The blessing....

Sometimes, we can never see what God can do to our lives until we live our lives every day. This past year, I have seen a lot of blessings that I know that I could not have done without God's help. I am grateful that I can kneel down on my knees knowing that there is a Being who listens to me.

Blessings can come in many forms, but most of those forms comes from us through trials and constant belief that something amazing can happen. I didn't believe that anything can happen, but now I have direction. Here is that direction.

Upon graduating from college, I was lost at words because I usually had some plan to move forward with my life. However, for the first time I didn't know how to progress my life without having my parents breathing down my neck. First, I realized that I needed to make some changes; and I needed to take a deeper look inside myself meaning that I had to change some things about myself. When I did some soul searching this past year did I start seeing the blessings come.

I know that I am not perfect, but I am striving for a more perfect life which each of us are capable of doing. But, I know that being worthy is not the same as being perfect. I learned that this past year that being worthy means to strive for perfection every day, but always falling short of perfection. As long as we strive for that perfection only then can our God give us our blessings. I am truly blessed to have learned that lesson this past year.

This past year has been both a time of mourning and rejoicing. Recently, I had my mother's father pass away. Another even that happened was an old friend from my former karate school who had passed away. Though there is times we sorrow over our losses, there are blessings that accompany it as long as we have faith.

Another principle that I have been reminded is the principle of faith. Faith is both a exercising principle and a hope that something will come. Over this course of this year, I had to exercise my faith in hopes that everything will work out for the better. In my faith, I have seen the blessings that have been accompanied. Here are the things that have happened this past year.

1. My relationship with my family has improved drastically.

2. I have a career. I know that through constant prayer, and doing all that I possibly can do it has been a blessing to finish it. I hope to succeed with the Air Force in the years to come while completing many things on my bucket list.

3. I have received my endowments. Now, I want to make note that endowments were not an easy task. For the longest time, I wanted to receive my endowments; and I had been receiving increasing pressure from my mother to receive them. I want to make something clear that I will NOT do something unless God tells me to do something especially something as sacred as my endowments. I have never been the hypocritical type of person.

4. Through God's guidance I have touched many people's lives while here in Oregon. For those that do know me, I didn't want to return to Oregon for personal reasons. However, I realize that God has other plans for me which sometimes we do not see. I am blessed that I can help people here in Oregon for the last time. I am blessed to know that He still watches over me. People say that one life can touch other people's lives, and if one person was taken out of the equation if affects the futures of others. I have seen that ripple effect in my life this past year.

5. Many of my transgressions are gone. I realize a bad habit can be a plague that inflict the harm of those around me. Bad habits are hard to break, and I have been able to break some of my significant habits over this past year! I have been blessed, and I hope that I can stay steady in the following years.

6. Direction in all things. Simply, I have direction in all things that are important. Ambition is important to me, but life lessons have reminded me that there are more important things than ambition. We shall see the miracles that will happen in the next few years. I am blessed to live my life. My closest friends will say that I live a miraculous and incredible life. I used to ignore those sentimental statements, but now I have to say that I couldn't agree more.

Anyways, the I will be able to continue my life by first starting off at boot camp in Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. I will be leaving November 26th, 2012. Thank you to everyone that keeps me in their prayers. I wish them all the best of luck in their endeavors. =)

PS One last tidbit about me is this portion. I want everybody to know that I have not forgotten my promises. For those that I have made promises with, please rest assured that I not forgotten you. I live by the principle of keeping my word. Lastly, I want everybody to know that when I say something it will come true even if it may take me longer than some. I hope that you guys can bare along with this journey with me. Cheers people! =)

The Plan - Reloaded

First off I have to thank everybody that still has faith in me, and keeping me in their prayers. I would like to thank God for the direction he has placed in front of me - I feel that everything is falling back into place; and I am once again happy that I have my path set.

A friend once told me that it wasn't time wasted to have used the college experience as a way to grow up. I have to admit that there are times when I feel that the growing up process during college feels like a waste of time, because I went through emotional distress; and had many hard experiences.

But, now I realize that it wasn't a waste of time. What would be an even more waste of time is if I didn't apply what I had learned during my college experiences towards the future I hope to achieve. These last 12 months have been an eye opener, and I am still growing up every day - I have to admit that I am not a perfect person. However, I am trying to do my best to achieve perfection as Jesus Christ has commanded us to do  - "Be ye perfect, as my Father in Heaven is perfect."

For those that haven't heard, I have been accepted into the Air Force. I will be leaving this coming November for Basic Military Training (BMT). Prior to that incident, I want to make sure that I can finish up the rest of the reading and research for my novel. I hope to read and research between 15 to 25 books in the next five months. Why am I doing the research now?

Well, I know that going through the military it will take up a lot of my time. I will at BMT for at least two months with only snail mail as my means of contact. Then I will be going directly towards Technical School thereafter! I hope to study within the next year so that I can hopefully achieve an officer rank - this means more pay and more respect in the Air Force. I have heard the test for the officer rank is a very hard test, and knowing I don't do well with tests, I want to study efficiently for it.

Plus, I want to use the money that I will be gaining in the Air Force to travel as much as possible for these specific reasons. One, is to experience life and expand my horizons. And, two is to use the money to visit places so that I can research those places for my novel. I know that I want to allocate my time more efficiently over the course of these next six years!

I will chase this dream, and this dream starts now! I hope with your love and support that I will fight for this novel to be done - this will be the first stepping stone to the ULTIMATE dream. Thank you very much everybody for your love and support - I hope that I don't betray your trust!

Love always,
Tee-J Valdez

The Summer Starts...

Alright, I haven't had a chance to talk to my mother as stated in my previous blog post. I don't think I am going to talk to her, because I am not going to force her to talk to me. I realize that nagging, worrying and second-guessing myself isn't something that is based upon faith. These last months, though I have been home for at least a year and a month now, have made me open my eyes that everything is falling into place the way that is falling into place.

Being home, I have been hanging out with friends whom I have had similar problems in the past. It seems that the Lord is helping me to bless these individuals lives as I move forward with it. Also, there has much thought and contemplation over the past events that have happened. Though it can be daunting at times, I know that if I have faith everything is going to be alright. I know I am talking riddles here, but I promise my readers that everything is alright.

As for some of my goals here are the things that I have done:

1. I have lost the weight needed. I have at least 15 lbs needed before I get back to my normal weight range. I am going to be training with a friend from the National Guard who will start training me for Basic Military Training.

2. I am hoping that I can lose another 5 lbs in the next week so that I can move towards MEPS which is the next process of the Air Force before I can go on Active Duty.

I know that the Lord is real, and He will bless me - this is part of my testimony. I have faith, and I have love. Cheers!

The days have gone by....

It has been awhile since I have updated this portion of my blog Web page. However, I have not forgotten to update. I am going to make it brief seeing that I do not want to bore my readers, but I want to say that I have learned a lot since I have been home. I realize that everything happens for a reason, and that we are blessed for the reasons that we pursue. I would like to add that I know that upon being home I know that it is that time in my life to reveal everything towards my mother what has happened in my life. As many of you may know, there are many times in my life that I didn't get along with my parents. However, I feel it is that time to reveal as much as I can without hurting them. I have a deep admiration and respect for my parents sacrifices that they do for me every day, but those that have heard my life story have all agreed that it is a complext life story. Very few have understood the complexities that have enamored it, but a friend once coined the term "that my life is complicated not boring." I always laughed at that jestful statement.

I have learned that when we run from our problems, we not only make ourselves look cowardly, but we also find that there will be nowhere else to run. I know that it can be a hard pill to swallow, and I admit that I still have much growing up to do; but that is what our lives purpose. Since being home, I recently took my ASVAB test scoring in the Category II area for jobs. My goal is to lose 15 lbs. in the next two months so that I can move on with my life. I recenly had an illness thus setting me back from my goal. I hope to lose that much weight soon especially with the allergy season soon to set in here in Oregon. I hope that I can keep my sights high, and I am blessed for all of you who keep track of this blog. I keep you all in my prayers, even if I miss a few people, but I hope that God blesses your lives every day as much as he has blessed mine. Be in touch!

Cheers,
Tee-J Valdez

PS Many of my hometeachess are in similiar positions where they do not have jobs. Truly, our economy is in a down position.