L.A. to Santa Cruz: my life recently

It's about 8:45pm and I am sitting in a Motel 6 in one of the most ghetto neighborhoods I've been in for a long time. It's just now cooling off outside and I've finally found the chance to sit and share some of my recent activities (via blog) with my family and friends. As most of you know I recently left my job at Mt. Hermon as an AV Technician to pursue a career in the Contracting Industry. I was offered a job with TAPkon Inc. based out of Fresno,CA and moved out of my old home just before the start of summer. My first assignment with TAPkon is a job in Pomona, CA at the National Guard Armory, where we are renovating and restoring the property for the Army Corps of Engineers. I will be working as a general laborer for the company at this time (a sort of probationary period) but am being trained to eventually (and hopefully) learn to bid contracts, and supervise job sites. Now anyone who knows about this industry is aware that this is the opportunity of a lifetime and very rarely falls out of the sky, like it seems to have in my case. Especially since the company has built a relationship with the Army Corps of Engineers and is consistently taking on government jobs. However the road to starting with this company (even in the short period of the last two weeks) has taken allot of interesting twist and turns. To be brief I have traveled between L.A. and Santa Cruz/Fresno area 8 times in just over a week due to unexpected contract revisions. However the company has graciously kept me on in a sort of "shadowing" role with one of the Contract Supervisors in order to further my education and training in that area.

Now aside from all of this amazing news and even more importantly, God has been at work in my personal life just as well. The trips back and forth between L.A. and Nor Cal have given me plenty of time to listen to some very amazing teachings on world religion and popular trends in modern spirituality. Laurie Schlaepfer, wife of Renee Schlaepfer and professor at Western Seminary in Los Gatos, has done some amazing talks on these subjects and I definitely recommend a 2 part teaching entitled "understanding Islam" (these are available through the mt. Hermon, CD department summer '07), She goes into depth about the basics of Islam and it's commonly known divisions as they pertain to history and current world politics and events. It is really quite fascinating. Also as a side note, Jon Courson's "When The Snake Bites" and Steve Gregg's "Why I Am Still A Christian" are two of my other favorite and most listened to teachings for long rides in the car. (you can find Steve's messages at http://thenarrowpath.com/ and for Jon's you may have to message me). Since I've started listening to these messages in the car, God has really been speaking to me in allot of ways. I have even found more confidence in sharing my personal faith with strangers and new acquaintances. Its also a good way to stay in the Word when your schedule is hectic and (if your like me) you have a hard time sitting down and reading the Bible without being easily distracted. Being in the car allows me to think out loud and even respond at times as well as perform a simple task like driving that keeps my attention span just distracted enough to be able to really focus on the teaching.

On another note, I have recently met an amazing girl and as some of you may already know we started dating a few weeks ago. Her name is Terra and she is absolutely amazing and beautiful :)

p.s. she also happens to be the amazing mind behind the title of this blog :)

Well, this concludes my first official blog. I hope to continue to keep you all updated as things continue and I am not around as much as I'd like to be. I thank you for your prayers and continual support. You have blessed me in so many ways, and I am eternally grateful.

Nate