valentine's day.

One Thursday night, my friend Julia shared with me a vision she had. After listening to the story she shared, I  knew that there are people in our generation who feel the same way. We all have an ideal person in our mind, whether it be a guy in suit and tie, or a lady whose smile is as sweet as sugar. However, there's a Lover who is pursuing us so relentlessly and with such a tantalizing romance if only we let Him.

This is a description of the vision Julia had, in her own words:

Jesus shows up to the door, and instead of a single rose, He offers me His hand, stretches it wide open and says, "Come." His hand is what He gives me, He looks at me and says, "I am your Bridegroom; we are one. Think of that. We are one. When my blood was dripping from the cross, I was thinking of you." And joy bubbles up inside me. He takes my hand, the Creator of the universe takes my hand, my hand, pulls me in close and starts to dance. We dance and smile; it is real, and He is close. He looks up to the clouds, and is reminded of a time when the heavens opened and His Father spoke to Him. I get to know Him better and even though he already knows everything about me, He loves hearing my story, my life. He is never surprised, and never judges. Simply, he takes His sacred hands, puts them on my shoulders, looks me in the eyes, and says, "You are forgiven. You are healed. You are loved. I love you, I love you. I want to talk to you all the time. All the time, I want to be with you. Don't listen to them; listen to me, listen. Be still, my child, I have much to tell you. I love you. I love you." And that rose, that rose that I dreamed about all my life from that perfect prince, falls away. I forget about that rose, because this gift is so much greater. This outstretched hand is a hand that felt pain, that endured great sacrifice simply to be close to me. So he could dance with me. Fullness in love lays here in his hands; in no one else will there be fullness of love. Only Jesus. Remember this, remember.

On Valentine's Day, Julia, her friend David, and I got together to translate her dream into photographs.

 

tracy moore.

Back in December, I caught up and interviewed my dear friend for my ongoing personal project. He's one of my good friends who I've had the blessing of getting to know for the past 3-4 years. Tracy is such a great friend, and someone who I look up to a lot. He has a plethora of wisdom to share, and is one of the most patient, compassionate guys I know! 

For his interview, we talked inside Casa De La Luna in Downtown Bellflower, (the same place I interviewed Hilda). We found a pretty neat park right across from the library. :) 

By the way, he's super buff. Don't mess with him. (Kidding. Sort of).

Okay, without further ado!

"Not what I do, but who I am"

{Tracy Moore. 22. Older brother. Student. Personal Trainer.}

What got you into personal training? Or why do you want to do personal training?

T: A lot of it had to do with my college life, because I got into college really overweight and not really interested in fitness. Then, through various experiences, I guess talking to people in my dorm and meeting some people in the college ministry, I started wanting to play basketball and be healthier. I lost some weight and through that I found my passion for fitness, I guess.

Was there a certain point where you were like, “Man! This is what I want to do!”?

T: I had an epiphany over winter break of my second--no my third year, I think it was my third year--where I was like, “Man. I spend all my time reading fitness articles, I go to the gym 5 or 6 times a week, and anytime I get a chance, like whoever will listen, I talk to them about it, so I might as well," y’know. I think it’s pretty obvious that I like it. Y’know what I mean. So I figured that it’d be really cool to do as a job. It’s right at the same time that I had that epiphany that I had the other one that I realized I could graduate a year early. I thought about it and I figured it would make a lot more sense for me to graduate early and get my Sociology degree so I can move on to what I actually wanted to do.

How was it after you graduated early? Was it what you expected in terms of pursuing personal training?

T: It wasn’t as streamlined as I expected. There’s a lot of administrative stuff that went wrong with school that set me back than I would have originally liked. When I’d get set back, I’d be like, "Aw man, why’d I graduate a year early so I could sit here and like be taking four units at community college? What’s going on with my life right now?" But it all worked out in the end. Every now and then I’d be thinking if I did the right thing, if that was really God talking to me or was it just me being fed up with college, or being overambitious.

How did you get through that time then?

T: Uhm, gradually. I mean I think the good thing that right after I graduated, I think it was good for me to see how much of an impact we’d mutually had on each other’s lives. And a lot of my friends would reach out (to me), even though they were in college. Even when they wouldn't,  if I called them up or something, most of the time they’d make a little time to talk, and I think that helped a lot. Also it helped that I moved in with some guys I met during college, so it was a little better than moving in with three strangers.

How was transitioning from Irvine to LA, ‘cause that’s pretty different. 

T: I mean as far as the community goes, it was really hard for me going from Newsong, because that was the first church I would call home, y’know? Where I came to Christ, and went through Edge all three years of my college experience. Then I moved up to there (LA), and everyone was already established. Of course they welcomed me out to church and stuff like that, but it was kind of like looking all over again, but not. It wasn’t the same because no one else was looking with me, so it was a little more lonely. Natalie (his girlfriend) came with me sometimes -- that was nice. It was tempting to go back to Newsong, ‘cause one of my apartment mates drove back and forth, but I didn’t feel like that was healthy for me. I eventually found a church though, so I’m very happy where I’m at now.

What do you like to do?

T: I really like to play basketball and I enjoy taking care of kids and lifting weights. Reading about nutrition, and I don’t know, I really like being around people; I get a lot of energy from it. Like 99% of the time, so hanging out with people. And Natalie, I like hanging around Natalie; she’s pretty cool, I guess. 

rainy day.

These photos are actually from a few months ago, but today's rain reminded me of these pictures I have of my dog, Kobi. He's such a little sweetheart, and I never imagined I would love him so much. :)

Be expecting more pictures in the upcoming future! :)