Monday, March 3, 2008

Something on my mind......


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I have to take a step back to look at my life.

When I see all the things that are happening in my life, I can only glorify the Lord.
He's given me an amazing family, to be there for me always.
He's given me fantastic friends, to keep me accountable.
He's led me to a wonderful University, where I can attain gifts that will help me further His mission.
He's granted me an awesome ISP Team, to help me grow and learn more about missions.
He's supplied me with campus activities that make me realize I am nothing without His constant involvement in my life.

He's there for me, even when I ignore Him.


He forgives.

He's my Abba..

And I pray that I never stop glorifying His name.

You should take a step back in your own life and see this for yourself.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Answered Prayers.

A new note.

The Lord provided me with over 24 grand of Financial Aid for my first year at Cal Baptist.

And that includes NO loans.

God is good.



Almost Hawai'i time.

can't wait.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

The Last Paragraph


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So, for awhile I have forgotten that I even had a blog. I guess I'm not really cut out to do this stuff. Probably because the only good type of writing i can do is BS school papers. English is definitely not one of my favorite subjects.

Well, let's see what has transpired in my life last time i wrote on here. For starters I got the job working for Hetch Hetchy in Moccasin/Yosemite. I weedeat around switchyards, cabins in Yosemite, and dams all around the Yosemite area. I love it. I really like almost all my coworkers, and I hope and pray that I'll get this job next year. I found out that I love to work outdoors. Being couped in a cubicle is no life for me.

I also took some trips this year, including one in a few weeks: Hawaii.


When I moved back to Don Pedro, I thought I could catch up with all my old friends. But as I see it, that's harder than it sounds. Life goes on, once you move away. Although I got to see some of my old friends, I can say that some of us have drifted away. I understand it more now, but before I always believed I would have these friends forever. Well, lesson learned.

I'm sad this summer is coming to an end. I will really miss my work. I've seen and learned so much while working there.

My sister, Glory, also had her baby on August 2nd. It's a girl, Haley Peace Calabrese, and she was 21 inches and weighed 8 puounds. She has a lot of brown hair, and is getting cuter by the day. I'm glad I got to be there when she was born.

My next priority is moving to Riverside in about less than a month. I'm transfering down to Cal Baptist for my junior and senior year. Right now I'm dealing with loans, which will kill me, but are my only option. I hope the Lord will show me what He wants me to do in my life while being down there.

Because honestly, now I have no clue what to do. I know He'll show me a way.

I can't wait for Hawaii. I'm going with Peace, my sis, and my parents and friends of the family will be down there when we arrive. It's been awhile since I've seen my brother, Bo, so I'll be glad to see him.




I hope everyone is doing well, and that they had a good summer.

Mine sure was a blessing. I'll never forget it.





p.s. here's a weblink to a album from my work. we're at hetch hetchy resevoir in Yosemite.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=9108&l=90e8d&id=500025988

Friday, May 11, 2007

new prospects.....


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It always seem I'm in the mood to write on this blog once a month. Go figure.

Mother's Day is coming up.
My mom has done the most in my family. Not to say my dad hasn't at all, but what I'm basically saying is that my mom is the glue.....and the heart of the family. She always deserves more credit than what most people give to her.





Richard is the nicest, most informational one. He's the best brother anybody could ask for. And he likes some great music.






Ben...well Ben is the kraut to the porkchops of the family.....bad anaolgy? well let's just say that i suppose he's the most distant (both metaphorically and literally speaking), but he also is the kraut. maybe that doesn't make sense. oh well. he's also a good caregiver, like Pops, who's also a pretty funny guy and deeply cares for the whole fam. although he is a bit nutty, and slight insomniac.





Glory is the craziest one.....no one like her...the only one who is a little similiar would probably be me. but back to Glory. She's the hilarious one, she's right up there with Mom when it comes to the glue analogy. You always have the best time with her. Unless she's perturbed or in pain.





Peace...well Peace is the mysterious Sandlin. But she's also the most gifted. If anyone succeeds out of the Sandlins it's going to be her (or possibly Richard). Peace is the opposite of me, in yet we get along very well. She can get a little wacky, but only with a selected few. consider yourself lucky if you ever see that side.





Nathan is the new one, but he's a keeper. Whenever you need something, he'll be there to help you out. The best brother-in-law anybody could ask for.





And Ethan is the joy of the family. He's funny, a bit crazy, very loving, outgoing and demands attention. He's great.








I'm so grateful to be part of this family. Don't know what I'd do without them.

I'm leaving soon. Starting something new in my life. I need change. And hopefully, it'll be sooner then expected. I'm thinking in about a month or so. I'll keep you posted on these new "prospects."

Until then, I'm going to leave it up in the air, just in case this doesn't come into fruitition.

Although I pray that it does.


I'm ready to go home.

Before I leave for the new country (aka LA/Riverside).

Friday, April 13, 2007

sad news, exec. checks, summer, curls and sync.


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It's been a whole month since I've post. As I read what I have previously wrote, I realized that the Lord will show me my right path, and if that's to be a missionary, then He'll let me know. He won't let me astray. Since this month has passed I have been getting a foothold in my work at Costco. I've slowly gotten into the groove of things, and have been enjoying it more. I try to get to know all of my coworkers. So far I've been doing pretty well at it. I love meeting new people. I'm always interested in how they are, their personalities, goals, or any other quirks about them. I know this may sound weird, but it's true. So as I try to get to know more of my coworkers, I begin to feel like Costco is a community of generally good, sincere people, though some that are just passing through, others are lifers, and some people who are undecisive of their future.

In other news, I've found out about some sad news that greatly affects me. This news gives me the mentality to just give up on hope, a glass half empty if you will. Why can't things just work out the way they schould? Now I know how I sound. I realize that this is never true. Nothing is ever really set in stone, save for a few everlasting things. But this grave news has set a shift in my mood and mentality. I'll just keep praying for this issue to resolve itself, and that no one becomes emotionally harmed.

In the time where I find that I need to be the most decisive, I'm finding the complete opposite is true. My indecisiveness has taken an even greater turn. Summer? Wow. Well I can either stay in Santa Cruz or move back to Don Pedro. My job at Costco is going well, I have few friends here that I would be upet to leave, and I would miss my Dad for the summer. On the other hand, if I get this government job in the Yosemite/Don Pedro area I could potentially be getting way more money that I could ever hope for, live back at my old home, be able to see all of my friends I left behind--including some of my closest--and I'll be only half hour from my sister and her family. I'm finding this decision to be getting very complicated and heavy. I'll keep praying about this situation, and whatever happens, I know that I was meant to be whever the Lord puts me.

As time keeps slipping by what with school being half over, my hair getting really long, and more and more exec. checks, I keep finding myself thinking about the time when we just moved to California. What a new and exciting place it was, and how carefree I was at the time. To be able to walk around Roaring Camp Drive, to go up to the dead end and play around the wild boysenberry bush, if only I was able to be as carefree now. Now though, as I'm becoming an adult, I have responsibility that keeps me in line. I have all these choices I have to make, which don't bother me, but keep latching on to every little detail in my life, which in the longrun, could greatly affect my life and lives of others. I realize now that adults make as much mistakes as children do, it's just that children have the excuse of their youth, while adults have the seniority of knowing better.

Adults and teenagers can never understand each other. I don't buy the excuse that parents were once teenagers. I'm not denying the law of biology, but what I'm saying is parents' were teens in a totally different decade. I think people put a blockade up for so many reasons but one might be that adults don't want their teens to grow up because they're afraid that their teens aren't ready to make their own choices. On the other hand, Teenagers are ready to shift into independence and are definitely uncertain of what the future holds, but feel they need a different identity than their parents. Parents are key to influencing the child. So take for example, when one parent strongly agrees with one politician and always talks about the great things that this politician does for the country. You've only heard about the great things this person did, and you obviously look up to your parents and strongly agree with them, and so they cast a shadow as to what you think about this politician. But what's the other side of the story with the politician? We need to discover things on our own, and for adults to criticize this discovery disheartens the teenager. I don't really know what I'm trying to send out here. This might be somewhat true with me, but not completely. My parents are very smart and are great at their parenting skills. They know their children need to learn independence. The kids just need to get out and mess up, and learn.....Get to know things in a different aspect than their parents. Otherwise, what's to become of them if their parents control their every choice? Now that's a scary thought.


I will end this with a phoenix-esque tale. Out of the ashes of my broken, old Nokia phone, comes a new Samsung Sync. I don't know what to do with it. I feel like I need to protect it, so I try to use it as less as possible.

I'll be praying about these situations and thougts.

Thanks for reading my rambling. I hope it doesn't confuse the general populace.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Stalled Out.....


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A few months ago I had the opportunity to go to a missions conference called Urbana, in St. Louis. Me and forty-thousand people vacated the urban setting for a week, where we learned more about God's calling in our lives--and for me--helped mature my walk with the Lord. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life before then. Perhaps a chiropractor? No. Maybe a business owner? Heck no. All I know is that I wanted to be constantly surrounded by people and help them in any way possible. What did Urbana do for me besides help me gain more friendships as well as make more mature? It was the starting point to a career I passed on before, thinking there was no money involved (which, there is not). Deciding upon being a missionary totally clicked with me. I had absolute confidence that I would be able to do it. I picked out a mission agency at Urbana, and waited.

Fast forward to now and you see that I'm still waiting. I'm finishing up my second year of junior college while preparing to leave for my four year college, California Baptist University. I just got accepted and am doing paperwork as we speak about transferring. It seems I have everything down. In yet, I feel as though I'm distancing myself from Him even more and have reached a point of stagnation. I realize I need to wait after I'm done with college to go out into the field, but what am I doing in the meantime?

I'm also currently working at Costco so I can fulfill my college tuition and other subsidiaries. My last semester at Cabrillo College so far has not been met with such success. I'm here in Santa Cruz and all I want to do is go to some distant country and help any way I can over there. Meanwhile, I feel I need to let the Lord be more active in everything I do, besides just putting Him away and picking the times I want Him to be active.

I'm currently in stalled-out mode, and I'm stuck between Point A and Point B, when all I want to do is get to Point C. Is the Lord testing me? Am in a state of weakness? What is the Lord trying to tell me right now? Will I be able to get through college? Will I figure out how to get to the mission field? And the big question of them all: Am I really ready to become a full-time missionary?

I am tired of waiting, but maybe God is really telling me I'm not ready to go just yet.



And I'm so done with selling muffins at Costco. But I'm not the new kid anymore. I'm slowly climbing my way up, with each little packing of a cart.


And I can literally see my car being stalled in the non-too distant future. Well sort of. I'm really cheap. So when gas gets over the price of 3 dollars I don't buy it. I'm on E right now, and I think if I don't buy it soon, I'm going to have some problems in getting from Point A to Point B.

coincidence? i think not.