Open Arms

Think back to the decade of the 60s. Divorce was still a pretty dirty word ... even if it referred to the spouse who had been hurt.
"Well, she must have done something to make him leave."
"Those kids of hers - they probably caused it."
"You know what she is? She's a divorcee."


I was in elementary school at the time, but I heard it clearly enough. We weren't invited into many Hershey social circles. We were looked upon with pity by some, with disdain by others. Even as a child, I never felt that we were able to measure up. Most people simply gawked at the sight of my mom tugging along six little ones through the supermarket, library or Scout meetings.

And then there were the churches. Wow, how many did we attend?

Empty, empty. We could feel a distinct lack of counseling help for my mom. People would give her a sad grin, but nobody reached out to help. From one assembly to another we trod, wearing our second-hand clothes and puttering down the road in our VW bus. I distinctly remember that we felt uncomfortable in churches. People talked at us, not to us.

Then we attended the little church in Sand Beach, right outside of Hummelstown PA. Independent Bible Church of Sand Beach. So help me, I never did fidn the sand beach. But it didn't matter. We found some good folk. Real good folk.

From the first day, we were welcomed with open arms. Pastor Barry McClure and his family joined with the congregation to reach out to my mom's needs and see to the care of us little 'uns. (Believe it or not, I wore a bow-tie to church. A bow-tie!)

My mom took no high airs about this. She accepted the open arms and bags of food. She directed us to the little classes where each teacher had a personal concern for our physical and spiritual well-being.

We little kids got involved in everything. I remember we even helped shovel and carry bricks for the new wing you see in the picture above. I guess it's not new anymore. Brent and I - I guess we were in 3rd and 4th grade respectively - joined the choir for a Christmas cantata. What a blast. Neither of us could sing. I had no idea what a note was, but I held the songbook better than any one of the Three Tenors, baby.

I distinctly remember an elderly man (must have been in his 90s) who would hand out little sticks of gum to all of us every Sunday.

The friendships, the pot-luck dinners, the parties in the church basement, the outdoor evening events... the kindly people were open armed, waiting for us to walk toward them. And we did. I started learning about the love of God.

God is a God of Invitation. Take a look at Isaiah 1:18. Take a look at Isaiah 55:1. Didn't Jesus say "Come unto Me and I will give you rest?" And I also see that God invited Noah into the ark, where He was. Isn't that a great picture of salvation?

Best of all, look at Revelation 22:17. You know the qualifications for coming to Him? You must be thirsty and you must be willing. That's it. The loving families at Independent Bible Church of Sand Beach began to teach me that.

2009 approach

This coming year my blog will take a different approach.


I'm gearing up to write this blog in a more personal style but one that brings the Scripture up to the table so we can sit and look at it without any confusing trappings.





I had a very strange and yet fascinating childhood, and I can say that the odd trek didn't stop whenever I left the homestead.





I want to talk to you about it, and how the Lord has worked in me, talked to me, and let me see Him in ways it's hard to explain unless I give you an anecdote or life story.





It's very important that I give you some real-to-life situations that actually happened in my life, so that you may call me into direct responsibility for what I tell you, rather than me making a vague reference to a long-ago individual. Sure, I'll quote and cite, but mostly I will dig back and tell you of the things I learned from my years. Believe me, it's not a bragging session; it's a way for me to communicate to you as best as I know how. So cut me a little slack as I get my words in order.


The picture is where it all started for me as I shuffled onto this mortal coil on May 29th, 1959. That's Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh PA, and in the same year I was born, Ben Hur was being released as the top film of the year. Other newcomers who tried to steal my spotlight were some states named Alaska and Hawaii, who both joined the Union that year. The cost of a new house was about $12,000 but bear in mind that the average citizen was making about $5000 a year. Gas was 25 cents a gallon and you could get in a movie for a buck.


I was the fourth Zockoll. Before me were Bruce, Gwen and Brent.


And that's when the fun began.

Our Christmas letter

What a year 2008 has been for the Zockoll family here in Knoxville TN. This must have been one of the most unpredictable years in my life - in fact, as I write this, I am battling the flu ( I am pretty sure I picked it up while writing a sports column at a basketball game on Sunday) and my eye is watering contantly as I type this. Well, let me sniff a little and give you a synopsis:

Julainne is now 4 years old "and I can whistle." Some of her favorites include Curious George cartoons, wearing a princess dress, and dancing with Daddy to the Symphony channel on Sirius radio. Julianne loves her Sunday School teacher Miss Tanya (who, years ago, was a teen in my youth group. "Miss" Tanya is married with a whole passel of kids.) She also has a small child's "kitchen" in our kitchen and cooks alongside Mommy during the day.

Nicholas is 20 years old and has arrived back from working at Camp Red Cloud in Lake City CO. He is engaged to Alexis and is considering seriously a step into a career in the military. He got the gang together at Thanksgiving and played the annual Turkey Day football game, and is the Keeper of the Flame in our downstairs fireplace. Nicholas is taking on more responsiblities - he is holding down two jobs - while making decisions on whether to attend UT or move into the military.

Peter is in his junior year at Berean and has a bedroom that is becoming a shrine for Steeler football. He is working at Chik Fil A and has been in a number of theatrical productions but looks toward playing football or rugby in the coming year. His fantasy football team is in the playoffs and he is an integral part of our Sunday Night College/HS Bible study when it comes to debating at the end of the study.

Jill has been wonderful, simply amazing in keeping our household running, especially through these financial strains that our family and, well, the whole nation is undergoing. She has been supportive of me and my writing endeavors and has been a spiritual pillar to us all. More than once when I endured my sickness this year she has been uncomplaining in taking care of the needs of the home. Her fibro myalgia won't go away, of course, but I think she has been able to take control. She has been reading numerous Joni Erikson books and recently completed the biography of Chuck Colson. She is a fantastic hostess whenever someone comes to the house for a visit or an overnight stay. When I struggled through the many trials of this past summer, she performed the greatest two things anyone could do for me: she listened and she prayed. Our family loves her, obviously, but the boys in the College group love her as well. She makes friends wherever she goes.

As for me, I am approaching 50 (next May) and reflect on how this year has given me new insight on so many things. Stress nearly ripped me apart this past summer. As for my back problems - I haven't endured that much physical extreme pain since I tore out my knee in college and had to use a cane to get around. My attempts at starting a city-wide College age ministry fell flat, and I suffered when close friends and spiritual mentors kept their distance. I felt as though God were somehow punishing me but now I can look back and see how He was getting my attention. Make no mistake - many of the problems are still with me, but they no longer dominate my body, soul and spirit as they did for six hellish months. God is good, and I can see Him that way in a new light, without the gloss of a full-time ministry or the pressure of a daily Bible presentation for others. Just jesus and me, and I am seeing thast this is great.

I am taking on more writing assignments weekly, and have been working freelance, writing for two pro sports teams as well as preparing a novel based on the true life of a retired DEA agent. I am hoping to latch on to an editing job with a new-found Christian webzine, and other writing opportunities are in the works. It's like with Eric Liddel as he discussed his running - I can feel God's pleasure when I write.

We are growing closer as a family and I cannot tell you how powerful that is. Jesus is becoming a stronger and stronger force within our home and as this year draws to a close I ask you to continue to pray for us as we all seek Christ's leading on doing His will day by day. Thank you for your friendship and have a Joyous Christmas.

O Holy Night

This was sent to me this morning by a good family friend, Diane Heeney, who sang at our wedding ceremony 23 years ago. Jill and Diane were actually fellow counselors at the camp where Jill and I met! Diane sent a great meditative Christmas thought:

Dear Family and Friends,

We invite you to take a closer look at the words to a familiar song this Christmas. Usually, you hear this as a solo; which means you may or may not pay close attention to the lyrics. It is sometimes done in "show-stopper" fashion, which distracts from the poignant meaning of the words. Read through it. Meditate upon its truths. We sang it as a congregation Sunday night, and some of the thoughts have stuck fast this year : "the soul felt its worth...born to be our Friend...to our weakness is no stranger...the slave is our brother...let all within us praise Him...!" Yes, come, let us adore Him together this Christmas season.

Rejoicing in God's Unspeakable Gift,

Patrick, Diane, Erin, Michael and Katie

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;

It is the night of the dear Savior's birth!

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born!

O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here came the wise men from Orient land.

The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,

In all our trials born to be our Friend!

He knows our need-to our weakness is no stranger.

Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His Gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother

And in His Name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy Name!

Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!

His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!

His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!

The Ascension

Care

"The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us; just as the roof of a sunhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright, but becomes bright because the sun shines on it." - C.S.Lewis

"Christ has turned all our sunsets into dawns" - Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215)

Psalm 54:6

"Willingly I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your name, O LORD, for it is good."

"thanks" Hebrew word yadah Definition: to give thanks and praise, ALSO to confess the name of God

...for the Christian, it is not only to have a spirit of thankfulness but also a spirit of praise and to rightly confess that God is the Author of blessing - to publicly proclaim it.

So then, I want to publicly proclaim my thankfulness to God in a quick list here:

- I am thankful that my back injury pain is nearly overcome. I can sit and walk and lie down without the glass-sharp agony I had only months ago.

- I am thankful to God for giving me my wife Jill who has been a pillar of strength through all of this misery and trial.

- I am thankful that my mother-in-law Marlene is recovering from the blood clot ordeal. Thank you, Lord, for intervening!

- I am so very thankful for my children. Nicholas is full steam ahead in work and school studies. Peter is maturing every day. Julianne - now 4 years old - is the the entertainment value that every member of our family gets each evening. She's the Human Cartoon.

- I am thankful to God that He allows us to have the College Bible Study, and for me to travel and speak to various groups and conferences.

- Thank you, Lord, for the new writing assignments and book opportunities.

- Thank you, Lord God, for good friends like Doug Walker and Kerry McDuffie and the Mooreheads who showed genuine interest and gave serious prayer to our family during these trial periods.

- Thank you that I can say I have three jobs where I know that some people do not have one.

- Thank you for our home and that we can use it as a haven for Bibel studies and overnight stays for those needing one.

- Thank you for our dear British friends the Hydes, whose son Oscar is doing well at Princeton.

... among all other things, Lord, thank you that through this extremely brutal year You have been patient with me through my doubts, depression and crying. Thank you that You did not leave me nor forsake me. Thank you that You listened when I just could not pray but the Holy Spirit heard my groanings and utterings.

Thank you, Lord.

JESUS

Matt. 1:21 - "and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

JESUS - The word Jesus is the Latin form of the Greek Iesous, which in turn is the transliteration of the Hebrew Jeshua, or Joshua, or again Jehoshua, meaning "Jehovah is salvation." 1

In Hebrew Yeshua means Salvation...Yeshua is the original Aramaic proper name for Jesus the Nazarene...In Hebrew Yeshua means both "Salvation," and the concatenated ("linked together") form of Yahoshua, is "Lord who is Salvation." 2



1. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374x.htm
2. http://www.thenazareneway.com/yeshua_jesus_real_name.htm

Ice Bears

I am now happy to announce that I will be on the staff of the Knoxville Ice Bears! Well, let me explain. It's free lance work. I still have my regular jobs, but I am going to be a staff writer for the local Southern Professional Hockey League franchise here in East Tennessee. it will be part of my free lance writing efforts, but I am going to be supplying content for the team's web page, in areas like player biographies and latest news about recent games. I'm also going to be adding creativity to the Fan Zone and the other areas of interest. It may take a few weeks to get things up to speed, but I am already supplying content on a daily basis, filling in holes and helping to strengthen the page.

Here's a "pre-season" look at the site:

www.knoxvilleicebears.com