Merry Christmas 2012

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! It's been a while since I've posted anything on my blog and I have to admit it's been a long time since I've been able to due to my busy schedule. Not only that but I've had a tough time thinking about what to write.

So, this year we celebrated Christmas with my family on Sunday the 23. The reason why celebrated early was so everyone could be together since everyone has a busy schedule.

This year for Christmas Day my mom, dad, sister and her daughter came to my place for Christmas dinner.

Dinner was great and it was nice to hang out with my parents, sister and niece.

Times have changed but for me Christmas is still my favorite time of year. I might not get every thing I want or wish for but as I get older I appreciate the times spent with family friends more than getting gifts.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you and your family a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! This is my first blog message since getting the iPad 4. I am doing this hands free well to a certain extent but for the most part all of this entry will be done using voice to text, this is wonderful. Even though I have to go back and correct some punctuation blogging is faster for me now since I can just speak what I want to say and have the iPad type out what I am thinking.

As always there so many things that I am thankful for in my life. I have to remember that I have to give thanks to God for all that he's done for me and my family every day and not just on Thanksgiving day. Often times I have to stop and Remember to give thanks and praise.

This year has been very good to me and my wife. We are fortunate to have all the things that we have and I am grateful for still being in good health and shape.

Hurricane Sandy

Well, unless you've been living under a rock these past few days, you should be aware of Hurricane Sandy. I cannot remember the last time I saw non stop coverage of a storm on the news and I cannot remember the last time I saw so many empty shelves in the grocery store due to people stocking up in anticipation of the storm. Yesterday, the gas station down the street from me was constantly busy with people filling up their vehicles. I too filled up my vehicle to make sure if I needed to be mobile that I had enough fuel.

As it is right now, where I am has heavy rain and winds. I am hoping that it doesn't get worse than this but from what the news has been saying, the worse is yet to come.

Mecano

I don't know Spanish but I know that I like Mecano and their music. It's soothing yet it is full of pop. Check out this song when you get the chance. This is one of my favorites by Mecano.

How I Learned About Wicca

This is the book I read in order for me to learn about Wicca and the Wiccan way of life.

Wicca & Wiccan

A friend of mine got into Wicca after borrowing a book series from my wife called "Sweep" by Cate Tiernan. In the beginning when she would talk about Wicca, I honestly have to say that I wasn't the most open minded person about this topic. I would laugh and I would joke about seeing ghosts, ferries and other things associated with witch craft and the supernatural.

Times have changed in that I am no longer closed minded about the topic nor do I make fun of her when she talks about spiritual things dealing with Wicca. I think it has to do with the fact that she bought me a book about the topic so I would understand it better. Even if I didn't become a follower in her mind having me educated about the topic was better than keeping me ignorant about the topic.

I find Wiccan to be interesting and I am learning more about it through my friend and through readings. I have also decided that what harm is there in becoming closer to Earth, nature and my surroundings?

I guess this post is basically to those who are dead set against thinking that this religion is a bunch of crap and that it's evil and dirty. My advice would be to take the time to stop and read about the topic, learn about the religion and then even if it's not for you, at least you can walk away from it knowing that you understand it and that's the reason why you dislike it versus just being ignorant about the topic and or the religion. Read about it, learn about it and you might just end up liking it. As for me? Well, I am not a Wiccan but I do believe that there are some truths to what they believe in and practice. I mean, haven't we all felt a presence, or felt positive or negative energies around us at times? Haven't we all felt something around us that is unexplained? Of course it all depends on our perceptions and our own beliefs, right?

Here is a video on Youtube about Wicca for those who are just interested in the basic facts.

My Path To Spirituality

I am a Christian, in that I am a Christ follower. I am also a human being who at times struggles with my faith and religion, therefore I have been trying to become closer to God and trying to strengthen my faith by attending church regularly and by trying to be a better person by following the teachings of Christ.

It is not an easy thing for me to do in that I often times question why bad things happen to good people and why do horrible events happen to those who are innocent. It is hard for me at times to just sit back and believe that this is the path God has chosen and that God's reasons for these things to happen are planned and necessary for his master plan to be carried out. What is the master plan?

I think to myself that it's easier to focus on the negative since negativity is always around us. People hate so many things and dislike many others. Perhaps it is the people that we hang out with that generate this kind of thinking? Maybe it's the media such as the daily news that focuses on the negative news items. It could be that I am so negative at times that I only think that the evening news is negative? What ever the reasons might be, I now try harder to be a more up beat and positive person. By changing my attitude over this past year or so, I have noticed that there are good things in life and that there are good people out there. I am not saying that I trust everyone so easily, I am just saying that I can now see some good in people where as before I only saw the negative in people.

This brings me today. Today I am sitting here thinking about how good life is for me right now. I never thought I would be where I am today. Sure I have had some unfortunate events happen but I have also had many positive things happen during my life too. I find that despite feeling like I am not where I should be in life, I have a feeling that I am right where I need to be. Why? Because it comes back to God's plan for me.

I cannot see the future, nor should I fear it. What will happen will happen and I just have to embrace the life that I have. I try to be a better person everyday that I am here on this Earth.

I find that at times I compare myself to those around me but then I have to remember that it's not about comparing myself to others all the time. I need to be happy with myself and where I am in life. Everyone has a plan for themselves, even if at times we might seem lost. Take it from me, I spend many years trying to get my life together and to a point where I wouldn't feel like I had nothing when compared to others. Again, don't compare yourself to others but you can use them as either a motivator to become better or dismiss them completely. Either way, I find that I should not look at others and compare myself to others since it only seems to bring unhappiness and discontent.