The Word of God

I have been reading a lot in Proverbs lately and following Charles Spurgeon's thoughts on the subject.  He talks about the Word of God being the voice of God to man.

I'm sure many of you have noticed that whenever you attempt to lead someone back to the truth, they usually get offended.  I say this with confidence because I myself have been that person who has been upset or angered when someone has told me I was in the wrong or in sin.

Whenever I read the Bible, I feel like God meets me where I am through that writing.  When I'm happy, the Bible celebrates with me.  When I am down in the dumps, the word of God meets me where I am as it were somber with me.  When I need more insight or wisdom, His word speaks at a "higher capacity."  When I need him to "dumb it down" for me, he speaks at that level towards me as well.  No matter what state of mind I have been in when reading God's Word, He always meets me where I am and leads me back to the truth.

Moving a long, my next trip is to the Dominican Republic.  I will be there for 2 weeks out of the month of October.  I will be working in a town called Higuey which is 15 minutes away from the famous, Punta Cana, a famous town full of resorts and luxurious get a ways.  I must admit, I'm very excited to hang out on the beach, maybe play catch with a Dominican on the white sand, while throwing rocks into the crystal blue water.  God has been very faithful to me with work.  I was recently awarded the #1 salesman away for volume for the First Quarter of our current Fiscal Year.  I was not expecting to accomplish this, and neither were my teammates, but it was really cool to see God work that out.

Thanks for following along.  I hope this writing encourages you to see God's word more as a friend, and as intimate and show you how important it is to study Him more.  The more I read about God, the more I realize, I don't know enough about Him.  It's exciting when you read the same thing over and over again and catch something you have never caught before.

JG

Financially Fit -- My Recent Lessons

I've been doing a Dave Ramsey study on his 2nd edition of The Total Money Makeover.  It's been a blessing to attack my school loan debt and learn how to invest more wisely.  The Lord has provided me with a great job I really enjoy.  I want to enjoy it now while I can because there is a chance I won't always have this job.  I am in Sales and our job is extremely risky.  "That's why they pay us what they do," is always what my boss reminds me of.  Sales can be a scary thing if you're not passionate about it or if you suck at it.  I happen to believe God has blessed me with an ability to Sale.  (Sorry for the Job Description and the ranting.)

Anyways, I have really enjoyed The Total Money Makeover because I am attacking debt, able to save 15%, and Tithe more frequently.  I am learning about all kinds of things like Mutual Funds, Roth IRA's, and how to invest for Short Term focuses and Long Term focuses.  It takes a lot of discipline and willing to live below your means now so you can be ok down the road.  It all comes down to a heart issue really.  Are you ok with driving a busted up 2002 Ford Taurus named Dolores the Taurus?  YUP!!!  She gets me exactly where I need to go and I don't have a car payment, so I can save.  I love it.  Every time I wash Dolores, I get a new since of pride towards her and remember how awesome she has been.  I will drive Dolores until her wheels fall off.  I've been made fun of for always wearing the same shirts, so it's not secret that I don't shop a lot.  I recently went on a big shopping spree before Christmas though and was actually happy about it afterwards.  During the process however, it was hard for me to fork over the money for it.  In Latin America, my co-workers tell me, I'm "CODO!'  It's pretty much saying I'm cheap.  To sum it all up, I am hoping to be debt free from college loans by the end of this year, Lord willing.

Readers, I encourage you to, as Dave Ramsey would say, "live like no one else today, so that tomorrow, you can live like no one else."

Save up!

Catching up with Technology

I have recently been inspired by Technology and the reason is due to the inspiration of Steve Jobs.  I purchased his Audio Autobiography and was completely mesmerized with how innovative and driven he was.  It makes me sad that as intelligent as he was, he could never understand the magnitude of God.  He said the sad thing about the christian religion is that they base everything on faith as opposed to living like Christ.  Well, we can't be just like Christ even when the Jesus tells us in the Bible to be perfect like He is.  The truth is we need a savior and Christ is that savior.

At any rate, I purchased a MacBook Pro last Friday, now have an I-Pad, and the I-Phone.  The funny thing is in college, I operated off of a Go Phone and said I'd never make the investment to amp up my Tech Game.  Well I finally gave in and did, and am so glad to have done so.  My roommate just gave me a PBS Video on Steve Jobs called "One Last Thing," that I am going to watch tonight.

As I analyze his life and understand how Steve was wired, I look at my own abilities and see that my gifts and talents are more geared towards sales and relationships.  One of the things Steve Jobs really inspired me to strive towards is to get back in touch with my Engineering side.  One of my biggest regrets is not completing what I originally set out to do, and that was to get a degree in Construction Science.  So, I went to Half Priced Books and bought a book called, Methods Engineering Design and Measurement of Work Methods by Edward V. Krick.  I want to study Industrial Distribution as I continue to work with Independent Distributors in Latin America to grow their business pushing our products.  Currently, it's going great and I'm gaining a lot of experience.  I aspire to do my own thing in the future or take over Interstate Batteries' International Market to help make our battery line #1 throughout Central and South America.

Steve Jobs wasn't only in touch with Technology but made it a point to make his work an art.  He was very in tune with the Liberal Arts side of things.  My advice to you is that you find a way to make your profession as much of an art as Steve did with Apple.  Thanks for creating such memorable products and for changing the world the way you did, Steve!

Readers, I urge you to go out and make art in whatever it is you are passionate about!

HAPPY NEW YEAR -- 2012

I am excited to go into a new year and start fresh.  My goals are as follows:
-  Love the Lord more
-  Love people around me more
-  Read more and gain more knowledge in the following:
     -  Entrepreneurship
     -  Engineering -- Industrial Distribution
-  Work out more and eat better
-  Get plugged in more at my church and seek more community with Brothers at church
-  Learn more about my profession -- Auto Parts and Batteries
-  Commit to contacting my closest friends/family at least 3 times a week to just say hi
I am looking forward to attaining these goals and know it is not possible without help from the Lord.  I know 2012 is going to be a great year.  Can't wait to get after it!

Jonathan E. Garza

Happy Thanksgiving -- Talents

This Thanksgiving I have many things to be Thankful for.  I was at church last night and heard a sermon on Talents.  I was encouraged to know that God has given me a certain personality, certain gifts and abilities that He's given no one else on this earth.  He's given me resources that maybe He hasn't blessed others with, one of the most important being my time.

As I travel and see the world upon the new adventure the Lord has blessed me with working for Interstate Batteries, my Spanish is daily getting stronger and my faith increasing just as quick.  I know through my current job responsibilities, the Lord is preparing me for something bigger.

This Thanksgiving I am going to be thanking God for the Talents he has provided me with and praying that He would show me how to use these for His Glory and His honor.  I have so many different ideas, but I just have to start somewhere and I challenge you all reading this to do the same in your life.  You were designed for a certain purpose, for a certain reason, and God is expecting us to be great Stewards of these gifts He's entrusted us with.  For me, it's to communicate, communicate in Spanish, teach, play baseball or at some point in the future coach baseball.  I'm extroverted and out going, and love community.  All these are wonderful but part of my prayer is I wouldn't get lost in the materialism of this world and use that small list to please God.

-  Jonathan E. Garza

Preparation for Guatemala

I started getting ready yesterday for my trip to Guatemala.  I'm extremely excited.  My co-workers inform me that it's somewhat dangerous so I'm trusting the Lord to take care of me but more importantly, praying His will be done as I head to a country full of turmoil.  So far, the countries I have visited are:

-  Costa Rica

-  Colombia

-  Panama

I have really enjoyed them all in a different way.  Costa Ricans are extremely hospitable and such servant hearted people.  Panamanians have an east coast mentality and aren't as eager to sit around and shoot the bull with you.  The part of Colombia I was in was the coast.  I spent time in Barranquilla, Cartagena, and Santa Marta, and they were very carribean and a lot of fun.

So far, one of my most memorable experiences has been visiting "Monte Verde" Canopy Resort in Costa Rica.  I went zip lining across the valley/mountain side and off in the horizon you could see the beach.  As you climb this mountain to get to the resort, you are traveling off road on a dirt road called a "calle de lastre."  It was such a rush being up there in this canopy and shooting straight down from a tree the size of a 4 story building and the guy at the bottom of the canopy controls your life!  I truly recommend a trip to Monte Verde if you ever get a chance.

As far as things I am learning is how to be more pro-active in setting an agenda and having a plan.  I am still working on learning to trust God and guide me.  This job is very demanding and it takes a lot of hard work in order to be successful.  I pray that I not pursue success but that my true success always remains in the Lord.

The Life of a Nomad

I am sitting in my apartment in Dallas, TX wondering what my next trip will be like.  I just returned from New York and learned a lot about life there.  The really cool thing about New York is you don't have to go to other parts of the world to experience "culture."  There is literally a performance at every train stop and every corner.  Sitting in a subway, if you look to your right and then your left, you see ethnicities from all walks of life and I love that. 

My next adventure I will be exploring will be to Baranquilla, Colombia.  I don't know what to expect.  I've spoken with my Sales Manager and my Office Manager and felt a little nervous for some reason.  I guess because I haven't sold in the past 2 weeks and have not spoken as much Spanish as I'd like so I was kind of rusty.  Hopefully I can find a church to attend and I'm praying the Lord will bring me some believers to encourage me.  Sometimes, the road and the hotels can get a little lonesome but you just have to embrace the inconvenience in order to grow or be successful.  Through it all, I know the Lord is preparing me for something bigger and I pray that he uses it to continue perfecting me.

Colombia, HERE WE COME!!!!