The Man That Thinks He Can

If you think you are beaten, you are;

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you'd like to win, but think you can't

It's almost a cinch you won't.If you think you'll lose, you've lost.

For out in the world we find

Success begins with a fellow's will:

It's all in his state of mind.If you think you're outclassed, you are:

You've got to think high to rise,

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You'll ever win that prize.Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But sooner or later the man who wins

Is the one who thinks he can.

Communication

“If speech were to stop, all civilized living would suddenly vanish.” Out of the twenty eight possible paragraphs I chose this one. The shortest one, with only eleven words one would think to overlook it right away. For it would be easy to think that there is simply just not enough material here to write a good reflection, but I beg to differ. Reread this statement again; “If speech were to stop, all civilized living would suddenly vanish.” As soon as I read this statement my mind was drawn to Genesis 11: 1-9  “Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused[a] the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.” 

Language is such a powerful part of society, in fact I would take that a step further to say that language, words, and communication are what keeps society in full function.  In verse six it says how  The Lord came down and had saw what the people with only one language had done and how nothing would be impossible for them as long as they could communicate. Think about the life of Helen Keller. This was a girl they described as incurable, problem some, a wasted cause. Ann Sullivan saw the root of the problem, a lack of communication. After failing time and time again it finally clicked for Helen. When communication played into Helen’s life she accomplished many great things and left this world better off for it. I picked this topic because of the significance of it, like it says “all civilization would vanish.” Without our words and actions we have zero chance at running an effective economy.

Love These Emails

Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. 

Your challenge is to accept yourself as less than perfect and don't be afraid of letting someone down.  You are still valuable as a person, even if you fail.  It is through our failures that we learn how to be successful.  Hard work earns the respect of others and overcomes failures.  Do me a favor and go out and practice and play like your're not afraid of making a mistake.  You are going to get called out on things, but what they're really looking for is to see if you can work and get better.  You've got the talent you just need to overcome the challenges in your mind.  You can do that!!!!  And in doing that, you will have more peace and joy in every aspect of your life.  
Maybe find some quotes you like and hang them in your locker or put them on your phone as a constant reminder.  
I love you!   
Mom

A Mom Thing

This past week has been so incredibly busy for me! From sun up to sun down its football. That's a lot of football. Being that my mom is so great she sends me these daily emails with thoughts of the day kind of theme. This one is awesome. Being that it is so awesome I want to share it with you guys:

There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. –Aristotle
Criticism can help us to reflect, self evaluate and push us to grow!!

Also, here's a thought for you today....

Jock vs Nerd

$ Michael Jordan having "retired," with $40 million in endorsements, makes $178,100 a day, working or not.
$ If he sleeps 7 hours a night, he makes $52,000 every night while visions of sugarplums dance in his head.
$ If he goes to see a movie, it'll cost him $7.00, but he'll make $18,550 while he's there.
$ If he decides to have a 5 minute egg, he'll make $618 while boiling it.
$ He makes $7,415/hr more than minimum wage.
$ He'll make $3,710 while watching each episode of Friends.
$ If he wanted to save up for a new Acura NSX ($90,000) it would take him a whole 12 hours.
$ If someone were to hand him his salary and endorsement money, they would have to do it at the rate of $2.00 every second.
$ He'll probably pay around $200 for a nice round of golf, but will be reimbursed $33,390 for that round.
$ Assuming he puts the federal maximum of 15% of his income into a tax deferred account (401k), his contributions will hit the federal cap of $9500 at 8:30 a.m. on January 1st.
$ If you were given a penny for every 10 dollars he made, you 'd be living comfortably at $65,000 a year.
$ He'll make about $19.60 while watching the 100 meter dash in the Olympics, and about $15,600 during the Boston Marathon.
$ While the common person is spending about $20 for a meal in his trendy Chicago restaurant, he'll pull in about $5600.
$ This year, he'll make more than twice as much as all U.S. past presidents for all of their terms combined.
Amazing isn't it?  However...
$ If Jordan saves 100% of his income for the next 450 years, he'll still have less than Bill Gates has today.
$$$ Game over.  Nerd wins.

Love, Mom

Gotta love moms emails! Hope you guys are blessed throughout the day, love Zane

Reflection Monday 9

It only takes one drop to start an insurmountable current, and it only takes one person to start a revival.

Prayer Request

Today we officially checked into fall camp which is awesome. I am definitely ready to try and show everyone what I got, but at the same time the nerves are starting to set in little by little. So I want to ask for your prayers. Prayers that my body will hold up and that God would give me the ability to preform at the highest level that I possibly can in order to bring glory to HIS name not mine. Thank you so so much for your prayers!

In Love- Zane

Summer Workouts

So tomorrow is our last summer conditioning day and I can not be more excited for it! This summer has been a wake up call to say the least. A lot of sweat, a lot of pain, and ALOT of hard work. Part of me wishes that I did stay home to enjoy my summer with family and friends, but the more that I think about it, the more that I realize is how that would have been the easy way out. That sure as heck would have been a lot more comfortable for me then being up here working like a dog all summer, but would it have been beneficial? You see as the end of summer approaches fast more and more freshman are coming in and slowly starting to go to workouts. They look like me on my first week. In pain. Therefore I am soooo glad that I gave up my summer to be up here to workout. In our walks there is one of two roads that we can take. We can stay in the comfort of our house and enjoy our "vaycay" or we can walk into the lions den where we may not be comfortable and in may seem impossible, somewhere where we can hardly find the strength to take another step. You see when we put in the work we see results. We become an insurmountable current ready to take out any mud bank that lies before us, overturn every pebble. So while the work may cause you to sacrifice your time, effort, money, and resources.....when we start to see that light at the end of the tunnel we still have the strength to sprint through that finish line without letting up.

Reflection Tuesday?

Mowing Straight Lines

So the other day my dad asked me to mow the yard. Besides the fact that it was a hundred degrees outside I had no problem doing it. Infact I actually enjoy mowing my yard. The neighbors.....not so much, probably because I sing along to my iPod way to loud! The one thing that drives me crazy when I am mowing is when the lines aren't straight. IT DRIVES ME INSANE!!! The downside about this being the thing that bugs me is how unbelievable impossible it is. Lots of factors play into this. The wind, an uneven mowing surface, an itch, or even a sweat bead can throw you off your game. You can imagine my frustration. Until I figured out the key that is. The key to mowing a straight line is not to look only a couple feet in front of the mower, but to instead shift your eyes directly down the line towards the end of the yard. (Warning the first couple of times you try this it may lead to extreme levels of anxiety) but after those intital moments of anxiety it becomes second nature. So as I was relaxing and partially laughing in my head thinking that I had defeated all of the worlds problems a car of friends drove into the neighborhood and laid on the horn. Quickly I looked up and threw up a wave. As I returned to my mowing I was horrified. You guessed it, my line was messed up. I think it is so easy for us like when we are mowing to just tend to look only a couple feet in front of our faith walks because looking far ahead my cause some anixety that we may not always want to burden. We tend to forget that the goal is to mow straight lines, not to only think about mowing them straight, but also like in the mowing we can never get to comfortable in our walks, we always have to keep moving towards the goal and when we do tend to relax and get comfortable we may take our eyes off of the prize. Paul said in 1 Corninthians 9: 24-27 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." When we mow our yards, or walk by faith, or even play scrabble all we can do is remember the goal at hand and put it into action and when we do that we end up with a nice yard and a happy Zane.

Busy Busy Busy

Of late I have been really caught up and busy! I came home for like 5 days and I have been trying to see everyone, unfortunately that leads to me forgetting certain things like my daily post! So I'll keep this one short and just ask you guys to really be praying for me to remember my priorities in life. Ya friendships are so special and needed but at the same time I really need to step back and ask myself what really is inportant in life to me. 

Music Friday 5

This song is so cool. Has made a bunch of my athletic warm-up CD's.

Zane Black

A Simple Post

Simple post today. I moved today, and to say the least I wasn't to excited to do so. You see all this summer I have been stayed in nice upperclassmen dorms that had air conditioning. Today I moved into poopy underclassman dorms with no air conditioning. Not cool. The one thing that did pick my sprits up was all of the help that I received and not just from my teammates. Almost everyone that I saw asked me if I needed any help. A random Grandma was parked close to the door and she offered to hold it open while I carried loads inside to my "prison cell." This shocked me, and it meant more to me then any of them will ever realize. Just that fact that they offered is incredible to me. I have found that when you really try to see the good in everyone, it almost never disappoints you.

A Running Redue

Today during our running workout some of the guys weren't finishing the drills all the way through the lines, this led to coach restarting the whole day, warmup and everything. Basically what was suppose to be an easier day of running turned into a harder one. The only good thing to come from this whole ordeal was that it got me thinking. Thinking about life and how we as human handle it. We were fortunate as a team in being able to make up the run and have a good workout, but in life are we that fortunate? At the end of your life you go one of two places. Heaven or Hell. The great part of that is that YOU get to decide that with a simple "Jesus is Lord and Savior of my life" or "This Jesus guy just isn't for me." Whichever one that you decide will reflect what Jesus says to you a the end of your life. Either "Well done good and faithful servant" or "Away from me I never knew you." He doesn't stand there and say "well you meant well and you did give ten percent. And lets not forget about every Christmas and Easter when you did go to church. Those were all outstanding and you did put semi effort into those. I'll give you another chance sport." One chance, one shot. Are there going to be times when you fail and don't give everything you have to him? All the time. But here is the great news. It isn't about winning or losing or even succeeding! It is about giving your life to God! It's about returning the art back to the artist. Not letting the story of the cross go untold. After the death of Jesus the Corinthians went "insane" they sold all of their possessions, gave away all of their money, and spread the word of God like a wild fire! Obviously that's not something we would do now because we need those things to survive. We need them to function. But didn't the Corinthians need them too? Wasn't wealth and eating and having a home to live in just as important back then? What's the difference? Why were they willing to sell everything and give it to the poor? They saw this guy named Jesus rise from the dead on the third day like he said he would and they realized that nothing matters except for this simple FACT that God has risen from the grave. They had to tell everyone and they realized that the things that were important to them at one point weren't so important to them anymore. Now if you and I  really believe, I mean truly believe that God is a living God, that he is not a distanced God, why do we work so hard to live "comfortably," it seems like we try to build up this really save and easy life so we never feel any pain or hurt. In life most people are going to try and find the least time consuming, minimal finical bounding easy way out. Good for them, but I don't want to go where most people are headed! I want to give till it hurts. I want blisters on my hands. I want to have to rely on God so much that I have to ask him for the strength to take another breath. I don't want to live comfy, that's for the people that are focused on the here and now only. I want to live radically, that is for those who are living for their next life. I only get one shot at this life, and I would do anything to hear Christ say "well done Zane."

Reflection Monday 7

Still proud?

Read The Flap, Not The Cover

So today I continued my church search process. One thing that I have realized in going to all of these different types of churches is how little I actually know. I find myself constantly calling my mom and my uncle with questions about what is "good" and what is "bad" about this and that denomination. And honestly there have been churches where I think "man I would really like to visit that one" but as I do more research on it I rule them out because of what their "reputation" might be. I am so glad that my God doesn't do this with me. While some of the raps that these churches may pertain possibly could be true they also may not even be close to what they believe. As a "non-denominational believer" I don't even think twice about clicking on the link to a Lutheran Church or a Catholic Church. In other would I judge the book by it's cover. We all do. I have a good friend named Colin who raised Mormon. If he where lets say on a road trip and wanted to go to a church would he pick a Catholic Church? No he would look for a Mormon Church because its what he knows. Same with all of us. We flock to what is familiar. But what if familiar isn't the best? I don't know if you know this about me but I am a really picky eater and it use to be terrible. I always liked noodles though, but there was something about the sauce that people put on the noodles that I didn't like. To be completely honest I never tried it. One day my mother talked me into trying noodles with Alfredo sauce. If you know me at all then you would know how much I LOVE noodles with Alfredo sauce. You see noodles with cheese is what was familiar to me, and at the time it seemed like it was the best thing for me. Then I tried noodles with Alfredo and while I like noodles with cheese still I prefer them with Alfredo now. This experience led me to try more types of sauces, some I liked. Some made me want to lick the dogs butt. Sometimes we get so caught up in label of "Catholic" or "Baptist" and etc....... that we don't stop to at least read the book flap in the front or the intro. I think we are called to be "spiritual rocks" and the great thing about a rock is that wherever people may throw that rock it will never lose its form. So whatever church I may be at in that moment if I am a "spiritual rock" I will never lose my form.

Messy Paint

I want you to make a list of your top five things that you like to do in your free time.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Got them? Here's mine...

1. Netflix

2. XBOX

3. Reading

4.Eating

5. Sleeping

I guess you could say that I'm a typical guy! You see I have been feeling very convicted by the spirt of late, I always find myself doing these activities. Now don't get me wrong here; there is absolutely nothing wrong with me doing these activities, it's the manner that I am conducting in these activities that is making me question myself right now. My whole 5 item list are what I would call "secondary joys" the reason that they are "secondary joys" is because Jesus Christ is my "primary joy." The same reigns true for you. Everyone's primary joy is a so-to-speak "God" of some sorts whether thats Jesus, or Allah, or even basketball. Everyone has a so-to-speak primary joy in their "God." Everything else that we do is a "secondary joy." Secondary joys are intended for us to enjoy. That's why God created them. For our pleasure. Of late my secondary joys have started to bridge the gap between them and my primary joys. This is a big problem. To give you a visual picture think of colors. Everything in your life is a color. So your "primary joy" lets say is yellow, and eating is green. XBOX is orange. Reading lets say is blue. Netflix is red of course and sleeping is brown. The list can go on and on. So right now there is a CLEAR gap between your "primary" joy and your "secondary" joy. All is good. But lets say that your "secondary" joys begin to bridge that gap between them and your "primary" joy. What happens? What happens when you mix every color together? It turns black. Black is a color of chaos and disarray. When we let our "colors" mix it's like telling God that Netflix or eating, or even breathing is just as important as he is. If we truly aim to make God number one in our lives it all starts with a good brush.....You are the brush.

Music Friday 4

Gifts come in all forms. Have a great day!

Prison Break

So for the past few weeks I have been totally obsessed with a show called Prison Break. It has captured my every moment of free time. 80 episodes total and I fished the last one about an hour ago. When you engage in such a show completely it totally captures your heart. You find yourself cheering for the guys that you like, on the other hand you find yourself yelling at the tv when something goes wrong! It's a delicate balance to say the least. The reason that I am posting this blog is not to give you some movie critic's analysis on the show, its to talk about literally the last 4 minutes out of the episode. Michael, the main character, is trying to break his wife Sara out of prison. When they reach the final door, the one barrier left standing in the way of their freedom it won't open. The only way to open it is to electrically override the system......manually. This will instantly kill the one who chooses to do so. Michael bites the bullet for his wife AND his soon to be son. This is a true and one of a kind example of a fathers love. Christ bit the bullet for me and you just like Michael did for his son and wife. A father's love is very special and very unique. Nothing on earth can compare to it. Its boundaries know no end and would go to any lengths for the ones that they love. True love knows no bounds.

Fulfilled

Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Jackson Blick -Bailey Cate

Today I am featuring a piece that my good friend Bailey Cate wrote about the Fremont car crash. This tragedy affected everyone in a different way, but to see the glimpse of sun peaking out from the clouds is what we all aim to do. Gone for now, but not forever. From Bailey Cate's eyes, Jackson Eric Blick.....

I finished my Biology final at 9am that Friday morning. My car was packed and my mom was on a flight to Dallas. I was to drive there to meet her so we could head home. I didn't say goodbye to half of my friends. I didn't want to believe my freshman year of college was over and that I was headed home for the summer. 

In my mind, heading home was weak. Most of my friends were packing for mission trips and summer camps while I was preparing to work three jobs and sacrifice my social life. I was less that an excited but thought to myself "my time to serve will come..."

I came home and began work about a week after arriving. I saw some old friends but hadn't really kept in touch with anyone. Things change as you grow up. 

Then, one night as I laid in bed sound asleep, my phone rang. It was my father. While it was not unusual for a him to call me at strange hours due to his night shift job, I knew when I answered the phone something was terribly wrong. He told me there had been an accident. That two boys were dead and two were in rough condition. 

My brothers and I didn't sleep much the rest of that night, nor did anyone in town. One of the boys who died was very special to our family-- the best friend to two of my brothers. The days that followed were not easy for anyone. We attended funerals for three 16 year old boys. Three intelligent, fun-loving, God-fearing boys. 

It was in the midst if this tragedy I got to see that God doesn't need us to travel the world to be doing Kingdom work. Where there are people hurting, there must be people serving. 

And so, I've spent a chunk of my summer with my "little sister." I would not have it any other way. The relationship we have is unlike any other. I've also been (trying) to be more patient with my own family and willing to spend my time with them over a prospective social outing. 

No, I didn't travel the world. I'm so thankful for my friends who did because God did incredible things in their lives and the lives of those they served. But I got to build my relationships on the homefront. I am so grateful I did. 

In the Bible, God tells us his plans for us are great (Jeremiah 29:11). Whether you are traveling the world, stuck in your hometown, at football camp, or your Meme and Papa's house all summer, God is using you as a vital part of His incredible story. 

Reflection Monday 6

Why is Christ's blood so powerful?

1 Corinthians 13:4-13

Yesterday in my post talked about love, but what is love?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

- 1 Cor 13:4-13

My favorite line in this whole verse is; "When I became a man, I put my childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face." You see God paints the perfect picture of love and what every aspect of love truly looks like....perfection. but as we "become men" we put our "childish ways" behind us as in, we grow up spiritually and we can see that our ways are far from perfect. We look in the mirror and we don't see this so called picture of love. "then we shall see face to face" This could mean a number of things and maybe I'm crazy with what it means to me but as I look in the mirror and I don't see this picture of love I realize I need some help so I turn to God and stop looking into the mirror, when I stop looking into the mirror I see God face to face and with God on my side I am able to achieve this picture of love.  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Wasted Love

Obviously the goal of any Christian is to reach everyone in the world with the good news of Jesus. But how do you tell everyone in the world the good news when they have their own version of the good news to tell you! You see I am so in love love with Jesus. And you just might be as well! But what about the Muslim the that is so in love with Allah or the Hindu that loves their Gods more then life itself? How do you possibly in the world tell them that they are wrong? If someone was to tell me that I was wrong about Jesus, that he was a liar. I would be ready to fight, so how do you tell someone so completely and utterly head over heels deep in love with their God that their life is meaningless without my God? They say that love is blind, and they were right. Think about that one person that you truly love. They can do no wrong in your eyes. So how do you convince someone that the God that they LOVE is actually a waste of time? This is the question that keeps me up at night. These questions are the ones that keep me going.

Music Friday 3

Today's post is something that hits home for everyone. Loss. "Save A Place For Me" by Matthew West reaches the depths of my heart when he opens the song........."Don't be mad, if I cry. It just hurts so bad sometimes. Cause everyday it's sinking in and I just have to say goodbye all over again." Earlier this summer my hometown Fremont, NE was hit hard with a tragic car crash the took the lives of three high school boys. To be honest I have dreaded this day ever since it happened. The day when I felt called to blog about it. All the emotions come flooding back in. How can you tell someone how to grieve a loss when you're not sure how to yourself? How can you be there for someone when you're three hours away? For me it was to try and keep myself occupied as much as possible so I didn't have time to think about it. But it's time to replace my tears with smiles. It's time for me to face these emotions head on. With music. Music can say everything that I want to but have no idea how to. Maybe there is something in your life that you just can't quite let go of. Maybe it's someone. Matthew West is singing to his loved ones "save a place for me, save a place for me. I'll be there soon, I'll be there soon. Save a place for me, save some grace for me. I'll be there soon, I'll be there soon."

We will be with them before we even realize it. "Cause Everyday it's sinking in..." everyday it sinks in the stronger we get. And when we don't have the strength to overcome this obstacle, or to make it up the hill just remember His hand is always outreached towards you. You just have to reach back....

Hill Night

Tonight was hill night for football. Hill night is hard to say the least. Now all of you reading this blog back in Fremont the sledding hill would have merely been the base of it. This thing is ginormous. For hill night we have four intense stations that test your gut, grit, determination, heart, and will. Then to end the whole thing we have "The Finisher." The finisher makes these four drills look like cake.  ALOT of vomit to say the least. But as I was running I came to the realization that every step I took became harder and harder. Every breath I so desperately gasped for became more distant. Every drill became my enemy. In between the sweat beads the covered my eyes and ears I heard coaches yelling to keep going, to keep moving. Guys being a Christian is like running up a hill. The obstacles and drills never seem to end and become over very nightmares. The people who mock you seem to take the very breath that you so desperately need right out of your chest. And the burning in your thighs never seems to pass. The hill tries to break us down mentally and physically. But the more we truck up the hill, the more we decide NOT to give into that little voice that tells us its ok to take a break and to sit down, or to even walk back down to the base of the hill the easier it gets.

                                    SATEN RUNS THIS HILL.............

And it drives him absolutely crazy when we don't give into his obstacles and drills, because the more drills we conquer, more people follow us as we continue up the hill. And through the tears and the pain. The doubt and the suffering. Through the moments when we can't pick another foot up off of the ground as we wipe the sweat and tear out of our eyes we can see the goal at hand. We can see what awaits us at the top of the hill. Isaiah 40:31 says "Those who hope in the Lord will RENEW their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint." When we cant take another step put your hope in the Lord and don't look back. Because Jesus is at the top of that hill, and he is so worth all of the pain and misery. The anguish and doubt. "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me." - John 14:6

Romans 5 1-5

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

My "Infamous" 1 Second

Have you ever thought why you do the things you do? Like why am I writing this blog, or why are you reading it? It is human nature to think that everything is about us. Believe it or not I'm not just talking about the conceded type either. I'm talking about the even most modest around. Have you ever been in a situation where you thought to yourself, "ok God what am I suppose to learn from this whole thing." Or "how can I turn this into a positive for myself." Now don't get me wrong here those are not bad or even ill hearted questions, but are they necessary? So often we tend to think that God did this and that and is doing this and that for me, but is he really. Now I constantly struggle with this topic because it is so easy to think that things revolve around you. In the book "Radical" by David Platt he addresses this topic in a totally relatable way. He says to think of life as a movie. Which of course the Author of Life himself plays the lead role and we are just the background people. Now most filler people are constantly in the background. Not us. We are the people that have the one second of fame who quickly walk past the camera and are not even listed in the credits at the end of the movie. With this being said how can we even begin to think that this movie is even remotely about us? This movie is all about God. This life is all about God. Now back to my original series of questions. Why do we do the things we do? Have you ever stopped to think about this question, I mean truly ponder over this topic. This topic has been laid on my heart over the past week. Here is it is...

Zane did you ever think that God is having you write this blog only to effect 1 person? To bring one person to Christ.

Now I obviously hope that it is affecting more then just one people, but it is very possible that God laid this whole thing on my heart because he simply could not bear to watch that one man or woman slip through the cracks. The same can reign true with a preacher. He works countless hours throughout the week to put together a 45 minute sermon that God aimed just for you on. Or maybe God is using your countless hours to effect only 1 person. The examples go on and on. What I am trying to touch on is that God has a much bigger agenda then yours and mine. So I leave you with my opening question, Why do we do the things we do?

Reflection Monday 5

Today I am going to use one of my all time favorite pictures for Reflection Monday. I grew up with this picture in my room actually, except I never truly understood what it had meant till later on in life. So here it is. Footprints In The Sand.




Here's the picture. Now here is what would be encrypted one the picture....

One night I had a dream--
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord 
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life. 
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints, 
one belonged to me and the other to the Lord. 
When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life. 
This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it. 
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you would walk with me all the way,
but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints. 
I don't understand why in times when I needed you most,
you should leave me." 
The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never, never leave you
during your times of trial and suffering. 
When you saw only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

Sometimes in life it seems like God forgets about us in the times when we so desperately need him. We search so aimlessly for him in the distance, but we never stop to realize that he is right by us, intact he is lifting us off of the path. The path that we so recklessly ran down without realizing the obvious overgrowth of thorns beneath us. God lifts us up off of that path in order to keep us safe and out of harms way.

My 2nd Church Visit

Today was my second official church visit. I decided to visit Mercy Church. Mercy Church is a non denominational church that focuses on missions, which I absolutely love. I think my favorite part of the church was the billboard when I pulled in......




Shouldn't this be the message for every church? Shouldn't we be inviting the sinners to come in? I challenge you to really ask yourself who Jesus ate lunch with. Ill tell you one thing, he didn't eat with the "nice and pristine" priests. He ate with the liars, the thiefs, the murderers, and the prostitutes. Now right about now would be a perfect time to show you the video "Why I Love Jesus, but Hate Religion."

Listen to his words. Jesus set out to break down the former walls of religion and to NOT rebuild them back up. Religion should be wallless, everyone should be allowed to conform. Reflect on his words, and reflect on your life.


                 

Zane The Chicken

Last night I was drug to the movie "The Conjuring" it was very disturbing to say the least. If you know anything about me, you would know how big of a chicken I am. I HATE scary movies. I think I spent most of the movie with my hands over my eyes and I still jumped like no other. The only good thing to come out of that movie, let me repeat myself the ONLY good thing to come out of that movie was that it got me thinking about what I truly do fear in life. Now O am a huge movie junky so whenever fear is mentioned I think of the Coach Carter speech. Have you ever stopped to really, I mean really look at wht that speech means. For me it was always just that happy dramatic turning point in the movie, but what I didn't realize at the time was how that speech can relate to everyone. And it does. 

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Our deepest fears are the hardest ones to over come, an if you are honest with yourself your deepest fear isn't heights, or snakes, or even failing. When you look your deepest fear face to face and smile, that's when your light begins to shine. I would like to hear from you guys wht some of your deepest fears are. 

Music Friday 2

So I began to write this post with less then ten percent battery left on my phone sitting in a movie theatre. You see I worked all day and right when I got off I was pulled into going to a movie. So as I sat in the theatre finishing up my last sentence of "Music Friday" my phone died. Nevertheless here is your Music Friday, or Saturday in this case! The song I have chosen this week is "Proof of Your Love" by For King and Country. Now I could go on a big schbel about what this song means to me, but it has one meaning and one meaning only. Without love we are nothing. With that being said watch this awesome awesome music video.

The Power Of Prayer

In the bible it says to pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17) but when I read that it intimidates me. Like how in the heck am I suppose to pray 24 hours a day without stopping? I think in order to understand this concept you have to look at it from a different point of view. It is so easy for us to think about there being a barrier between us and God, I mean it's weird talking to someone who you cant physically hear talk back to you so often times we forget to pray or just put it to the bottom of our to-do-list. But God is so real and yes he knows your every need and every prayer before you let him know but he wants to hear it from you. Think about when someone gives you a present. Doesn't it make a thousand times better when they hand deliver it and wrap it all cute and write a special hand written letter? Same as when we pray. The way we deliver our requests make your bond with God so much better. Now when it says to pray without ceasing I don't think it literally means to never stop praying. I think it means to give even the littlest of your worries up to God. To not take things it to your "own hands" but to put them in God's, so to pray without ceasing is to use God as your advisor. To ask him for guidance and to obey. Now I want you to understand this point right here. God NEVER says no to any prayer request. He has 3 possible answers.

1. A simple yes

2. Not quite yet

3. I've got something better in mind 

God only answers in three ways and what eve way that may be it is the best way for you and your faith walk.

A Wednesday Pick-Me-Up

Of late I have just felt exhausted, an I am always trying to think of new ways to not feel so exhausted. But this week has been different. I took a look at my favorite verse and I felt a peace come over me.

For those who hope in The Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint. -Isaiah 40:31

Maybe this post has nothing to do with you this week, or maybe your like me and need a little pick me up right now. Often times we try so hard to do things by ourselves and we forget to give even the littlest of burdens up to God. Hope in The Lord and he will renew your strength.

A Tuesday Workout

Today for our running workout we had table pushes. Table pushes are where you and your partner push a white folding table across the field with 180 pounds on top of it. We did 4 reps of 30 yards, 6 reps at 20 yards, and 8 reps at 10 yards and at the end we had six 10 yard sprints. You see with table pushes you have to use your energy right. Push to hard with one arm and the table flys that way, if your butt gets to high in the air you start pushing the table into the ground. So to stay low and drive with your knees is a challenge in its self. The point I am try to get across to you guys is that in order to succeed in this exercise your body has to work as one. Your arms, your legs, your core, and your will power HAS to work together. As disciples of Christ we have to work as one. Everything in our body has to be focused on the goal at hand. If our lips, and our brain, and our body work as one but our hearts refuse to join the team we are useless. If our time, and our wallet, and our resources are on board but our love isn't. We.....Are.....Useless. Every single fiber in our body needs to feel that burn, it's not enough to just put forth lip service. We as Christians need to change the culture of being a lukewarm follower. I'm not saying to be perfect because we all fall short on the daily but it's not how many times we get knocked down that defies us, it's how many times can we pull ourselves out of the mud for the sake of God's kingdom, for the sake of the coming of the ONE TRUE KING, and for the sake of the the lifeless, blameless, and perfect body that dangled from the cross for you. That's what defies you. When your body starts working as one, you'll be surprised at the limits of which your body can achieve.

Reflection Monday 4

Let this soak in.

A Modern Day Trial

So much violence, so much hate, so much destruction. The list goes on and on. You can hardly sit down to watch the news without you're stomach churning anymore. With the Zimmerman trial and the Hernandez trial it really makes you wonder if justice is served and if it ever will be. But there was a trial long ago that would put these to shame. One that would not just be on the news but it would be the news. This trial took place during the first century AD. With a man named Jesus Christ. You see this man claimed to be a king, but not just any king, he was the king of all kings. Even worse is that he preformed miracles like making the dead walk and the lame talk, he opened the eyes of the blind to see. He lived a perfect life and yet WE wanted him dead. He was put on trial where WE the jury said death was not enough so WE tourtured him and abused him and mocked him. And when he was hanging on the cross he yelled out the words "Father forgive them, for they know not what they have done." And as blood flowed out of his lifeless body he looked down at me and you and he said I want that man. A innocent man willingly took my place on the cross on that day. And he can take your place on it also, you just have to ask. Don't let his death go to waste. 

Laundry Day

Today marks a very important day in my life, today is my first time ever doing laundry. I have to admit to you though that as I sit here watching the clothes go round and round the more restless my mind becomes wondering if I will need to go get a whole new wardrobe today. Not to mention the countless times I've called my mom to make sure that I'm doing it right. As a Christian I want to strive to be "dirty laundry." You see we have a habit or a bad stigma surrounding our lives where we think that if we are a Christian then we have to be sparkly clean and folded nice. We have to wear a suit to church, and give 10 percent, and don't forget to be an usher every month. We walk around living our lives in a bubble. Or safe. Sometimes we get so caught up with how our appearance looks, or how nice our "closet" looks with all of our perfect laundry folded up that we don't even stop to ask ourselves if this is truly the life we should strive to be living. I want you to ask yourself who Jesus surrounded himself with during his life on earth. The common folk, the working folk, the sinners. I think it's safe to say that Jesus's shirt wasn't always perfectly white or folded. When you put yourself in the line of true ministry you are bound to be roughed up a bit, but for me I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Music Friday

I want to start incorporating some music into my blog. Music plays such a vital part in the molding of people's lives, I actually researched this topic and wrote a thesis on it in school. Music effects humans emotions, unfortunately suicides have been reported because of the effect of the music they were listening to. The plus side is that music can have the opposite effect. Have you ever been in a bad mood and all of a sudden your favorite song comes on? Next thing you know you're dancing and singing your little heart out. With that being said this is Dancing Like An Idiot's first Music Friday.

I want to start out with something light hearted, but yet at the same time heart felt. The whole idea of this song is how life seems to just beat you down and it never seams easy, but to realize that the goal in life isn't to make it as comfy as possible, the goal in life is to make your life after earth as comfy as possible. Steven Curtis Chapman brilliantly writes "but I know I'm gonna make it, I know I'm gonna get there soon...." If we stay faithful to our love with Christ we will get there, it is the long rough road but nevertheless the only one I would want to  take. So turn down the lights and tune out the world and get lost in Steven Curtis Chapman's ukulele.

The Poorest President In The World

Jose Mujica is the richest president in the world. Mujica makes about 9,600 dollars a year or about 800 bucks a month. People describe him as the "President of Your Dreams" but why is that? Let's start out with some background information on Mujica. Mujica took office in Uruguay in 2010, don't let that fool you one bit because he is not like most presidents that take office. Most president work their way up the political chain, not Mujica. He did the opposite. He did everything in his power to break it down. Inspired in the late 60's by the Cuban Revolution Mujica became a guerrilla fighter against the government which eventually lead to being shot 6 times by the police and spending over a decade in prison. Two of which were spent in the bottom of a well. The harshest penalty awarded in Uruguay. His net worth in 2010 when he took office was a whooping $1,800, the 1987 Beetle parked in his garage. So if he was so poor why would he agree to take office when it pays so bad? The answer is that the job doesn't pay bad. Mujica gives away over 90 percent of his salary to programs for the poor. He chooses to stay in his less then impressive tiny apartment instead of moving into Uruguay's "White House." This is truly a guy who gets it.  "The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor." - Proverbs 22:9 "Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God." - Proverbs 14:31 I'll leave you on this quote that Mujica said, "I don't feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try and keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more."

Love God, Love People

So as I'm sitting here asking God to lay something on my heart to blog about, he does. It's like he is saying this has been on your heart the whole time. You the only thing in the world that matters to me is how I love other people and how I love God. The rest is just passing by. I know that this mind state of mine doesn't always play out the way I would hope it would, ad yes I mess up more times then you could even possibly imagine, and sometimes it may seem like I don't love others and it may appear like I want nothing to do with God that day. How loving is that of me? Not very, but I want to live by this and I strive to live by this. God knows the depths of my heart and he still loves me the same through all the ugly that he sees in me. That's true love. When we strive to love like Christ loves us we tend to unknowingly live our lives in a way that would be viewed as Christ-like. Remember love God and love people, the rest is just passing by. 

Balance Beam - Francis Chan

Sorry this post is being published so late, it's been a really hectic day. I really want to show you this video by Francis Chan. This guy is one of my favorite speakers, if not my favorite. He does such an excellent job at painting a visual picture for the audience, in this case he actually uses a balance beam to demonstrate his point. With that being said I turn my blog over to someone way smarter then me for the day. Mr. Francis Chan.

Reflection Monday 3

Today I want to take the time to reflect God's beauty. What comes to mind when I say beauty? Is it a mother holding her child? Your childhood sweetheart? Or maybe if your like me it's making it past round 30 in zombies. But what is God's beauty? It's the miracle of life and death. It's the child playing outside, and the tree that just blossomed, God's beauty is everywhere. And it's in everyone if we just open our eyes. Life is not about the number of breaths we take, it's about the number of moments that take your breath away. I strongly believe that. We so often get wrapped up in what we are doing that we forget to smell the roses. We never even stop to think about smelling them. God made this world and everything in it for a reason. See the beauty in this world that God has gifted us with. I encourage you to spend some time today looking at God's beauty and not to let life pass you by.

 

This Is Home

Alarm set for 8:30 because church was at 9:30 this morning. 8:30 rolls around and I turn off my alarm, but only to find myself roll over in order to keep sleeping. For this was a morning where church would have to wait. You see us guys were up watching a movie till like 2 last night, more like this morning, so I was tired and needed some beauty rest. As I rolled over thoughts flooded my mind about this and that. Have you ever seen 'Lord of the Rings'? If you have you know Smiguel then, Smiguel has a duel personality and he has two way conversations with himself. This morning when I rolled over I turned into Smiguel. I would think man I really need to get my butt outta bed and get to church. Then my duel personality of the day would fire back, You can praise God from your bed. Back and forth, back and fourth I went, so I settled it like a man. I did enie menie miney moe. Going to church won. I then proceeded to a best out of three series. Finally it was decided that if it was still before 10 that I would go. You guessed it, before I knew it I had a polo and some khakis on. Grabbed my morning coffee and was out the door. As I walked into the place I was confused. It sounded like a concert. I walked into the sanctuary where there was a professional concert looking stage and equipment set up. Was I in the right place? As I looked up I spotted a count down clock. I thought for sure that I somehow managed to sneak past security into a Zac Brown concert. The clock struck zero and the stage erupted in music. With an army of 50 strong in the audience we sang and moved and praised God at the top of our lungs. This was home. The pastor came over during worship to shake my hand and welcome me in his jeans and sports blazer, I kinda stick out like a sore thumb being 6'5. This was home. I didn't feel like your prototypical sermon, where they just "deliver" you the message. This felt like a Dare 2 Share convention where the spirt of God doesn't just touch you, it flat out GRABS you. This was home. I briefly talked with the pastor after the sermon and told him how I was looking for churches online last night and I found one but the page kept shutting down by itself and how their link was the one right below it. Coincidence? I think not. Falls Church is home.

Follow

Today I want to show you a video. This video is so awesome. It depicts the life of Jesus in a totally rad way. Twitter. You see the whole thing build up through Jesus's life from his fame even to Peter's denial of even knowing him. With that being said the best thing I can do is to be quite and let you watch this video and truly dig down deep to find some not so commonly expressed emotions.
http://www.ignitermedia.com/products/1923-follow

A Heart's Prayer

Dear God, 

Sometimes I wonder if you even hear me, sometimes I wonder if you even care. You say you want to have a relationship with me, but in order for that to happen it has to be a two way street not just me talking. Do you even love me? Just leave me alone God.

I don't know about you but I've said these same words a thousand times, but I don't regret saying them. I regret feeling them but like I said I'm glad I said them because at least I was honest with myself and God. This wa nothing new to him, he already knows the depths of my heart and how I truly feel on the inside. So why do we push these feelings to the side and treat God of all the universe as a human? It's like we think that if they don't come out of our mouths that they don't count. When you're honest with God, you're honest with yourself. Tell him exactly how you feel.

Independence Day

July 4th, 1776 we the United Sates of America declared our independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. So today is a very important celebration, but it sometimes gets masked so easily with all the baseball games, and the boating, the barbecues, the fairs, the picnics, and who could forget the fireworks. It's an extravagant celebration to say the least, but it that all it is? Do we even take the time and stop to marvel at how we got to where we are today? How did we get to 237 years of independence? Brian Turner in his book 'Here, Bullet' writes a poem giving us a glance at what freedom is.

The ghosts of American soldiers

wander the streets of Balad by night,

unsure of their way home, exhausted,

the desert wind blowing trash

down the narrow alleys as a voice

sounds from the minaret, a soulfull call

reminding them how alone they are,

how lost. And the Iraqi dead,

they watch in silence from rooftops

as date palms line the shore in silhouette,

leaning toward Mecca when the dawn wind blows.

Today should be so much more than blowing stuff up and grilling out. Today is a day to reflect all of those who has or who IS serving our country in order to reach that 237 year anniversary mark. So before we marvel at the art work in the sky tonight spend a couple minutes to say thank you to all the brave souls who made this possible.

The Bucket List

My freshman year of high school I wrote a bucket list. I think like most people the movie "The Bucket List" inspired me to do so. I titled it "Things to do in a Lifetime" As I looked though it I reflected some of the things that Ive accomplished off of the list, but also I laughed at some of the ridiculous things that I wrote down such as: 29. Scream I'm loving it after I take a bite of a Big Mac, or maybe number 63. Order a buffet and stay there all day and eat. Then I looked at ones like number 59. Make a difference in someones life or number 98. Make an impact on thousands of peoples lives. One by one I read through reminiscing on the list I wrote four years ago and it hit me. If I were to complete this list most people in society would view my life as a giant success. But does God really want me to have a 100 item list? Think of a tourist that goes on a trip with a touring company. If they were to go to Paris on a trip for one week they would almost immediately be handed an itinerary of the week to come. That itinerary would be jam packed with activities and some of the most amazing landmarks you would ever lay eyes on. Sure these are all things you would want to see like The Eiffel Tower or The Louvre and maybe even The Notre Dame de Paris. But as you are herded from activity to activity wouldn't you stop to wonder where the adventure was? Wouldn't you wonder where that hole in the wall that sells the best pasta in world was? Or maybe even what the dancing street cleaners story is? You see the problem with this list is that it gives me way to many goals to aim for, and I am constantly looking forward in my life to "What's next on the list?" When we look forward to the "Next Big Thing" we lose sight at what's at hand. For me writing this blog has made me want to change career paths. I love Francis Chan and I think that he has the greatest job all time pastor/author/speaker. It is so easy for me to lay in bed thinking about what I need to do to hit that point in my life and often times I wish I could just fast forward to it! Have you ever heard a coach say that the next game is the most important game on the schedule because it's next? The same reigns true in our walks, the next day is the most important because it's next, or even the next minute is the most important minute of my life because it's next. When we try to map out our lives to a T we miss out on the little things. My new bucket list has one item and one item only "Live Life."

Robert Frost

1. The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;         5   Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,         10   And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.         15   I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.         20 I want you to read this again: 1. The Road Not Taken     TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;         5   Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,         10   And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.         15   I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.         20 I want you to read the last section again: I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. At first Robert Frost is so conflicted on which road to take because they both look good in their own ways (And sorry I could not travel both). Being that he could only travel one of the roads he took a long hard look down the roads to see what he could see. He took the road that "was grassy and wanted wear," Jesus wants us to walk down his road to wear it down! Satan's road is so traveled and it seems like the "popular" thing and it is in the world's eyes but Robert Frost is talking about swimming against the current in this poem, dare to be different. Take a chance on something that the world isn't. "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Two roads are laid out before you. Which one will you take?