The One-Year Plan

Last year, I decided to start a "read-through-the-bible-in-a-year" plan. I have been wanting to do it for a long time, but I guess never thought I could do it, or something like that. So I signed up on biblegateway.com for a plan that would e-mail me every day the chapters I should read for that day: three chapters every day, and five on Sunday would get me through the bible in one year. I figured getting daily e-mails would help me stay on track and remind me every day to read my bible.
Last week, the plan came to a close...I did it!! I have officially read through the ENTIRE bible!! It was a little weird, because I started the plan in May, so I didn't start with Genesis and end with Revelation. I started with 1 Chronicles and ended with 2 Kings. But hey, it's done isn't it?!
Earlier in the year, my brother-in-law Christian also finished reading through the whole bible, and my sister-in-law Kelly asked him, "Well, what did you learn?" He said that he thought wisdom was obviously very important, and he said a few other things. So, I thought I would dedicate this time to tell you what I learned from reading through the bible. I'll take you through a few key things that I noticed.

1.) God is in control of everything - whether good or bad.

• Daniel 4:35 - "All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”"
• Proverbs 24:12 - "If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?"

2.) Wisdom is indeed important.

• Proverbs 2:6 - "For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."
• Proverbs 3:13-14 - "Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold."
• Ephesians 1:17 - "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."

3.) Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

• Matthew 7:22-23 - "Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"
• Matther 13:3-9 - “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Those are just a few of the many things I learned whilst on my journey through the bible. I will say that reading through the bible really did help me to better understand God's character, and really helped me to know that no matter what happens to me, God is in total control of it. He has a plan for everything. It's up to us to put our trust in God to carry us through whatever is going on, because He will be faithful and He is strong when we are not.
I also payed closer attention to the stories that most of us are familiar with (Noah's Ark, Jonah, Jesus' birth, etc.). There were times when I found myself going, "Wow, I never noticed THAT before!" Realizing that just taking those stories for granted is not enough. When you read it for yourself, the stories take on a whole new dimension that you may never have even knew.
If you haven't joined the "cover to cover club," I would encourage you to do so. It may seem daunting at first, but just a few chapters a day will get you there before you know it.
So what now?? As I was reading, I took not of a few books that I wanted to go back and read again to study more thoroughly. So that's what I'm doing. I am so thankful I was able to do this, and so thankful that God guided me through and helped me to understand His word.

A Lesson in Perseverance

If you read my last post, you know that we recently lost our good friend Justin, who died suddenly back in February. Losing Justin was harder than I thought it would be. I am still in a state of disbelief, like, "this can't be real. How could this have happened?" I am a little less sad about his death every day, but I still think about him, and I miss him. Of course that is all part of the greiving process.
After Justin died, I started to feel something I had never felt before. Aside from the grief I was feeling, I started to feel "funny" about my relationship with God. The Sunday immediately after Justin's death, I didn't play or sing in church because it just felt funny. I didn't read my bible or pray for several days after it happened. It just felt funny. I felt funny singing words like "how great is our God," when, to be quite honest, I didn't agree with those words at the moment. Could I actually be angry at God? I thought to myself. I had never felt that before. I had spent the past year or so cultivating a relationship with God that was deep and meaninful and I was crazy in love with God. But now, I was feeling angry.
So I sat down with Evan and told him all of this. He agreed that feeling anger toward God is natural when something like this happens. And then my very wise husband told me something that I have heard, written about, and preached many times. "We may not know what God's plan is in all of this, and we may not like it or agree with it, but He is in control and His plan is perfect." He added, "This is the time when our faith is tested and when we persevere through the tough times, that's when we grow and mature in our faith." (Do I have a great husband or WHAT?)
Evan was completely and utterly right. He was practically quoting James chapter 1 which says:
² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴ Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
...
¹² Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.


James 1:12 has become my "life verse" since Justin passed away. Little by little, I am trying to cope with the fact that although I may not like or agree with God's decision to take Justin, God IS in control. His ways are perfect. And the real test will be for me - if I can come out on the other side of this a stronger, and more mature follower of God. And what do I get? A crown of LIFE, that God has promised to me.
While I miss Justin a lot, and I am still very sad, ultimately, it is my devotion to God that counts the most. He is in control, and His plan is perfect. And, hopefully I will get to see Justin again when we are standing in God's great glory.

Justin, this one's for you...

Early Thursday morning, a dear friend of ours was taken from this earth. Justin Panzanaro was Evan's best friend from high school, and was instant friends with me after Evan and I started dating. Justin and I were "birthday buddies" sharing the same birthday, only he was one year younger than me.
I had gone out to lunch with a friend from work. We were laughing, chatting and having a good time. When I returned to my desk, I saw that I had a missed call not only on my desk phone, but also on my cell phone from my husband. This shook me because Evan never calls me at work, and he really never calls my desk phone. The message didn't have any detail, only to call him back ASAP. I was immediately worried, because I knew it would be bad news, I just didn't know what to expect.
Once I got Evan on the phone, he announced that he had "terrible news." "What is it?" I implored. "Justin passed away last night." I was immediately in shock. I knew it would be bad news, but I NEVER expected to hear those words on the other line. I told Evan I was leaving work to come home...there was no way I was going to stay at work in the state I was in. So, I packed up and went home.
Evan and I hugged each other for what felt like hours. This can't be real. Why him? What happened? How can he be gone? All these thoughts were flying through our heads. Evan has just talked to Justin last week, and he was fine. Our world was shaken.
Learning of Justin's death put so many things in perspective. I went on Facebook and saw plenty of people complaining about this, that, or the other thing. None of it mattered to me. Oh, you're a little overweight? Oh, you're mad at your friend? Oh, you don't get along with your family? Well, you should consider yourself lucky because at least you're alive. Justin had big plans for his future. He was working on a bunch of different TV shows, and he was on the school board in Middlesex. And just like that, his fragile life was cut short. It really makes you think, "it could have been me." Death is never easy to deal with, but at least when it's someone older, or someone who is ill, you sort of expect death to come. With this, we are just in shock. Justin wasn't sick, he wasn't suicidal, he wasn't even old. And now he's gone. We didn't get to say goodbye, we didn't get to see him one last time...nothing. Life is too short and too fragile.
The one thing Evan and I are taking comfort in is the fact that a few years ago, Evan had a conversation with Justin about heaven, hell, God, etc. Justin asked if he was going to hell. So, Evan explained to him that unless he accepted Jesus into his life, then yes, he was going to hell. So, Evan and Justin prayed together and Justin prayed to accept Jesus into his life. I'm not sure whether that prayer was genuine, but it's really not up to me. I am taking comfort in the fact that Justin may be up in heaven right now, in a better place. All I know is that God had a plan. I may not like it, but God had a plan for Justin. And now it's over.

We will miss Justin very much. He was a wonderful person, and a great friend. Rest in peace Justin...we love you.

Justin Lewis Panzanaro, 26, passed away Thursday, February 24, 2011 at home. Born in Plainfield, he was a life-long resident of Middlesex. Justin graduated Middlesex High School in 2002 before attending the New York Film Academy in Manhattan. He began his filming career as an apprentice for Entertainment Partners in Manhattan. Before advancing to production assistant then most currently to the "grips," Justin was currently working on many new release films including "Departed" and "Michael Clayton."

Justin was a member of the Middlesex Borough Board of Education since 2010 and the Middlesex Elks Lodge 1488. He was very instrumental donating films and assisting with the Middlesex High School video class.

He was a devoted son, grandson, brother, nephew and friend to all who knew him and will be sadly missed.

This Blog Post is Brought to You By....

This past Sunday, one of the greatest sporting events in the world occurred. Of course, I am talking about the Super Bowl. This year's Super Bowl brought the Pittsburgh Steelers together with the Green Bay Packers - each winning 6 and 3 Super Bowls, respectively. I love the Super Bowl. No matter who is playing, I always root for one of the teams, even if I'm not particularly a fan of either of them. This time, I was rooting for the Packers, and thankfully they beat the Steelers 31-25!
One thing I always notice in football games, is that sometimes when a player does something good - scores a touchdown, makes an important tackle, gets a stop on 3rd down, etc. - that player will point and/or look up towards the sky. Like this:

More often than not, the reason they are doing this is to give credit to God. While the crowd is busy cheering for the great play, it's their way of subtly acknowledging that God has helped them score that TD, or make that stop. I like it when players do this. It makes me smile every time. They might be in the middle of the most important game of their life, and they still take the time to give credit to God. (Of course there are some players who just do it to make a spectacle, and they don't actually intend to give any credit to God, but we won't get into that now).
The guy in the picture is, of course, Kurt Warner. Kurt, along with many other NFL players, is known to be a firm believer in Jesus Christ. In fact, he and his wife Brenda made a video series with Chip Ingram called "Marriage: Built to Last" to be used by church small groups. Kurt does a lot to demonstate his love for the Lord, from numerous volunteer activities, to adopting children of his own. Kurt is the real deal, and he doesn't try to hide it. It is for that reason, he is mine and Evan's favorite player (he's retired now, though).
But my point is not about Kurt Warner, my point is this: how often to we "give credit to God" when something good happens in our life? How often do we give credit to God no matter what is happening in our life? Most of us like to receive praise for doing something good. We like to be recognized for our good deeds. Some companies even have reward or incentive systems where you are publically recognized for something good that you have done. It's ok to get recognition for what we've done, but we can't forget that the only reason we did anything was because of God. The credit must go to Him and Him alone.
One of my favorite songs by the O.C Supertones is "Jury Duty." It talks about this horrible day that the lead singer had going to jury duty, getting stuck in traffic, forgetting people's birthdays, arguing with his wife, etc. But the chorus is what makes it great. He says this: "Every single moment whether sleeping or awake is your creation. What you made is good. I don't always thank you for the rough days and the hard times in my life, even though I should." (You can watch the music video here)
Now while it might look silly for us to point towards the sky every time we want to give props to God, just remember to give credit where credit is due. The truth is, every breath we take is from God, so we should always remember to thank him not just for the good things that happen, but the not-so-good things too.

Headin' to Texas Y'all!!

My sweet nephew Michael is turning 1-year-old this month, and to celebrate, Evan and I are flying down to Texas on Thursday to be with him, Christian and Kelly. (I wish you could "tag" people in a blog post, but alas....). We were supposed to leave on Wednesday, but due to some epic winter weather, our flight got cancelled :(

I am so excited to see them. We miss them a lot. This will be our first time in Texas, so we really don't know what to expect. My sister-in-law assures me that we will have a good time, so I trust that we will! I can't wait to see them and give Michael lots of hugs and kisses.

Plus, how can you not love this sweet face?