Zac's Site

So, first thought of the week is "I haven't blogged since last Monday." I think I have an excuse for that though, I preached on Wednesday and Saturday, and Thursday I gave blood (which ended up turning into an all-day thing.) But here is what I've been thinking lately.

Bible

INVEST in your BIble-reading! Invest time, invest money, invest your presence (no distractions!)

Don't just read your Bible, but make it CENTRAL to your life, make it URGENT and give it the importance that it deserves (it's not every day that the Creator of the Universe writes a book.)

On Thursday, I was unexpectedly stranded in Morelia almost all day (more on that in a second.)  I realized that in my hurry to leave my house, I had forgotten my notebook! So, instead of saying "too bad" I bought a fairly nice notebook, as well as a nice pen, and just read my Bible and took notes. Give EVERYTHING to spend time with God!

Blood

I was unexpectedly stranded in Morelia last Thursday. I was asked to give BLOOD for a friend's brother, and I said I would. Now, let me tell you, my biggest fear involves people sticking needles in me and stealing my bodily fluids. Or, in simpler terms, I'm a wuss when it comes to giving blood. But I gave it anyways.

This isn't about me being better than you, because this was something I had to remind myself, but how can I say I'm a Christian if I'm not willing to bleed for a friend?

How can I say I'm a Christian if I'm not willing to bleed for someone (friend or unknown person,) that Christ bled for?

Maybe it's not literally giving your blood, but how can we be Christ followers if we're not willing to sacrifice our comfort for a stranger?  (I plan on doing a full-length blog on the subject in the near future... aka next two weeks.)

Surprises

Sometimes it's fun to do something unexpected. Surprise yourself.

Have I mentioned that I was stranded in Morelia last week?  

I COULD have complained, or been bummed out about the loss of time that I could have spent making money or preparing for my teaching on Saturday, BUT I enjoyed myself immensely! 

I decided I was going to seek God, and just have a good day. I found this small diner on this street that I had never walked down before. It was pretty much empty, and one of my rules is to never eat in a place where there aren't many people. However, I had to go to the bathroom, and I was really hungry (and the prices were really good,) so I decided to risk it.

I took a long time to just read my Bible there. I put some worship music on my Ipod, and I just focused on God. It was really cool, and the fact that I was doing something different was so refreshing from the same-old same-old routine.

I also decided to walk as far as possible that day, so I was able to stop and admire parts of Morelia when before I had merely driven past them.

Take time for surprises, take a day off from life!

Money

I've now kept track of my money for the past two weeks.  The good news is that I'm making SLIGHTLY more than I'm spending (and that's after setting aside 45% for essential non-essentials.) So basically, I can live on 55% of the money I make, when I'm not making a lot. It's HARD WORK keeping track of the money one spends! I was a money nazi, and I still somehow managed to miss 110 pesos of expenses!  A friend helped me remember most of it, but there's still about 50 pesos (4 dollars) of unaccounted for money. It might not sound like a lot, but considering the fact that I don't make a lot to begin with, it's a sizeable percentage (5-7%!) If I'm living on 55%, I need to know where every cent(avo) is going! 

But; all-in-all I'm really liking keeping track of my money. I've been wiser spending it, and I don't feel the classic "So WHERE exactly did all my money go?" I can give a 90% accurate report of every dollar I earned and spent.

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Wow, I talk a lot. That's it for this week, I probably won't be able to blog AT ALL because of this conference that I'm going to, but I'll definitely have lots to talk about after the conference!

So, in the spirit of continual blogging, (the 21 day challenge is over, but the love of blogging continues!) I've decided that Monday will now be Monday Madness.  

Basically, it'll be about different ideas that are bouncing around in my head. Some may be turned into blogs at some point in the future, but for now this is how I'll be sharing what's inside my head.

Books!

I have seven books on my desk that need to be read, as well as a few books on my desktop that also should be read/finished. These will most likely be talked about more in depth later, so I won't list names or anything like that. "Leaders are Readers" is pretty much the motto that I'm trying to apply to my life right now, so that means I need to buckle down and start reading! 

Money!

So, keeping track of my money has definitely helped curb my crazy spending. Yes, I've only been at it for 5 days, but in those 5 days I've only spent 25 pesos (2 dollars,) whereas I've set aside 300 pesos (27 dollars) from the money that I've made. I'm going to be giving periodic updates for anyone who cares, and I'll also work on making a really cool, but very SIMPLE, balance sheet for anyone who is interested in working on saving money (and spending it more wisely) with me!

Change!

 Change brings... change. It can be positive, it can be negative, but when there is a big change in one area of your life/organization, there will almost always be other areas that are changed or restructured. It's good to be ready for (unexpected) changes, so that if the opportunity arises you'll be able to implement other changes as well. (A dumb example: your internet goes out. If you weren't planning on changing your internet habit, you'd be upset and frustrated. If you're planning on reading more books, perhaps this unexpected change is the perfect opportunity to apply other changes to your life.)

Future Wife!

Last Monday I wrote "A Note to my Future Wife." It really got me thinking about whether or not I'm prepared, or getting prepared, to enter such a serious relationship. So I've started to pray for specific things for my "Future Wife" during my devotional time. Sometimes it's something that comes to mind that has nothing to do with the text that I'm reading, and sometimes I basically pray for her what the Bible is saying to me. 

That's pretty much all that's going on in my head. I don't tell you these things to brag, but merely to let you know what's going on in my life and in my head. This will more than likely turn into an every-Monday post, so see you next Monday with more random thoughts and ideas :)

We've been blogging for 21 days at BlogADay... I haven't been super faithful like I should have, but life is crazy, especially on the weekends because I stay at another family's house. 

A lot has happened in these 21 days, I guess writing about it and being more observant really helps you notice all the changes. I've noticed a lot of faults in my life, and I've started to work on them. I'm not perfect, but dang it am I close! (Ok, I lied. I'm not close.)  People have been SO honest on some of their blogs, I really feel like I know some of these people, including my own grandma, more than ever thanks to these blogs.  Also, the pastor of 14 years of one of the churches that I help in just left.  The leaders are still in shock, and the rest don't even know what's happened. From what I've heard and pieced together, he's leaving to help in another church. It was a healthy split, but it's still going to hurt a lot of people.

But more than anything else, I'm glad that I was able to be able to blog alongside a ton of people that I really care about. It was fun "sharing life" with a bunch of people, talking about 1001 different topics. I'd really like to see BlogADay repeated, and made bigger, but I don't think I'll be organize anything like this until after summer break, it's HARD to be encouraging people and reading their blogs and writing my own blogs with the craziness that is my life.

I want to thank everyone who has been reading these blogs, and writing the other blogs, and especially those of you who have been so encouraging to me! 

The end is only the beginning! I'll still be blogging, perhaps not as consistently right now, but I'm not going to disappear!

/End the first-ever BlogADay challenge... wait for the next one!

And it was rather strange.

It was January 22, and it's the only dream that I've written down all year.  I wish I had written more about it, and sooner, but I was thinking about what to blog about, and I thought this would be good (especially since the people in my dream haven't heard about this yet.

I dreamed that I was in the set of a movie as an extra, playing a student.  Amanda Tenney was there, saying "I was in the movie about your hair!" (In my dream it was obvious that she was joking, and I immediately thought of Beverly Hills Chihuahua when she said that to me... and I actually WAS an extra in that movie!)

Kenzie was one of the extras, and a friend named Tirso was there. When the dream started, we all ran out as if we were celebrities. There was a girl there, and I felt like I knew her.

At the end of the dream, I had left a notebook on the floor as the take ended.  We all went inside this small room to start filming again. I felt lonely and wanted to have a gf.  They brought us some white sheets and pillows to sit on, because someone complained about the floor.

/end dream

I really wish I remember more, it all felt so real and vivid; I hardly ever wake up remembering my dream! And I thought I'd share it with all of you today :)

The end.

I've been waking up before 7 AM for the last couple of weeks (working on getting up earlier, but I go to bed too late.)

I feel good. I'm more energetic, even though I work like a madman at the gym and I wake up early(ish.)  It's easier to read my Bible (after working out, I'm a bit of a zombie before working out, I'm hoping that'll change as well.)  

Lots of small life-changes going on, it's really exciting. I don't know if it's coming from the consistent waking up earlier, or the consistent Bible reading, but I feel that God is waking me up from this stupor that I've been living in.

Here are the main things that have changed, maybe one will help you.

1. Consistent Bible reading. I'm reading one Psalm, one Proverb, one chapter of Acts, one chapter of the leadership-ish books of the Bible (1/2 Timothy, Titus) and one chapter of the book that I'm teaching from (Ruth.)  I've gone through Ruth 9 times already, I'm well into my second reading of Acts and Proverbs, and I'm on Proverbs 36.  Consistent Bible reading = da bomb.

2. Consistently waking up earlier, and going to the gym. Those 40-60 mins in the gym give me an incredible energy throughout the day. Combine that with my Bible reading, and by the time I step out the door, I'm ready to face the world!

3. I just started this yesterday, so I can't talk about it with a ton of experience, but better money handling. I am writing down every single thing I spend money on, and I definitely noticed yesterday that I didn't buy some junk that I wanted to, because I knew I was going to write it down.

That actually brings me to my last thought. Sometimes breaking one bad habit by itself (let's say junk-food eating in my case,) is actually EASIER while creating a good habit that has something to do with your bad habit (I want to control my money and stop buying junk food. It's easier to break the bad habit when the good habit is helping me along.)

My website not be working tomorrow, I know you'll miss me. I'll just talk more on Facebook :)

This isn't going to be a long post, I just want to share a verse that I really think God is giving me for this time of growth and change.

"Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer." -- Proverbs 30:25 

An ant doesn't have a lot of ability. Sure, he can lift 20 times his own body weight, but he has the brain with 1/40,000th the amount of brain cells, and he only lives 45-60 days.

I may not be able to lift something that weighs 3700 pounds, but I've got a way bigger brain, and I'm going to live about 420 times longer than an ant will. (YAY math. I didn't think I'd get to use math, I'm excited now.)

God is calling me to be faithful in the little that I have, just like an ant is faithful in the little that he has.  I may not make a lot, but I DO make money. I may not be really talented, but God HAS given me talent in certain areas.

I'm going to start saving, and being responsible with my money above and beyond my weekly tithe and offering (right now I'm saving 25% of the money I make, I hope to change my habits so I can save even more!)

I have 200 pesos (20 dollars) saved right now, but I just started today. I'm going to be faithful with the little I have (money, time, talent, etc.,) and I'm going to trust that God will bring bigger and better things my way.

We're creatures of little strength, but God has given us big ol' brains, and a long time to learn!

Respect your country like a soldier.
Love others like a hippie.

Believe the Bible like a fundamentalist.
Believe in the Holy Spirit like a charismatic.

 Those thoughts came to me on the bus a few days ago. So often we fall into the trap of thinking "if I do/feel like this, that means I can't do/feel that." A person who thinks peace and love is the answer, yet is willing to sacrifice his life in a war? That's not normal! 

A person who reads the Bible, believes it, believes certain things are inherently wrong, yet spends time with the people who live those lifestyles? That's just not right! (Jesus, you spent time with sinners, WHAT? That's just not socially acceptable!)

Prejudices (closed minds) keep us from living in fullness. I've had discussions with friends, especially regarding spiritual/biblical matters, who have told me I'm weird. I believe the Bible is infallable, perfect, and should be read and learned, but I also believe in "the weird stuff." With so many people, it seems like it's one or the other.

You can love others, OR you can fight for your country. Someone who loves people wouldn't kill people.

You can accept people as they are, OR believe in the Bible (don't get me started on people who claim to be Christians and can't love people! That is, to me, the highest form of being IMBALANCED!)

I should probably stop writing before I start preaching.

Be balanced people.

I'm not married (yet.)

I don't have a girlfriend (yet.)

But I really have learned alot about relationships, more than anything from books, pastors, and people in my lives that have either been good or bad examples. (No names will be called, so don't worry!)

So this is for you, my future wife. You may not even speak English, but I'm writing this thinking about you (whoever you are.)

A note to my future wife

I want to start this off honestly. I won't be able to love you perfectly. I probably won't even be able to love you that well. But I know that Jesus will give me a love for you that will be something beautiful, something perfect in its imperfection.

I probably won't be much smarter than I am right now (sorry, it's your fault for marrying me.) But I will seek wisdom; I will seek it from my parents, from my leaders, from my pastors. I will do my best to be the man you deserve me to be.

I don't know what you'll look like, what your personality will be like, but I'm sure that you're going to be my better half. I'm complete in Christ, and I don't want you to complete me. I want you to better me, to be with me, to share life together in the deepest, most meaningful way possible.

I wanted to warn you about a few things as well: I'm not perfect. You might think so (love is blind, right?) but I'm not. I sin, I mess up, and I've got issues (ask my sisters, they're really honest.) I'm working on them, I'm seeking God's transformation, but I'm never going to be perfect. 

So I'll make you a deal; respect me even when I don't deserve it, and I'll love you even when I'd rather pull out my hair. I'm pretty sure it's not going to be a walk in the park, but I know that, in God's timing, it'll be the best roller-coaster ride of our lives.

So, future wife, I'm praying for you. I'm doing everything possible to arrive at our wedding night the best man that I can possibly be. Also, I can't wait to see you in your wedding dress... Unless I'm a millionaire when we marry, I hope your Dad pays for it.

Anxiously awaiting the day we meet,

Zac

This is going to be super-short... you can sigh in relief right now.

I've been noticing that my annoying friend vanity has been showing up quite frequently.  

Two examples:
1. Being super excited that I got 7 likes on one of my blog posts (probably the most anyong has ever liked anything of mine!) 
2. Being glad that I was re-tweeted (for the uninitiated, someone re-posted what I said on twitter.)  To make it even cooler/lamer, it was this flash game developer... 

Who cares? People either take an extra two seconds to click the "like" button, or someone thinks that I'm slightly funnier than the rest... that's what really matters to me?

I don't like vanity. I don't like posting this, hoping you'll either love this post or love what I'm saying. Because, honestly, if you're still reading, it already proves that your tastes aren't that great!

So, I have an idea...

"Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

Because, seriously... He. Chose. Me.

I didn't REALLY choose Him. He softened my heart and gave me the desire to seek Him. 

He designed me to be the way I am (minus all the flaws.)

He chose my parents, the place I'd be born, the house I'd be raised in.

He brought me to Mexico.

What did I do? Pretty much nothing.

So, maybe being vain isn't ALWAYS bad, as long as we're vain in the Lord.

Let's stop bragging and worrying about ourselves, and start bragging about the God of the Universe who for some reason chose us to be His children.