Always Stay True To Yourself

I'm pretty sure everyone's been made fun of at least once in their life.

At age 9, I looked at a Coke bottle and read the ingredients. I decided it was bad for me and started reading the ingredients on most everything before I bought or ate it. Several years later, I dated a girl that made fun of me for reading the ingredients when I went to the store. That relationship didn't last long.

Since age 9, I've never drank any soda, ate any cake, candy or sweets, never been to a fast food restaurant, never been drunk, never smoked anything and never wore a mask. If any of these things were good for me, I would have been doing them decades ago, because I know what is healthy for me!

Now even though some people laughed at me back then, they're not laughing anymore and I've never changed for anyone. I've always been the cowboy that love his country and the great outdoors.

Though I may not wear a mask, I do put on the full armor of God every day... and I have the discipline and the know how to use it.

Are Your Prayers Being Answered?

Throughout my life, I've had people ask me to pray for them. I began asking what they wanted me to pray for and what they were doing to fix the problem they were praying about. A few of them said they didn't know what to do except pray. I remember I told a couple of them what they could do to help their situation, but made it clear they had to be very disciplined about it and could be no exceptions. They listened to me and several months later, their health problem was gone. The difference with these people is they took action. They didn't sit back and wait for God to take care of their problem. Now, I don't know how to help everyone and don't have all the answers. But when I am faced with a problem, I first pray about it, then immediately start researching and learning everything I can to fix the problem. I become determined and focused like a fighter pilot!

I remember when I was in school, there was a gentleman that came and spoke to us in the gymnasium. He had no arms or legs. I remember how confident he was and became so inspired by how much he had accomplished in his life. He didn't have a victim mentality or make excuses why he couldn't do something. Instead, he realized all God had given him and took advantage of it. He was so on fire about life and all of us kids came out of there so empowered we felt like we could accomplish anything.

Nitzia and I work very hard and are focused with our photography profession. We don't ask people to pray for us because we know God gives us everything we need to accomplish our goals. We are aware some people do pray for us and we truly appreciate it. I am led to pray for different people at different times. It's important to pray for each other, but it's more important to make sure we are doing everything we can ourselves to fix the problem first before we start asking others to pray. My daily relationship with God means the world to me. He empowers me to overcome and handle whatever problem that arises. He also gives me the wisdom to do the things to prevent problems from ever happening in the first place. Our God is amazing and I don't believe He ever wants us to be led by our fears or feel weak and helpless. God is our Rock, our Salvation. He is the Almighty and created this great landscape you see Nitzia in the picture below. God consistently empowers and inspires us in all our adventures!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13

Love Doesn't Have To Be Blind

I used to think you couldn't control who you fell in love with... that love is blind. Well, over a decade ago, I had a relationship that almost cost my life. I was under so much stress from it, that I woke up one morning and it felt like my heart was barely pumping. I drove myself to the Emergency Room where they examined me. I barely had enough strength to walk in. After a couple hours of tests, the doctor said he had called in a heart specialist to come talk to me. Later that afternoon, he came in and said only about half my heart was working. He wanted to admit me to the hospital and immediately put me on blood thinner and other medications. But first, they wanted to stop my heart, and then start it again to see if they could get it back working properly. Then after all of this, they would discuss where to go from there and if surgery would be needed. They also said I would need to be on medications the rest of my life.

Okay... so after swallowing all that information, I asked them if I could have some time to call my Dad. They said sure, so I called him to talk. I told him what the doctor said and my Dad told me that if I go this route the doctors were suggesting, then I would be dependent on them the rest of my life and also their medications. I said, thanks Dad, I love you and then hung up.

I called the doctors back in and asked them for my blood work, which showed I was low in potassium and a few other things that had to do with electrolytes. I told them I wanted to leave now, then they really got stern with me telling me I was probably going to have a stroke if I left from the blood not circulating in my heart for so long and that my chances of living if I left were slim to none. I told them thank you, but I'm leaving and I will fix this on my own. I just wanted to find out what the problem was. I thanked them and then they made me sign a waiver saying I knew I was risking my life if I left.

I have always eaten extremely healthy and exercised, but I learned that day... it doesn't matter how healthy you are, stress can beat it out of you over time.

It took me 3 to 4 months to heal up and figure out what nutrients and herbs to get my heart to beating in rhythm again. I also got away from the bad relationship that was draining me. I learned to develop healthy boundaries, how to protect my heart and make wise decisions on who to be with.

So with wise decisions and God healing me the all natural way... I've not had any heart issues since, and have been back to my strong mountain climbing self for many years now. I feel even stronger than ever with Nitzia by my side. When I fell in love with Nitzia... I wasn't blind. We took our time to learn each other and discovered we have the same likes and that God and health are important to both of us. We both love adventure, being creative and arts. We especially love the Wild West! (Neither one of us wanted to live in the city and this was important to both of us)

Because we are so alike, we have been able to grow together in a way that's rare to see in relationships. We work together daily focused on the dream God put in us. We've accomplished more together than we would have ever been able to do apart. She is like the other half of me and I've never experienced that before. We don't make each other weaker... we make each other stronger, healthier, more focused and determined than ever, and I thank God I kept searching and never gave up till I found her.

Like this picture of her, you can see the pureness of her beauty and the rawness of her wild spirit. She is my treasure, my love.

Opposites do attract... but that doesn't mean you are good for each other. I am thankful that Nitzia and I are like minded and constantly challenging each other to be our best. No matter what comes our way, Nitzia and I are fully able to climb that mountain together and celebrate on top of it!

Happy Birthday Nitzia! Ready for another year of adventure?