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!