communication

In the grand scheme of things, I know nothing. Nothing at all.

However, there is one thing that I do know. Communication is the key to everything. When I say everything, I mean everything. Think about it. If you cannot grasp the concept, try a different approach. Try to think (or actually try) about going through your day with out communicating to anyone. No communication at all.

No speaking.
No nods.
No hugs or kisses.
No waves.
No telepathy.
You basically could not touch the internet at all.

How would that change your day? Would it be easy or hard to take up such a challenge? Hard. Impossible. You could not do it unless you put yourself in a sound proof box and went to sleep or something. It would be ridiculous to go through an hour, let alone a day or a year without communication.

Because we, as humans are communal creatures and must be involved with other humans, we might as well try for once to get better at communication. The lack of communication can kill relationships.
It does daily.

So, take some time, think about how you communicate. Think about how you could communcate better. To anyone; your spouse, friend, significant other. Just try.

Communication is the key.

collide

my life right now is going absolutely amazing. you know how I know?


my dreams and reality daily collide.

collide is one sweet word.
who doesn't want to use collide in a sentence? no one.

collide: 1. to strike one another or one against the other with a forceful impact; come into violent contact; crash 2. to come together with violent, direct impact.

yeah, my life's like that. my dreams and passions violently crash into my daily routines, my waking hours, my reality.

daily i have moments where i become numb. "did that just happen to me?" movie perfect moments. brief moments in space that are timeless. with out time.

that's how i know my life is awesome. everything i want is meeting everything i have. that's how i know.

collide.




the dawn is breaking,
a light shining through,
I'm barely waking,
and I'm tangled up in you.

even the best fall down sometimes,
even the wrong words seem to rhyme,
out of the doubt that fills my mind,
I somehow find,
You and I collide.
- Howie Day

finite minds

sometimes the only way that you are able to understand something is to understand that you have not the power to comprehend and understand it.

There are things in this world that we must accept. that we cannot feasibly understand by our finite human minds. We must trust and have faith in our Creator.

We cannot test everything that we come in contact with, nor can we know everything. it is not humanly possible. Testing some of the aspects of Time and Gravity? Other dimensions? They're pretty abstract and hard to grasp in order to test. If we could, what would be the point in an omnipotent, omniscient God? There would be none. Not only that, but there would be no trust involved. no faith necessary. There would be no need for a relationship with Him.

So, such ideas such as the presence of God outside of time, the Trinity, and predestination are maybe not meant to be explained. Maybe it is part of the beautiful mystery that is God. Maybe we need Him to explain things that are too much to handle. Maybe it is not in His will for us to know or perceive them at this time. We must learn to trust His unfailing wisdom in these radical ideas.

Some ideas are not of this world. and that's the point.

Trust and Faith.

patience

so... if patience is a gift, why don't I have it?

ok so, I know it doens't work like that. but it would be nice.

"so, Zach, I got you a great present for Christmas: it's patience!" yeah, that'd be pretty sweet. but that's not how it works. lame. so, for now, patience is something to work for for. A noble goal, if I may say.

not that's it's easy or anything. to get patience, I mean. one must use patience to gain patience. isn't that how it works? well, you become patience by waiting and gaining a tolerance or ability to be still and not worry, stress or go crazy. that's probably closer to how it works.

easy?

Heck no.

but we must try.

Song: Get Me Right

Album: Alter the Ending

Dashboard Confessional

nights like these

those are the worst.

your head's at the wrong end of the bed and you stare up at the sky for hours. when your mind wanders and can't stop and wait to be rescued. when the only way out is the one you're two stubborned to take. rhymes no longer help and all you want to do is shoot sheep. yeah, those are the worst.

it's one of those. I'm up again and find myself so alone in my own strength. when will I learn? oh, wait, I won't.
There are so many distractions in this world that keep us from being fully alive. fully following our purpose in life. fully following the one true God. I can't keep a focus. I am not perfect.

that has a nice ring, doesn't it?
I. am. not. perfect.

one thing that I have had to learn to rely on is a fact that my weakness is His strength. the more weak and vulnerable I am, the stronger and more powerful He is. There is power in the phrase "Let go and let God."
so, let it guide you on nights like these.
Goodnight.

lost and defenseless

late night falls with no life
my soul screams for sound
lost and alone inside me
I want nothing more than to be found.

wandering with dark surrounding
feeling nothing at all
i have become the zombie
life pumps with no cause.

the worse are mindless words
careless on both sides
they lead to pain like dagger wounds
tearing deep the alive.

search high and low for aid
an elixir for the blade
to fix the past
and heal the gash
scream out heaven's name.

simple truths

well, it's been awhile since I have put anything on here. a month or five. the beauty of this is that I really have nothing to add.

However, I have learned a few things:
1. don't eat gum that you find on the floor; it could be Nicorette.

2. sometimes less words have more of a meaning than more words.

3. time is the only thief that justice has no hold on.

4. you can get addicted to anything. especially Hulu.

5. silence is golden.

6. It's better God's way. Don't rush into things.

7. iTunes has a pretty good system: hooked up to your credit card. this can be a killer (see # 4).

8. To find the best things, one must look hard. They are often hidden.

9. People are stupid, they believe what they want to.

10. Skittles are the best candy. (this knowledge has been known for ages, however, it is always something to revisit).

These are my newest nuggets of knowledge. I hope you enjoy them.

life is fragile

So, these last few days have been mucho hectic. and I'll say I've learned alot.

two wrecks. two cars. no cops. two tires and a front end. consecutive nights.

what really made me mad wasn't rearending my friend and not even scratching his truck. it wasn't the fact that I now owe money. it wasn't the fact that no one will ride with me now. it's the fact that I hadn't listened to the stuff that people had been telling me for years.

"you need to slow down."
"you aren't invincible"
"you will make mistakes."
"you always think it won't happen to you."

yeah, those things. you know. they're true.

so, yeah, just listen to the little things and pieces of advice. and drive carefully.

arriving

learning. a word with so many opinions. it's a word that makes a person think. some people think of school and long hours spent in the classroom. some people think of time spent with family being told stories and hands on experiences with a parent cooking or fixing a car. some different opinions.

the long and short of it is that no matter your opinion of the word, you spend you life learning. a constant state of learning. you spend time doing the things you love but by spending time you spend time learning. you discover. you discover as you do things.

you've always heard that you live and learn. you hear that you never stop learning. but you also learn as you live that people can tell you things but you never realize how true they are until you experience them. happens all the time. especially God things. they tell you how much prayer works but you never really fully appreciate it until you actually see prayer work and you see it in action. they tell you how much getting your priorities in order helps and getting God on top until you allow it to happen. he helps you see how much it helps.

you never stop learning. you pick up on things. you realize things. different ways of saying the same thing. learning. you are in a constant state of learning. everyone wants to be smart. or wise. you want to know things. you don't want to sit in school all day and learn the stuff that they make you learn but you learn it. unless you sleep through all of your classes. but then you learn what happens when you don't pay attention.

we are always learning. always in a state of becoming smarter. a constant state of arriving. arriving in a state of intelligence. this goes for intelligence, maturity, and views. arriving.

you are always arriving. never there at a place where you are the smartest, the greatest, the best. but arriving.

so keep arriving.

life moves on and it sucks

not lying: when I wrote that last entry I was asleep.

As we get older, life moves on. I am reminded of this as i realize that I have about 30 more days with my seniors. some of the people who have spent time getting to know me, taking time for me, teaching me.

It scares me. losing you guys. you know who you are. those of you who have spent time mentoring us juniors this year and years before have really touched me. you guys mean a lot to me and I thank you on behalf of our class. you've done more than I can express and I know that my class feels the same.

thanks for being there for us and expecially me. I won't forget you and all you've done; I hope we can keep in touch and college won't lead you too far away. thanks for the memories. I love all of you.

cheers to you, you know who you are. I can't thank you enough. sorry for making it sound like you are dying but it seems like it since I won't see you every day.

to many more memories.

mexico

I have just spent the last 9 days with about 25 of the coolest people I have ever met.

Praying, learning, reading and teaching. serving and spending time getting to know people. Mexico.

If I was to put a word to mission trips I would put "selfless." you have to be selfless. selfless is serving. getting out of your comfort zone. listening to your fears and your own pains and pushing them aside. realizing the hurt and wanting nothing more than to end it any way you can. mission trips are for cleansing all the world out of you. a retreat. but a retreat only from the world. you are pushing and pushing; stretching and stretching. strengthing and strengthing. and you are better for it. like a full body and mind and soul workout.

I am so tired. I feel so worn. worn and happy. like I have spent a day that lasted for 9 making a positive impact in the world. it feels good. I have learned so much.

I come home content and clean feeling. happy. I know what life is about. selfless serving. is there anything better?

the other main thing I learned is that there are only dialects and one language. Love is the one language. it may be love or the lack of it but it is the only language; breaking all barriers. it's all that matters. the greatest of these is love. what more matters.

and now, I retire. I'm so tired from this glorious trip.