Scott Zeller

How good and how pleasant it is…

Can’t write long… gots lots of things to do before I leave Harrisburg this Sunday:( I’ll be heading back to DFW to work for the month of July before returning to the East Coast for my little brothers wedding… oh yeah, and my wedding!

Speaking of which, Luke and I had a great time with Eric and our collective father in Boston Monday - Wednesday. Great little man trip in a fun city. We caught a game at Fenway, perused the map room in the public library, bought some cannoli and marzipan in little Italy, and generally had a sweet time.

The highlight for me though was definitely the time we spent fellowshipping in the hotel room over scripture. My dad had prepared some thought-provoking (aka intense) questions for Luke and I from Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3. These passages have become regular reads for me over the last few months as I look towards marraige, but how great to sit with my dad and brothers and talk together about how these scriptures impact our marraiges!! Woah. I loved it.

(from left: Me, my dad, Eric, Luke)

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. - Ephesians 5:25-30

A Happy Tuesday message to my wonderful fiance (via Flickr)

I miss you! Can’t wait to see you tomorrow!

(Made possible by this)

Weekend Update & Man Trip

Angela and I had another full weekend. This one was a little more subdued because she was feeling a bit under the weather, but we still managed to cram in a wedding on Saturday (which makes three wedding weekends in a row) and then today speaking in church, a visit with her grandpa, and a pre-marital counseling session.

One of the fun parts about going to so many wedding together this Summer has been debriefing afterwards about what we liked and didn’t like and tweaking our plans for our wedding along the way. I’m really excited about our wedding festivities (obviously), hopefully everyone will enjoy it as much as I think Ang and I will. Neither of us like doing things “just because” or “because that’s how you’re supposed to” and we’re both big on things being meaningful in our own way… so I think the whole thing will feel very “us” (but, maybe everyone thinks that).

Speaking at her home church (New Life Baptist Church) was a fun opportunity. She grew up there and her Dad has been the Associate Pastor since the early days of the church, so it was great to chat with that Body about the trip we’re taking to India this Fall. I was more nervous than usual for some reason and she felt like puking the whole time (thanks to the aforementioned sickness), but I think the Lord gave us grace to communicate well in a way that gave the people some ways to pray for us and encouraged them with the testimony of what God is doing in our lives as we seek to participate in His mission.

Now I’m sadly leaving Angela behind for a couple days while I head to Boston for a Zeller Man Trip. Can’t wait to spend quality time with my father and brothers. We’re planning on having some fun (possible Red Sox game) and enjoying some fellowship (possible Bible study/reflection), so should be pretty awesome!

Looking forward to 58 days from now…

I spent some time this morning updating Angela and I’s wedding website. There was some new entries in the guestbook, some books we’ve been reading lately to add, some new pictures to put up… and some other tweaks. Check it out if you haven’t and leave us a note in the guestbook!

I had a lot of fun putting this website together a few months ago (and it was a snap thanks to iWeb). I’ve been told several times the Our Story section is quite romantic… and by my brothers (my only honest critics) that I’m very cheesy. My favorite part though is the GoogleMap in the Event Information section that I don’t think even works on 1/2 the browsers out there.

Beyond the website… we’re making lots of progress towards the big day! Final pre-marital counseling meetings next week… bakery selected… her wedding band purchased (still looking for mine)… bought the glass to crunch at the end (Mazel Tov!)…

Thanks to everyone for your prayers as we look forward to August 16!

You’re lazy and disobedient! and other things I learned from Haggai

I’ve spent the last week or so writing an exposition of the book of Haggai. I don’t often make it to the Minor Prophets in my devotions, so this was actually a really fun project. Here’s some reflections from dwelling in the two short chapters of the OT that contain this feisty prophets message.

Short book summary: Haggai shows up on the scene in 520b.c., basically to kick the Israelites into gear. A bunch have them have returned from exile in Babylon and have been back in the Land for 20 some odd years. BUT they’ve neglected building the temple and have just been focusing on establishing their own homes, businesses, soccer leagues, and going to Starbucks. Haggai’s message is: y’all have become way too distracted by your personal pursuits and need to get back to devoting yourself to God’s mission.

Couple applicational observations that stuck out to me (in no way meant to sum up or address everything in this great book):

• Most times we don’t need find out God’s will, we need to do God’s will: God’s plan for the people of Israel was for them to build the temple (for the history, read Ezra and Nehemiah). And they knew what they were supposed to do, they just were not doing it. Their excuse for their apathy was, “now just doesn’t seem like the right time” (1:2). We too, can often easily see what would be a way to be obedient to God, but quickly decide we ought to wait until we “get the call” or “feel led” or “God opens the door.” Now, I’m not discounting the validity of being sensitive to the Spirit but, seems to me, God’s will is hardly ever as mysterious as we make it out to be. There is so much we know to be true about God’s will for our lives (c.f. Paul’s epistles)… but yet most of the time our response is “now just doesn’t seem like the right time to _______.” Before you know it, 20 years will have gone by and the temple still won’t be built.
• Simple obedience is not simple: God desired for the people to carry out a very simple act of obedience: build the temple. But what this act required of them was not simple, it took radical trust (that God would protect them from their enemies who would love to attack while they were distracted with the building), sacrifice (of labors, materials, time, etc), and devotion (if you did not love God, why build this house for Him?). Furthermore, Haggai informs the people that through their obedience, God will bless the nations (2:7) and confirm the promise of the coming Deliverer (2:20-23). Wow! Most of the time when we think of obeying God’s will for our lives, we think it is very simple. Yes, I will read my Bible. Yes, I will give money sacrificially. No, I will not lie about my friend to my other friend. No, I will not get drunk. What we do is make obedience BORING. But its not! We forgot that obedience to God’s will is the best thing for us because it changes who we are and changes the world. Changes who we are by requiring us to die to our selfish ambitions and walk in the Spirit, and changes the world by revealing God’s character to the nations and pointing to the Coming King (that’s Jesus btw).

Man, there’s a lot more in the book of Haggai. But that’s some of what I’ve been thinking about in light of it. Hope its a least some fun food for thought for both of you who read these posts.

Just for a bonus, here’s Haggai himself:

10 Things I Learned From My Dad

This is getting out a little late… was running around all day. But, Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

Here’s 10 things (of the countless) that I learned from my Dad.

1. Many of life’s most relaxing moments involve the consumption of chocolate-chip cookies and viewing of violent movies (preferably a Die Hard movie… and preferably the first one of those).
2. The smartest person in the conversation is usually the one who gives their opinion last.
3. If you don’t have to walk out the door on the negotiations for your car because the salesperson won’t give you your price, you paid too much.
4. Always being on top of things (to-do’s, tasks, contacts, schedules, etc) gives you a lot of authority when you’re dealing with someone who is not (like your son).
5. Your relationships within your family should be incredibly valuable and precious to you.
6. Very few things in life are worth getting worked up about.
7. Other people think about you a lot less than you think they do.
8. Patience can bring about progress.
9. Waffles and milkshakes are acceptable options for dinner when Mothers are out of town.
10. Your heavenly Father loves you more than I ever could, and gave His son to be your Savior, so that we (an earthly father and son) could become brothers.

I love you, Dad.