What a year...

Welp...another birthday is here and another year of life has been had and instead of my normal "just let the day go by" kind of attitude, I've decided to look back on what I learned this year instead. Two major lessons stand out. 1. What LOVE is... I used to look at love as what it GAVE ME, instead of what love DOES THROUGH ME. Love is meant to be an action acted out in my life everyday. My fiancé Amber and God working in our relationship has been such an eye opening lesson in this. Looking back at past relationships it was always how love filled in holes in my head or heart. Giving me...attention, passion, ego boosts or whatever else I felt I needed at the time. Now, I've realized that love is something that should be acted out through you instead. Acted out by choosing to love Amber every day, being patient with those around me, being kind, being generous with my time, talents and even my treasures. Love is more about what I can do, then what it can do for me. 2. What real STRENGTH looks like... Being a man, strength is often proven by acts of physical feats. How much I can lift, how fast I can run, how far I can throw, how macho I may look...and on and on. But I've learned so much this year that real strength isn't measured in how strong I am physically, but how strong I am spiritually. Do I stand up for what I believe in when oppositions come? Do I fall for every temptation that comes my way? Do I give up or Do I let God work through me? Real strength comes from letting God show up and show off through your everyday life. He gives me the strength to face every temptation, every fear, every day and the trails it comes with. Real strength isn't in me...but its in allowing God to work through me. Those have been the two biggest life lessons I have learned this year and I am truly blessed to have learned them. -Carlos