God is Real

At All Peoples Church, the church we are now apart of, we have begun a fast. The traditional way of fasting invloves abstaining from eating all food and committing yourself to prayer and communion with God. Some chose to fast from certain things that a hold on their life like Facebook or in my case a year ago, TV. I've decided to abstain from food since that's huge part of my life. This is the first I've done it like this, but as Jesus said, "Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matt 4:2)

I see how the Lord fills me because I was worried about being hungry the whole time, but the Lord has filled me.

This morning while I was in bed with Ashley, I receieved a word from God saying that I should pay for someone's groceries. I then received a vision from the Lord of a grayish 94-95ish Plymouth Voyager just like the one above.

Part of the church wide prayer during the fast was for an inner city revival. So I thought I should go to the supermarket nearest where the church meets at which is Food 4 Less on University and El Cajon Blvd. I asked AShley what she thought and she said go for it. After I dropped off Ashley, I went to Food 4 Less, parked at a spot where I could observe the whole lot. While I waiting I felt God telling me to take out $140 to give to the person. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to give them $140 or use it to pay for groceries or what? I watched and waited for 2 and a half hours. I saw 94 Plymouth Voyagers but none that were of the color I saw in the vision. I had to leave to meet with Pastor Robert for our weekly discipleship meeting.

He took advantage of some free labor in helping him setup his office and we talked about what was going on. Afterwards, a couple hours later, I decided to return and as soon as I pulled up into the parking the van in the picture was sitting there in front on the 99¢ store.

I was still wondering if this was the van, since it was parked in front of the 99¢ store and you usually don't spend more than $20, if that there. So I waited as people passed by the van, anticipating someone to open the doors.

Finally a hispanic lady and her older daughter walked up to the van with a couple bags from the 99¢ store. As they opened there side door, I noticed a ton of groceries from Food 4 Less in the seats. I new this was the one.

I got out the car, approached the lady (scared I would scare her off being a big black guy walking towards her) and explained to the lady why I was there as her daughter translated. The lady started to break down crying and said something bad (I think medically) had happened to one of her kids and she was praying that God would help. She said she didn't expect Him to respond so soon.

She kept thanking me but I told her to thank the Lord. She felt very blessed and so did I. I invited her to church. I hope she comes. But all in all, God is amazing.

The New Hobby

Well I could talk about all the amazing stuff that's happened in the last 7 months but that sounds boring. Here it is in nut shell. Large drumsticks covered in gravy, 5 cents in the bank, Round Robin Christmas, Watchin 's kids, pumping iron, the ugly side of health insurance, poor Jetta :( and playing the waiting the game. wheew!

Well the wife, most beautiful of all, and I are looking for change. Living. Praying for a opportunity. Maybe a new job. Well who knows.

I've got a big project I'm undertaking. You can check it out via the link:

Copy the link into your browser. Can't get it to hyperlink for some reason

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4897603-01M-to-02J-transmission-swap-on-my-2001-Jetta-2.0-%28AZG%29-silver

We Believe

A Change Gone Come - Sam Cooke

About a year has passed since the last entry and God knows that I could write for days. I could write a book about what Ashley and I have experienced in a years time. Some say engagement time should be one of the best times of your life. It didn"t live up to the hype. I was supposed to be playing with Chicago Bears. It wasn't my place. Ashley should be in her second of dental school. She's not spending countless hours studying teeth.

Was I supposed to be a teacher, a coach, a trainer, a football player. We don't know. Was she supposed to be a dentist, teacher, coach, or maybe a lab technician with some Biotech company. We don't know. We're afraid that we have no idea what it is that we are supposed to do. We have been living in faith. Trusting God, in that no matter what choices we make that they will come to good.

On the surface many would say that we are going through the worst of times in our lives. That we are running around with our heads cut off. But we have a different perspective. We have grown so much with one another and also with other people that the wisdom we have gained, the strong bond and bonds we have formed, the character of our lives that has changed in us, the love we share with one another and with God cannot be exchanged for the most precious objects on this earth.

Many frown at the idea of becoming married, but when two people really dedicate there lives to serving one another it turns into the most amazing thing that this world can offer.

We absolutely believed that we would make the team with the California Redwoods (The UFL team). We believed so much that we had decided Ashley would leave her job at 24 Hour Fitness which she did not have a liking to even though she really made an impact in the lives of her coworkers and others around her. She has that gift.

I was released from the team on Tues Sept 29, the day before she left her job. And now we sit here with nothing. At least nothing on the surface. But we still believe something great with football is still going to happen. It may not have panned out as we planned it to. But stay tuned because God is still working in our lives. Just wait and stayed tuned. We will have a great story to tell (As if we don't have one already).

Ashley's blogging debut

Hi everyone

As you can see, Nick decided that it would be a good idea to share his blog. So now he describes it as "our" blog. I guess as a welcoming gift, he changed the background to my favorite color purple. Even though I keep a daily journal, I never thought that I would want to go public but I'm excited to share some of my thoughts with you all.

First things first... We're getting married!!! I know that Nick posted the news on his last entry but I just wanted to share my excitement. Just in case you haven't heard our story, here it goes. (Well my side of it at least) Nick was the first person that I met at my first class on the first day of school at SDSU. So we became friends and lab partners. I started to like him our sophomore year but never wanted to admit it. I just wanted to focus on school so I tried to fight the feelings for about 3 years. I guess I loss the fight because they just wouldn't go away. During our senior year I began seriously praying about my feelings for Nick. Even though I felt tortured by constantly being around him and trying to hide my feelings, I decided to trust God that if anything was to happen between us it was going to have to be up to God to make it happen. Around this same time last year we began hanging out a lot which led to dating after we graduated. Now a year later we are engaged!! Every time I think about our relationship it reminds me that God does hear my prayers.

Being engaged has been filled with much excitement but along with it has come some trials and opposition. The last few weeks especially have been quite difficult for us. It seems like everyday we have had to fight discouragement and frustration. I knew that planning a wedding wasn't going to be easy but Nick and I promised ourselves that we would have fun with it. I think for now on we are going to take a different approach to planning this wedding and it will definitely include fun and complete trust in God. I am a firm believer that there will always be opposition right before a breakthrough. I also believe that through it all, Nick and I have gotten closer and closer. Everyday my love for him increases. One of my entries in my journal on October 17 reads, "I really don't know what's going to happen now, but I do know that I love God with everything that I have in me and I also love Nick with my entire being".

We are a blessed couple... We have amazing family and friends that continue to support us. Soon the details of our wedding will begin to iron out. I can't wait to see how all this pans out. So much more to come soon!

Steps of Faith

I've been making some moves lately if you haven't already heard. First I headed out from Atlanta to San Diego on a 4 day adventure of Motel 6 and Waffle House meeting all kinds of characters all the way. GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, and CA. I was unsure of whether this was right decision or not. But at this point nothing ever seems to be sure.

Of course if I hadn't come to San Diego then I probably wouldn't have proposed to my fiance and given some thought to living at home for a while. So, yes I am getting MARRIED. Long story short it was an unplanned, spur of the moment proposal. I called her father to ask for her hand in marriage over the phone in the bathroom after seeing the movie "Fireproof" (a must see I recommend http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/). We headed down to Sunset Cliffs. I decided to go there since that was where our first date was. I proposed there in with the cold wind wisping across our faces.

Soon after I headed home to the Bay Area, and we started our wedding planning which will be a bit of grind with a proposed date in March or April. I've decided to live at home and work until Ashley and I tie the knot. And then we will move in together.

Through all the stuff that's going on between a wedding, football, living circumstances, and work, I try to stay grounded and not in space.

My focus has taken a big shift from football to our upcoming wedding, but my regime in preparation for a professional football opportunity has not changed. The door is still open and I will continue to pursue it until God closes that door.

It's a new beginning and not the end of the world like some say it is.

Wedding planning can be overwhelming, but we are just trying to have fun.

(I know the new color is a little womanly, but it's our wedding colors)

Just Waiting

Maybe if I could cut some rug like these guys then Lovie might have second thoughts.

Much time has past and I am currently in Atlanta living with my agent Terry Bolar. I didn't make the team with the Bears or their 8-man practice squad. So after a weekend of deciding what to do next I headed back to Atlanta to setup a home base for a couple weeks.

Right now its the waiting game for me. I'm waiting to see if any roster spots open up on any teams out there in the NFL. I continue to train with John Hefner who worked with me pre-draft. I know the harsh reality of this game, league, business but I am not going to be discouraged. When I started this I intended to go at it and pursue it for a while. 2-3 years. Then I will consider moving on. I may have to seek other jobs to keep myself afloat, but that's just what I may have to do.

This to me is more than a dream. Its part of the plan God had written a long time ago. So I press on. Many would say I'm just wasting my time, but I'll know when to check out. That time has not come yet.

I'm back to days of solitude where getting out is usually for either training or eating. Not much else.

Nothing to be sad about. I still keep my spirits high. Big things are to come and not just in football, but other things. I let you know more about that once it happens.

Beauty From Outside to Within

I didn't want to give anybody the impression that Ashley looks like the picture from the last blog entry all the time. The fisrt one is us at the Getty, and the other two are camera phone pics from her friend's and her dads wedding. I think she'll appreciate these pics more: