Solitude

We are looking forward to New Year's day at the Zockoll household. Many of my former students from around the region will be coming and stopping by to say hello, sip some coffee and sit by the fireplace and tell me how their lives have progressed since we last met. I've always loved having old friends come by, and tomorrow is going to be an especially happy time for us.
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As I was moving things into our new home, I happened to find a large framed photograph of my old youth group from back in 1992! many of these young people have families, I find myself saying. Bobby, Michael, Laura, Mark (who now works just down the hall from me) Amy, and all the other wonderful teens I knew from years back are now on the wall of my study.
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I was chopping off some branches from the Christmas tree in order to wedge it through the back door, rather than taking it through the double front door and risk all of the needles covering the floor. maybe I should have re-thought my strategy. As I was cuttinng through a branch, the knife slipped and gashed open my left-hand index finger's knuckle... I was bleeding all over the kitchen counter, trying to get the flow to stop. For now I have a beautifully deep red scar running across my finger, but thankfully I did not hit a muscle or nerve. I was truthfully panicked for the first few minutes when I realized I could have messed up my writing/typing ability for good.

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I'll tell you a secret:

I desire so much to seek the Lord in song at our church services, that I often try to find ways to avoid looking around and being distracted. No offense to the choir or songleaders up front, but I want to worship the Lord without being given a pattern of actions or emotions. I used to close my eyes but found that disconcerting for some reason. My secret is that I take off my glasses and sing with eyes wide open. My eyesight is good enough to see the vague outline of the words on the screen but bad enough that I cannot make out the features of anybody more than three feet away from me. In this visual haze i can find quiet rest and solitude to sing and enjoy praise to the Lord.

Matthew 5:44,45

"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on {the} evil and {the} good, and sends rain on {the} righteous and {the} unrighteous."

But my usual actions are to love those closest to me.

I love those who make me comfortable.

The ones I care for are those who share the same interests ... the same reactions ... the same backgrounds ... the same dislikes ...

But, God, You are asking me to love those who go against everything I am? I am supposed to show a deep care for those who don't talk like me ... who don't like the same things I do ... who may not even love You?

This is a hard thing to grasp.

But I do see how You showed love to those who cursed Your Name, and who enjoyed showing an open mockery to the things that are sacred to You.

It's hard for me to love egomaniacs. Or racists. Or people who refuse to think. Or those who prey on the innocent. Or blasphemers. You know my heart, Lord, and how hard it is.

I will work on this, Lord.

Authenticity

What makes you, as a Christian, different from anybody else?

In this world that sees us and hears us, how are you different from a Mormon, Muslim, Hindu or even atheist?

Is it in title only?

What has established you as a Jesus-follower? How has it changed your behavior?
Can people really be drawn to Christ by observing you?

Is your worship of the Lord genuine...

.... even when nobody else is around?

Praise to God, Who is Worthy

Luk 1:49
For he, the Mighty One, is holy, and he has done great things for me.
Luk 1:50
His mercy goes on from generation to generation, to all who fear him.
Luk 1:51
His mighty arm does tremendous things! How he scatters the proud and haughty ones!
Luk 1:52
He has taken princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
Luk 1:53
He has satisfied the hungry with good things

A Brief Update on the Zockoll household

Nicholas is back from ETSU for the next couple of weeks, and Peter has finished his exams at Berean Christian School. We were amazed at his acting ability in the Agatha Christy play And Then There Were None. Jill is still walking about the house, trying to see how we can fill in the 4500 square feet we now own. She is doing an amazing job of decorating. We're going with a Tennessee country lodge look if we can design it right, but it will be a challenge. She's also doing a great job getting us all ready for Christmas. The tree is nine feet tall and covered with lights and garland. The pumpkin and cinnamon candles are giving the house a wonderful aroma. There are white lights along every outdoor gutter that we can manage.

The Lord is so good! We have looked forward to owning a home like this and ministering to people without having to crash into them because our house was too small. Even though we decided to take a year or two to properly prepare the home for this new ministry, we are already having people, young and old, coming to visit. Things are finally slowing down, and litle Julianne is a precious relief after the stress of the day. Our three year old entertains us constantly. Her favorite shows are Blue's Clues, Little Bear and Thomas the Tank Engine. Although we battle a nightly mealtime challenge (Julianne just doesn't want to eat at that particular time) the rest of the evening is spent chasing each other around the house or reading fromn any number of books in her room.

We have enjoyed hearing from friends old and new. We have been in communication with old acquaintances from Hollister CA; Canton OH; Charlotte NC; Pittsburgh PA; Austin TX; Phoenix AZ; Salisbury MD; Colorado Springs CO among other places.

Blessings

The Lord has been opening numerous doors for our family. One is the acquisition of a literary agent from Hartline Agency. The agent is interested in my latest manuscript, Crying Island - a whopping 102,000 words...my most exhausting fiction work since I had to complete my dissertation.

Focus on the Family recently bought my latest novel for their Brio magazine. The novel is called Incident at Jupiter Lighthouse and will be published in May of 2008.

Psalm 37 rings true, that as the Zockoll family been delighting ourselves in the Lord, He has been giving me the desires of my heart ... one of which is to continue to write professionally.

Please take a glimpse at my other novels on bradzockoll.com and please be patient as I continue to build the site.