The fifth anniversary of 21

So I was reflecting back on my age the other day and started reflecting back on 21. Ah 21, what do we look forward to on that birthday? We all look forward to being able to drink right? A lot of people, including myself, get into the fact that we can go to Vegas, get into bars, gamble, and do the crazy things that come along with being 21. When I was 21 I was working a fairly good job at Verizon making 33,000 a year as a low level management employee. I was unhappy though. I was living with some friends in Irvine and making a 20-30 minute commute to Long Beach. I thought I was going to rocket up the company's ranks (as a matter of fact I was up for a promotion before I left). I was unhealthy and unhappy. My parents made me an offer to have me come home and I accepted it. I would go home and finish school. By the end of my 21st year of existence I was at Victor Valley College and working a part time job at Best Buy.

So we fast forward five years. I'm getting ready for year number 3 at Encore. I'm the ASB Advisor. I have my B.A. in English literature, I'm working on my master's and credential. I have changed a lot in the last five years physically, emotionally, spiritually, and career wise. I honestly have seen a change in my life for the better. Let's be honest though, isn't that what we expect? We need to progress in life. I guess I'm writing this because I see people around me not progressing and still doing the same stuff at 25, 26 that they did at 20,21. Why do we allow ourselves to get trapped into this? I had a good friend of mine get awaken by an experience she had in another town and it just adds to this. Eventually we need to grow up and work on ourselves. Do you expect your mom to pack a lunch for you still?

I would encourage people to take a strong look at their actions. What are you still doing that could be labeled as immature? What are those actions that you want to let go of, but simply can't because of surroundings or friends? I would encourage you to take a look at what you do. Where can you grow up? There was a time when a former blog of mine was all about writing about my drinking stories. How embarrassing for me. If you like having a drink, that's cool and that's why there's moderation. However, waking up and having your night told to you because you were so inebriated is not fun or funny. We need to be in control of our situations and this is something that I finally became convicted about. Again, it's all about waking up and taking responsibility for ourselves. If I'm still doing the same things at 31 that I'm doing at 26 I would be disappointed, but not as disappointed if I would still be doing the same things at 26 that I was doing at 21. If I offended you then maybe it's time to take a step back and fix things. If you like what you're doing, then by all means keep doing it. I just expect a natural progression out of myself.

Until next time,
NG

The goodness of it all.

Wow, I was gone for a minute. I had a lot of fun interesting things this last week which I plan to keep you all apprised of.
One of my faults in life is that when someone is going to reprimand me I get frustrated and angry. What did I do? I tried to this, etc. I always get frustrated. Well recently it happened to me again. I received a call, got frustrated, and started playing the me game. Why do I do this? I don't know, but I've come to realize that each situation where I'm getting rebuked or reprimanded is an opportunity for me to learn and grow. I always play the me card and try to take control of the situation. Let's be honest, I'm not in control of anything. Oh sure there are certain times when God gives me a little bit more responsibility, but truly He is in control. So why do I take matters into my own hands? Before I went into the meeting I had, I just said, "God take control." Thirty minutes later I walk out laughing. Had I gone into this meeting with the militant attitude that I previously had I would've probably walked out with a bad feeling. I need to learn to be smarter and am in constant need of a reminder. Why do we do these things?
James tells us that when we need prayer we need to ask our brothers and sisters for it. Why do I hold things back? Do I do it because I feel I can handle everything? No, I just get frustrated and forget. I need to remember why it is that God has placed me where I'm at and take the high road.

A couple of other notes, one of my best friends Jason has relocated to San Diego. He's truly been an inspiration to me and I suggest you check out his blog at www.greenfaithadventures.com. Other exciting things have been happening and I can't wait to share with you all.

ISTJ

Some of you are looking at those letters and wondering if it's jibberish. Some of you are looking at those letters and know exactly what it means and are trying to label yourselves right now. ISTJ is a personality type. According to the Myers-Briggs type indicator there are numerous separate personalities you can be and there are four areas: extroverted or introverted; sensing or intuition; thinking or feeling; and judging or perceiving.

Here is what the Myers-Briggs site says about my type:
Quiet, serious, earn success by thoroughness and dependability. Practical, matter-of-fact, realistic, and responsible. Decide logically what should be done and work toward it steadily, regardless of distractions. Take pleasure in making everything orderly and organized – their work, their home, their life. Value traditions and loyalty.

I'm not going to lie, I can't disagree with that. Except for making everything orderly and organized. However, I do live a regimented schedule, so I guess I do like it, I just don't practice it. I always found this personality type indicator to be an interesting thing, so let's take a look at it shall we?

I - Introversion - At first thought I felt I was going to be extroverted. A lot of people know me as this outgoing character and I can be that with those that I love and am close to. Get me outside of my box and I shy away. I know it's one of the reasons why I've always hated clubs (well that and they're lame) and other places like that. You want to spend some quality one-on-one time with me and I'm more than happy to do that. If you start adding a group element, that's cool as long as I know them. Introduce outside elements and I'll figure it out within the first five minutes if I'm going to be quiet or loud and boisterous. It's funny because people think that I hate them because I won't hang out. It's not that I dislike them (although I will be honest, there are people I don't want to hang out with, we all have that) it's just that there are some days that I would rather be by myself and reflect back on the day and do something by myself. I love going to the gym, but I am not a fan of having a workout partner. Working out is me and God time as I'm able to read the Bible while riding the stationary bike, running while appreciating His majesty, swimming and reflecting, the list goes on and on. If I get upset with you, I tend to not talk or respond to anything you say. Some call it ignoring, but it's better that I do that than for me to snipe you with some snide remark (trust me). I'm not some extreme introvert where I won't ever hang out, there are just times when I enjoy doing things by myself.

S - Sensing - I like facts and details. If we're going to do something then let me know what we're doing. It's crazy because I have a pretty regimented day, I have it planned out from 4:30 a.m. to 8:00p.m. I don't have to be at certain places at a certain time, but I stay with it pretty well. Unfortunately, I do tend to pay more attention to details rather than the big pictures. Seriously though, the one thing I don't agree with is that I do look at the big picture more than immediate possibilities, but I guess I want the best of both worlds when it comes to this.

T - Thinking - I don't go with personal preferences most of the time. I have to think stuff out. I laugh when I read this because I like to go with the logical choice on almost anything (I think we should say we all do) I hate doing things on the fly on spontaneously unless it's something I've done before. I don't care if it's going to be "fun" I'd rather look at what's going to happen.

Judgement - It's funny because this is exactly me. From wikipedia: ISTJs tend to plan their activities and make decisions early. They derive a sense of control through . Yup, that is exactly me. I plan my weekends, there really isn't a lot to say about that.

I really wanted to go through and analyze why I am who I am. I found the introverted thing the most interesting and found that it was the one I could give the most explanation about.

NG

Things change... friends don't... well they do, but in a good way.

Well it's been a couple of days and I have some interesting things to talk about...

First, this week is actually a little special to me, almost an anniversary of sorts. This week last year (the second week of testing) I decided that I was going to change everything about my life physically. I decided to dedicate myself to working out, eating, healthy, etc. It's not like I hadn't done this before. I had done it multiple times before, but with varying degrees of success. However, I just felt like this time would be different. Long story short, this time was different. I would say that at my peak I was roughly around 270 pounds at 5 foot 5 inches. Through hard work, commitment, eating healthy, and all the other fun stuff I am now down to roughly 155-160. Throughout this time I found myself though too. I was not a very good person. I was just doing stupid things, but when you're living one of the seven deadly sins (Proverbs 6:16-24) you're just being dumb. I know that my body is a temple and eventually I had to change my ways. I always joke by saying that I like living, but it's true, I like living and I'm glad to be where I'm at and will always give myself a little reminder when it comes to this...

Next thing, I talked about one of my best friends Jason and how he is moving to San Diego. Well, this Wednesday is his last day out here and I'm pretty excited for him. He's moving down there because he felt a calling and is now getting ready to go. I want to explain the unique relationship him and I have. We became pretty good friends in high school and after high school we were one of the few people left up in the desert. We hung out a lot, we were both single, we were both partying it up living the junior college life. It was funny because in high school we started hanging out more when we were single and in junior college it was the same thing. I met a girl at the end of our freshman year and while we hung out on occasion and kept in touch, it wasn't until nearly five years later that we connected back up. This was one of those times that God worked in mysterious. When we connected back up, we were back to our old ways. Let's go here, let's get this going on, etc. Then I felt a impression on my heart to join a small group at HDC. Jason and I were hitting up church during this time and I told him about it. He was game for it, and I don't think our lives have been the same since. I talked about how the different people in my small group have affected me, but it's been an amazing adventure. I've honestly seen us grow up in so many ways, and in some ways finally reaching the maturity level that we're supposed to be at. Well bud, I'm glad that you answered a calling and I'm extremely proud of you. You will definitely be blessed in this journey.

Last but not least, a VSP update. For those of you who don't know I am going to East Asia on an English teaching excursion through Cal Baptist this summer. The meetings that we have are continuously uplifting and are very exciting. The one downer is that we are still working hard for our financial means and we ran into a road block. It's okay though, He will provide. If you feel called though to help out the team please let me know though, whether it be through prayer or financial support. We gladly appreciate it all.

Until the next time...
NG

The words that can change a life...

Well, well, well another day, another blog. Probably a quick one though as it's early... and yeah it's early. Last night one of the people from my small group got baptized. I was a little down at the time since I pulled my hamstring about an hour earlier, but I wanted to be there because I felt it was important. She got baptized and that was exciting, as I'm sure it was exciting for the person who led her to Christ. Afterwards we went out to dinner and I was talking with Josh, who's our small group leader, and he told me that he wanted to tell me something. He told me that a new member of our small group, Scott, had recently accepted Christ. How awesome right? The coolest way this relates to me was that he was influenced by my testimony. That actually brought me to tears. That is probably the best news of my weekend, possibly my life. All right, I'm going to attempt to teach.

A wild and crazy Saturday night

is not what happened for me. As a matter of fact it was quite calm, and let me tell you it was perfect. I had a great Saturday that revolved around Pancake Pandemonium (tm Fiesta Hobbit), a quick trip to Target and Macy's, and my goddaughter's first birthday. You know I used to have these crazy long nights where I would come in any time after 12. Last night was perfect, I got to hang out with both of my goddaugthers, their parents (who are two of my best friends in the world), and their family. They are a second family and I do love them dearly. I don't get to spend the time I'd like with them because of work, school, activities, etc. However, each time I do get to see them it's always a pleasure. Plus those two girls are ridiculously cute, I just enjoy the time I get to spend with them. Now onto a big day, already had church, baptism class, and Chipotle. Now a soccer game at four. Go Globo Gym Purple Cobras!

What I learned from Small Group...

Welcome back to my blog. Most likely many aren't reading this, but hey, you are! I am freaking thrilled and blessed, let me tell you. I enjoy the people I work with, I love those that are in my life, and I feel that God is placing the right people in my life for me to impact and help. Well, there is one thing that I thought was missing, I thought that I needed a relationship. I was talking with my boys about some of my weaknesses and I realized, I'm not ready for one. It's not being over the last one because that's something that God helped me through very easily and Alanna and I remain great friends. I feel that God hasn't placed the right person in my life to deal with the physical aspects of the relationship. I'm not going to get into everything, but I'll just say this; I don't do the things that most people expect. It's something I feel strong in and the times I've fallen I have never felt worse. I know what my convictions are and I don't want them compromised. I've come so far, yet I'm nowhere near where I should be.

One other thing that I realized from small group the other night was how God puts the most random people in our lives to help shape us. My small group leader is young, I believe 19, and I'm 26. Our careers are in different stations, our lives are in completely different situations. I remember a conversation that my buddy Jason and I had and that was how these kids didn't understand us, we planned our parties, they don't know what it's like in the real world. We were extremely wrong, God placed those people there in order to help us learn about the spiritual world. These people have shown me so much, and I'll be honest, I had a conversation with Jason about drinking and what our convictions are on it. It's not okay to get drunk and I'm really starting to feel that there's no reason to even start. I'm going to be honest, I would've never said this a year ago, but it is just amazing and I'm excited for this. I'm excited to share this because this is a way for my introverted self to get this out there. Well, we have a pancake breakfast and awesome things are coming! Go Fight Win!
NG

In the beginning...

of this blog, I started typing or something like that. I've been wanting to write a blog for a long time because I enjoy writing but for a purpose. I enjoy sharing my life with my friends and family, which is probably why I freaking love Facebook. We're at the end of the NCAA championship game with Butler and Duke and I'm reminded of when I was transferring from VVC to California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB). Wichita State made a run through the NCAA tournament and I decided that would be a great school to apply to. CSUSB was my safety, but I know the reason I applied there. My girlfriend at the time was going there and it was cool to spend a little more time with her when I had been living in Irvine and not seeing her so often. A year and a half later I graduated from there and two years after that fateful start I began my career in education.
Let me be honest, I didn't want to teach. I fought it for a long time in my relationship with Alanna. Her mom would continue to pester me and I didn't believe in it, not for a second. However, God works in mysterious ways. Let's just say that moving from the bank to the classroom was the most interesting thing I've ever done in my life. There are reasons that we meet the people that we do in life. Reasons why we take the paths we do to our lives and careers. I call it God's work and others call it fate or destiny. I sometimes find it amazing that I'm teaching students and it's something that I love doing. I'll be honest, I really feel it's His work and His calling on my life. There's no such thing as coincidence. It was His Plan for me to be a teacher and it is the most amazing thing that has happened in my life. You know there's no reason for me to be quiet about the good news.

Coolest thing that is happening throughout this amazing journey is my trip this summer to East Asia. What is it about? What am I doing out there? You're going to have to stay tuned. Until then enjoy the blog, there are certain things I want to put up to honor certain people.

NG