned before that my memory is bad and I have trouble memorizing scripture.

This morning I went for a hike in Glendale, CA at Brand Park, http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=XTR003-024. I had a lot of things on my mind, mostly prayers for friends that I wanted God to hear. I always feel that a good walk helps clear my head for meditation and good conversation with God. For some reason I thought making myself really struggle and climb over 1000 feet would put me in a better position for him to hear me :). I know the link says it's a 6.5 mile loop but I don't want anyone to think I did 6.5 miles. Since I was a kid there's one spot on this trail that I've always climbed up to but for some reason being 50 pounds overweight makes this seem a lot farther than it was when I was a kid. I made this spot my goal and I was focused to reach my goal.

On the way up I was faced by the devil. He took the shape of a sharp pain in my lower back. Eager to make me give up the pain compounded and my breathing became heavier. The temptation to quit was growing stronger and I started to think if God really wants to hear from me he'll make the devil go away. Not even half way up the devil did a good job at making me realize my weaknesses. I am overweight, out of shape, and weak. I am alone and starting to feel that God has abandoned me.

All of a sudden I felt a boost in my will power. Thoughts raced through my head that continued to encourage me. I focused on why I started this journey. I started thinking of the struggle Jesus went through as he carried the cross and eventually died for us. My faith was giving me the strength and filling me with hope that I will complete my goal. God showed me the best example of being a great Father. He allowed me to take on as much as I'm capable of taking on by myself before he filled my mind with encouragement. I was never really alone, he was always right there with me. As a father I have to do the same with my children. Make sure that I allow them to take on things on their own and give them the right amount of encouragement. I want to make sure I do not intervene and this way they will grow in faith also. Because of my faith I always have hope.

Growing Closer to God

Our earthly parents are supposed to prepare us to leave them. Unlike them our earthly Father pushes us so that we can get closer to him. I have made my life as transparent as possible and so you know that I have had my fair share of struggles. I still have trials that I am going through and when I was younger I asked God why and what the heck did I do to deserve such luck. In the past week I have gone on 2 hikes and finished reading 2 books that have really helped me grow spiritually. I need to share this with you so that hopefully I can inspire others to seek the same type of growth.

This blog was definitely inspired by the book I just read. Embrace the Struggle: Living Life on Life's Terms, by Zig Ziglar is a very inspirational book. Not only does he share his own story but he has a few others in there as well. I have said this before but I'll repeat it again. When I was going through my divorce and realizing that being the only parent that was going to look after the kids I felt the weight of the world. We always feel so alone in our darkest hour especially when our relationship with God is not as strong as it should be. The morning of September 11, 2001 I woke up a little later than usual and decided to take my time and watch the news. The events of that day will always be on our minds but those same events made me realize that what I was going through was nothing compared to how thousands of people had just been affected. Life can change in an instant and at that moment I began to pray for thousands of other people that I have never met and my life wasn't all about me.

Struggles in our life we definitely try to avoid but when they do happen we must take the lesson from it and grow spiritually the way God has intended for us. I don't question God anymore cause I know with his guidance he will lead us to where we're supposed to be. As a matter of fact I don't even ask God for patience cause he always seems to bless me with the opportunity to show patience. I guess that's where "be careful what you ask for" comes from. I now thank God for everything he has given me. I praise him for the good and I praise him for the opportunity to learn and overcome struggles. I pray that all of you can also experience the clearing of your vision the way I have. Below is a dedication or poem that I just wrote for my daughter's yearbook as she gets ready to graduate. Be kind cause I'm not a poet and as I started to rhyme I couldn't help but try to be funny. I hope you enjoy.

God's Gift

When I was young I was lost.

My selfish mind was the cause.

I thought of nothing else but to coast through life,

Lots of money, a house, and a lovely wife.

Needless to say I'm quite not there,

money in my wallet is quite rare.

Instead God has blessed me with you,

and soon to follow another two.

You have grown faster than I'd like,

but you'll always be my baby who I taught how to ride a bike.

You were God's gift to me.

You cleared up my vision and now I can see.

Unfortunately you have only seen the struggle,

Having you and your brothers I have learned how to juggle.

It is through the struggles that we grow spiritually,

and you have grown extraordinarily.

The lesson I hope that you have learned from this,

is to keep God close so that your life is bliss.

The struggles that you have endured so far,

are God's gift to you instead of a car.

One day you'll look back and see

that God was really looking over you and me.