Tuesday 10: Things in 2013 to Thank God For

Last year proved to be full of trials for Kaitlin and I; but too often we dwell on what went wrong and not on what went right. The list of reasons to praise God in 2013 goes far beyond ten items, but it's a good start (though it is not in any particular order, as always):

10. We have an amazing, loving church to lean on and grow with. 

West Rome Baptist Church has become for us the family that every church needs to be, especially within our Growth Group (our fancy word for Sunday School Class). All we feel from the moment we enter the doors is love, and the friendships we have gained are true blessings. Whether we need to be sharpened and reminded of God's truth or simply need to let it all out in the open and be completely transparent and honest, God has used our church and church family to strengthen our faith and help us feel His love. When I broke my leg in the accident and was out of work for over two months, our Growth Group all pitched in to help us, cooking us meals and even raising money to help pay hospital bills (they didn't hold back any love either, they raised over $2000). 

9. Monk (Also, Netflix (until they stopped streaming Monk (which was too soon, so not Netflix, actually))), Ducks, Reba, and George Lopez.

                    

                    

These guys kept me company for months while I was bedridden and bored out of my mind. I probably would have lost that mind I was bored out of, if not for their help. I'm thankful for clean, funny shows. Why is it so hard these days to find them?

8. Our God, the Provider

I cannot tell you how many times I looked at our bank account in shock because the numbers just didn't add up. In our favor. The only explanation was that God was providing as He promised. He was not letting us go down like that. There is no other way I could have been without work for 3 months, up to our knees in debt to hospitals, and still be able to afford to care for ourselves. God was in control and provided all our needs, putting money in the account that literally could not have been there, helping our Sunday School class raise over $2000 to help pay costs, etc. Our God was true to His promises to us, though we were undeserving. To say I am thankful is an extreme understatement, for sure. 

7. Toyota (because nothing beats Toyota (besides maybe BMW)

We came into 2013 without a car in our name. Both of our vehicles were totaled during the previous month, so we were either using rentals or borrowing from family. In February, we found a Toyota Avalon XLS at an unbelievably great price from the original owners, who took great care of it. In the fall we found a Toyota Tundra Limited (Access Cab), which is also in great shape and an incredible deal. It sounds weird and I hesitate to say that material things can be associated with God's glory, but I do know this: God knew a need we had and was faithful to provide that need for us through these two awesome Toyota's.

6. Creation (and our dear park ranger friends who make enjoying State Parks a reality)

Most of our bestest dates happen while camping. Being totally immersed in God's creation never fails to bring us a sense of tranquility and awe. God created this Earth and the life upon it and called it good! Why do we spend so much of our life inside buildings and in cities, completely shut off from the beauty in nature? As soon as my leg was healed from my wreck, we took as many opportunities as we could afford to go camping. Black Rock Mountain has been our favorite so far. If you've never been, go!

5. Weekends (and jobs that don't require us to work on the weekends)

I may have to set my alarm for 3:50am every morning, and it isn't always easy being responsible for teaching Spanish to every child at school, but it only makes the weekends more glorious and special to us. Being able to leave work Friday and know we will have a few days to rest is a blessing that not everyone is able to enjoy, and I am very grateful for that. 

4. The love of our families

I thank God for families we can depend on and lean on in times of need. I also thank God that we both have parents who love each other and everyone around them. It's hard to find marriages that last as long as our parents' have, and it is a great blessing to have such loving examples to follow. 

3. Owl City

Who can listen to Owl City and not feel good inside? If you find them, tell them to call me. I don't believe them.

2. The Mustard Seed Mission and our many missionary friends in Nicaragua

Not only did Kaitlin and I have the amazing opportunity to serve Christ in Nicaragua, but we did so in the company of a God-centered host family that housed us, cared for us, and prayed for us. I am so thankful for that experience and for the opportunity to return! Visit SendZackandKaitlin.com for more information on our next missionary journey and how you can help us get there!

1. Jesus

Jesus dies for my sins and saves me every single day. Being saved isn't a one time event, it's a sanctification process and I'm thankful for every moment of it. I'm thankful for being able to constantly walk in His grace, covered by His blood. I'm thankful He calls me friend and that God calls me son. I'm thankful that no matter what, I have His Spirit in me so that I can do great things through Him and never be far from His guidance or comfort. 2013 (and every year before and every after) was made possible by Jesus. 

What if Everything DOESN'T Happen for a Reason?

I've heard it said way too many times, and so have you:

"Everything happens for a reason!"

I find that it is most often used as a way to comfort someone faced with some sort of trial, loss, or other unfortunate situation. I also find that many Christians quote it as though it were God's word itself, when in reality I think it paints an awful picture of God that is far from His glory.

Maybe I'm a blasphemer, but I just don't believe that God purposes trials or has predestined "reasons" for them. I don't think He's looking down on us struggling or suffering, hoping we "get it" and learn the lesson our situation is supposed to teach us. He may not take our suffering away when we call on Him, but that doesn't mean He willed it. He just wants to be the One we call on when we're going through all our junk.

He gets it! He gets our junk. In fact, He so gets our junk, that He fatally nailed all of it to His own Son. He knows life gets hard, and wants to walk us through it and give us strength and peace. He wants to fight beside us and be there when we need someone to run to. He wants to be the one to carry us and catch all our tears. Jesus himself said this:

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - the Gospel according to John, Chapter 16, verse 33

Jesus clearly separates His doing from the world's doing, and the troubles of the world from His desire. Why would He have to overcome troubles that He Himself purposed in the first place? He wouldn't! He doesn't want us to look at our troubles as lessons to learn. In fact, He tells us here that He gives us His word so that we can have peace through our trials knowing that He has already given us victory.

What if, instead of telling people that "everything happens for a reason" when they come to us faced with tragedy, we tell them to "take heart"? What if we told them that our LORD is sovereign and good, and that He already beat this world and all the stuff it throws at us thousands of years ago. What if we told them He cant wait for us to experience His gracious and compassionate love (Isaiah 30:18). The phrase "everything happens for a reason" is a lie that needs to stop!

It's not just a lie we often tell others; it's a terrible lie we often tell ourselves. Have you ever felt like you were going through tough times because you did something wrong and God is "mad" at you? It springs from the same exhausting concept. Yes, exhausting. Awfully exhausting. We trap ourselves in this worldview that if life sent us into a rut, it's because God is disappointed in us and He's trying to teach us something. Cause and effect. Everything happens for a reason.

How exhausting! God never wants us to feel like we are constantly disappointing Him, especially when life isn't going "our way". He wants to be our Rock, our Foundation, our Guidance, our Everything. He wants us to hand it over to Him and trust Him, even if things don't change. That's the whole point of our faith, right? We follow God because we love God and know He is true even if we can't always see it. We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

There is an Enemy who doesn't want you to have the peace of heart that Jesus promises you. There is an Enemy who does want you to feel like God is disappointed in you and "punishing" you through trials and tribulation. He is a cruel, evil Enemy and a oppressive, hateful Enemy. And he can get you so frustrated because you feel like you're doing everything "right" but God still isn't pulling through for you and is instead punishing you for not working hard enough. He can make you feel like you're never doing enough for God, and that's the "reason" life isn't happy.

He can't, however, pluck you from the Hands of your eternal, divine, loving Daddy because no matter how much he tries to hide from it, Satan is a defeated, overcome Enemy. Jesus paid too high a price for God to let you go down easy (or at all). If there is a "reason" at all you're going through tough times, it is not God's doing, it is the doing of the Enemy and of this broken, fallen world. Ever since Adam and Eve, man has been giving evil an open invitation to pervert God's word, design, and creation, which He all has called "good." God is not the cause or reason for your sorrow.

No matter what, there is always good news. Very good news. Jesus. Jesus has overcome this entire world and everything that makes us feel anything short of peaceful. He overcame it all and gave Himself for us, and now we share in that victory. Don't let the Enemy trap you in exhausting, unhealthy thinking, but rather let the power, love, and grace of our LORD give your heart rest and your spirit peace, knowing that many like you are suffering as well, and that God sees and cares. You can have peace knowing that God carries you through the storm and hurts when you hurt, and that your name is written in Heaven, and that one glorious day, He will bring you home (my apologies for the run-on, I got a little carried away there...).

But not before He does great and mighty things through you right here.

Photo taken during the spring of 2013 of an oncoming storm at Fort Mountain State Park

"[Satan's] cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do [God's] will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys." - C.S.Lewis

True Joy (Lessons Learned as a Missionary in Nicaragua [Part 2])

Earlier, I attempted to share my experience as a missionary in Nicaragua, only to discover how very much there is to share! I only got far enough to tell of how God got Kaitlin and I to Nicaragua, I didn't even begin to tell of our time actually spent there. If you haven't already read it and are interested in how God provided for our journey to Nicaragua despite great difficulties, check out my previous post.

On June 9th (2013), Kaitlin and I, along with our team members, boarded a Delta flight to Managua, Nicaragua. Before I dive any further, it's important to know a little background information about Nicaragua and its people. Nicaragua suffers from terrible poverty, with over half of the population unemployed or underemployed, and a fourth of the country without safe drinking water. A quarter of a million children in Nicaragua are illegally employed to supplement the bare survival income of their families, and a third of all children suffer some degree of chronic malnutrition. The poor have little to no access to health care, and child mortality rates are six times worse than the United States. 

Our time in Nicaragua was the first in which we had ever witnessed extreme poverty first-hand. Facing that degree of poverty was hard, but also different from what we expected. Most of the people we met with (especially those who already knew the LORD) were joyous, happy people. They may have had lives that were much simpler than ours, lacking the resources we take for granted, but they appreciated what they had and didn't let anything affect their joy. They were normal people, just like you and I. They didn't seem to want to be pitied or bombarded with aide. They just wanted to get to know us and let us build a relationship with their community. It didn't take long at all for God to start teaching re-teaching me another lesson or two...

True joy doesn't come from stuff, it only comes from Jesus. 

Alternatively, We don't need stuff, we only need Jesus.

Perhaps the perfect example of this that we witnessed was an elderly woman named Santita. She was very sick the day that we met her, but still full of the joy of God. She asked us if we would let her sing to us! Of course, we said we would love that. After praying for her singing to glorify the Lord, she blessed us a song, which I was able to get a clip of:



Her love of the Lord is so evident, and we were so grateful to have met her. Despite living in poverty and facing sickness so great that she felt as though she would not live very much longer, she had reasons to sing to the Lord. Her last words in the song were prayers of "Glory to God," and "Praise the Lord." We were all so encouraged by her faith and love for God, and I pray that if Kaitlin and I get the chance to return next year, we will have the opportunity to visit her again. Will you join me in prayer for her? Please pray for her health, and that she would be a light in her community. Pray for her village to come closer to the Lord and be protected from illness and the Enemy.

Santita was not the only one. The villages were full of wonderful people that we fell in love with. They lived simple lives, but were okay with it. I'm not talking about neglecting essential needs. These people need clean water and adequate food, and we did take time during the week to hand those essentials out and meet their needs. The book of James is clear on faith being dead without works, and that there is no sense in telling people that Jesus loves them if we were not going to love on them through meeting their needs. However, you don't see sophisticated living structures, big fancy meals, any cars at all, gadgets/gizmos, etc. They live on the bare minimum. Their lives are simple. But, no matter what my idea of "living standards" and "comforts" were, God quickly changed my heart from an attitude that thought my purpose was to make their lives "better" to one that knew that all they really need is Jesus.

Am I making any sense? I almost felt a little envious of how simply they lived. I get so used to the noise and busyness of the United States, that being in a place away from it all was quite refreshing. I was able to feel God's spirit so much better. I was able to sleep sounder and wake up with much more energy. My spirit desperately needed that break from the noise, and I am so grateful for it.

I think we have gotten too used to welfare culture, and it seeps into the way we look at missions. If our missions were solely based around taking resources to needy communities and giving stuff out, we would not really doing the people a service. All we would be doing would be setting up a welfare system that the people can become dependent on. Our mission host family even discouraged us from giving stuff away to the children, because none of the families want to feel like we pity them. They want to be treated like normal people. We didn't neglect their basic needs, but didn't focus on it the entire week. The focus was sharing the gospel, getting to know them, and praying for them.

There were several instances where the people would even give something of theirs to us, even though they had little. Kaitlin was especially touched by a girl named Kim, who gave her a bow after a church service: 

I'm so glad I was able to capture that moment. For the average American, that would be a small gift. Coming from this girl who had so little, though, it was very special.

We live in a culture that holds on to things. We seek more and more things to satisfy our itches and obtain comfort or happiness. A 2010 Princeton study even stated that Americans believe happiness peaks at a salary of $75,000¹. Nicaraguans like Santita probably won't see that kind of money in their entire life, but live life with a joy so complete that none can compare.

Jesus says in John 10:10 that he came so that we "may have life to the fullest." Other versions use the phrase "live abundantly." He also says in John 15:10, "I have told you these things so that you can have the same joy I have and so that your joy will be the fullest possible joy."

Life and joy to the fullest does not come from things or a certain salary, but from Christ alone. I am so glad God chose such an incredible experience to reaffirm this truth in my life. 

- Zack


1. Data taken from an article in Time, "Do We Need $75,000 a Year to Be Happy?" - http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2019628,00.html

Lessons Learned as a Missionary in Nicaragua [Part 1]

Goodnight¹... it's been a while since I've updated this thing! Writing/blogging is something that I really enjoy, but spare-time seems to have evaded me recently. If I ever do come across free time, I like to spend it with my wife anyway, so the blog unfortunately gets shoved to the back-burner. It didn't help that until yesterday my computer hasn't worked reliably, either. My shift at the bakery shifted back to the early morning (5am - 1pm), and I reformatted my laptop, which worked like a charm! Long story short, I now have the time and the laptop to dust off this blog and crank out some posts**. Here goes nothing...

As the title suggests, I have done some missionary work in Nicaragua since my last update. I might as well shut this thing down if I don't share that journey on here! God rocked my life so much that week that if it doesn't inspire me to write, nothing will. Kaitlin and I (yes, we BOTH got to go! It was our first time as missionaries serving together. Awesome! Just awesome. Anyway, this parenthetical situation is getting a little out of hand...) served in Nicaragua during the week of June 9th, but our journey getting there began about a year earlier, when God started putting a strong yearning in our hearts to find a mission trip to go on together. Later that year, our church, West Rome Baptist, announced several mission trips taking place during the summer. We just knew God had a place on one of those trips for us. We decided together that day that we would go on one of them, but had no idea of the obstacles in store for us. This brings me to the first lesson God taught re-taught me:

If God calls you somewhere, He'll make sure He gets you there.

In December of that year (2012), two car accidents less than two weeks apart totaled both of our cars. The second accident sent me to the hospital with a broken leg, and put me out of work for nearly three months. The driver at fault in the second accident was driving under the influence of alcohol, and had no insurance. Not only did we have to buy two cars, but also carried the responsibility of the hospital bills. He didn't have insurance, and the uninsured motorist policy on my wife's car did not include medical payments. We were on vacation, and lost the amount we paid in advance for the remaining three nights there. Needless to say, it was a hard situation to soak in. At this point, with all the unexpected expenditures and lost income, saving up for a $2800 mission trip seemed way way out of the picture.

However, God doesn't really care about any "picture" we conjure up in our minds. He doesn't see things the way we do.

Our insurance company didn't budge on covering the medical bills. We couldn't blame them, though. We didn't have the coverage. If you are reading this and are unsure if your uninsured motorist policy covers medical payments, FIND OUT ASAP! It's definitely worth the extra $20 per six months, and the percentage of people who drive without insurance is getting pretty ridiculous. In the United States, 14.29% of drivers are uninsured. That comes to about one in seven drivers! In Georgia, that percentage is about 16% and in Tennessee (where my accident took place), it spikes to 24% (ranking third in the nation!)². Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more likely that the person who hits you on the road has no insurance, so please, I encourage you to get as much coverage as you can afford.

Our insurance company was very generous, however, in reimbursing us for our totaled vehicles and letting us use rental cars for as long as we needed. We were given more than the cars were worth, and were able to quickly use that money on new cars and medical bills. My agent even listened as I vented about the situation when it was going on, and we were able to carry a great conversation. He followed up and showed he truly cared! If anyone out there is looking for some great, affordable coverage, Liberty Mutual insurance is where it's at! My agent is Crawford Adam. You should look him up! I don't usually advertise or anything like that, but my insurance company took care of me when I needed it the most, and that says alot!

About a month after the accident, our growth group³ at West Rome Baptist got together to fellowship. Ever since the accident, members from our group showered us with love. They took turns bringing us dinner, prayed for us constantly, and never stopped encouraging and caring. We didn't think any group of fellow believers could ever match the faithfulness and love of ours, until we went to that night of fellowship. There they presented Kaitlin and me a check. It was for $2300. Yeah, that's $2300, not $230. Two zeros! We were overwhelmed by their generosity and sacrifice. They collected money within the group without us knowing, and were able to bless us far more than they would ever know!

Not too long after that, I got a phone call that turned things around for us even more. At the time of the call, I was helping my friend Marigrace make her wedding invitations. Being out of work and bedridden drove me insane; it was a blessing every chance I got to get out of the house, and I was very grateful for her family, who not only offered to let me stay with them during the day, but picked me up and gave me a ride whenever I needed one. I was sitting at their table, taping pictures to cards, when I got a call from my wife, who told me that her boss wanted me to work at her school until I went back to my usual job. Her boss, Mrs. Shemi Kumar of the Montessori School of Rome, had been diagnosed with breast cancer a year prior and was cancer free, but still finishing up treatment. She had to leave for a while as she recovered so she hired me as her substitute. The very next day, I was grading papers and teaching anatomy to a classroom full of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. The unexpected income was definitely an answered prayer! Sharing the commute to work with my wonderful wife was an added bonus =]. In no time at all, the doctor cleared me to go back to work, and I returned to my job at Great Harvest Bread Company. My boss was so gracious to hold my position, and I am very grateful for her for that.

Needless to say, God provided for us during our time of greatest need. We knew in our hearts that He was calling us to missions in the summer, and that He would provide for the costs of that as well. There were two trips, one to Mexico and one to Nicaragua. After days of praying, God broke our hearts for the people and nation of Nicaragua. I put in my request off from work, turned in our applications, and paid our deposit. We had NO idea how God was going to provide for the remaining $2500 balance, but we knew He would!

While I was still working at the Montessori School of Rome, Kaitlin and I were contacted by a man who we house-sat and pet-sat for last year. He wanted us to watch his house and animals for two weeks in May and offered to pay us over $1000. Is God not amazing? Our family also provided very generously for our trip, and with a little sacrifice on our part, we brought our balance to zero with weeks to spare before our flight.

Sure, there were setbacks. Major setbacks. Accidents, loss of income. Hospital bills⁴. I left out the part where we found out that tax increases (and increases in our income) caused us to owe over $400 in state and federal taxes this year. Also, the man didn't tell us that one of his three horses is a mustang that takes hours to be caught and put in his stall, while another of his horses founders frequently (and did so on our watch). That last setback wasn't financial, but it still kinda sucked. Throughout the whole journey, though, was God's reassuring voice of promise, His unfailing shower of blessing, and His passion in our hearts for missions. He never let us go, and certainly provided for us in miraculous ways.

God always provides. Even in the face of extreme tribulation and seemingly hopeless situations, God's promises are sure. His love never fails, never gives up, never runs out!

The LORD called us to Nicaragua, and He was faithful to get us there, despite everything the Enemy could through at us. How great is our God?

Taken of a storm coming at Fort Mountain State Park⁵. The view was so much more beautiful in person. It turned out to be a powerful storm, but watching it coming we couldn't help but be reminded of the power of our Creator. Even in the midst of a storm, His greatness, power, and beauty is evident. 

To be continued...

-Zack

**Blog posts subject to change. Mostly grammar corrections, which I usually make as I catch them, which can happen suddenly without notice, perhaps in the time it takes you to read this. If you see changes, do not be alarmed. You are not crazy. This has been a public service announcement.

1. Meant as an exclamation, not a greeting. I am writing this in the afternoon, not first thing in the morning. I have to be at work at 5am, and I am doing good if I get up in time to eat something and get dressed. A 5am blog post would be incoherent, silly, and pretty much impossible. Also, I am not ignorant and know that reading my blog isn't the first thing you do when you wake up either.

2. Insurance Research Council data from 2009. That was four years ago. I am far too lazy to find current data. Does that make me a lazy blogger? Probably.

3. Fancy word my church uses for Sunday School. We do, however, experience a ton of growth together.

4. We still haven't seen even the tip of the iceberg of those, even 7 months later. But we know God will provide! He is so good!

5. Fort Mountain State Park is located in Georgia, not in Nicaragua. Just for the record.

National Freedom Day Eve: Easy Ways YOU Can Help Fight Slavery

On February 1st, 1865, Abraham Lincoln signed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States constitution. It reads:

"Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

The ratification of this amendment began a long overdue journey in this country to abolish slavery and give all citizens the chance to experience freedom. To honor the signing of the Thirteenth Amendment, we celebrate Freedom Day on February 1st. Though we have come a long way with regards to abolishing slavery, let us not stop the fight. It is estimated that there are still 27 million slaves in this world.

Some of them work for you in factories & quarries thousands of miles away... and you don't even know it. Slaves who contribute to the shirts you wear, the diamonds on your jewelry, the seafood in your plate, the smartphones you can't leave the house without, the coffee you can't wake up without.

An organization called Slavery Footprint has a survey online that shows you just how connected you are to slaves. It's really easy and takes no time at all. Becoming aware is the first step towards action. Made in a Free World is another organization committed to end forced labor. It doesn't matter where you get plugged in, just do! There are countless more organizations.

In addition to forced labor abroad, many of the 27 million work not far from us in forced prostitution. Atlanta is among the top cities in the country and the world for human trafficking. About 12,400 men purchase sex each month in Georgia alone. Half of those men end up exploiting an adolescent girl. The average age of a child first used in prostitution ranges between 11 and 14, with some as young as 9. I talked about it in an earlier post, so I'll try not to be too repetitive. It is crucial, though, that we are aware of the extent to which this happens daily, and how much these girls need our help.

Wellspring Living is an Atlanta-based organization dedicated to ending sexual slavery, and provides a safe place for those who escape it. In fact, it is the only organization that provides a comprehensive program to meet the needs of these girls. For more information about their history and mission, visit their website. They have called on everyone who is a part of the movement to end slavery to wear white tomorrow for Freedom Day.

That's easy enough, right? Just wear white tomorrow! White symbolizes purity - the restored purity and protection needed by victims of sexual abuse. If you do nothing else, pick something white to wear tomorrow. It's a simple way to show you care and are in this fight.

Another easy way to help out is by voting for Wellspring to receive a technology grant. Milner is giving away $35,000 to the non-profit who receives the most votes. The first round of voting ends TONIGHT (January 31st!). Help make sure Wellspring makes it to the final round! About 200 girls freed from prostitution are on a wait list to get into Wellspring's program. Wellspring is trying to expand to accommodate more girls, and this grant would help tremendously. All you have to do is vote! Go! Cast your vote!

CSEC Lobby Day is a week from today. It's a day when many will gather in Atlanta to talk to our legislators and encourage them to help put an end to sexual slavery. Find out what district you live in and who your legislators are, and send them a note or an email. You don't have to even physically be at Lobby Day, though it is a great opportunity to put all this into action. If you're interested, find out more on Wellspring's blog, or register at StreetGrace.

Most importantly, though, pray. We can do all these things, go through all these actions, spread the word to the ends of the world and back, but we go nowhere if we're not giving it to God. He knows what needs to be done, and He hurts more than we do that people are enslaved. Pray to Him. Pray for the slaves. Pray for the ones oppressing and enslaving. Only God can fully mend the broken hearts of the slaves, and only He can break the hearts of the ones responsible.

Make the issue of slavery a priority. Let's end it!

National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

In the summer of 2010, my wife, Kaitlin, worked as a camp counselor for Camp Pinnacle in Clayton, Georgia. We had been dating for over two years then, and being apart for nearly a whole summer was hard. She brought her cell phone, but was only allowed to use it one day a week, for a limited time. We appreciated these brief windows, and learned to use them well. It was during that summer that she (and later I) was introduced to a reality that is hard to swallow: that approximately 27 million people worldwide are enslaved. That human trafficking occurs more today than ever in history.

Girls forced into prostitution. Children forced to work in factories... some of which are or were affiliated with companies we buy from everyday. Millions of men, women, and children around the world stripped completely of their freedom. The worst part? It happens not far from our own backyards.

How does one even begin to process that kind of knowledge?

Every other week it seems, you hear on TV or the radio about a rapist or child molester, and it brings forth emotions of sadness, disgust, and anger. The pictures of the accused usually fit the stereotypical look we expect, and all you'll hear about is that one incident for days.

But these are not isolated incidents. This happens every day.

It is estimated that 100 girls are forced to do someone's sexual bidding every night... in Atlanta alone. These men are not the rough looking people you see in the news either. Approximately 23% of adult males in Georgia have purchased sex, half of which will exploit an under-aged girl. Most fit the description of the average Joe: church-going white male, married, has children. People you may see everyday and not suspect a thing.

I wish I was lying, but I'm not. I wish this didn't happen, but it does. So what can we do? We can start by being aware and spreading what we know. I love how Passion 2013 has gotten many people fired up about it, and we need to stay fired up. There are so many organizations founded to combat this issue, and we can help by supporting them. I'm not familiar with all of them, but you can find a list at EndItMovement.com. One organization that I am familiar with is Wellspring Living.

Wellspring Living is an organization that not only raises awareness and actively lobbies for legislation to fight human trafficking, but they also provide safe homes for the girls taken out of sexual abuse and slavery. There program is unique in that they work with girls directly and help them recover, often saving them from being jailed for prostitution.

You can join them in this fight financially, through volunteering, shopping at one of their Wellspring Treasures locations, or by simply spreading the word. You can even help them influence our local representatives by participating in the CSEC Lobby Day on February 7th. Follow the link for details, it is a great opportunity! My wife, Kaitlin, participated last year and we're going to try to go again this year.

This is too great a crime to sit back do nothing.

It is a cause that demands radical urgency.

Millions of people need our help, many of whom are closer to you than you may think.

Authority in Christ

"When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to Jesus, 'Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!'
'Yes,' He told them, 'I saw Satan fall from Heaven like lightning!  Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But do not rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are written in Heaven.'"
-Luke 10:17-20

This morning in Sunday School, we were talking about remembering who we are in Christ, and what we have that the Isrealites didn't in the Old Testament. It was briefly mentioned that we have the authority of Christ and are His ambassadors. How often do we think of ourselves like that? The above passage in Luke is one of my favorites, and yet I haven't given it much thought in a while.

Its a power and authority that Satan would love for us to forget about... that He can be silenced by us just by mentioning the Lords name! That through Christ we have power over the Enemy, and not just some power, but complete authority. He cannot harm or touch us. He has to listen to us and obey us whenever we use Christ's name. He has no choice, no power, nothing. Christ defeated him at the cross and let's us share in that victory.

We are quick to forget though. We still fear and worry. Christ tells us here to not be afraid, that we have authority. He tells us that our names are written in Heaven! What a reason to rejoice and to not fear! No matter what happens in this world, Jesus has made a place for us! He has given us victory over the enemy. He has given us redemption, mercy, and grace. He calls us friends, and calls us Holy!
Let us never forget this no matter how we feel!

By Grace Alone (A New Year Post)

I have started this post over completely so many times. I thought about blogging about Christmas, Thanksgiving, all the things I'm thankful for, random updates that I missed since my last post. Things that other people blog about, and therefore I somehow need to blog about. Nothing that I can think of, though, really compares to how grateful I feel towards God that I'm alive to see 2013 unfold.

On 12/12/12, I feel asleep at the wheel for just a moment, when a tanker merged onto the road I was driving on. I had enough time to brake a little but not enough to avoid impact. I hit the tanker in the side, but hit in just the right place to not get trapped underneath or cause the tanker to combust. I walked away with minor head trauma, and some cuts/bruise.

My car wasn't so lucky, but can be replaced. Ironically, the rental car company my insurance uses was located at 1212 Martha Berry Hwy. I kid you not. Google Enterprise in Rome, Georgia. Fun fact: they not only pick you up, but they drop you off. Which was convenient.

Anyway, just 17 days later, Kaitlin and I were driving back to our getaway cabin from a nice dinner at Bullfish Grill in Pigeon Forge. It was day 3 of 6 of our mini vacation. It was around 8 and snowing; while we enjoyed the snow, we also were eager to get back up the mountain before the snow could collect on the road and make the steep trip nearly impossible for Kaitlin's little Nissan Altima.

I was careful driving, but nothing really on our part could have avoided hitting the car who quickly tried to make a left turn across two lanes of traffic, clearly not noticing us at all. The accident was nearly head-on due to the angle of their turn. By the grace of the LORD, Kaitlin was not seriously injured. It is also by grace alone that I came out with only a broken tibia and fibula. Looking at the pictures, we both know we are lucky and protected by a loving God.

The doctor said it usually takes 3 months to heal, but we're just taking it one day at a time. It's discouraging and frustrating at times, but the LORD is with us. So, we welcome 2013, ready for all it has to offer. Looks like for the next few weeks, I'm going to have a lot of alone time with my God, and that's definitely a good thing. 

God bless you all, and Happy New Years. 

How I lost over 30lbs! (or, my bday gift to myself and my LORD (or, an attempt to bring things up to speed: Part 3))

     One of the coolest wedding gifts Kaitlin and I got last year was a Nintendo Wii with Wii Fit (courtesy of my brothers and sisters, who are awesome!). On the last day of our honeymoon, we opened it, plugged it in, and tried it out. For anyone who hasn't played, the first thing that you experience after you make your character and everything is a body test that measures your weight and your posture/balance. I didn't really care that my balance was 2% off, but being 30lbs overweight (and 50lbs over my "ideal weight") was just unacceptable to me. I had always known I was probably overweight, but I had no idea how much I had gained over the years. My "freshman 15" turned into my senior 40! I knew that if I didn't change something soon, I would regret it down the road. 235 pounds may not seem like a lot (and didn't really look like a lot on me since I was so tall), but it was enough to wake myself up and motivate me to do something about it.

     The waking up and motivation took about 6 months to get going. It started out as one of my new years resolutions, and has turned out to be one of the most significant achievements I have made this year. I decided that reaching my healthy weight range (150-200lbs) would be my birthday gift to me, and accomplished it a little over a week early, when I weighed in at about 198. The same game that gave me a hard pill to swallow gave me a sense of pride in myself for my commitment and of gratitude towards God for pulling me through when I saw this:

     

     It was a relief on multiple levels, because not only does it give you that fancy BMI meter and reading, but it also verbally lets you know what's going on, which before meant hearing "That's overweight!" every single time. Depressing, right? Almost as depressing as when your little Mii character slowly gets fatter and fatter as the meter goes up to where you really are. Needless to say, this game is done putting me down! Not that I ever took anything personally, but you know. 

     The first question people have asked has been what I've been doing different, which is mainly three things:

1. Running/Jogging
2. Eating lighter
3. No more sugary soda

     And honestly, there have been countless days when #2 probably didn't happen, but 1 & 3 usually made up for it and then some. Has it been a smooth course? Nope. Even now, there are days when I feel like I still have a million miles to go and won't ever get there, but I am encouraged when I think about how healthier I am now and how I am doing my best to glorify God with my body. If you are thinking about taking on a journey like mine or are in the middle of one and just need some encouragement, feel free to contact me with any questions! Here are some tips, things to avoid, and just general good-to-know stuff that I have picked up along the way:

1. Do it for the right reason! I have heard countless stories of people who starve themselves or pay for expensive surgeries to lose weight just in order to improve their looks. It is almost never healthy, in my opinion, to try to lose weight solely to "look better." Before you try to change anything about yourself, love yourself for who you are, and try your absolute best to adapt a positive self-esteem. Being more athletically fit, looking slimmer, etc. should all be by-products of your journey, not the main reason for it. We are all told to love others unconditionally, and we should exhibit the same kind of love for ourselves. Love yourself with the possibility of never being able to change those things that you sometimes wish were different about yourself. I know it isn't easy, because it's a mindset I had to work towards too (and I'll admit sometimes I don't feel like I'm completely there yet). God designed us with purpose and love, including our bodies. Part of loving God back is loving His creation, including ourselves (including our bodies). Love yourself first, and out of that love for yourself (and the LORD), strive to adapt healthier habits which lead to weight loss. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:20 that we "were bought with a price," and we should "therefore honor God with [our] bodies." Let that be your reason, above everything else.

2. Walk by faith, not by sight. This doubles as just a great Bible verse for everyday encouragement! (2 Corinthians 5:7). Do not judge your progress based on your looks or your own perception of how much you've lost (also, see #1). There are two main reasons why we tend to not feel like we're losing anything. Primarily, the weight we tend to want to lose is ironically the last weight we tend to lose. I can only really speak for myself as a guy, but I know from studying Anatomy & Physiology that this is true for females as well. The first place the body stores fat tends to be the places I don't want it (i.e, the belly). It's where my body wants to have extra cushion/protection/insulation, because that is where most of my visceral organs are. Makes sense, doesn't it? The body strategically tries to burn fat in other areas first before sacrificing it in areas that it prefers it. Another reason we seem to look like we're not getting anywhere is the fact that while we are losing weight, we're losing it fairly proportionally. Up until you get into a normal weight range, you will likely look proportionally the same as the way you started, even if you really have significantly lost weight.

3. Set healthy goals. Losing 50lbs in 2 weeks probably isn't healthy at all. In fact, losing 50lbs period may not be healthy for you. Know where you are, where is healthy for you, and how long it needs to take following a healthy rate. 1lb a week, I've heard, is a healthy goal. Every pound of fat is equal to burning about 3500 calories. So, a pound a week requires cutting back 500 calories a day. It's best not to count calories, because that leads to a whole mess of associating food with guilt, but if you're a numbers kind of person, this is a good place to start. Be comfortable with the idea that this may take a while, because it will. It needs to. Your body doesn't want to let go of fat without a fight. It takes some major convincing.

4. Consider investing in a pair of these:

I've never gone on a run so far without them. Despite everything your mother and/or peers may tell you about Vibram Fivefingers, they are beyond healthy for your feet (exceedingly more so than conventional shoes). Besides strengthening your feet and lower leg muscles, improving your balance, and being ridiculously comfortable, these shoes are pretty fun to wear and look cool! They come with a hefty price tag, but nothing is free, right?? These were thankfully a gift from my best friend and best wifey in the whole world, Kaitlin, but if I had an extra $100 lying around, I'd buy them over again in a heartbeat. They are great for running in, and come in plenty of colors/styles (even for youth!). If ever in your life there was a time to get some, now is that time!

5. Work out. Not only does working your muscles burn calories, but just having muscle burns calories. It takes more energy to maintain muscle than it does to maintain other tissues in the body. Also, when you are burning calories, the body destroys muscle before fat. So, if you are exercising your muscles, you are more likely to conserve/build muscle while getting rid of excess fat. Don't go overboard with this though and consider it an alternative to everything else. Not only is cardiovascular exercise (running/jogging/etc) vital to your well-being, but over-working your muscles does more damage than good and could actually lead to an outcome opposite to what you desire.

6. Find a partner. Having someone to support you along the way makes it a million times easier and more fun. Kaitlin is well within her healthy weight range and doesn't need to lose any at all, but runs with me anyway. It has become a part of the time we spend together, and is a great way to fellowship and catch up with each other. Since I have given up sugary drinks, we've started to drink less of it as a family, which helps tremendously. Little things like that, when shared with people close to you, make a huge difference.

7. Give yourself breaks. There are going to be days when you don't feel like running or working out or even eating healthy. Accept that this will happen and let it happen every once in a while. Don't deprive yourself of a well-deserved break. It really wont hurt you to eat a big dessert every now and then or spend a day or two resting. Think big-picture lifestyle change, not small details. Unless eating that Molten Lava Cake from Chili's is a part of a habit you're forming to pig out every single night, or unless your nap signifies your transformation into a sloth, it will not hurt your overall progress to indulge every now and then. Remember, you're doing all of this out of love for yourself, not condemnation. Be loving toward yourself! Don't let yourself slip away from your path towards better health, but also be careful not to deprive yourself of joy!

     Seven is the number of completion, so I'll end it at that. Above all else, lean on the LORD. A friend of mine recently prayed Ephesians 3:17 over me, and it has been an extremely powerful prayer in my life, and one that will give you the strength and power to overcome every obstacle in your path:

"I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." - Ephesians 3:17-19

      Christ's love gives us the power to do all things, and the ability to live life to the fullest extent of God's purpose for us. Part of that is being free from everything that oppresses us and keeps us from experiencing God's joy. If that happens to be the need to shave off some weight, I hope and pray that God may have used me in some way to shed some light in that area of your life. If that's not where you are right now, I still pray that you may be rooted and established in his Love, so that no matter what obstacle you are currently facing, you may be freed from it by His power and love in you.

Until next time,
Zack

AHHHH, FINALS!! (or, an Attempt to Bring Things Up to Speed: Part II)

     So, as the title suggests, I am currently studying for finals (or rather, distracting myself from studying for finals). You may be wondering why I even have finals if I graduated over a year ago, and that is a perfectly reasonable query for I have not yet revealed to my (small, but existent) group of readers a crucial update: I went back to school. Being a prospective medical student, I have come to terms with the fact that this will probably be a recurring event throughout my life (or at least for the next decade or so). Counselors from various medical schools across the state have all given me the same advice: to raise my GPA as much as possible, get more clinical experience, and strive for the highest MCAT score possible. Which, although appreciated greatly, is not easy stuff to take in. My brain translates their well-intended advise to "Hey, I know you've worked your butt off in your undergrad studies, survived studying and taking the MCAT with a pretty decent score, and through persistent bugging of every physician you know, gotten the most shadowing and experience HIPAA will allow you to. However, it's just not good enough."


    Taking their advise led me to taking some more upper-level science classes at a public college nearby, Georgia Highlands College (formerly known as Floyd College). My posion? Anatomy I and II. At the same time. It initially included Medical Microbiology too. At the same time. But my class section was cancelled due to a small number of participants. Skipping to the present time, I am infinitely glad that it didn't work out to take all three because studying for just these two finals is really taking it's toll. I know, I know. Some of you are studying for like a hundred finals right now and would trade with me in a heartbeat! I feel your pain (I've been there), and my prayers go out to you! Anyway, I've been studying human anatomy and physiology for the past couple months (and I've actually been loving it, despite the stress), and now have to recall it all in two cumulative finals, after which I am free! Temporarily. And not totally. But still.

     It's during finals and thinking about my next steps in getting into medical school that my relationship with the LORD really takes a beating. No matter how many times He's helped me get through tough tests and provided for me financially, physically, and spiritually, when times get rough the doubting inevitably starts, and I fall back into anxiety. I start questioning myself and my life, start regretting not doing better during my undergrad studies, wishing I was more secure financially, etc. The kind of questions and worries Satan loves to pitch at me, and laughs when I swing and miss, guiding me to worldly things for comfort (Angry Birds, food, Facebook, Twitter, anything he can make me turn to instead of God). Why is it that despite all the wonderful things God does for us, we are so prone to turn away from Him when hard times come?

     God has never let me fall! God has blessed me with an honorable, Holy, captivating, gorgeous wife! God has provided my family with jobs, and never let us go without food, water, or shelter. God has helped us combat everything that has come our way, exactly when we needed it the most. Will not this same perfect, Holy, sovereign God rescue me from my anxieties and pave a path for His perfect will for my life? Absolutely! Will he let fall? Never! Will He provide and care for me (and my family)? Always!

     Why, oh why, then, is it so easy to forget and doubt that He will pull through for me? Reading in the old testament (part of my reading the Bible in a Year goal via YouVersion) has provided me with some insight to this question. I used to think of the Old Testament as being all about God's wrath, as if He was always an angry God of justice before Christ came. I soon have found that this is NOT the case. The Old Testament (and New Testament (and the world as it is even now!)) tells of countless stories that follow the pattern I see in my own life:

1. God rescues and provides 
2. His people follow Him obediently & with thanks, but soon forget about what He's done for them
3. His people are tempted to abandon Him and live in sin, and do so
4. God gets angry (and rightfully so!) and disciplines
5. His people repent and ask for His help
6. God forgives them
7. Repeat Steps 1-6

     Without fail, as far as I've read so far, God's people trap themselves into this pattern, and I'm not any different sometimes. I can't help, sometimes, feel like Gideon when He says this to an angel of God:

"If the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn't they say, 'The LORD brought us up out of Egypt'"? - Judges 6:13

     I hate to admit it, but caught up in Satan's lies, my "out of sight, out of mind" mindset kicks in and I quickly forget how MIGHTY our God is, and all the wondrous things He has done for me. I forget how unfailingly He provides for His people and holds them in His loving, Fatherly arms. He knows His plans for me, and they are plans "to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me a hope and a future!" (Jeremiah 29:11). Now, if I would only submit myself to Him and let Him guide me into that life! Thank the LORD for Jesus Christ, who is the ONLY way for me to do that. God knows as a human I am unable to serve Him by myself (Joshua 24:19). I am way too prone to turn to those things I have mentioned before. And yet still He longs to show me mercy and grace (Isaiah 30:18)! He wants me to have life, and have it to the full so He sent His son, Jesus, as the permanent sacrifice for the forgiveness of my sin, so that absolutely NOTHING could separate me from His unending love.

Worried about finals? Psh. God is bigger than your finals! Give it to all Him! He's already figured it out and has it all laid out for you! He desperately wants you to take hold of it!

Our First Christmas! (or, An Attempt to Bring Things Up to Speed: Part 1)

     For someone who loves to write and has had lots to write about, I've been terrible at it! I could pitch you a series of convincing, half-true excuses why I haven't been able to keep up with this blog, but I'll save you that and cut to the first installment of my massive catching-up update: my first Christmas spent with Kaitlin (and family!)

     As is the case every major holiday, the struggle to sort out how to visit both of our extended families began about a month before Christmas. This year proved to be less simple than years past, because while we both wanted to visit our families, we also kinda wanted to have Christmas time to ourselves, with it being our first. Most of the ideas to solve this dilemma involved too much stress (and gasoline) than our minds and bodies would be able to handle (driving from Rome to Marietta on the Eve of Christmas Eve... going to the Christmas Eve celebration at my grandmothers house in Woodstock the next day... then driving back to Rome that night to spend Christmas morning together alone the following morning... only to try to make it all the way to Macon by lunch time!). Not to mention Christmas fell on a Sunday that year, which brought church attendance into the equation!

     It was somewhere during that whole deal when one of us (I want to say it was me, but I cannot be sure =P) thought of the brilliant idea of spending the weekend before Christmas in a cabin in Tennessee, celebrating Christmas together there instead of Christmas morning. I have to admit, being too much of a sentimentalist made this hard, but after I let go of religiously and emotionally HAVING to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Day, it became the funnest Christmas idea ever!

     This was our view from our cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains! I find that I'm more of a mountain person than a beach person. There is nothing like enjoying a view like this, and experiencing God's beautiful design in creation. The Great Smokies are a personal favorite of mine, having visited multiple times during my youth (not to mention my honeymoon!). Kaitlin always gets a kick out of me never leaving out the "Great" in Great Smoky Mountains. It turned out to be a fairly cheap and endlessly fun Gatlinburg getaway Christmas, mostly spent at Dollywood (with rain checks from the time we went during our Honeymoon and it closed because of a storm), eating, and shopping.
     Although ridiculously overpriced, Dollywood is such a fun place to go, and doesn't get old (or at least hasn't gotten old yet). Being the holiday season, they had the whole place lit up, like this:

I don't remember what the name of that chapel is. It's on the picture, but pretty fuzzy. It amazed me how many people put honest, personal prayer requests in the guestbook. It really had the feel of a church rather than a part of a theme park. Kaitlin and I did a little bible study hear and then continued a long the park. Can you imagine having to put Christmas lights on buildings like that? The chapel was pretty tame compared to the countless lights put up on all the buildings in the entire park. Over 6 million lights in all! At least, that's what they told us when we were on the train:

     Kaitlin snapped this jewel. Pretty cool, actually! This train really put the one at Six Flags to shame. We soon found out (thanks to the guide) that this train doesn't stop for NOTHIN'; if you pulled the emergency line, you better have a good reason (dropping your cell phone/camera/iPad is not considered an emergency (nor is getting a cinder in your eye (I guess they get that a lot))). Aside from the lights and the train (and the rides, which I sadly have no pictures of), the blacksmith is always a winner:

     If I remember correctly, it's Kaitlin's favorite part of the park. We spent at least half an hour watching the blacksmith work his magic with the fire (and knocked out some people on our Christmas gift list too!).

     And what would Christmas (or anything in life) be without great food? If you ever go to the Great Smoky Mountains/Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, there are three restaurants that you absolutely have to go to:

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.,

The Old Mill Restaurant,

...and the Smoky Mountain Pancake House.

     If you happen to have ever driven all the way to this part of Tennessee and did not come across these fine eating establishments, you seriously missed out to say the least. Arrive hungry and order what you want, because it is going to be one of the best dining experience your mouth has ever encountered, hands down. If you go to Bubba Gump, freshen up your Forrest Gump trivia, because you will be tested! Also, go ahead and order the hush pups. Just do it. At the Old Mill, just about anything on the menu will be great, but make sure you order extra corn fritters. They are the best in the world! Seriously. What you see in the last picture is the Hungry Bear Breakfast! I recommend it.

     When we got back home, we still had a day to rest and prepare for all the traveling. We celebrated Christmas with my family at my grandmother's (Nanny!) Christmas Eve party, and headed to Kaitlin's house to celebrate with her family on Christmas Day. All in all, it was such a peaceful and fun alternative to running around across the state that week. Who really wants to get stressed out during Christmas? It's hard to avoid it, but should we really celebrate the birth of our Savior by stressing out, running around like chickens with our heads cut off, buying people things they don't need just because it's what we're supposed to do, etc. I'm not trying to be a Grinch at all here; Christmas is actually one of my favorite times of the year, and I don't have anything against buying Christmas presents (I bought Kaitlin a new study bible and a barn coat, and she bought me an iPhone (which produced all the pictures in this post!). I just think that anything that can be done to make Christmas more of a joyous celebration and peaceful fellowship with family should be wholly pursued, and we had such a great time pursuing it this year.

Such a great time, that Christmas in the Smokies may become our first family tradition. =] Well just have to see.

Reading the Bible in a Year: Day 1 (Part 2)

I guess it's time that I at finish sharing day one (even though I'm on day 14 right now...). I think I left off towards the end of Genesis 2, where God showed me something pretty cool about marriage that I never really thought of before.

In verse 24, the Word declares that "therefor a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." Whenever the Bible (or any book) says "therefor," you gotta step back and ask yourself why. Some versions will say "for this reason..." For what reason? I had read this a while back and came to the conclusion that, like the Bible says, marriage was created because it is not good for man (or woman) to be alone. We all need a suitable helper. When God saw that it was not good for man to be alone, he designed and purposed a helper for him.

But now I see that it, perhaps, is a little more than that. God created Adam from the dust of the ground and very well could have done the same for Eve. He did not, though, and I believe that is important. In verse 23, the man says:

"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman,'
for she was taken out of man."

Then, we see the "therefor." To me, that painted a more powerful picture of the bond God intends a man and his wife to share, and of the duty the man has for his wife. As men, we should hold fast to our wives, and treat them and provide for them just as well as we would our own bodies because they ARE of our own bodies. We should honor, respect, nourish, love, cherish, and protect them as we do ourselves, because together, a man and his wife are one. God says that not only in a sexually physical way, but in a literally physical way, as well as spiritually and emotionally. God gave women each so many unique gifts and strengths that men are missing, and vice versa. God created the two out of each other so as to eternally bond them together. Marriage was the first covenant God created. He values it infinitely, and desires us to do the same.

Reading through the Bible chronologically, I have come across so much OT scripture that represents Christ. I believe this is one of them. Christ left His father to be here with us on Earth, and to cling to US, the Church, and the two of us have become as one! If you let Christ live out in you and strive to die to yourself everyday, you are a part of this illustration of God's perfect view of marriage.

[Genesis 3] This is the fall. The consequences of the events in this book are told throughout the Bible and end with the mess of a world we live in today. As I was reading through the fall, though, I can't help but think that we're all like Adam and Eve. Sin takes almost the exact same route as it did in that book. Basically the serpent tempts Eve, who sins, and then tempts her husband, who sins. When asked by God about it, the sin takes the opposite path. Adam blames his wife, who blames the serpent. Who is at fault?

Everyone.

That sequence is so real, that I bet everyone can relate to it. Satan tempts you or your friend or your significant other. He clouds your thinking and tricks you into compromising. Once one person sins, it can quickly tempt others or you (i.e. gossiping, impurity, lying/cheating). Afterwards you may think "I can't believe whats-her-face talked me into that" or "I can't believe he/she let us fall like that".

People naturally like to blame others when they see sin manifest itself in the world or in their own life, but the truth is we all need to rise up and be accountable and humble. Silence Satan's lies with the name of Jesus, and stop sin from spreading before it already does. Ditch the idea that perfection is obtainable, and embrace God's grace.

The fall is referred to as an event, but in reality it is a condition. Without the cross, we would all be continuing to fall away from God. The sooner we can admit to ourselves (and to others and to God) that we are weak and are incapable of leading a sinless life, the sooner God can help us combat Satan through Christ and the guidance of His Spirit in us. We can do nothing alone but fall.

God's love and mercy, through Christ's sacrifice of atonement, allows us to stop falling and start rising. Check out this pretty sweet verse from St. Paul:

"For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!"
-Romans 5:10

PS - There is no way with school and work and letting this Bible plan sink in that I'll be able to give an update of every day. Maybe next year when I am done, but it is just so overwhelming right now (in a good way!). All I can say is that if you have never committed to a plan to read the whole Bible, try it out! It's such an amazing experience.

PPS - I pray that what I post on here is representing the true Gospel. Please, as my brothers and sisters in Christ, let me know if the Spirit is telling you otherwise.

Reading the Bible in a Year: Day 1 (Part 1)

I'm only on Day 5 of my chronological reading plan of the Bible, and I can already tell this is one of the best commitments I have ever made. Most of what I have read so far are passages that I have already read before - Genesis 1-11, Job 1-9. It's amazing though how God can teach or point out something totally new to you nearly every time you read something. Honestly I came into this dreading the first week or so when I would be reading chapters I'm already familiar with, but God totally rocked my quiet times and put me back in my place.

Who am I to even think that I don't need to read the book of "X" chapter "X" verse "X" because I have already read it a thousand times? Isn't it referred to as a living book? The very words of God? It reminds me of a passage from Isaiah:

"As the rain and snow
come down from Heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the Earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
-Isaiah 55:10,11

When I first read that passage a while back, it made me think of missions witnessing. It was a comforting verse I thought of when I needed to know that despite how things looked, God was using His word through me whenever I shared it. Now, though, I can apply that to any reading. God has a purpose and desire for every quiet time you spend with Him. He can and wants to teach you something about Himself. He wants to grow with us intimately everyday!

My first day of reading included Genesis 1-3. I don't really want to summarize anything, but rather my thoughts and what stood out to me.

[Genesis 1] First off, the creation sequence bears a striking resemblance to what scientists believe the "evolution" of life on earth was. Photosynthesizing creatures, then sea creatures, then land. I don't really give any thought or credit to scientific origin theories, but the fact that their arriving at the same conclusions despite efforts to alienate themselves from creation-thinking is just really cool and satisfying to me.

In verse 2, the Spirit of God is described as "hovering over the waters." What a loving and beautiful picture of God! I read probably a million times before, but this time it just stuck out to me and really comforted me. It made me think of a similar verse from 2 Chronicles that we read during my mission trip to Los Mochis:

"The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole Earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him."
-2 Chronicles 19:9

In the first few verses of scripture, we see the essence of our marvelous God and Creator. He is loving and caring towards His creation. He hovers across the waters (even when the Earth was new and formless) to make sure everything is just so, and probably also to enjoy what He has done. Try to just picture that scene: God's spirit hovering over the waters. Awesome, isn't it? Truly awesome.

Skipping down to verses 7 and 8, I noticed something else really awesome. Please forgive me if this is dumb or obvious, but when I read that God separated the waters "above the expanse from the waters below the expanse" and that he "called the expanse Heaven," I immediately thought... "Woah, this is talking about waters in Heaven!" I know this sounds like a basic thing and you're probably thinking "Oh yeah, waters in Heaven, Zack, whoop-de-stinkin-do." To me, though, that was just really cool. God referenced Heavenly waters in Genesis, and I had missed it until now. These waters that God gathered in Heaven way back in Genesis are the same waters that God promises to His people through both Isaiah and Jesus Himself:

"Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters.
You who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me
listen, that you may live."
- Isaiah 55:1-3

Through Isaiah, God uses the waters of Heaven as an invitation to those who are lost and need the LORD, and advise them to stop investing themselves in worldly desires that do not satisfy the soul like only the waters of His love can.

"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
-Jesus Christ (John 4:14)

Here we see God again inviting His people to drink of His waters. Not only that, but we see Him consistently making a separation between what Earthly and Heavenly satisfaction. In the beginning God set His waters aside with a purpose and plan in mind. He new that only they can truly give eternal joy, satisfaction, and life. He separated them from our own with the infinite expanse of the Heavens, and advises us to do the same with our own desires. We must greatly distance ourselves from the unfulfilling desires of this world that and cling to His waters and His Kingdom. Any other desire will disappoint us and trap us and corrupt us. This isn't an easy task, and we cannot do it without Christ! But what joy is there in thinking of the great expanse of God's living, Heavenly waters, and how He invites us to drink of it and live! He hovers over us to give us love and support when we call on Him. He intricately and carefully designed us. He offers us and promises us His waters, with which we will thirst no more, hurt no more, and suffer no more.

I thought when I started reading Genesis 1 I would be going back to the basics. Wrong! Right from the start, God is working miracles and preparing a place for me, for us. Working hard to make sure He is there when we need Him. How great is our God?

[Genesis 2] I could spend so much time sharing how fascinating this chapter is to me. It's basically a more detailed account of the creation of man and woman. The scene that is described is so incredible:

"the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of them man, and he brought her to the man."
-Genesis 2:21,22

It reminds me almost immediately of a surgery scene, where a physician will use anesthesia and operate on a patient while they are sleeping. This is written way before the idea of putting someone to sleep for surgery (or even the idea of surgery itself) were even thought of, so we can be absolutely sure the person who is narrating this book (presumably Moses) is not making this up (I would never suggest that any part of the Bible is made up, but Genesis and the creation story get attacked so frequently by atheists that it is so sweet and legit and satisfying to note scriptures that can be used to combat those claims). There is something incredibly awesome about this scene though...

Many people have said that men have one less rib because of the creation of women. It's a myth that is certainly not true, though something even more amazing IS true: the rib is the only bone in the body that can be used to reconstruct damaged bone and...... (drum roll please...).... regenerates itself. That's right! In fact, physicians today use the bone in reconstructive surgeries. The rib has to be removed perfectly in order for it to grow back, but hey, we're talking about the Great Physician here, aren't we? He does all things perfectly (He even says so after each step in creation, calling His work "good.") and takes great pride in His work.

After reading that verse and reflecting on research I had come across, I couldn't help but just sit there in awe of His glory and wisdom and perfect design.

I think I'll stop there and pick back up in a little while. On the seventh day God rested and probably just admired it all and let it sink in. Let us do the same! Rest, and let God's perfection and glory sink in. Seek His waters and drink of them. Rest peacefully, knowing his eyes are watching over you. Rest in Him, loved and cared for.

Isn't our God amazing?