Be still...

"Be still and know that I am God..."

I had a beautiful opportunity to do that very thing this past weekend...

A major ice storm hit Oklahoma on Thursday morning. We received enough freezing rain to coat every exposed surface with almost an inch of ice. At around 5:30, our electricity flickered briefly and then all was dark and quiet.

The next three days were all very similar... Not much to do when the power's out. By Sunday our lives had pretty much become a round of bringing in clean snow to melt for various purposes, including drinking, bringing in wood, making sure our animals had fresh water...

There's nothing quite like coming in from a world of snow and ice, and taking off your boots and jacket, and feeling nice and warm... and then stepping in a puddle of melted snow from the previous person's boots...

We had many character-building experiences over those three days... :)

Sunday afternoon we went outside to play freeze tag in the snow. Matthew had made some paths in the snow, and with a few modifications to the rules of freeze tag, it made a very fun game. When we came back into the house, we had a surprise! The power was on!

God was so merciful to us...

Even if it seemed hard at the time...

The power stayed on all of Monday. Tuesday morning... it blinked some more, and then it went off again! We were somewhat more prepared this time, though. It was still not what we had wanted... as could be expected... :) But we did have some jars of clean water sitting on the counter, and lots of wood for the stove...

We had some errands to run Tuesday, and we hoped the power would be on when we returned. But it wasn't... We spent a dark evening...

At 7:45, when it was really dark, suddenly the power came on! We were so excited to have it back! But this time we knew there was a possibility that it would not stay on.

This time it has stayed on (at least for now...)

I learned a lot from that time. I had plenty of time to contemplate what God wants me to do. And also, I realized that in our modern culture, we don't give ourselves time to slow down, and be still, and know that He is God. It's so easy to rush from one thing to another, and try to get everything done that we possibly can... Productivity and efficiency and hard work are good, but overworking ourselves to the point where we lose our sense of God's presence are not. I've been there... But the Lord has been showing me that I need to take more time in His presence, not only in my morning time with Him, but all through the day.

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An interesting little story...

When the power came back on Sunday night, the ice hadn't melted yet. All the trees were still bent over with the weight of inch-thick ice. It ended up that there was a tree branch touching the power line... You can guess what happened when the power came back on.

Again, God was very merciful to us, and it burned out and fell where it no longer made contact with the line. Praise Him!

The real GYC

GYC was a huge blessing. Anyone who was there would agree with that statement.

GYC stands for the Generation of Youth for Christ. It’s not just a conference where we can go to spend time with our friends, although networking with other young people is certainly a valuable part of it.

The real Generation of Youth for Christ is the group of young people that go home from GYC and make a difference in the lives of those with whom they come in contact. It has nothing to do with the convention. The convention is only there as a way to train young people to be prepared to do the work that God calls them to.

If I go to GYC, and spend time with all of my friends, and listen to the messages, and come forward at all the appeals, and know all of the right people, and even go on outreach… all of which are good things… and then I go home and live exactly the way I lived before GYC, then my trip to GYC was just a waste of money. If it doesn’t make a difference in the way I relate to others, to my family and friends, or cause me to reach out to others to show them God’s love, then it has been a failure.

At GYC, on Sabbath evening, Pastor Asscherick had a powerful sermon, “Unashamed of the Coming Christ.” I was sitting on the front row, in a group of some of my close friends. The message really inspired me to make a commitment that my life from this point on would never be the same. Never again will I be ashamed of Christ. Though He was crucified, and the world thought they would never hear His name again, He is my Redeemer and Savior. He’s coming soon, and I have purposed in my heart that I will, by God’s grace, be ready to meet Him. Time is running out, and the longer we wait to get ready, the harder it will be.

My dear friends made the same commitment that night. Pastor Asscherick called for all those who were willing to make a public commitment to come to the front. We all went forward. Two young musicians shared a beautiful song, “Hands to the Plow.” I can’t remember all the words, but the main point of the song was that there is work that needs to be done, so why are we waiting? There are many souls perishing, and they need someone to come and show them the way to Heaven, but we say, “Lord, send someone else…” Maybe He’s calling you…

I will never forget that night. It was such a powerful time. I don’t think that anyone else there, especially those at the very front, will ever forget it either. After the appeal song, we all sang, “I have Decided to Follow Jesus.” We were all crying (at least quite a few of us were crying, including myself) and afterwards we all encouraged one another to be faithful to our commitment. My life will never be the same. From now on, I will go where God wants me to go, say what He wants me to say, and do what He wants me to do… even if I don’t understand why… even if the world thinks I’m a fool… That’s my commitment. I want to thank those closest to me that night for encouraging me, by words, actions, and example… but most of all God, for leading me to that commitment…

Now… I’m back to normal life. School, music practice, video production, chores around the house…

This is the real Generation of Youth for Christ… the generation that lives for Christ in their personal lives… not just at the conference.

That’s my commitment…

May I ever be faithful to my dear Savior and Friend…

UNASHAMED!

January 5, 2010

We’re back from GYC! What an amazing experience! It really flew by…

I don’t even know where to begin talking about it. There was so much that happened within those four days… staying up very late, meeting new friends, seeing old friends, lots of great music, great sermons, going door to door inviting people to a health expo and Bible studies, sitting in the very front row with a bunch of friends, even a trip across the street to a restaurant to tease some other friends…

Wednesday afternoon we arrived at GYC, found our hotel, and settled in. We went to the registration table, and I decided to tag along, in case I saw anyone I knew. Of course, I did within the first 5 minutes… Carl and Christine Brugger. Then while we were waiting in line, I found Jenae on the other side of the room. We talked for a few minutes, and then I saw her brother standing by the opposite wall. I started to walk over to say hi to him, and Sean snuck up behind me and totally startled me! Of course, we all had a pretty good laugh over that! :) Soon Alan and Aubrey arrived, and Chanteé was also there (which was a surprise), and thus was set the tone for the rest of GYC… :)

Justin McNeilus spoke at the first evening meeting. It was very inspirational. He used the example of the life of William Wilberforce, who spent almost his entire life in the cause of eliminating slavery from England.

I could give summaries of the meetings, but that might be rather boring to read, especially for someone who wasn’t there. So… I’ll just describe about the meeting schedule… and you’ll get an idea…

In the morning at 7:00 was a devotional meeting. It usually lasted until 8:20, even though it was supposed to end at 8:00. As soon as it ended we had to rush to breakfast, and then eat as fast as we could and go to the room to get our Bibles and brush our teeth and be back to the convention hall at 9:30. At this time we had to pick from about 15 different seminars, all of which were very good, making it a difficult choice. The seminars lasted until 10:30, then we had a break until 10:45, which was the next seminar session. Those also lasted an hour, then we had another 15 minute break. After this came a meeting at 12:00 in the main auditorium, which usually lasted until 1:15 or so. Once again, we rushed to the cafeteria, amid crowds of thousands of people, and tried to inhale our food while Justin Kim reminded us to eat quickly and then leave so he wouldn’t have to keep making announcements… At 2:30 we had more seminars, and those went on until 4:45. At 5:00 was another meeting in the auditorium, which went till 6, and at 6:30 was the last major meeting of the evening, which usually lasted until 8:30 because David Asscherick would go over the time limit. Then we would all run to our pre-assigned small groups, and discuss how we could apply the message. The first night, we couldn’t find our group, so I ended up being the leader… which was fine, except I hadn’t prepared, so somehow I got a sheet with the recommended questions, and God sustained me, and it went great (although the next night we made sure to go to the right place.)… Those usually lasted until 9 or 9:30. After that we all would go to the exhibit hall, where a lot of ministries had booths with promotional materials, or videos, or CDs, or stuff to sell, and things of that nature. I walked around, and either talked to friends who were also there, or talked to the people behind the booths, both of which were fun. My friends and I tried doing both at the same time, but somehow we were either talking amongst ourselves, or walking… not both. So that didn’t work too well. After walking around for a while, we would go to our rooms and try to get some sleep before the next morning came. Before GYC, someone told me that GYC is “late to bed, early to rise” and I found that to be completely true… :) I was also told that it was “crazy busy” and such was quite accurate… but it was worth it anyway… :)

It was amazing how many people were there. At any moment, there might be 500 people in the hall, and on Sabbath, there were over 5,000 people there. GYC is quite expensive, and most people traveled quite a ways in order to get there, but they come anyway.

On Friday afternoon, we all loaded up on buses, and went out to invite the community to a health expo that GYC was holding on Sunday morning. We had a total of 38 buses, all completely full. Bus 24 went across the Ohio river, and therefore we were actually in Indiana at that point (that was the one I went on). My new-found friend Nick and I went together, and learned a lot about each other while knocking on people’s doors. Join us as we come to someone’s door…

Knock, knock, knock… “Hello…”

“Hello, I’m Zachary, and this is my friend Nick. We’re with the Generation of Youth for Christ, and we’re having a convention in Louisville this week, and I’d like to take just one minute to tell you about two great free opportunities.

“First, we have a health expo (handing them the flyer) on Sunday morning at 11:00. It’s completely free, and there will be free blood pressure and glucose screening, free doctor’s consultations, free food samples, and much more. It’s downtown at the convention center.

“Secondly, we’re offering a free Bible study course (hand them the card to sign up) which deals with Bible prophecies and questions like what happens to people when they die, why is there evil in the world if God is good, and things like that. You can go ahead and fill out this card and then give it to us, and your Bible studies will arrive in a couple of weeks.”

No one actually filled out the card and gave it to us, but some of them said they would fill it out and mail it in. We didn’t always get that far – sometimes the person would say “No, I’m not interested” and close the door. Nick and I knocked on a total of 42 doors, talked to 19 people, and left cards and flyers at the doors where no one answered. Later we found out that some of our friends who had gone to other parts of the neighborhood had knocked on over 70 doors, and even gotten some cards filled out for the Bible studies. We were told that a guy – girl pair was more effective, but as things turned out we had 2 pairs with just guys, and 2 with just girls, (among the people I knew on that bus), and I think it would have been more effective if we had redistributed… but we can try it next year. And next year, I’m bringing my gloves for sure! Nick and I ended up sharing… we alternated streets after a while, and whoever carried the flyers got his gloves, because the person who talked could put their hands in their pockets. We were out for 2 and a half hours… in 23 degree weather. I’m just thankful it wasn’t too windy. We were the last ones to be dropped off, and some of the earlier ones to be picked up. Poor Aubrey and Chelsea were the first ones to be dropped off, and the last ones to be picked up. They didn’t have gloves at all. Chelsea got very cold, and wanted to go to sleep, but of course she didn’t dare… If you’re reading this, Chelsea, just understand that what I’m writing about you is what I was told… I don’t claim to be 100% accurate… :) because I heard it from others, not from you… :D

So there is much more I could write… but I don’t have time at the moment…

And that doesn’t even begin to tell all the interesting stories that happened at GYC…

But it’s a start… :D

I am so inspired…

Let’s be UNASHAMED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The power of a storm... and the power of my God...

We had some significant winter weather yesterday. It was 28 degrees, but the windchill was 5. We had 40 mph sustained winds, gusting to almost 60 mph. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen. I went out for a few minutes by myself, and the wind was so powerful it pushed me around on the icy driveway (no use trying to drive anywhere whatsoever… the weatherman said “DO NOT TRAVEL”) Snow was flying everywhere, mixed with ice crystals. The drifts were as high as 4 or 5 feet. The roar of the wind in the trees was deafening. There was so much power in that storm, I don’t even know how to describe it. We as humans are completely subject to it. Oh yes, we hide in our houses, and try and stay warm, but there is absolutely nothing we can do to counteract the energy of the storm.

I stood out there by myself for a moment, contemplating. The God who made that storm… with all of its amazing power… that’s my God. The Man who walked on the water during another powerful storm… He’s my Friend. The One who raised Lazarus to life… that’s my Redeemer.

He’s promised to give me of His power.

His power… the same power that made that storm… the same power that performs miracles…

What an amazing thought!

Look up!

When I was on an 8 mile hike yesterday, I learned something… Not something new, but it became real to me in a new way…

We were hiking in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. The area where we had chosen to hike is quite rocky (nearly the whole park is quite rocky), and I constantly had to look at my feet to keep from tripping on rocks. I was tired and cold, and I didn’t want to go that far. I wanted to turn around and go back… But we pressed on.

What I discovered as I hiked on… I kept on looking at my feet almost constantly. After all, I didn’t want to trip and fall. But after about 20 minutes of this, I paused to adjust my backpack, and looked around. The scenery was just beautiful! Mountains and trees, and of course big rocks… It was a refreshing view. And then I realized… it had been there the whole time… if I had only looked up…

Throughout the rest of the hike, I made a point of looking at the landscape around me. No longer did I want to turn back. I wanted to press on, and conquer that 8 mile trek through the wilderness… We made it, in less than 3 hours.

Sometimes I look at the path for my feet, and never look up. Oh yes, the Bible says to “Ponder well the path of thy feet,” but that doesn’t mean you can’t look up. And if you always concentrate on the little issues of life, and never look at the big picture: the beauty of Christ’s righteousness… the beauty of Christ’s life… the joy that is set before us… the things that are in store for them that love and serve Him…Then you miss so much of what He has purchased for you at infinite cost…

The beauty is there… if you only look up…

Another answer to prayer

Yesterday afternoon I had an amazing answer to prayer...

(To understand this story, you have to understand what a project file is. In Adobe Premiere Pro, you can put together video sequences. It saves various pieces of information about the clips [in and out points, volume changes, where they belong in the sequence, how much of them you used, which track they are on, what effects you applied] in a .prproj file. Then when you open the project, it loads all that information, applies it to the clips in real time, and eventually exports the data to Media Encoder or Encore, which can make finished video files and DVDs respectively. That way you don’t modify the original clips whenever you make changes. However, if you lose the project, you lose all your work, although you still have the video files that you had in the sequence. Also, the advantage of a project file is that if you need to move the project file, it’s very small, like only a few MB, so it doesn’t take up as much space as storing separate copies of all the clips.)

At around 11:40 I was finishing up my video work for the morning, and I saved my project and closed the programs at 11:51. In the middle of saving the project, the computer crashed. Now ordinarily, it would just be annoying to have my computer crash like that, but this was in the middle of saving my project, so I was kind of worried about it. However, I was pretty sure it had finished saving before it crashed, so I thought it should be fine. So, I left my computer off and went to give a piano lesson to Matthew, and then we went outside for a while, and then we came back in and did something else… When I went back to open that project, I opened Premiere, and the list of recent projects was blank. Well, that’s interesting, I thought, so I clicked on “Open project” and selected the right one. The little window, “Loading project” came up, and the progress bar started going across as usual. Then it got stuck halfway across, and it wouldn't go any further. Oh no! I had put over 40 hours of work into this project, and I couldn’t afford to lose it now. Maybe Premiere was messed up because my computer had crashed… I tried opening another project, and it worked just fine. So it must not be Premiere. It was that corrupted project… I opened it again, and let it sit for an hour while I ate lunch, hoping that if I gave it enough time, it would figure it out and open the project. I came back upstairs after lunch, and it was still stuck at that halfway point! Would my trouble ever end? I was quite upset, although I chose not to give in to despair. We had to leave the house a few minutes later to go for guitar lessons and errands, and the whole time we were gone I thought over my trouble. Actually not the whole time. I had a glimmer of hope. Two things: first, I prayed, and committed the whole situation into God’s hands – after all, He could fix a corrupted file if He chose to… and secondly, I realized that Premiere Pro will autosave every 5 minutes to a predetermined folder. If I could find that folder, then there was a chance that my project could be in there – but only if I had saved it at the right time so as not to override the autosaving. When I got back home, 4 hours later, the first thing I did after all the groceries were brought in and my evening chores completed was to go to my computer and find the autosave folder. I found the folder, and it had the 5 versions of my project in there (I have Premiere set to keep the 5 latest versions). My regular project was saved at 11:51. The last autosave project was saved at 11:50. I could hardly believe it. One minute was the difference between losing that morning's work and possibly the whole project vs. the opposite... Now of course there were 4 other versions, but they were considerably older, because I usually save my project very often in case my computer crashes, and that overrides the autosave, I think. So I would have had to spend quite a bit more time redoing the videos. I backed up the autosave project, and saved it as a “recovered” version of my project. I am now almost finished with it. Isn’t it amazing the mercy and compassion that God has on us? I am not worthy of such great love. But yet He arranged for my project to have an autosaved version that contained every single one of the changes that I had made that morning in my 3 hours of work.

Our God is amazing!

GYC Promo video

I'm going! Who else is?

I can hardly wait!