The New Years Spill

Forget the 15 things you need to do list or the personality quizzes and the 20 signs you grew up in the 90's post. Cut your own path with a machete and get chainsaws for when things get really thick. Life is learned by living and by learning from those who have lived. Choose your wisdom and where it comes from wisely, which means get off the internet and go talk to older people. People that are kinda older and then go hang out in retirement homes before the World War II vets are all gone. Be brave but not stupid, courageous and not a fool. Fight with passion, train your mind as a weapon and love your enemy as yourself. Don't 75% anything in life. Give all you can. If God is your shield and salvation, you are provided for and thus blessed to bless others. If He is the never ending source of living water, you should, by default, be a an everlasting spring from which He flows. Make sure others know that. Don't get cheap, don't sell cheap, and don't promote cheap. Make something worth your breath and worth others' time. Spending less money has never made a man richer. Be strong. Be fast. Be smart. Love without condition and without expectations.

Worn-Out Shoes

So here's a quick little bit about shoes from yours truly. I don't own a lot of shoes. I think i can count the pairs of shoes i own on both my toes, and even then you'll only ever see me wear two or three of those. The others are for Weddings and Funerals. At any rate, i will wear a pair of shoes i like until they are literally falling apart. I don't mean the hey these look dirty and the shoe laces are a little scuffed up falling apart, but the real life oh look i can see my foot right there worn out falling apart. I've had shoes make it well into 18 months of wear, which is saying something if you know anything about the kind of lifestyle i live. My wife kinda gives me a hard time about how abusive and generally ungraceful i am with man-made objects (which is why i rarely vote for the cheapest thing i can find. Those break/tear/shred/destroy the fastest). Right now, i'm about to have to call it a day on a pair of shoes i ordered in February of 2013. When i got hired on at the pharmacy and i knew i'd be somewhere clean for 8-10 hours 5 days out of the week, i was ready to give minimalist shoes a run for their money. Not even close to disappointed. While doubling as my workout shoes, this particular pair has become some of the most comfortable pair of shoes i have ever owned in my life. I could go 24 hours in these shoes without sitting down and not even begin to complain about my feet hurting. Run, walk, jump, lift, whatever the life demand given and challenge presented, i'd do it wearing these shoes. Which is why it breaks my heart to have to go find a new pair and ask God that they be as amazing as these because that would be the best. There is no price for comfort. So let yourself be that kind of person. We like to tell God who we will and who we won't be, but truth be told God has put 100% of himself in every single person ever made ever and now and ever after. Like a shoemaker, he's made lots of different types of shoes but you better believe every one of us has a life-time guarantee on us. Then sin gets in the picture and pulls out some of the threads but that's where the Shoe Maker steps in with His guarantee and puts it all together for free. But back to the main point. You have been made to be the best, to take the beatings that walking and running and living bring and do it with style. We are the comfort makers, and the best shoes are the ones that you don't even realise you're wearing and that you kind of cry about when it's time to let them go. Matter to yourself, matter to your friends, be something of quality because He made you with quality and intention and that makes you top-of-the-line material my friends. zt

Twas the Night Before

Tonight was a big night for my wife and I. She's graduating tomorrow from college, which she has worked extremely hard for, both to complete and to pay for. I couldn't be married to a harder working individual, who puts 110% into everything even when it's a thank you card to a seven year old. Seriously people. Don't ask for something from Starlyn unless you want everything.

The calm before the storm. Applebee's draws a fun crowd on rainy Sunday nights. Once the family arrived, the fun began. Some of these people have been years since Starlyn has seen them, so it was special treat. I'd say something about it being the first time i'd ever met them at all, but this blog isn't about me. But i will say that i like them and they're excellent dinner company.

Oh, and Applebee's knows how to name one of the most masculine and delicious sounding dishes around.

This is Tiffany with Starlyn. Tiffany shot guns in a war and is a fantastic person to talk to you. Kind and gentle. But seriously, don't mess with her.

Starlyn and her sister. One of the last pictures we got of the night and one of the best. Winning smiles all around.

Choice Vocabulary

There is a word that you will be hard pressed to hear me say: Cannot. In any form of itself or its contractions, cannot is not a word that is acceptable to say, much less to contemplate. If it has to be said, it must be in the context of "i cannot... yet." There is a limiting factor in that word that indicates a lack of effort to even discover whether you can do it or not. This ficitional-yet-incredibly-wise alien named Yoda once said, "Do not try. Do. Or do not. There is no try." The thinkings are linked by the indescribable courage it takes to discover your boundaries, not create them. I am of the creed and cloth that my physical, mental, and spiritual limitations are well known to me by my constant interaction with each limit, not my casual observance of what they may or may not be. Paul wrote, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Motivational? You bet. Should you go try to do the hardest thing ever in the whole world right away? Maybe. I would caution a fair bit of preparation, but only because prayer = preparation and that matters when you may not have time to close your eyes and say grace in a particularly sticky situation. The lesson is to know your limits and not be afraid of them. Get better every day at loving God, loving others as you would love yourself. Freedom is love without condition.

Life Lessons You Learned When You Were Six

When I learned how to ride a bike, i was given one piece of advice: "Zach, only look where you want to go. Don't focus on the stuff that will make you wreck. You'll only end up riding into it." About two minutes after my dad told me this, i promptly rode into a creek bed off the side of the road. You'll never guess what i was trying to NOT ride into. As i was mountain biking with my buddy today, that lesson came back to my mind with ringing clarity. The trail we rode was not particularly difficult, but there were definitely moments when if you lost your cool you'd go and fall of the side of a ledge or small mountain and be in some serious trouble. I know how to ride a bike and handle myself accordingly, but this trail required that i focus on what was important in order to ride successfully. If i spent too much time worrying about what was on the other side of the burm instead of focusing on coming out of it, i would just about wreck myself and go flipping over the turn into a tree. Lesson learned. Later in the day, we had to sheer adrenaline-rushing joy of riding a 3.5 mile downhill portion. When i say downhill, i do mean down a hill like a rocket with solid fuel resources. We were cooking. Never mind that we were on the side of a mountain and a wrong move to one side would send into a tree or into a ravine. Don't worry about that. Just focus on the foot wide trail in front of you and you'll be just fine. If you look where you want to go, you will surely go there. Life lesson application: LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO AND NOT AT THE OTHER STUFF ALL AROUND YOU. We like to blame the Devil for distracting us from the purposes of God, but seriously people, we're the ones looking. The only way anything becomes a distraction is if YOU take YOUR focus off of the goal and start going another direction. If we keep our gaze set on the straight and the narrow, there is no difficulty remaining on it. You will follow your gaze. Some people say it's hard to stay concentrated on the path ahead, but they've obviously never smashed into a tree at 8 miles an hour or flipped heels over head over the handlebars into a pile of rocks. You learn quick that lack of focus merits painful consequences. Keep your eyes set on the path of righteousness, and all that garbage won't even be an issue. They certainly won't go away, but you're not concerned with those things. You have made yourself about the Father's business and you know that the only safety lay in obedience.

Working from your Rest

Rest Day. As an active human being, rest days were hard for me at first. I always want to be doing, doing, doing and just keep on doing. I once heard a speaker boast on not seeing himself as a "human being" but a "human doing." I thought that was cool and immediately applied it to my own life. Mistake. A group of friends that I meet with on Monday nights has been reading through a book that is all about discipleship. Typically, i'm skeptical about any leadership or "do it better this way" books that come my way because there seems to be way too many books out there for any one of them to be the right way. Yet this book has proven me wrong and has some intense wisdom that is sometimes difficult to swallow and even more difficult to apply. One of the ideas the authors flip around is that we tend to rest from our work, not work from our rest. They draw the example that while God indeed completed creation in 6 days and then rested on the 7th, our FIRST day was also that first day of rest. After that, we were given our responsibilities and duties as garden caretakers. Fast forward to now, and we treat rest as a somewhat-necessary aspect of life. We sleep when we're tired, we stop when we crash, and do not make an over-reaching effort to plan rest into our lives. Not a good thing. For all intensive purposes, we were made to rest. Our bodies respond well to rest, to sleep, to spending time just being. So our good book authors lay out this plan to change the attitude towards rest: work FROM your rest. That means that your rest is your springboard, not your stretcher. Instead of recovering, you are preparing to move forward. It is profound in the understanding that it now makes my "day off" my "active resting day." The obvious question in all this is, "well, what counts as resting?" So we talk about the idea that rest doesn't always mean that you're just on your duff sitting around, but that you are recreating. Let's break that word down: re-creating. It is time spent starting back at the beginning. Letting your soul and body heal in the ways they need to. For me, prayer and time with my Daddy are the best things i can do to re-create my own self. To get in touch with my Father in Heaven means getting a little headspace in a way that most people don't really see as resting: I put on my shorts and t-shirt to exercise. Whether it is running, lifting weights, Crossfit, swimming, stretching, or just a good walk in the woods this is the place where i inhale my Papa's presence and spend some time with Him one on one. A great many discussions can happen during this communion and carry me through my day. I've been actively engaging God in this way for several months now, and i cannot even begin to tell you what it has done for my relationship with God. My time with Him is precious and i wake up ready for it, ready to engage with Daddy time. Some people do great with a good book or journal, their bible and a quiet room. This kid does better with a barbell followed by eggs and a Bible. It's how i've been created. On the end note, today was one of the full rest days, physically and spiritually. No weights, just a light walk and some stretching while listening to worship music. Tomorrow i am ready to resume training for this life and to continue again with getting to know my Pappy better than i did today. His presence is what i crave.

Don't think about it. Just do it.

A little wisdom today from a weightlifting coach (who shall remain unnamed): "Don't think about it. Just do it. Do your thinking before you walk up to the bar. After that, you're done. Thinking about it any more won't help a single thing." Now, for those you unfamiliar with my hobbies and extra activities, i've kind of got this thing for olympic weightlifting. To wrap it up in a tortilla and serve it easy, the movements involved in olympic weightlifting are the best blend of simplicity and complexity i can think of. Every aspect counts, but it can't be done slowly or meticulously. It is by far the most controlled explosion of pure energy generated by the human body in direct opposition to resisting weight. As such, there is no such thing as too much practice. Repetition. Emphasis. Focusing on small transitions in order to secure the larger lift altogether. If you're a little off at any point, the rest is impacted in profound ways that, more often than not, dirty up the finish. So my current coach always reminds me to think about what i'm going to do before i walk up to the bar, but once i lock in, stop thinking and DO. If you think too much once you're in the situation, you'll probably be focusing on one part too much and miss another. Thus, you need to have what you're going to do already in mind before you get there. It reminds me of life in a lot of ways of how my relationship with God impacts the way i live. There's this crucial rhythm of spending time in prayer and meditation but also exercising those things that are gained in the quiet moments. I can spend days and weeks in my mind working the things of God out, but if i never 'step up to the bar' and exercise what i've been processing, there is never any real growth. God gave us his Word to LIVE by, not just to read. Isn't it ironic that we allow the path God sets before us to remain there, pumping ourselves up with motivational scripture with some words of the saints and other dead theologians thrown in there without ever actually walking the path. If we do set foot to follow our Lord, we can start to meticulously and selfishly criticizing the little parts of our walk. Did i do that right? Did i say the right thing? It's a selfish inspection comparing ourselves not to the words of God but to the standards of people who write a Law of Letters and not of Grace. With practice and learning, i should begin to know what is right and what is wrong simply because it is out of line with my relationship with God. The very moment there is disconnect it should be a red flag to correct form and step into the light. The Holy Spirit is our connect to God, and if there is some break in how we live we will feel that tug of His Love saying, "Hey, where are you? Why are you hiding?" Those famous Words from the Garden ring throughout eternity. There is no condemnation in it, only a longing for a pure connection without interruption. When you hit a lift with every movement in the right place, reacting at the right moments in the right direction, "heavy" is no longer the word used for the weights you lifted. But should you be a little off in any particular, you'll have extra work for yourself. Wasted energy. As the weight does increase, you will eventually fail where you should have succeeded, but could not simply because of a lack of excellence in form. Walk in line with your Lord and listen to His Words of correction when you are out of form. For where we should fail on our own strength, the glory could be given to God in seeing His wisdom come to fruition.