The Mind of Chris

A Gift To Be Alive

2011-11-10T23:03:00.000-08:00

So tonight is one of those restless nights for my soul. Tomorrow I get to celebrate the release of a good friends CD "Gift to be Alive" and I'm incredibly stoked for him. Anytime I talk to Jefferson Jay I get inspired, I smile, and I have hope for the world. From the day I met Jefferson he motivated me to play music and live life. He loves promoting musicians and encouraging people to enjoy life. The title of his new record speaks volume and defines perfectly how he lives his life. So as I sit here and listen to his new record I'm incredibly thankful to have what I do, and I'm incredibly excited to have the opportunity to play music as a full band tomorrow. I was talking with a friend tonight about music and what it does to my soul. Music is like Christmas morning for me. Remember the first time you fell in love? How alive you felt? Remember the person that you were incredibly hopeful for and couldn't wait for them to catch a break in life? Remember the time you knew God had you in his grip and exactly where he needs and wants you? Thats how I feel when I play music. It ignites the most inner part of my soul on fire for life, for God, and for people. I write music for the people who don't have hope. For the people who forgot what love feels like. For the wandering soul who is sick of being broken and wants to feel something. I want to write a song for that soul who is staring out the window and questioning whether life is worth it or not. That brokenness is dark but there is beauty in it. Its morbid I know but I love seeing people struggle because I've seen countless time what God can do with that. We wake up with air in our lungs and that is all we need. God does the rest and gives us tools to help others out and I feel like right now playing music is a way he wants to use me. Last night I was sitting in my bible study smiling because I saw God moving in peoples lives that I care so much about. God is alive in the world and I can't wait to continue to feed that flame that He has lit in the hearts of so many people around me. I'm alive right now and that's why I'm restless tonight. I don't want today to end but I can't wait to wake up knowing I get to play music for my friends and with my friends. I've got nothing else except smiles and free hugs. I hope tomorrow you receive both after you get a copy of Jefferson's album. Check it out here: http://jeffersonjay.bandcamp.com/album/gift-to-be-alive-2

Vice Verses

2011-10-27T13:49:00.001-07:00

So I want write a little bit about my favorite band Switchfoot and their new album 'Vice Verses.' My admiration of Jon Foreman and his songs grow more and more every single time I hear their music. Jon describes the album as "a way for me to try and grasp reality with life, death, and everything in between." We all have of coping mechanisms, we all have our ways to try and process where we are at and who we are supposed to be, or becoming. The album 'VV' is a perfect display of honest, vulnerability, growth, hope, and love all mixed into 12 songs of delicious-filled music. So lets start with a breakdown of the album and a few songs.

Track 1. "Afterlife"- a song about experiencing life now rather than waiting to die to live. Not my favorite song on the album but the best song for the opening number.

2. "The Original"- probably their most catchy/poppy song on the album and a song I imagine 25,000 teenagers jumping up and down and pretending to mosh to a non-mosh pit worthy song. Lyrically isn't that deep but is a good song that fades well and sets the tone for a song to follow with a mix of rock and your typically Jon Foreman 'punch you in the face with emotion, lyric, and phrasing' song "The War Inside."

3. "The War Inside" - lyrically this song starts to get my attention for this album and the chorus he sings "I am the war inside, I am the battle line, I am the rising tide, I am the war I fight." Jon is incredibly vulnerable and willing to accept always that he has his struggles but his way of tackling them is a quality I admire about him. We all are fighting something deep within in and that war never dies, that fight never seems to go away. If its not money, its a job, its a friend, its a death, its pain, its heart break, and its always got something that tries to feed that demon that lives within. Thats the war inside he describes I feel.

4. "Restless" - Probably in my top 3 for sure for favorite songs on this album and I've got to stir this song in for about 6-7 months now after hearing it on Switchfoot's fan site www.LandofBrokenHearts.org. The lyrics "I am restless looking for you" resonate throughout this song and the theme is how we continually tire ourselves with the daily routine of this life. "I'm looking for the well that won't run dry" and musically couldn't have put this song together anymore beautifully other than hearing a girl with a really soft voice singing on the chorus the way he did with a friend live a few months back. These are the type of songs that Switchfoot write that shatter my soul beyond measure, I experience the music, I feel the music, I relate, I'm brought to life, life stops, and I listen. I have a restless soul and I struggle with listening, sitting back and waiting, and allowing myself rest seeking the same thing that Jon chases.

(Click here to hear my cover of this song)

5. "Blinding Light" - this song doesn't do much for me until the chorus and then the lyrics "all my life I've been living in the darkest night" and its a decent song that compliments the album well.

6. "Selling the News" is Jon's first attempt at a spoken word/rap song and its my least favorite track on the record. I like the idea of trying to get us to not believe the lies that are in the news and how feeding the world with us accepting the crap that is on the news. Otherwise I could've done with this song on the album. I heard a few songs that were new SF songs that didn't make the record like "She Says" that would've been a perfect transition song at this point in the album. Not sure why they chose this song :(

7. "Thrive" - top 4 song on the album for me and lyrically is rad. A few lyrics that jump out in this song "a warm body doesn't mean that I'm alive" and "I want to thrive not just survive." I love the message behind this song and how he encourages us to not just settle for an okay life but try really dig for something greater. I love people who are passionate and believe in something. Even if its something I don't necessarily agree with I admire the intention of seeking something greater than ourselves. God didn't design us to settle for ehhh and in this song it really captures that complacency that the world settles for. Its a good encouraging song to reach for something. (Click here to hear my cover of this song)

8. "Dark Horses" was a song they wrote for an organization called "Stand Up For Kids" and they have always been a huge part of raising money and every year they do a benefit to raise money for this organization. Its an organization that invests time, money, resources, and effort into homeless teens throughout the world. Jon says these kids are the dark horses, they are the real underdogs in this world, and they are up against a big challenge going into the world with not a lot of help. I dig this song and its their "hardcore rock song" that has got some radio play and I like it.

9. "Souvenirs" - I haven't yet figured out lyrically what this song means yet but so far I'm gathering that its a song about collecting memories and things over the years that will eventually add up to nothing but can be temporary for us here on earth. I heard this song for the first time when the record came out and it instantly took my heart, placed it gently on the floor and kicked it around, and then brought it back into my body. Love, love, love, love this song and it could be my favorite track on the album. Lyrically, musically, and emotionally packs a punch and in my opinion is the definition of what a song should do. It should take you somewhere, it should challenge and encourage you, it should allow your mind to be lost for a few minutes, it should help release your soul somewhere to experience a euphoria that drugs can't.

10. "Rise Above It"- a good simple song that picks the energy up for the album after a slight emotional drop with track #9. I dig this song but nothing to write about...

11. "Vice Verses" - title track of the album and a brilliantly written song. I love the lyrics of this song and its honesty. I love lyrically how Jon isn't afraid to struggle, isn't afraid to say how he too doubts God, and questions God existence in "earthquakes, genocide, lonely nights." We sometimes pretend that we don't need help and we have everything figured out when clearly we have no control over life and God's plan for our lives. We are simply a vessel trying to cope with living on this broken world. One of my favorites on the record for sure.

12. "Where I Belong"- I heard this song for the first time when they played on the field at Petco Park after a San Diego Padres game and they played the opening riff and Jon said "this song has a big meaning to me when I come home to San Diego because even this home is temporary." It is a big sing-a-long when all 5 members of the band sing an anthem like hope song. This song competes alongside "Souvenirs" with best song on the record. This is the song you should leave people with after listening to this album. "But I'm not sentimental , this skin and bones is a rental And no one makes it out alive." Love the fact that he continues to acknowledge that we are living here for under 100 years and then we experience something greater. Some of the last lyrics on this record are

"And on the final day I die I want to hold my head up high I want to tell You that I tried To live it like a song And when I reach the other side I want to look You in the eye And know that I've arrived In a world where I belong."

Overall solid record and up there with top 3 albums they've put together but an album I can listen front to back with only skipping one song (sorry 'Selling the News'). I highly recommend taking a listen for yourself and thanks for reading.

If you want to read more about my music check out my band For The Faint at www.ForTheFaint.com

- Chris Zach

Inside the Fire

2011-10-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

So a lot has changed in the last few weeks and I've felt a lot of different emotions. If you read my last blog post you can ignore it. Shortly after the last blog post she broke up with me and a lot happened with no explanation. In the last few weeks I've felt sad, bitter, angry, hopeful, devastated, alone, content, confused, and alive. With all of these emotions God continued to remind me how He has me in His grip and I've realized that what I'm going through is exactly where I should be. Since this happened I've had a friend lose their 30-year old best friend to Leukemia, had another buddy lose his mom suddenly, and I've had a lot of people reach out to me. We all go through a lot in life and sometimes life can seem to consume our thoughts and our minds, it gets us distracted from the real meaning of life, which is living. However you want to define life I might live mine a little differently than you may but in a way all of us are fighting against something. I call it spiritual warfare and every single day we have angels and demons fighting for our souls. I wrote a song a few years ago called "Inside the Fire" and its about thriving among the flames. When your hands and heart are burned how can you still manage to feel and reach out to others? Its sometimes disabling and sometimes I would rather help someone else than focus on me and my own happiness, or my own fire. The chorus of the song I write:

"This world is fallen so let me pick you up

Your pain and sorrow should not be left alone

So rise up, don't give up

Cause life is hard but you'll be alright

You've got time, you'll see why

When you're inside the fire"

When we are breathing these toxic flames we get lost in it. We consume our time on trying to fan the flame rather than just removing ourselves from the gas can in our hands. We struggle to let go of controlling situations and trying to fix others to allow them to breathe. What if they are fine with where they are at? What if they don't feel like they are suffocating? At what point do we let go and let God? I write to process, and I play music because it cools my soul. It allows me to breathe. Its my gas mask, its my oxygen tank by my bedside, its my steering wheel that allows me to drive, its my light at the end of the tunnel. All of these vices are things/people/opportunities God gives me that allows me to thrive. I pray for passion, I pray for desire, and I pray for the hearts of the people I come across daily. Last night I was watching the sunset and there was a 20-something year old man watching and eagerly listening to my playing and when I started to walk away he approached me. He thanked me for allowing him to process his life for the last 90 or so minutes. That then sparked a conversation and I found out what was on his mind only to find out he just got out of the military and served 2 terms in Iraq defending our country. In the last year he had lost 2 of his best friends in the war and he was trying to process how to cope among his fire. With no expression in his face my heart broke for him. I can't imagine the imagery burning in his mind and what he has seen over the last few years but I do know one thing. He was trying to experience something out there out at the cliffs watching the sun go down. He was trying to breathe, he was trying to survive, and learning how to thrive. Whatever you're going through take a step back and smell the roses. Nobody likes change except a wet baby but its sometimes what we need. It forces us to jump off that cliff and face what we've feared. Sometimes it allows us to slow down and process. Sometimes its God redirecting our hearts and our lives. God is perfect and His timing never fails. He has us exactly where He needs us and He doesn't need us, but He will use us. Thrive today. Allow yourself to feel alive today. Its the best thing to do for yourself and for this world. Don't sit in a closet with gas poured all over your soul because eventually it will swallow you whole. I end the song with the words:

"Do you feel inspired?

When you're inside the fire?"

Like father, like son

2011-07-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

(Pictured above Chris and Jim Zach summer of 2009)

Those two clowns are probably two of the happiest people you will ever meet. Thats a picture of me with my dad, James Harold Zach. I've been hearing a lot about fathers and stories about relationships and how our relationship with our Earthly father can sometimes effect our relationship with our Heavenly Father. My dad is one of my biggest influences in life and he has done a mighty fine job raising me to be a man, and more importantly displayed with great integrity of what it takes to be a man of God. I was on my daily Sunset Cliffs visit tonight and after praying for a few things in my life I started to feel an extreme amount of happiness come over while I was thinking about my dad. I started to think about a lot of childhood memories I had of him. Some of my favorite times were certain moments. Watching him be a pitcher for our little league baseball team and taking a shot to the nuts bringing him to his knees while caught on home video (Bob Saget wasn't there to commentate but still hilarious). I remember there was a time when my dad would take one of his 3 boys out for a boys night out and we got to choose whatever we wanted to do which usually consisted of nasty greasy food and a movie. My dad and I have always really bonded on food and movies. He used to take us to Farmington Steakhouse which was this shack of a steakhouse but their meat was cheap, and the family owned joint was friendly so we continued to go back. I remember my dad wrestling with me and my brothers and how tired he would get when all 3 of his boys would gang up on him. I remember him going to every single one of my games and always making an effort to make me a better athlete. I remember the 80's moustache he rocked for so many years (and still does to this day although not as child-molestor like anymore). I remember him always trying to organize family bible studies on Sundays. I remember him working to provide for his family and he always demanded respect in our household and it was well known that he was the man in our home. My relationship with my dad wasn't always peachy keen and for most of my life I was afraid of my dad. Mainly because he had a bad temper and I knew exactly how to set him off (slamming a door, calling him an asshole, talking back, or anything that was disrespectful). When I was 16 years old it was the worst year of my life and a lot happened and a lot happened fast. I started drinking, smoking pot, and got into the worst fight I ever have with my dad and a few weeks later my parents told us they were getting divorced. I felt really guilty for a long time about my parents divorce and I avoided talking to my dad this entire time. When I became a Christian April 16th, 2000 I remember how I couldn't wait to get home to talk to my dad and tell him that I forgave him for what he did to me growing up and how I became a Christian. That was one of the first times I ever heard my dad cry and to this day is still probably one of my favorite conversations I've ever had with a human being. That day changed my relationship with my father and has brought me and my dad to the point where we are now. I consider my dad one of my best friends, a huge role model, a big teddy bear, and an amazing man of God. Sure he made some mistakes as a father but he never claimed to be perfect during his years of heavy weight lifting and mood swings. My dad has always loved me and I've always known that even when times weren't good. I'm writing this today because I need to write about how much I love my father and how he is the best dad in the entire world. I don't want for my dad's health to go wrong or something happen to him before I address it, so I guess I'll chose today. Dad, I remember when you and Karen were having problems and you were working the graveyard shift and you were in pain and unhappy but still allowed your son to reach out and pray with you, cry with you, and love you. You showed me that its okay to be a man and show emotion. You showed me how to treat a women with respect and love her for how beautiful she is on the inside and out. You showed me how to laugh and appreciate the simple things in life. You allowed me to be a stoner and have always accepted me and supported me for who I am. Now that I'm 28 years old and feel like I've turned out to be a pretty decent kid you demonstrate every single time I talk to you how proud you are of me as your son. I can hear it in your voice and how sometimes it almost brings you to tears. I can't wait to have a few kids and try and give back some of the love you've given me and I pray for you a lot and remember that day when I told you I became a Christian that you had been praying for that day for almost my whole life. That is faith, that is love, and that is what a man of God should do. Thank you for showing me life and walking alongside me as I struggled and cheering me on as I thrive in my life now. I feel invisible and like a man and it feels like I'm on the verge of something big in this world. I love you dad with all of my heart and I miss you. Thanks for making me laugh as much as you have, thanks for making me smile as much as you have, and thanks for being a rad dude that I can call my dad and friend. I hope I continue to make you proud and hope to see you at some point in 2011. God is looking down at you and He is proud of you, and I'm thankful for you every single day.
CZ

Victory

2011-07-13T22:34:00.000-07:00

"It is not the critic, not the man who points how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly... Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with these cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat." - Teddy Roosevelt

A little breakthrough

2011-07-09T01:33:00.000-07:00

So tonight is going to be a post that is blunt, honest, and more vulnerable than most of you will see me. Yesterday, July 7th, 2011 I celebrated my 28th birthday and it was a good one. Delicious food, overwhelmingly awesome messages on Facebook, texts, calls, and love all around blah blah blah. These last 5 days I've been struggling and wrestling with the idea about alcohol and the effect it has on some people close to me, and the effect it has on my life. I had some fun with alcohol when I was 21 years old and while I was studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina I was drinking 4-5 nights/week and being remotely responsible about it. I've never been your out of control 'he needs help' kind of a guy. I've for the most part been the 'hey he is funny and entertaining' type of a drinker. Since I've lived in San Diego booze has become less and less apart of my life, and my focus has become more and more on the God I believe in. I truly believe that God gave me a gift and a passion to influence people's lives and hearts. I've seen friends find God because I was obedient to Him, and I've probably strayed some people away because of 'X' or 'Y.' In the last year I finally felt free from the bondage of smoking weed and haven't struggled or had the desire to smoke in almost a year and I'm proud of that. I'm proud of who I'm becoming and who God continues to challenge me to be. But I cannot ignore the fact that He is knocking down doors right now and banging at the door of my heart harder than ever. I'm listening God, I am. And as I write this I'm reacting and feel like I'm doing well, but I too fall my friends. I've seen friends get DUI's, go to jail over drinking, marriages become broken, lives destroyed, and addiction take over a lot of peoples lives in the 11 years I've been walking with God. So before I go on a tangent let me tell you why I'm writing this post. July 8th, 2011 is my last day with booze for what I feel is going to be a long, long while. Why? Because God is doing too many things in my life and for one second I don't want to be buzzed enough to miss that opportunity, or miss that chance of making an impact on someones life. Am I stopping because I have a problem with booze? The answer is no but I'm not here to justify, I'm here to respond. Respond to the life I have and the path that is in front of me. Alcohol damages my voice, is expensive, is temporary relief, is empty, and nowhere close to being as fulfilling as my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Am I quitting to set an example for people? Partially yes. Am I letting it go because I don't need it? Yes. Am I going to fill this now void with something else? Absolutely and its name is Jesus. I don't know where I'm supposed to be or what I'm supposed to be doing in my life. But I do know that following God is the most important thing in my life and the only thing that matters to me. Music is fun and temporary but not even playing for a bunch of friends feels remotely close to the euphoria my God fills me with. You couldn't hand me a bottle of Southern European wine thats 200 years old to fill what I have living inside me with God. So I write this God as a written acknowledgment to confess that I'm nothing without you, and will not sufficate to something of this world if it distracts me even for a few minutes to what you have/want for me. You have my full on attention and I will continue to prove that to you until the day I die. I pray for my friends that struggle with booze, and who have lost control of their lives and don't know what to do other than drink. If it buries anger for a brief moment don't let it. If life feels better for a few minutes that will die off too. Let me help you and if you are willing I'll tell you about my God and show you the life I've been seeking for the last 11 years because its beautiful. Its real, its alive, its fun, its joy, and its where I need to be. Goodbye Sierra Nevada and Coors Lite and hello to the whatever comes. I'm ready and anxious for what July 9th, 2011. I'm not afraid of having the shakes from a lack of booze in system. I'm excited to see what challenge is next and what is going to happen. While I'm celebrating the age of 28 I want to see souls be saved and impact peoples lives every single day. I want to make an impact on 365 peoples lives this year, and I want to no longer work behind a desk job working a 7-4. I want to experience life, I want to play music, I want to encourage people, I want to give the world hope, I want souls that are shattered to cry out for help, I want people that are struggling to say one word and let God do the rest. I seek with all of my heart the desire to show people what I'm living on a daily basis. I don't say "I'm living the dream" because it sounds cool. I say it because I honestly feel that way. I'm better than I deserve and its sucks people are dying inside more and more everyday. Yesterday while I was at work I got a message from one of my friends that said "Happy Birthday Chris I'm proud to know you." It was probably the 50th birthday wish I had already received but I felt loved, I felt alive, and I felt like I need to give it back more and more everyday. I'm sorry I've slipped up and I'm sorry I disappointed two people today. My God and a dear friend whom I admire her heart more and more everyday. Thank you for making me feel alive and giving me air in my lungs to live.

Needle and Haystack Life

2011-06-22T21:02:00.001-07:00

Pictured above is Stephanie Converse (S-Verse), Jon Foreman (of Switchfoot, Fiction Family, and San Diego), myself; Christopher Charles Zach (2009,'10 hair model of the year), and Kyle "Pfluegnasty" Pflueger of L.A. Mesa. Why do we all look beyond stoked out of our minds? Because this was the first day I met Jonathan Mark Foreman (born October 22, 1976).... As many of you know I'm extremely passionate about music, musicians, and artists and their processes. Jon (that's right barely in my 3rd sentence and already on a 1st name basis but come on I have a picture with the guy so we are pretty good pals already) has a way of processing life, and enjoys a lot of the same things that I do in life. He enjoys using music to try and understand this life, God, women, grace, and pain. Lyrically he is the Bob Dylan of our generation and musically he displays a passion thats so incredibly open in every song and challenges you to find out what he is writing about, or try and relate to a situation he is trying to describe. On their last album Hello Hurricane the first track is a song called "Needle and Haystack Life" and some of the lyrics of the song are "we are once in a lifetime." Jon writes with such vulnerability and transparent honesty in his music, such optimism that has got me through a lot of days/months. I remember my first year out in San Diego I was heart broken and used to listen to one of his songs and the lyrics "the shadow proves the sunshines" over and over and over and many times it brought me to tears and gave me hope. I love that music can bring on such intense emotion to our souls. I.E. the opening chords of "Tears in Heaven" makes me think of painful song written through the eyes of a shattered soul mourning his son's death. Or hearing Dave Matthews scream from the top of his lungs live during the song "Bartender." Trent Reznor and Johnny Cash singing "you could have it all, my empire of dirt." Music is a powerful tool that God gave us and it continues to save us. This last weekend I saw Jon Foreman perform 4 separate sets and was inspired more musically than I've ever been in my life, which is a bold statement because I've seen hundreds of concerts and heard a lot of music. Leaving after the 4th show I was thinking and praying to God that I hope one of my songs or one of my lyrics can pierce someone's heart the way JF's music has pierced mine. I write music for the hopeless, I write music because its the most powerful thing other than God I've ever experienced, and I write music because I love music more than Mt Dew and a burrito combined. Music changed my life in a way that has given me a burning passion to help people process life the way JF has allowed me to through his music. If you're having a crappy day listen to your favorite song or favorite band, and I promise you it will make you smile or at least sing along for a moment or two. My dream is to one day wake up breathing music while being inspired and inspiring people to find their passion and their dream and allow them to let it become a reality. A few weeks ago I told my fellow bandmate Kyle that I'm going to meet Jon Foreman and hand him a copy of our CD "The World We Live In" EP this year. On June 17th, 2011 at about 5pm P.S.T. that happened. I have a lot of dreams and aspirations and I believe with 4093% of my heart that I'm going to make a big difference before I leave this world to be with my God. While I'm here and kicking I've decided to let God be #1, and let Him decide the rest. Right now He has allowed music to be a huge focus and is opening up lots of doors for me to make it happen. I'm responding and make big strides and having a lot of fun while doing it (see picture above). A few weeks ago I felt incredibly restless because He knew I needed a break and to get recharged, and when I was ready He said "okay go meet your biggest musical influence, see him live 4 times, and continue to write music to change the world you live in." Well I'm doing that and nothing is going to stop me. 2011 is a little over half way over and I've accomplished almost everyone of my goals so far this year. So whats next? I'm going to continue to live with God as #1 and pray for His will to be done in my life. If its not what He wants I'll probably strain my vocal cords again or fracture my wrist. Until that day there are a lot of people that need to hear these words in a song, need to feel this love in their hearts, and are seeking a life better than they have but don't know where to go. In the words of Jon Foreman "love is the final fight." I believe that everyone can experience what I do on a daily basis and it takes a lot of work, a lot of focus, and a lot of passion. Music fuels me more and more everyday and tonight I got to play guitar for about 30 minutes and it was the highlight of my day. I sit and smile, I process, I write, I experience, I create, and I do what I feel I should be doing right now. Music is my tool, whats yours?

Chris Zach
"To hear or experience our music check out"
http://www.ForTheFaint.com

A Soldier For What?

2011-05-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

So as we celebrate Memorial Day weekend I am proud to say I know people in the military. I don't have the cojones to join the military and if I could do it all over after high school I would've signed up to serve. If you see someone in the military shake their hand and thank them for serving because they are doing something many of us cannot and would not do which is put their life on the line for us. The last few weeks at church the message has been centered around a series called "The Jesus Dilemma" which I've thoroughly enjoyed. Today Pastor Miles said something that made me think when saying "a lot of us are in a Christian struggle but not a Christian war." This last week I strained my vocal cords and had this fear that I wasn't going to be able to sing for a while and today almost 5 days later my voice is still struggling. I then realized that maybe sometimes we go through hard times to show someone else how to suffer. I wouldn't say the last few days that I've been "suffering" but God has shook me up in a few different categories of my life. As many of you may or may not know I enjoy talking, I enjoy preaching to people, I love encouraging people, and my motor on my voice and in my life is constantly churning. There is no off switch in this man because its stuck in between "passion" and "stubborn." During these last few days being in silence God has showed me how desperately jealous He is for me and my heart. I invest so much time and energy into people, my personal goals, my music, and my life but do I devote that same potential energy to God like He deserves? The answer is no. I get up every morning and read and pray and its about 15-20 minutes worth of okay JC time. This time I'm spent with one eye open and reading just to read, and praying just to pray so I can check it off my list for the day. Recently a good friend gave me a book called "You Were Born For This" that talks about being a miracle and letting God be that miracle in your life. It has made me realize how many times throughout my day I tell God no versus telling him yes. I have my agenda everyday and Google calendar decides when and where I should be. What if God has something else I should be fighting for? My 'Jesus Dilemma' has become I am fighting more for other people than I am fighting for God. Since I cannot serve our country the way our troops can why can I not become more of a soldier for God? If I died tomorrow what would people remember about me? The silly stoner party kid? The quick witted guy who could quote any movie? The encourager? The man of God? Or the man who would do anything for anyone and always put His God first? My dilemma is I'm not spending everyday out on the front line for God which He deserves. I pick and choose my battles and if I'm exhausted from my week I want to have some 'Chris' time which I feel I deserve. God made me who I am for a reason and that is for me to share what I've experienced in my life while walking with God. I'm trying now more than ever to be a soldier for what I believe and if its through my music thank you. If its talking on the phone to realtors than thank you. If its writing these blogs to encourage or inspire one person than thank you. What are you fighting today? What do you believe in and what is worth fighting for? If you could go to battle for anything would you or could you find something? Everyday people die for what they are fighting for and here in America Christianity is a joke. I don't remember seeing on the news someone dying for what they believe in and because they spoke up for what they believed? People die all over the world daily just for mentioning my God and they continue to. When its all said and done will I have the heart like Peter to be 'crucified upside down' because I feel unworthy to die the same way that Jesus did? Am I willing to die for what I believe? If so then I need to get ready with a voice or not. My God is my voice and what I'm fighting for. My heart is shattered knowing there are lives out there that are hurting and nobody is willing to help them. 25% of the homeless in San Diego are military veterans who felt like they did the right thing by serving their country. Look around and look for opportunities to be that miracle in someones life. They might live next to you, it might be that person that asked you for change, it might be the lady at the grocery store, it might be that evil old lady that you hate but see every single day. Ask for that opportunity and pray for God to use you. If you don't believe in what I do and have questions or would be curious to hear about this "dilemma" I would encourage you to watch a sermon or 2. Pastor Miles is funny and will make you think if your heart is open to it. Check out one of the messages here: http://www.therocksandiego.org/messages/jesusdilemma/

For The Faint- "The World We Live In" review

2011-05-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

My band For The Faint and our debut EP "The World We Live In" Buy it here:

So I love talking to people about music and getting their feedback on album reviews, artists to listen to, and take in anything they can give me with constructive criticism. I have a dear friend whose opinion I value a lot with music and he has a way of breaking down music and I asked him if he could write a review of our CD and be honest with me. Before he finishes up his review he had a few questions for me that inspired me to make this post a Q & A session about the album to give you some more ideas about what makes us as a band tick while writing this album. Hope you enjoy it and if you don't have the album please go to our website http://www.ForTheFaint.com/albums/ to buy it now!!!

1. You already had an ep and a little solo singer songwriter groove...why the addition of Kyle Pflueger and FTF?

I had fun as a solo acoustic artist and it was huge for my confidence as a songwriter/performer to promote myself and my message for the 18 months or so that I was playing solo. The first time me and Kyle ever jammed together it was fun because I was challenged by him. Challenged in the way that he made me perk up my playing and focus more vocally, it also started to get fun when he would play something and I would just sort of ramble on words and play around with song ideas. Or we would take a cover of a song we both already knew and started to make up our own words and it was fun. Then Kyle started to leave me voice mails of these little guitar riffs he was writing and the emotion that was withheld in these simple riffs struck so much inside of me. I always asked him "when you hear these chords or riffs what emotion comes out if it for you?" He couldn't describe an emotion but would continue to just bring guitar idea after guitar idea and rarely I would turn them down because I loved how they stimulated my soul. At the end of 2009 I was exhausted from playing solo and a little burnt out on playing the same 5-7 songs with a handful of covers I would rotate into my setlist and I told myself over xmas break in '09 that I was going to focus on just guitar playing and less singing. Kyle came back into the equation during this time and we just had a blast playing together almost every Friday night and pretty quickly I made the decision to spend most of 2010 devoted to writing new music with him.

1a. Why FTF?

Its a fun little project for now and we plan to add a bassist and a lead guitarist very soon (have Kyle jump on drums).

2. What songs did you reprise from Welcome to the Good Life EP onto The World We Live In and why?
Welcome to the Good Life was the only song that made it onto TWWLI. I was considering retiring the song a little bit but its still one of my favorite songs lyrically, a fan favorite, and has a awesome message behind it otherwise it was all new music I wanted people to hear on our new EP. I wanted people to hear the progression in my voice, my creativity, and pushing the bar a little further. Kyle has been really wanting to add something to the song "Heaven" and I've wanted to throw some cajon or percussion onto "The Ocean" but haven't had the time to experiment with those because we have a lot of new material we are writing already.

3. How do you feel you have changed as an artist since W2TGL?

I've changed as an artist since W2TGL EP with my confidence. I listened to live recordings and saw video of me playing solo and it was really encouraging for me. I felt like I had barely showed people my potential and started to critique myself and create my own sound. On W2TGL EP I was trying to sound like my musical influences and on this new record I was trying to discover our sound. I want people to hear this EP and try and identify who our influences are but still say "yeah they have a new sound I can't describe."

4. Tell me about the process of creating TWWLI ep?

The process of writing TWWLI was me and Kyle jamming out and usually one of us would write a guitar riff and bring it to the other and we would jam on it, leave it alone, and a few days/weeks/ or months later I would have the lyrics done. I'm incredibly visual with my songwriting and I can hear lyrics in chords. There is a certain freedom of the riffs that we come up with, a lot of space. You take the song "Free" and it has this beauty that starts out like a song, then turns into a message, and ends with hope. Every song on this record I could tell you exactly what I was going through or Kyle was going through when we wrote it. Our process was trying to explain the things we didn't understand while they were happening to us. So I wrote about life, God, women, and hope.

5. What do you want people to take away from this album?

I love this question :) I want to challenge people with where they are at in their lives. Some people don't get to experience what I do on a daily basis. Simply put other people don't wake up looking at life as an opportunity, they can't see the world they live in as a canvas. I thrive for opportunities and love when friends come to me struggling. Its a challenge for me to turn it around be a part of that process to see them at the end of the day smiling and looking to pay it forward. We live in a very jacked up world and everyday I see people struggling with life, with addiction, with pain, with God, with relationships, with money, and people ready to give up on it all because its the easier way out. I want people to cry when hearing this album, I want people to be inspired, I want people to believe in something, I want people to find one thing in their life they can improve and actually make it happen. We end the album with "We Fall Down" which for some reason just has so much passion behind it. Its my fight song and my redemption song for people. You will fall down yes, but getting up is one of the most beautiful things to do. Its inspiring to watch someone in rehab come out clean and see the look in their face like they are reborn and have a second chance. Everyday we will be faced with something and life will throw us curve balls. I've never met anyone who hasn't struggled at some point in their life. But I want people to realize that life can get better if they deep down believe with everything in their soul that it is the truth. I want people to find that truth while listening to our music, if they can realize the world they live in is distorted but still beautiful, then mission accomplished. Even if its one person....

6. What influences FTF?

God, people, struggling, the ocean, music, talented people using their gift to help other people, and seeing people love each other for who they are. At our CD release party I looked at all of the people in the audience and the good friends I've developed out here in SD the last 4.5 years and I saw smiles, people genuinely conversing with each other, and it was God's way of rewarding me for doing what I do best; which is enjoying life and loving Him. I'm influenced by the most simple things and am attracted to passionate people and people who enjoy deep conversations and who enjoy the things I do.

7. Talk about my groupies-

We have some big supporters of our music. People who make t-shirts, have video blogs about us, people who do album reviews just because they are fans. I think truly our fans are inspired by us being so passionate about our music, they are attracted to that. The better the music gets the more fans we see though too but don't have any "groupies" yet; although now Kyle is engaged its just me to get the attention from the ladies LOL.

8. What is next for FTF in the next 2 years?

Traveling, meeting people, playing music, and continuing to provide a persuasive hope for a world that desperately needs it. I don't want to become rich off of playing music but I do want to be able to travel full time and play music and be able to get my friends/family plugged into it somehow. I would love to get out from behind a computer desk and out interacting with people face to face and talk to people about life, ideas, and encourage them. If I could make some money to pay for guitar strings and In N Out that would be neat as well..

9. For each of the 7 songs where you at as a person when you wrote it?

a. W2TGL- I was stoked on life and had a lot of people that weren't so stoked that I was trying to get them to understand that life gets better
b. Dance With Me- I wrote this song when I was in a funk coming out of a relationship, in between jobs, and feeling a little bluesy. I was listening to a lot of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Switchfoot's new album "Hello Hurricane" and one day I was playing and played the opening riff of DWM and started to just sing words that sounded like how I was feeling. Its one of my favorite songs to play live b/c you can see people bopping their heads and Kyle has a fun guitar solo in this song.
c. Too Close- Kyle and I were just really excited to be jamming and having as much chemistry as we did right out of the gate so we wrote this song about being closer to that dream and having something in our grip but not sure where it was going to go.
d. Free- me and Kyle were both getting a ton of crap thrown at us from life and both feeling overwhelmed and one day just wrote the chorus of this song and I just started screaming from the top of my lungs "you know I'm free" and Kyle stopped playing and said do that again I just got the chills. It became a song that I was so terrified of singing in the studio and is a song I think that will surprise people the most on the album because of where I go vocally. A song about dreaming bigger than we think we are possible at doing on our own.
e. Souls Collide- I was happy in a relationship but one element was missing which was the spiritual element but we still tried to make it work regardless of our beliefs. I asked her one day if there was one thing that I could do for her that nobody had ever done and she said "write a song for me" and this is what came of it. I was reading my bible and read Psalms 71:20 about "being refilled by God" and it just clicked and I picked up my guitar and notebook and wrote this song
f. I'll Wait For You- I was enjoying life and playing down at the cliffs and saw all of these couples watching the ocean and just being in awe of it. They were in love with each other and I just started playing a riff singing "you know I'll wait for you." As soon as I played that riff and came up with those few words I went home and finished the song pretty quickly. A simple and hopeful love song for myself
g. We Fall Down- I have never been happier in my life and when I wrote this song life was working out beautifully. I wanted this to be a hopeful song for people who are struggling. A pick me up song at the end of a long day when life seems to have completely drained you. Its a song I try to sing in my head everyday and take the mentality "fake it til you make it." Falling sucks and life can suck sometimes but I don't know how I got to the point in my life that I am at but I know it was because I continue to look up and not give up. One of my favorite songs on the album and the perfect way to end people with that last thought. "We all fall but we are safe for now." You haven't died so why give up? One of the highlights of being in the studio was closing my eyes the entire time I screamed these lyrics into the mic and hearing our producer after it was finished recording say "I just witnessed true worship and humility." It was one of the biggest compliments I've ever received knowing that I gave my entire heart out and that was going to be the last thing people heard on this album. I hope that passion is transparent as you listen to it.

I hope letting you into our world helps in you in some way and check us out online at www.ForTheFaint.com

Chris Zach

Pervasive Hope

2011-04-24T11:41:00.001-07:00

Pictured above is Nick Vujicic whom I've seen speak twice. Nick was born with no arms and legs and now travels the world preaching the message of hope, love, and Jesus Christ. One of the most compelling speakers I've ever heard and he speaks about many topics and I saw him speak again in February 2011 at my church The Rock here in San Diego. This last time he spoke about pervasive hope and talked about brokenness. I have a lot of people in my life that are experiencing brokenness and I can't imagine sometimes the pain they feel that the world creates in their lives. I've got a buddy who just went back to jail, I've got a friend who ignores me because he wants to be left alone right now, I've got a friend who is struggling with addiction, I've got friends who are atheist, I've got a friend that recently lost his best friend, I've got friends who lost their newborn baby, and I have friends who just choose to settle for life being blah and are okay with a 9-5 job being their focus. We all react differently to brokenness and some of us embrace it and try and find what God is teaching us, some go to a women/men, some of us go to the bottle, or the needle, and some of us run and hide. Hiding from life and from God is one of the scariest and darkest places you can go. The other day I was reading the book of Luke and it was talking about when they put Jesus in the tomb after they had crucified Him and the disciples were doubting His return like He had promised. We all struggle with truth, with trust, and with God. I struggle with God every single day and being a Christian is one of the most challenging and most beautiful things in my life. Now some of you might be reading this saying "well why do you play the Christian card and how can you doubt this so-called God that has done so much in your life?" My answer: BECAUSE I'M HUMAN LIKE YOU ARE!!!! Imagine being one of the chosen disciples (which you are) but imagine you were one of the 12. You've seen miracles, you've seen people being healed, you've seen him calm storms, you've heard Jesus speaking in person and working among you physically; yet you still doubt. I'm the exact same way and I've seen hundreds of miracles and God continues to show Himself to me daily, and yet I still struggle. God gives us an option everyday and Has given me many gifts and He uses me when I'm willing. He gives me a pervasive hope and I remember when Nick (pictured above) said "you don't know what God can do with broken pieces until you give them to Him." So today its Easter and its 66 degrees outside and beautiful in this lovely city I call my home, and I'm getting ready to read my Bible and the doubt starts to come into my mind, the excuses of why I shouldn't read my Bible today, the excuses that I shouldn't go to church tonight because I go every Sunday and the people that go today don't usually go. Then my God reminds me of what He is doing in my life, and that hope comes back. His holy spirit fills me back up with that love, with that calmness, with that understanding, with that hope, with that love that reminds me of how beautiful my life and my God is. I read a quote yesterday that said "I'm really only responsible to make sure one person is clapping at the end of my life." I have a pretty decent resume here on Earth in the worlds eyes but it doesn't matter to God. God challenges me to not settle for what I've got, because He wants to give me more even though I don't deserve it. So as For The Faint finishes our first EP God reminds me that He is putting on my armor to go out into a world with this message of pervasive hope, these 4-minute songs that will get people through the world they live in, and that God wants to use me if I am willing. I'm going to have lunch/dinner with my cousins Tori and Sean and their loved ones and I'm thankful that I have family, life, and God today. Find that hope today whether its in God, in food, music, children, or pain. We all have a hope we can live with if we choose to recognize it. I'll leave you with the defintion of pervasive: "having the quality or tendency to pervade or permeate." Permeate, I like that word, what permeates in your heart right now, what is brewing? If its not Foldgers (coffee joke anyone? Bueller, Bueller, Bueller?) than what is holding you down or locking you up from that hope? Start there and let God do the rest; if you don't believe in God than ask the Easter Bunny. Nick Vujicic ended his last message by saying "I want some of you to examine your heart because some of you are more disabled inside than I'll ever be." Happy Easter everyone and God Bless.

Restless

2011-04-16T15:36:00.000-07:00

April 16th, 2000 will be a day I remember forever. I gave up anger, control, hatred, disappointment, life, hope, pain, doubt, and fear to a God who is alive. This day always continues to be a day overwhelmed with love and thankfulness for the best decision of my life when I stood up in front of over 200 people and asked God into my life and he released the chains. Over the last 11 years He has done more than I could've ever imagined. Placed people in my life that make me who I am, and used them to push me to be someone bigger than I am able to become on my own. 2 years after I became a believer He gave me one of the best gifts with a guitar which has helped me live in a world that needs hope. I traveled all over South America, I graduated high school and college, I moved to San Diego. I released a CD (almost done with the 2nd). I've seen hundreds of people get saved. I've prayed with hundreds of people. I've seen Him grow in thousands of peoples lives and everyday He is more and more transparent in the world we live in. Thank you God for doing what you did in me and I pray that you will continue to use me as an example of what a man of God should be like, and forgive me when I fail. The last 11 years have been pure awesomeness and I've been brought down and you always bring me back up. I don't have to fall as hard as I used to and now understand where you are. But never once have you left my side. Your creation, people, and music continue to remind me of how amazing you are and I plan on spending the rest of my life giving it back to you (can I please have a guitar in my hand through it all?) I am restless when I am not with God and I'm thriving when I stay focused on Him. If you are reading this I hope I've impacted your life, and if I haven't I pray someday I will. I'm fighting for something that everyone needs to experience in their lifetime. My heart breaks for people who live without God, they have no idea of what He can do and will do if you let Him. We all live with a void inside of us that we try and fill with something of this world and ever since that day the void becomes less and less, and my passion for God grows daily more and more fervently . Find rest in Him and if you seek Him the Bible tells us you will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). I'll leave you with some lyrics from my favorite musician in the Universe, Jon Foreman of Switchfoot:

"Hallelujah, I'm caving in
Hallelujah, I'm in love again
Hallelujah, I'm a wretched man
Hallelujah, every breath is a second chance"

God gave us lungs to help us breathe. He gave us a heart because He wants us to experience life. No matter where you are at and if you are reading this pray for me that God will use me, and then pray for yourself and something you need to give God; if its your life He has been waiting for you and is ready to do amazing things. I thank you God, for saving me. I thank you God, for making me Christopher Charles Zach. Now use me God, and I promise I'll die trying.

Bold As Love

2011-03-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

I've been learning a lot the last few years out in San Diego and its cool to see other people around me growing and trying to grasp life. I've always been incredibly passionate about life and thanks to my mother Cynthia Bang I also consider myself a pretty optimistic guy. She has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I've ever met and its cool to know that she influenced me in that way. A lot has happened in the last few weeks and I had 2 dear friends lose their newborn baby. Landon David Moberg was born on 3/11/2011 around 8am and they lost him a few hours later. That day I really struggled with the whole "why" question but throughout the last 2 weeks God has showed me some optimism in this situation. It was incredible to see the amount of support they received from friends and family. Love is one of the greatest gifts that God gave us, and the more we love others the more love we receive from Him. I've been seeking God my whole life but wholeheartedly the last 11 years and its been beautiful to see the opportunities and life for me happening the way He planned. I wrote a song last night called "Going Home" and it was my way of coping with losing Landon and seeing my friends in pain. Landon is no longer in pain and is home. I wrote the lyrics:

"There's comfort in knowing that I felt you breathing
I'm struggling to find that its just your time
So I love you and goodbye for now
You're going home."

We will never understand fully what God is doing but if we trust that He is what the Bible promises, he will continue to reveal what we should be doing. Love, music, and seeking to understand has helped me these last few weeks. But I had comfort in God knowing that they got to hold him for a few hours before saying goodbye. I'm sure every single person has something that they doubt God about, or they struggle with even if you are living with or without God. If you are living without God you are convincing yourself everyday that he doesn't exist, which is tough to do in my opinion. Love is the final fight and love is more powerful than violence, stronger than racism, stronger than pain. Start with loving yourself because God made you a beautiful soul, no matter how jacked up you think your life is. You don't know what God can do with broken pieces until you give them to him. See you soon Landon and say hi to Stevie Ray Vaughan for me.

Humility

2011-03-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

So we've all heard the cliche saying "treat others the way that you would like to be treated." Now after you get done projectile vomiting on your keyboard from wanting to give up on this post already hear me out. Humility is something that I've been struggling with for a while. I love doing things for others, but I also enjoy trying to get the credit for it as well. I was in the book of Mark 12 this morning and there was a section talking about people in church praying, donating money to the church (tithing), and people bragging about what they've done with their life. I started to think about getting recognition for certain things and how we all love to hear "nice work" or "hey I just got another sale." Its human nature to want credit or receive recognition for a job well done. I have the most loving and supportive parents a child can ask for and my parents did a fantastic job of letting me know that they were proud of me and would challenge me when I was below par (minus when I sucked in high school but thats irrelevant here). I then saw in the life application section of my Bible the words "let your actions be consistent with your beliefs. Live for Christ, even when no one is looking." IN THE FACE!!!! Even when no one is looking? Well if nobody is going to give me that attention where should I go with it? How can I feel like what I'm doing is benefiting someone even if it is myself? We all have these selfish motives and desires deep within our hearts but it is when we get lost in Christ that we can be humbled by him. The deeper I dive into this relationship with God the less and less I crave the attention. I still struggle with it and I find myself naming off a checklist of things I've done this week to help people, or benefit someone else other than myself. I hear conversations in my brain "Chris tell someone that you walked that old lady across the street after carrying her groceries 4,429 miles while enduring a hurricane, no water, and a attack from African killer bees." My point being is this... Love yourself for the beautiful person God created you to be. And second, love other people regardless of what they can bring into your life and love without any intentions. I promise you that "karma" or "God" will give it back to you 204-fold and you will find yourself mesmerized by the beauty of the life you have in front of you. I can guarentee that you have someone in your life that you need to forgive, or someone you need to apologize to, or something you need to let go of and let God. Humility is God's way of slapping us in the face and hugging us at the same time. Now you'll have to excuse me but I have to go out of my way to pick up a friend for church.... Thats right I'm still learning :)

For The Faint

2011-03-08T21:53:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling too inspired lately to not try and express whats been up in the world of Chris' music. So after a year of playing my buddy Kyle Pflueger and I have really elevated our music to another level and have been playing every Friday night for quite some time. During these 5-6 hour jam sessions we come up with new ideas, new riffs, talk about life, talk about God, pray, and get anything that is off our chest and express it through lyrics and 2 acoustic guitars. I can honestly say I've never been more inspired and more driven for anything in my life other than Jesus with what we are experiencing together musically. This project is called "For The Faint" and the name came to me one night when I had a dream and woke up and reached over to my phone and typed in these 3 words, and a few hours later remembered that I had come up with a possible band name. I've always had a heart for the hopeless, a understanding and a burning desire to help those that are lost, and love encouraging others who don't get to experience what I do on a daily basis. When I released "Welcome to the Good Life EP" I saw the power of music, and the power of my message transforming peoples hearts and lives through what God had given me. I wrote the song W2TGL about looking at life through the lens of my world but also through the lens of people in my life who didn't have the same optimism that life was rad and could get more radderer (yes made up word but in this context it applies so Google it). I continue to write a similar message of hope and love but also connecting with my own desires on a deeper level. I enjoy writing about things that I don't fully understand such as; God, women, and life and not in that order. I enjoy where I am at and life has never been better, but I'm not slowing down and that fear of complacency keeps me digging for something bigger and something God-sized to transform my life, or as Kyle refers to it as "changing the world we live in." I have many people in my life that I can help or encourage in some way and it continues to light my heart on fire for this world, but more important for more of my Creator; Jesus Christ. "For The Faint" is writing music to change hearts and if even one song allows a gradual transformation in someones heart I will continue to write, and continue to be as passionate as I am for people, and a continued eagerness to welcome people into my life that I refer to as the "good life." My prayer is that I can make an impact on the world I live in and even if its one person a week or one person a day I reach out to it will be worth it and JC will be looking down at me smiling for doing work in peoples lives. It only took 2 people to encourage me to follow Jesus and now I'm living in a beautiful city, in a beautiful world that is beyond anything I could have ever created on my own. I'm loving it and I plan on spending the rest of my life investing into people, and loving a world that desperately needs that love. If its in a 3.5 minute song or a simple prayer for a friend I will continually pursue to change lives the way that God has changed mine. EP coming soon from us and its only the start of something beautiful....

A Year In Review: 2010

2010-12-31T17:13:00.000-08:00

So I wanted to mention a few things and I'll try to keep it under 1,000 things that I'm thankful for this year in 2010. I'm thankful for change, and not the kind O'Bama preaches. For music and the new songs I wrote this year; Dance With Me, Inside the Fire, Too Close, I'll Wait for You, Stay True, Break Free, Breakdown, and the other 10 unfinished songs I have. My music was taken to a whole other level this year with the addition of Kyle Pflueger. I'm thankful for Kyle and his heart, his passions, his simple ideas that inspire the hell out of me, how he is a proud father of a kid who he loves unconditionally. I'm thankful for Amanda Rubio and how she is nothing but supportive of me and Kyle's shenanigans almost every Friday of this year, and how she laughs at my jokes even though they are B- jokes at best usually. I'm thankful for Tristen who is an angel to so many people, and loves our music more than anyone. I know because he tells Kyle to stop playing our songs because "Chris isn't here to sing" and he leaves me voice mails that make me thank God for children and their simple but hilarious words. I'm thankful for how Jesus continues to transform and mold my heart, challenge me, and keep Chris Zach in check to be the man that God wants, not what the world wants of me, because that Chris died over 10 years ago. I'm thankful for my obedience this year and how God puts my small group, Toys for Joy, Alter Call Ministry, and the opportunities that he provides me everyday to listen to people, encourage people, pray with people, push people over the edge, and tell them about this Jesus guy. I'm thankful for Robert Arias and his heart to let me influence him in a positive way. He is honest, humble, and seeking a life that he deserves and God's beyond stoked to see it happening. I'm thankful for my parents who continue to encourage me and listen to my ideas, make me laugh, smile, and miss good peoples in MN. I'm thankful for my mom calling me sad about how her favorite middle child is across the country but still willing to send me sugar cookies, or call me with technical questions about how to turn on her stereo in her car without setting off the car alarm. My dad for our talks about life, God, and allowing to be an example of what a man of God is, and should be. My stepparents Randy and Karen and how they came into my life to see the Chris that was becoming a man, and hopefully not seeing too much of the old Chris. I'm thankful for both of my brothers and how I'm a perfect blend of both of them, you are welcome world...... I'm thankful for my little brother Josh who always is ready to play a prank on anyone or everyone, and how is sarcasm never gets old. Thanks for letting me into your house in the middle of Minnesota and allowing me to play Stevie Ray Vaughan in an all country bar :) I'm thankful for Jeremy and Mikaela and their obedience to JC even if it means leaving the OC to move across the country. Jeremy continues to be one of my biggest role models just by being him, hes too easy to like, and hes the funniest cat he knows.... other than my black ninja Gomez. I'm thankful for my roommate Eric Kile and how he puts up with me playing music for 4 hours everyday, and never complaining. Someday I'll crack his shell and the world will see how rad of a dood he is inside. I'm thankful for my jobs that I've had over the last year and how I've been able to come into 2 different companies and they wanted me because I'm Chris Zach. I'm thankful for Ryan Reubelt and our friendship that will continue to develop. We have some good ideas and you adapt to change and digest things faster than any human being; which is probably how you are able to provide for a wife and 2 kids like its just another day in the life. I'm thankful for Younglife and meeting Deborah Salcido and Brooklyne Manor; you ladies are beautiful inside and out and give me hope to find a women of God that thinks I'm funny and the man even though I cover N'Sync and Lady Gaga while keeping a straight face. Thankful for Jefferson Jay; this dude loves people and loves music, and more people need his attitude to love life and encourage each other. Thankful for Cat Uecker because she's Cat; artistic, huge heart, a huge fan of anything I do, and pushes me further as an artist/human being. Thankful for Chris and Jen Varner and their belief in my ability to perform at their wedding. Chris has one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen and Jen is ridiculously smart and ambitious. I wish nothing but the best for them and I was stoked to go on a road trip to be a part of it all. I'm thankful for my cat Gomez the Black Ninja, he loves life even though he is a dangerous retard of a cat. He makes me smile when he is not chewing on my sweatshirt. Thankful for Boston Mikey and he is a soldier, for life and for God. Nothing can bring that cat down and thats awesome. My family that is here Tanna, Tori, Sean, and all my other peeps I didn't mention I love you. San Diego is the best thing that has happened to me other than God, my guitar, Mt Dew, and me being so funny and quick witted. 2011 will come with a new CD from For The Faint, me pushing myself further than I ever have, God being #1 in every aspect of my life, and spending more time investing in people whether I feel they deserve it or not. Good talk..... I'll leave you with some words that pierced my heart a lot this year and was a focus in my music which was "love is stronger than violence." In the words of John M. Perkins "love is the final fight."

Chris Zach
Mark 10:27 "With God All Things Are Possible"

A lifelong debate

2010-03-07T18:24:00.000-08:00

Religion is dead, but God is alive. I step back from my everyday life and the life I've created for myself and I realize the opportunity God gave me. I was speaking with a friend last week about their view or religion and how negative of a connotation it brought up, and I feel thankful that I got chosen by God to tell people about what he offers. Millions of people live their whole lives bitter at God, disappointed in something that used to give them hope. Whether it be a Christian that stabbed them in the back, a church had a pastor/priest/reverend do something to destroy the church, a family member dying earlier than they are supposed to, or we messed our life up so bad that we don't feel God has the heart to forgive us for what we've done. The war we are fighting in the middle east is a war that has been going on for thousands of years and its a battle between good versus evil in the same place that Jesus promises in the Bible he will come back to, the Holy Land. The war is not over oil, money, or politics, its a war between false idols and prophets claiming they were sent by their God on a mission. I'm not pointing the finger at any religion or any God and stating that Christianity is the only way out, and I don't use my faith in Jesus as a crutch in any way, I'm simply saying that whatever you believe in continue to seek it. I will never figure God out but he has empowered me to do something and I have a decision every morning; I can choose to obey him or try it on my own. If you are reading this and have tried it on your own you are probably somewhere where you may feel you can't get out of it, or destroyed what God gave you. Whether that's with drugs, alcohol, sex, women, or all of the above there is nothing that God can't repair. He wants you where you are and loves you more than anything you can comprehend. God loves taking people who are jacked up and turning them into something beautiful. The devil tells us where we've screwed up while God tells us where he can use us. The pain you experience doesn't have to be bad and you could use that pain to help someone who is going through that exact same thing. If you've been raped and healed from it you better believe someone out there is struggling with the exact same thing, or dying from it. My prayer for you tonight is don't ignore when God talks to you because he gives everyone the opportunity with life and its up to us what we do with it. I have ambitions, dreams, and things I can't imagine being possible on my own but he already knows my situation, where I'm going to fall, where I'm going to succeed and he has put everything in place for it to happen perfectly, not my way but his. Thanks for reading and I challenge you to experience God it will be the most satisfying thing you've ever experienced, and it will fill the void that you've been trying to fill with what the world gives you.

The Great Sadness

2010-01-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

I just finished one of the most heartfelt, compelling, and real books I've ever read called "The Shack." Words of wisdom, life challenges, dealing with God (living with God), and taking a deep look at God is what this book brings. I'm a nerd and I take notes on my phone, which is stored with numerous forms of inspiration, daily reminders, bible verses, sermon notes, speaker analogies, things to make me smile, things to challenge me, and things I struggle with. After reading this book I felt so motivated to continue to follow my Savior Jesus Christ that provides me with everything. My job, my friends, my family, my girlfriend, my books, money, my car, my guitars, my gift of music, my gift of words, my gift of love, my cat, my apartment, my cell phone, my health, my bed, my food, Mt Dew, and the ocean........ I could keep going on but I will stop at 20 :) For those of you that haven't read "The Shack" go on Amazon.com and purchase it for $6, it will be delivered to you within 3-5 days. Or click here: http://www.amazon.com/Shack-William-P-Young/dp/0964729237/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262462967&sr=8-1

I found one chapter in particular that really stuck with me throughout the book and sticks with me as I type, the chapter was "The Great Sadness." Now this is the foundation of the book so I won't ruin it but I feel we all live with a Great Sadness inside that runs the life that we have. It saddens me to see people walking around with no hope, and no purpose for anything in their life. "I have a 9-5 job, I come home, I eat, I watch reality TV, and then go to bed to do it all over again." If this is you and you are reading this do yourself a favor and write down a list of everything you enjoy in your life, and see where God directs you. If you don't believe in God then listen to your heart (which is God living inside you). My Great Sadness is I have too much passion with too many ambitions and not enough time. I thrive myself on helping and encouraging other people to never slow down to work or focus on my struggles. This has brought a lot of change in my life currently and the only thing I can do is learn from it, and keep sprinting uphill. Now some of you may be reading this smirking saying "it must be nice Chris to have everything and have no real problems" and my answer is yes, but I've worked my ass off to get me where I am, and everyday I do things for myself to win in this game of life (shitty game of life if your life isn't where you want it to be). My advice for you is count your blessings, take what you got, and run with it. Don't look back and don't let anyone negative into this equation because all that will do is allow you to fall backwards a few steps, and encourage these people who are negative because its a deeper issue than what they present on the surface. I write music, I play guitar, I read my bible, I go to the cliffs, I text message people, I forward stupid emails that may be racist/gross but it makes me smile and gets me by. Start doing things you enjoy, and start loving everyone; which brings me to my next ramble. "love without an agenda."

There are a lot of people we come across that are tough to love, or just flat out pricks of the world. They exist and you may be one of them (thanks for reading jerk). The greatest gift God gave us was love, and we all need more love everyday. Sometimes I am nice to people because if I'm nice to them I might be able to get something from them. "I might get a %10 discount", or "I can make more money" or "it will make me look good" but we all know that these things catch up to us. Karma is a biznatch and I've seen it happen to a lot of people, and I've done it to myself but I'm getting better everyday. I am going to try and go into any relationship whether its the cashier at 7-11 or my boss at work and I'm going to love that person just to love them and I'm going to thank God for continuing to bring people into my life, because we are all that we have. Buy someone a cup of coffee, if you see a co-worker having a crappy day and you know they drink Mt Dew (must be cold) buy them one just to make them smile. If you see an old lady trying to reach up and grab a 50 pound container of boxed wine help her. Its the simple things in life that we can do that will make people see God more in this fallen society. Politics won't get you there, the President can't show you how to make a families Christmas, and the media won't show you how our troops are saving thousands of lives around the world because that is God's love. If you live with this Great Sadness get help, go to rehab, apologize to someone who hurt you, forgive someone, write a letter, send an email/text, give them a book (The Shack is a wise choice), pray for each other, leave quarters in the laundry room for the next person who uses it, clean your room, get organized, go to the gym, do anything that gets you feeling better about today, and tomorrow will come easy. Life can suck sometimes but life is all we have, and God is good. I'm thankful for my friends, my life, and the 18 other things I named off. Love is the hardest and most simple thing God gave us.

"Pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly." P. 97 of "The Shack"

In the words of my Pastor Miles McPherson "Do Something"

Round and Round

2009-09-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

So I started writing another song in the last 2 weeks and I have most of the guitar work put together on it and sometimes when I write the guitar riffs I hear certain lyrics come out of it. All I keep hearing is "round and round again" as part of the song and couldn't figure out why until today. I heard some news in the last few days about my Uncle Terry and he had a stroke and isn't doing too well. Unconscious, not eating, and is basically in vegetable form as we speak until they pull the plug in the next 48 hours. It got me thinking about how I am living my life for the moment he is in right now, it may sound morbid but hear me out. Our entire lives all we do is live for another day, and when God says "alright well done my good and faithful servant" we try and take on the opportunities and challenges before us. God spoke to me today and said its okay which was comforting. After hearing this my lyrics made sense because that is all we are doing everyday is going around and around in circles in a cycle or in a routine until we throw in the so-called towel in life. Some of us wake up at the exact same time everyday, eat the same breakfast, put 2 packets of sugar in our coffee, drive the same way to work, ask people how they are doing without any sincerity behind it, work a 9-5 and come home, or go to the bar and try and muster enough energy to return to the nice comfy place you created for yourself called home just to do it all over again in a few hours. Its one big frickin routine that all of us go through every single day. Many of you reading this are probably doing this now and are laughing because you realize that you have 3 minutes until your 9pm alarm clock in your head goes off that starts calculating how much sleep you are not going to get. My point or feeling is this..... Wake up tomorrow thinking that today is going to be the best day of my life, try and make somebodies day by complementing them or taking them out to lunch, let somebody in when they put their blinker on, ask people how they are doing and be genuine about it, call someone you haven't talked to in a while just to say whats up and just listen to them. These are the things I try and do daily that God continues to remind me that life gets better if you want it to, and you actively try to achieve something better than another week marked off your life calendar. I do things I love everyday; read, laugh, fart, eat, watch sunsets, play guitar, dork out on my cell phone, grab my fat cats fat stomach to piss him off, kiss my girlfriend on the forehead, pray, and listen to as much music as I can everyday (I average about 8 hours of music a day I'd say). "Round and round" is the name of my newest song and when God is ready to give me the lyrics and heart to write it I will. But for now I gotta stay in my routine and play some guitar, watch Family Guy, and laugh my butt off.

Ephesians 4:29
"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."

Left Alone Not Knowing Why?

2009-08-24T21:22:00.001-07:00

I think we have all done it when at the end of the day we doubt or question the events that we just went through. Asking the why question rather than looking for wisdom... why do we all doubt when all that it is doing is distorting what God is trying to show us or teach us. For the first time in my life I'm asking God "why" for questions that have brought a lot of happiness into my life? How come when everything seems to be going bad we try and look at someone to blame, or we try and think of an excuse other than what is really happening? Is that really the most smarterest thing to do? One thing I'm confronted with on the daily is doubting that my life can get any better, or that I won't continue to see more and more opportunities being presented before me but why? I'm a pretty decent cat but there are a lot of people looking for a break that don't get it? Is it because I am obedient? Or because I love? Did I play 5 bad hands in the game of life and now I see aces? I can't and won't try and rationalize that anymore but instead I will make an effort every single day to hang on to what I have, and that doesn't mean people and situations but the shear fact that I want more of the feeling of being alive. With that being said I think there are only few things that we can do in life to truly disappoint God. I feel that is when we are at the pearly gates and God asks what we did with what he gave us and we reply with nothing.... Not a day goes by where I'm not thankful for the opportunities I get and how many chances he gives me daily. Whether you believe God is real or not try and find something everyday to live for, and when you find it run with it. I see musicians and athletes being interviewed and a lot of them still seem empty inside, not filled with anything but a gift of talent? They've worked their entire lives to "make it" only to feel more empty than ever. They have more money to spend on crap they don't need, more chances to fail with what they have always had but with more negative temptations. I remember watching the movie "Pursuit of Happyness" and there is a scene where Will Smith is talking to his son and he says "don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't have something. If you want something go get it, the reason people tell you that you can't have it is because they can't. If you want something get it, go get happy." Simple but a struggle for me every single day. Why don't we seek to be the best at our job? Do we not enjoy more money, more opportunity, more challenge, and more freedom? The reason is because we are afraid of something better than what we have. I feel its better to live your entire life knowing you tried, than not knowing at all why..... If God gave us all of the answers, we would have nothing to live for, I'll guess I'll die trying to see.

Pour some salt on it

2009-08-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

So I've been training for a new role at my company and during the training we have talked about creating pain in people and then showing them a solution. There are certain ways to draw this pain, and we learned about tonality and things of that genre to speed up the pain-filled process. It's interesting learning how to speak to someone and how we are able to spark up so much emotion in just a matter of seconds. I have also been thinking about how we live our lives and how we let certain things open us up. Are there reasons that we make ourselves vulnerable? Or is it because we enjoy experiencing pain? Or perhaps we think there is something better to feel than what we are currently feeling? Or because we just like to continue to dig ourselves deeper and deeper into what we already know because we are afraid of something different? What gives us this emotion or desire that we need fulfilled? When we are open to change are we saying "okay bring it on planet Earth I can hang?" We as people are terrified to dig for something better because we feel lost when we are not in our everyday routine, and our world is flustered when we park in a different spot than usual, or wake up 4 minutes later than we usually do. I also wonder why my mind is all over the place today but I think I need to let my world relax and unwind from it. It could be Shark Week coming to an end and my emotions can't handle it but I still have some fear living inside me. A fear that is not only of God, but of something else that is coming into my path. I fear it is something bigger than what I've seen? I guess I will try to open up with what I already have in life and I'll keep trying. Tomorrow is another day for opportunity right? Fortunately enough for me my opportunity clock goes off at 5:14am tomorrow morning, and I couldn't hang with 5:19am, it would make me feel lost all day. My music is out there and there is no turning back for me, I've invested too much of my heart, too much of my mind, and I've inspired way too many people to begin to think about any other way. What if somebody big in the industry tries to bring me down? Nah, not going to happen. I've got JC on my side and I can handle any emotion, any doubt, or any feeling that makes me stumble. Instead of pouring salt on something that has been exposed I'll pour a little sugar on it and step out further on that cliff. Should be enough for tonight, tomorrow I'll be ready again. "Dreaming to be alive"- Chris Zach

GMH

2009-07-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

I can't talk about my life without thinking about true happiness. Why do I deserve such happiness? Is it because I was born into an amazing family? Is it because I'm a decent guy and I treat people in ways I would like to be treated? Today I was at a store and saw an employee obsessed with making people feel happy and welcome into the store. "Feel free to make yourself at home" while browsing through T-Mobile's latest phones. I have conversations with strangers everyday and I see the impression simple gestures, easy jokes, and how stating the obvious can reflect someone's day. I talked to one client and asked him how his day was going and he replied "you know Chris I woke up today and my life hasn't felt better because I woke up again and I know I have an opportunity." All it took was a few short words but I immediately was attracted to this guy (get yo mind out of the gutter). People thrive on happiness, people being cheesy but enjoying life. We all seek something to keep us grounded, to help us keep the focus we need to survive another day or to find another challenge. I've felt complacent lately and I haven't been challenging myself, so as soon as I recognize it I need to commit to something, I need to thrive for anything, breathe for someone, or strike out swinging. I find hope where others see loss, I see love where others see the lost, I find hope in what I've been given. Everything I have could be taken from me but that won't stop me from doing what I do. I was playing guitar the other night overlooking the Pacific Ocean in awe once again and began playing a thankful but empowered guitar riff and starting singing "floating on a thin piece of air." I'm in fragile world with a dream, a place others cannot see, but they want in. They seek it but won't find unless they want to, a hope that only God can give us. A void, an impulse, an illusion, a buzz, or anything to keep them alive for another day. I found a website a few months back called www.GivesMeHope.com and its like FMyLife.com except its hopeful stories. I caught myself wanting to see more stories of people failing on FML.com, than reading stories about people who have overcome. God gives me hope, but the world destroys it. I'm still floating and I'm doing well......

The Times Are A Changing

2009-07-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

Bob Dylan once wrote "the times they are a changing". Ron Burgundy had never heard that song. Change can be good for our lives, and this has no correlation to the 2008 election. Change is what challenges us to be better, and to become better. I try and reflect back on the craziness that has been the last month of my life and I feel a lot of different emotions: thankful, blessed, amazed, inspired, ready, willing, and eager. July 2nd, 2009 was one of the most epic (a So-Cal slang term for fantastic) days of my life and today I would like to talk about that, and where I stand/sit before you this evening. Over 18 months ago I began posting my music videos up on Youtube and was trying to get some feedback, and here I am today with a 5 song EP that has been released to the world. There are times in our lives when things are going really well, when you feel like you should buy a lottery ticket, or you should give someone that parking spot that you were fighting over, or let somebody over when they put on their turn signal, or simply do a nice gesture for somebody just because you are blessed and the only thing you can do is give back. That's God's grace shining down on a world that needs it, a world that lives vicariously through people that are trying to live. I've had the opportunity to work with some amazing people to make some amazing things happen and I know it is just the beginning. On July 2nd I released "Welcome to the Good Life EP" to the world and officially launched "Welcome to the Good Life Ministries" and God has equipped me to go out into a world that needs my message and needs my hope. My career in music will not be determined by what most consider to be a successful by today's standards. I've got a different view on success and choose to think of success in a few different ways. Donald Trump defined success as follows:
1. Think Big
2. Stay focused
3. Be paranoid and keep your guard up
4. Be passionate
5. Don't ever give up
6. Love what you are doing

I'm trying to live out all 6 of these right now and 2 of them I try and do everyday. I think big, and I love what I am doing and what I have the potential to do. Most importantly I have God on my side and he has something God-sized planned for my life. The movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" has a line that talks about one particular part of his life called happyness and this chapter of my life is happyness (this is misspelled for a reason and if you have seen the movie you know the significance with it). We all deserve to be happy, and we thrive to hold onto it. We must everyday try and find it and grab on to it, because the world wants to take it from us. The bible talks about how God wants to fill our life with joy that it overflows unto others, and I'm experiencing his joy right now and will continue to obey him daily, and listen to where he wants me to go. Thank you Father for what you are doing and what you want to do. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of what has been, and for those of you experiencing it for the first time....... "Welcome to the Good Life"

Hope

2009-05-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

I read something about hope in a book I'm reading called "If You Want To Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat." Its an excellent read about living your life without fear, and how God empowers us to do great things if we allow our minds and our hearts to get there. I want to share this text and speak on in briefly.

"Hope is the fuel that the human heart runs on. A car crash or a diivng accident can paralyze a body, but the death of hope paralyzes the spirit.
Hope is what prompts a young man and woman to stand before a preacher and promise "I do" even though thy have no guarantees.
Hope is what fuels the same couple, many years later, after broken promises and broken hearts, to give their promise another try.
Hope is why human beings keep bringing children into a fallen world.
Hope is why there are hospitals and universities.
Hope is why there are therapists and consultants.
No composer would agonize over a score without the hope that some glimmer of beauty will emerge from the struggle.
No parents would agonize over a child without the hope that the child might live a better, nobler, happier life than they did."

If I didn't have hope in my life, I'd be struggling everyday, I'd be living to die. I don't want that, even when I'm living in a cave, at least I know I'm alive. Just a few brief words but I was touched by it.

Chapter 2

2009-05-17T15:58:00.001-07:00

So close to a year ago I wrote a song called "Fighting To Be Heard" which was about a few struggles of people I had in my life, and my way of secretly crying that I wanted and needed my music to be heard. Not only was I fighting a lot of negative things going on in my life but I felt as though I was almost doing it alone, or that's what I told myself in a stoned stupor. God took me, saw my heart, listened to me and guided me out into a new state of mind. He held my hand until I could proudly scream from the top of my lungs "All I need is Jesus" in a bar. God gives us a few simple instructions and the hardest and most important instruction he gives us is to obey. I have done a pretty decent job in the last 12 months listening and trying to obey what God has given me, and now the path I am seeing more clearly everyday is going to be a ride I'm almost ready for. My intentions last year were get rich, get famous, and buy myself a bunch of stuff. 2009 intentions are "get ready and continue to follow God, and do it everyday." May 9th, 2009 God made that apparent that he has something bigger planned for me, that is God sized. This isn't the same as McDonald's super size but it is about 4,009,924 more intense. We can't even begin to imagine the life that God has planned for us, but we know its better than anything we could ever plan. I went to bed May 8th, 2009 and while I was praying I began to cry and wept while thanking God for the opportunities he continues to show me, while still serving him everyday. God took my soul, and saw the intention of my heart and said "okay Chris you are ready for what I have." May 9th, 2009 was one of the most overwhelmingly beautiful days of my life, and God was the biggest part of it. I arrived at Jefferson Jay's small studio spot that was about 50 yards away from one of my favorite spots in all of San Diego. It was Santa Cruz avenue and the exact location that influenced me to move out to San Diego and was the exact thing I wrote about in my song "The Ocean." 1:30pm we began talking about my music and what I had planned for this album, and how I wanted it to sound. Jefferson told me "what I want for you is a place to record your music while allowing you to feel relaxed." That's exactly what he created while making me feel like it was me in that room and he was just there to do his thing, while I sat awestruck doing mine. I recorded the guitar tracks first starting with "Fighting To Be Heard", "The Ocean", "Welcome to the Good Life", and ending with "Heaven." Recording all of the guitar went swimmingly and we barely adjusted any of the songs after I played them because they are songs that I have been playing on a daily basis for the last 12 months. After recording the guitar we took a little walk to get a bite to eat and discuss music. Jefferson has been doing the music thing for a while and he has traveled the country playing, and even hit a few spots around the world. One thing I really like about Jefferson is how simple he keeps music, he was talking about how much music is up to the artist. There are some artists who create such complex guitar, powerful lyrics, but they struggle how to display it on stage because they get wrapped up in everything that comes with being in the music world. While we recorded the vocals for my song "Welcome to the Good Life" I saw an expression and the power of music take over every ounce of energy Jefferson and that confirmed what God continues to tell me, that music can be my way to use all of my spiritual gifts he has given me. I love music, I love helping people, and more than anything I love Jesus. In 24 months will I be playing in front of 70,000 people and opening up for bands that have influenced my music? Will I someday own a house in San Diego where I wake up everyday and walk outside to the beauty of the Pacific Ocean and submerge myself in the words of God in my Bible? I don't know any of these answers but God has a "God-sized" plan for my life, and I will spend everyday for the rest of my life trying to fulfill whatever plan he has for my life. I feel as though Chapter 2 of this whole music is about to start and I am stepping out of the boat, and I'm ready to walk on water with God. God my prayer today is that you continue to fill my heart with a passion for you and that every single person I come across can see a glimpse of your life, and a glimpse of what life can be like.

9 years and counting.....

2009-04-16T21:36:00.000-07:00

Jacksonville, Florida was the location. We performed a little concert/sketch comedy with a message of the Christian faith entitled "Vertical Reality." I was 16-years young dying inside with a lot of pain, I had a lot of unanswered questions, insecurities, doubts about my existence, trying to find love in all the wrong places, and doing it in a cycle that was spinning out of control while preparing myself to explode once and for all and call it a day. The years leading up to April 16th, 2000 was in the making to a pretty decent story, and I played a role many were accustom to while making people laugh, smiling while hiding from the fire that was deep inside that I tried to hide, and a envisioned pretty graphic death that I thought was coming. There were nights when I thought about it, but those were nights when I would stay up and listen to Blink 182's "Adam Song", "Stay Together for the Kids", and Hootie and the Blowfish's "Goodbye". All songs that for some reason had way more meaning than the artist intended. While in this emo-fied state of mind I had a few people talking to me with way more passion than should be allowed at the age of 16, and they gave me hope. My definition of hope at this point was that the Taco Bell drive-thru would stay open to feed my craving for Border Fryz dipped in their zesty Nacho Cheese sauce to cure any form of cottonmouth while driving my broken down '96 white Pontiac Grand AM GT home from work. I wasn't your typical kid at 16 by any means, but rather a product of a society that I was lost in and nobody knew where I was except me and God. Smoking, drinking, and going on with everyday life as if all was peachy keen. The funny thing about life is people who continue to live this way think it will be alright, that life is meant to be just "ehh." I have a few letters from a very dear friend Erica Bodenstab that had some words that I can barely read now since they were covered with tears. "You are here for a reason Chris", "you make people laugh and make people think for a minute that you are the funniest thing to walk in a room", to the cheesy "Chris God loves you more than you know." At the time I had no interpretation of what she meant other than okay continue to live in your imaginary world and pray to this God that I've never heard of (does Easter and Christmas count?) In a non-threatening way she would invite me to church, and just seem way too damn happy to not have something different installed in her brain, or living with someone or something in her. God gives us 2 options in life;
1. We can chose to obey him and experience a life he has planned for us or
2. We can chose to deny and life without God, and wonder why our life is empty with no direction, no answers, just sitting wondering how it can all come together so perfectly..... Is God that simple? To a certain extent si but that's another conversation (blog).

So Erica went to this church in Uptown Minneapolis which is a pretty creative little neighborhood where you see Gothic people, artsy people, and a lot of gay people walking around enjoying life. The name of this church by coincidence was called "The Rock." It was located in an elementary auditorium and sat about 200 people with no air conditioning, barely any lighting, and a smell of mildew in the summer. I would walk into this place and sit down and not say a word to anyone and just observe. The pastor was a super funny guy named Mark Darling who wore this tight leather jacket and blue jeans that were definitely not hip during anytime in history. He used to chew gum and when he wanted to say something important he would raise his voice that would cause an echo in an annoying fashionthroughout this dew infested cult gathering. Mark would use analogies, talk about pain and suffering, talk about his family and their struggles, and tell stories that would give me the chills before I truly knew Jesus. He was so passionate about Jesus that almost every time he would give a message he would be in tears towards the end, and then the service was over. I was compelled by it and Mark knew what to say when I was willing to listen and later I would find out God was using Mark to speak to me. This goes on for about 4 months and I would make an appearance I would say twice a month rolling in there with a crew of good peoples from my high school. I also began going to a youth group called "First Light" in Burnsville MN at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. My older brother Jeremy was involved as a leader and has always been easy to look up to on every level in my life; still one of my biggest role models today. Jeremy seemed happy when he was at church, and when he wasn't he would dig deeper into this thing called his faith and it made me curious. The only reason I went to any of these things was because I wanted to know how all of these people were so happy, so honest, so truthful to the world, and find something wrong with them so I could once and for all prove God doesn't exist. When you open a little bit of your heart towards hearing God he comes at you, and it comes fast and hard. He knows your thoughts before you think them, he knows your struggles, he knows what to say to you, he knows who to put in your life, and if you want him to he continues to pour his love into your heart. I got to a breaking point where it was harder for me to deny God than it was to pretend that I couldn't feel this God guy working in my life. So I packed up my stuff and went on a Christian road trip with 210 people from my high school ranging from 10th-12th graders. I was a junior at this time and my older brother was there so my parents were cool with me going, even though I wouldn't have really cared if they didn't want me to go. We left Minnesota on a Friday night at midnight and a good buddy was on his way over to pick me up and a few minutes before I did something pretty powerful. I got on my knees in my parents laundry room, and I prayed "God I don't know what you are doing, but I'm listening, if you have a plan for my life show me, cause you have my attention, Amen." I remember this specifically because I got the chills as soon as I said Amen and I had no idea what I was in for. We got on the bus and headed to Jacksonville Florida and I think we did a straight shot with only a few stops along the way. We got to Jacksonville FL and slept in a gymnasium with 210 people which to me was a little too much especially since all anyone wanted to talk about was Jesus and how glorious he was/is. We wake up the following day pretty early and do some random activity or team building event and have a bible study, and prepare for our 7pm show at a local Jacksonville church. The show went fine and I will admit I actually had a good time doing cheesy choreography and singing songs about this dude named Jesus. After the show we gathered in a cafeteria and had pizza and the pastor gave a brief message about the day, and what the next day entailed. At this point he invited my older brother up front to give his "testimony" about what God had done in his life and talk about some things going on in his life. Now a little background before I get into this was my parents were going through a divorce and I felt extremely guilty about it because I felt I was the reason for the divorce happening since a few days before my parents told us this I had gotten into quite a squabble with my dad. My brother starts talking and says "now I want to talk about the day my parents told me they were getting divorced." He said "when my parents dropped this bomb on us I remember seeing the look on my little brother Chris' face and seeing him get up disgusted and seeing no hope in his eyes." "I had never felt hopeless for someone the way I did for my little brother Chris." After those words came out of my brothers mouth I look up and 210 people are all staring at me since the Zach boyz were pretty well known in our high school. 210 faces looking as though they just found out their best friend died, but before he died they got to say their last words. The conviction, the love, the emotion, the pain, the freedom, the anger, the bitterness, and how much God I felt in me at that single moment is the reason I'm still a believer in Jesus Christ today. I am writing this letter with more emotion and love than I thought was humanly possible. My brother finished what he had to say and after wards the pastor got up and asked if anyone wanted to give their life to God, before he said the last word I stood up without even thinking about it, I burst into tears and fell to my knees because I had finally surrendered. Now if you have never seen someone give their life to Jesus its an extremely powerful thing to watch happen. Its not what you see on infomercials late night when the guy with a microphone goes up and paralyzes people with the power of Jesus. I'm talking about people giving up on life, going into tears, and feeling a freedom they have never felt before. God has done some miracles in my life, and I've seen him heal more people than I thought possible, and if you have stereotypes or ideas on what a Christian looks like I would recommend giving up on that because Jesus makes us in all shapes and sizes; literally. April 16th, 2000 probably around 10pm EST was when it happened, and I remember it like it was the first time I ate In N Out Burger. People came up to me and gave me a hug, and they said some of the most beautiful words I've ever heard in my life, and then I spent that entire night wide awake thinking of ways and things in my life that I could change now that I had my life back. I wanted to put my life back together, this cluster that I had ruined the first 16 years of my life, I had a maid who wanted to help me, this made spoke English and knew every inch of me. Christians use the term born again when you start believing because when you accept God you start to think differently, you start to change your attitude, you can see the light in situations, and you start to genuinely try to become a better person because he gives us a hope that we deserve. He gives us a life we don't deserve, but he wants us to have. Its been an incredible 9 years having Jesus in my heart and I have had my ups and downs with my personal relationship with him, but there isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't remind me that he is there for me. He puts people in places at the most perfect time, he provides money when I don't have it, when I seemed drained and beat up by the world he picks me up and carries me, and he is showing me to dream big and think of a better life than I could ever imagine. Tonight I went to Sunset Cliffs here in San Diego and I sat there. For probably 25 minutes I just thanked God, I just kept telling him over and over thank you for saving me from a life I was choosing for myself, I thanked him for restoring me into the person I knew I had inside me, I thanked him for being alive and for the ability to share with people what I hold dear in my heart. Jesus Christ saved me from dying and I remember a night my dad walked into my room after hearing me tell him that I wanted to kill myself and my dad said to me "if you say that one more time I'm done with you." God didn't give up on me because he is not done with me, he knows my heart, and he knows my desire and he is ready to use me. Thank you God and I'm excited to continue my ministry wherever you want me to be, I'm ready. If next year I'm across the world helping people out I'm ready, give me a plane ticket, a bible, my guitar, and a Mountain Dew and I'll be fine. If you want to experience what I have in the last 9 years close your eyes and start talk to him, the only thing he wants is to love you for how beautiful you are, and repair what you may have broken. Thank you..... No seriously.... Thank you... John Mayer said it on his last album "I'm in repair, I'm not together but I'm getting there." You are helping me get there Jesus and I thank you for that. Thanks for stopping by, you stay classy planet Earth.

Send Someone Else

2009-04-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

so I need to get back into my rhythm but sometimes i can come up with some pretty solid excuses, but ran out of them today. so here we are today and i want to add a quick little comment before you continue reading. this entire blog will be typed in lower-case letters to throw my brain off and hopefully people won't focus on gramitical errers or spelling problehms. so lately my life has consisted of more reading and deep searching within something i enjoy to call my faith. if you are reading this you problem know about my faith and hopefully have been affected by it in some way, shape or form. i have been reading a book called "experiencing God" (i will capitalize God because he deserves it). something that really struck my attention throughout this book or work book is the questions it asks at the end of every chapter. it will tell me to read a certain passage from the bible and interpret into modern day, or how i can apply that to my life. yesterday in particular was a day that got me thinking. now before i describe what i read lets first talk about what lead up to me laying my little head on my memory foam pillow to take in life. i woke up extremely tired and a little crabby after taking a long shower and not allowing myself to make a sack lunch, or get to cruise down to my spot at sunset cliffs, but i didn't. went to work and dealt with some difficult clients, and my crabbiness which is rare took over leaving me in a mindset that i tend to be unfamiliar with, angry. throughout the day it got a little better knowing that once i got home i could isolate myself from the world into my sanctuary i call my room, with my bible, and my six string, both of which keep me grounded. the work day ended and i got to go home and while on my way home my brain started to become more focused on the things i enjoy doing in life, rather than schtuff that takes up a majority of my time. shortly after arriving home i got to see my fantastic roommate jessica gayle addison for a brief moment and then shut my door. 6pm p.d.t. came around and one of my favorite bands jimmy eat world was streaming a concert based on their clarity album tour. they only played 6 or 7 songs off the clarity album that was requested by fans online. streaming video of one of the best concerts i just saw live a few weeks ago while laying in my bed = good 45 minutes. if you have never experienced clarity by jimmy eat world i would recommend spending 53 minutes listening to it from start to finish, its in my fav 5. after this show i dove into the book "experiencing God" and came across a bible verse in the book of exodus 4:11 where moses was describing to God how he didn't feel like he was fit enough, or equipped enough, or a strong enough believer to allow God to work in his life. this is a constant struggle for me because God continues to pour beautiful souls into my life, shows me his works all over the place, provides me with books, lyrics to songs that speak deep into my heart. the bible verse is "god send someone else." i was floored by this because he is preparing my heart for something big but i don't feel like i am well-enough equipped to take on what i think he is preparing my heart for, and that is a career in music where there are a lot of lost souls. will i be able to handle being around people lost in this world, alcohol and drugs being passed around like they are tardy passes in the first day of high school. "your music isn't good enough", "people don't want to hear your message", "you can't handle the world", and a lot of doubts come from the devil because the devil knows what he can do in the world of music. God tells me "get ready chris you are going to change lives, follow me and i'll show you how to do it." i think all of us have these doubts that once we reach a certain part of success, or a comfort level that we settle for complacency. God doesn't want us to be feeling "yeah this awesome but can't get better." he says "i'm using %10 of your potential and i want you to be even happier, i want to carry those doubts, and show you how to handle the world, while being happier than you have ever been." you don't need to send anyone else God i'm ready, show me where and how and i'll be there with my bible and a six-string, happier than ever. i want this foundation to be the foundation for the rest of my life. henry ford once said "if you think you can or you think you can't, you're right." i'm reminded daily "all i need is jesus and my six-string, with a little bit of love, welcome to the good life." i'm reminded by it because God help me write it into a beautiful message that i call my music.

Discipline

2009-03-24T22:14:00.000-07:00

So lately I've been more active than I've been in a long time. There are a few factors that play into that help me out with where I'm trying to get where I need to get. First, I have a job that can challenge me at times with my patience, attitude, and understanding of business and learning how to practice good business practice while having a lot of fun, which I seem to be able to do anywhere I am. Secondly, getting back into shape and pushing my body harder than I have in a while not only feels fantastic but its given me more energy than most humans probably enjoy to be around. Lastly, and most importantly is my faith in God and how he continues to speak through me and use me in my daily life, interacting with others, guiding with what I think is my path in life which right now is my music, and boy does Chris love himself some music. I have been trying to piece together a new song for the last 2 weeks and every song I've written has so far had a different format and I can proudly say the last 2 songs I've wrote have been written when I'm completely sober, or as I prefer to say were wrote sotally tober. I've been blown away with not only the guitar riffs I have been coming up with but lyrically I've noticed I am trying to up the ante a notch. Mostly because I am a lyric junky and when people hear my music I want them to be floored with a phrase, a sentence, a metaphor, or a vision they get from the song. Thats a cool thing about music is that how I interpret a song can mean something entirely different to me than it would to another avid listener. My lyrics for the most part have definetly been focused more on my faith or a message based around my relationship with God; or known to the rest of the world as Christianity. Some lyrics I wrote for one of my new songs that I was drawn to was "I'm hopeful for the hopeless" and I think we all need to live our lives that way. Whether you are a believer or not having hope is one thing, but trying to better a fellow humanitarian if you will (and I hope you will) to enjoy life a little more is a good thing we all have in us which I might add that God did instill that right vs wrong, good vs evil into our brain. Those morals we all try and live by are God driven, and God given. I have a lot of hope for people that I think may not even have hope for themselves, maybe for the sheer fact that they have never experienced God, and I have no doubt God will show himself to them throughout their lives and he will always give us the opportunity to accept him, but as humans we live with fear that something out there could not exist that is that loving. Which brings me to where I am right now today and that is how I am trying to transform my life from being a believer to being a disciple. The difference between a believer and a disciple is discipline. Coincidence that the words are so similar? I think not..... Or History is "His Story" is another one that makes me smile..... I began a 12-month course today at my church called "Ironman" and its a course geared towards men that are ready to further there relationship with God, and I ran out of excuses, and God continued to remind me daily how he is there for me so I said what the heck put me in coach I'm ready to play, good news for me is Jesus is my coach (whom is the Mike Dikta of coaches in our world). This discipline had to start with a few bad habits I had to kick, then a few awkward (my favorite word still) conversations with some broken relationships, and then a few challenges which so far I've done pretty good with thanks to a few men that God brought into my life. The Bible shares a lot of stories of 12 men that were human like you and me, that God worked miracles in, and changed their lives in every shape of the word. One thing I heard tonight at Ironman was talking about God's patience, but what stuck out was how they stated that the Devil is just as patient. The Devil waits for a moment, for a quality to slip, a bad day at the office, or a situation that we don't handle in a "Godly" way and then him being the coward he is the Devil jumps all over that situation and lives for it like white on rice, or piss on poop. God cries for it and continues to come back to us with open arms, and knows what we will do before we do it. The Devil will wait for a disciple to become human and capitalize on it. I am "hopeful for the hopeless" but in no way that compares to what God does for us, he forgives us when we shouldn't be forgiven, he loves us the most when we least deserve it, and until the end of our days on Earth will continue to be there slapping us on the wrist, and then helping us learn from it to make sure that the next time a similar situation happens we remember. Thats all for this can of worms but I do want to end with a cool thing that happened to me this last week. So on my way home from work I got off the 5 (a freeway in SD) and took the Sea World Drive exit because I'm cool and I drive by Sea World daily. When I got off the exit I knew it is a no turn on red rule that applies to the world; however, the girl in front of me saw the light go from green to yellow and decides to gas it to run the yellow light before it becomes red, but as soon as she commits she looks to her left and sees a long line of cars waiting to merge into the same lane in about 100 yards so she slams on her breaks. I'm staring at her and I know what is going to get ready to happen so I square perfectly up with her car while slamming on my breaks and boom it happens. My car accident virginity explodes all over Sea World Drive in front a busy intersection of people looking over at us shaking their heads like "you silly stupid human beings." Before I get out of the car to notice how bad the damage is to both of our cars I say a prayer to God "help me out with this conversation God and thank you for protecting me, Amen." So I get out of my car to notice that both of our license plates on our cars are bent and thats it. I hit this girl going about 10 miles an hour and the action of her slamming on the breaks while I gassed it for a brief second baffles me, but God doesn't finish Chris' life lesson yet. The following morning I drive to work and I'm getting ready to get on the freeway at the same intersection I got into an accident the previous day and same exact thing happens, lady slams on her breaks and I come close, but I guess after you get in a car accident you are more paranoid which I was. I was a few feet away but still a scare. I look at her license plate and she has a cover on it that says "don't drive faster than your angel can fly." After I laughed at God's sense of humor I continued driving and continued on with my day chuckling at how fantastic God is, and how he trains us in the most insane ways; which we can't comprehend, because we are humans that only use %10 of our brain! I'm listening JC, you got me and my cars attention..

West Coast Bound

2009-03-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

So going into 2009 I had a goal/goals of playing live and continuing to chase what I love doing; not water polo and craft shows on the weekends, but my real passions music and traveling. I woke up this morning and I was feeling pretty rested after a long weekend of entertaining some fantastic ladiez in the city of Saint Diego. After I woke up to the sound of "Jon Foreman- Cure For The Pain" I jumped up out of bed with more and more excitement for another day to bring something into the world. Throughout the day I couldn't stop thinking about a guitar riff I wrote a few weeks ago and how I just wrote another song that I know will become the next step to what I want this year, to drop a few songs and polish them on a nice compact disc (or a digital download code that I'm going to invent to sell at my shows). I have 5 or 6 songs that I'm more than proud of and the more I play the more I hear songs, I imagine lyrics, and my dream becomes more and more clear. I was telling a close friend that I can see myself sitting in a village in Africa not being able to communicate with them with other than with my guitar and how I could tell them a story I feel needs to be heard. Those 5 or 6 songs are "Heaven", "Fighting To Be Heard", "The Ocean", "Thank You", and an untitled song I am currently writing and hope to debut at my next gig. After I add one or 2 more songs to this collection I plan on putting it on something I can call my own, an EP I am going to title "Man From Above" and what I plan on doing with this gives me the passion I need. I'm shooting for the second week of September to get in my car with my laptop (for blogging and the world wide interweb access), my guitar, a dream, and a CD that I plan to make enough money to pay for gas for this entire trip. There you go God I got it on paper that I'm going to continue to listen to you. My iteneray as of now is Seattle, Portland, Idaho Falls to visit some family, San Francisco, and back down to San Diego while stopping at tourist attractions, coffee shops to play a few songs, and visiting friends and family along the way. Thats all I know for now, but its going to change lives and I am finally ready. If you want to donate money to make this happen feel free to send me an email at ChristopherZach@gmail.com and you can become a part of it. I'm West Coast Bound and coming to a town near you soon....

CZ

P.S. I'm going to share my real passion and real message about my homey, my best friend, and my biggest support system I've ever known; his name is Jesus and he wants to blow your mind with ideas, love, and a life you can never dream of, or never thought you would blog about.

I am who I am

2009-03-09T21:46:00.000-07:00

How does this picture make you feel? Awkward? (one of my favorite words and activities) Insecure? Happy? Sad? Fortunate? Awful (catch the website address www.somethingawful.com) I've been meaning to touch on this topic for a while and everyday God continues to remind me who he created me to be. I'm not referring to God making me feel awful but rather thinking about I am who I am. Now after you finish rolling your eyes at how cheesy you think I am hear me out, or read me out, or check out the remainder of my blog while I blog....... I look at myself and I think God did alright on me. My nose is a little crooked, I have chest hair that looks like an Owl (thanks Jeremy for pointing that out), I have huge sweaty hands that I flail around like I'm flying when I barely move my arms, when I laugh my eyes are closed and I look of Asian descent, I have never ever had hair that I've been a fan of (is that brokeback to even mention while blogging, and if you don't get the brokeback comment you should probably google "brokeback mountain kissing scene", and if you don't know what "google" means you should probably turn off your computer if you know how, and crawl back into the cave and dial someone on your rotary telephone. Overall, I'm fine with who I am...... actually I enjoy who I am. Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy being a complete moron at all hours of the day or night, knows that the minute I wake up I am ready to start another day, and knows that I have more passion than Chuck Norris' fighting scenes. Oh did I mention a short attention span that probably has wandered off into 5 different thoughts in the last 3 sentences??? What were we talking about? Oh yeah rollerblading and how its dangerous.... I know and live to be a goofy little boy and since day 1 I was alive after my mother experienced a lot of pain while she pooped out a fat kid and named him Kristopher (thats right I was born as Kristopher with a K, after you make fun of me you can go back to playing with your dolls.) If you have not yet figured out the goofy kid I am yet at age 25 please see picture below, it defines me pretty well, if you can you find out which one I am?

Yep, that goofy good looking bastard with a half eaten doughnut in my hand is the man/boy God created me to be and I love it. God gave me a gift and I'm trying to use it, he didn't make me a male model (simply because I've chosen not to be a model because my schedule doesn't permit it with work, I know sad but the world will be okay). If I was a male model I would try and do something good with it, possibly start a foundation or a museum or a center for kids who can't read good and do other things good too? But that's the hand God dealt me, although I think God was playing "Go Fish" with Adam and Eve and said watch this its going to be hilarious, this kid will actually try and be funny his whole life too, and for special effects lets put a doughnut in his hand because then he will look really goofy... Yeah, yeah God I get it and joke is on me, and I love that. I love who I am, I love that God created me to be the way that I am. This exact way: brown eyes, luscious hair, perfect abs, toned biceps and I might add a little set of glutes on the back side (which is one of my top features in my mind). God gave us our body to make the world a better place, to help others when they are unable, to sympathize for people less fortunate than me, and to create some beautiful babies that someday I will have, and I hope their names are Jacque and Grace. Say it out loud Jacque Zach (actually pronounced Zach like sock) and it has a nice ring to it. Love who you are and understand God gave you a gift with your body, I hope you are using it in the right ways; if not read blog that is below about Pornography :)

I bet the day I was born my mother and father told me that I am special. I am special, and right now I'm chillin in a padded room with a helmet on and I'm lovin' livin. Thanks JC for making me who I am, Christopher Charles Zach is a cool cat. Almost too cool for school, almost too cool for the short bus.....

Yep the t-shirt I'm wearing says "I'm special"

P.S. Thanks to the guy who posed for the photo at the very top, I'm sure God gave you a gift too.

Adjusting to life, then dying

2009-03-04T21:57:00.000-08:00

So many of you that are close to me are aware of what happened in the last week in my life; and how I lost a family member; if you are aware or unaware please read below:

So a few years ago we added a new member to our family named Randy Bang, whom asked my mother in marriage a few years ago, and has turned out to be an amazing man that many should and do idolize. Randy is a man of love, unselfishness, passion, and what I love most about him his sense of humor. Over the last few years we have got to know him pretty well and along with that a few of his family members that invite us to holiday gatherings to have awkward but fun conversations. Conversations that usually consist of "hey Chris how is school going? Only to inform them I went to a community college for 5 years and graduated in 2006." They meant well (is that right if they mean well but its past tense?) One of Randy's family members particularly stuck out in my mind, and I enjoyed having conversations with him. Without going in to too much detail lets talk about his little brother Rick. Rick was a man that enjoyed working, enjoyed laughing, and from what I could tell loved being around his brother doing things that brothers do best: fart, make each other laugh, make each other feel uncomfortable about anything, laugh, and fart. Rick and Randy (step-dad) had perfected this and it was cool to see them around each other, and you throw in the Zach boyz into the mix its on like donkey kong (an expression for we enjoyed each others company while farting, laughing, making each other feel uncomfortable, laughing, and did I mention farting?) Rick and Randy were cool to see interacting; talking about Nascar, and whatever vehicles or modifications that Ford will add into next years model, and how it pisses on Chevy's (reference to Ford pissing on Chevy bummer stickers that I someday dream to have on my car.) Rick and Randy had love for each other, it was real, and it was admirable. You never know what you got til its gone, but I think Randy and Rick knew. And that's where this blog turns sour, or it could be like a happy sad ending like a "Top Gun" style movie, in the art form of a blog. Last Thursday, February 26th I got a text message from my mother while I was wrapping up my work day that stated "Chris say a prayer for Randy and his family, they found an aneurysm in his brother Rick." I was a little thrown off by what the heck an aneurysm is, so I took advantage of being in front of a computer and googled aneurysm. Without quoting M-W.com I will define what stuck out the most when reading about this "or other complications including sudden death." At this time I wrapped up the phone call I was on, walked around outside and whispered words to God that I've shared so many different times in my work parking lot. I said "God I don't know what your doing, or what is going to happen, but be there for us and allow us to understand how mysterious and beautiful you are, Amen." A few hours later I was at the airport picking up a good friend when I got a phone call from my mother and she confirmed what Google said, and it wasn't good. Rick had a brain aneurysm and it took over his brain, and then his entire body, and within 24 hours Rick Bang was pronounced brain dead, and they pulled the plug. I woke up early Friday morning and cried to a phone call from my mom when I heard these words, and took a stroll down to my favorite spot in the world; Sunset Cliffs. I sat there for about 20 minutes and said a few words to God, and a few words to myself that I think we all need to remind ourself about life, and that is cherish it because you don't know what you got til its gone, but if you live it for today, when tomorrow comes people will look back and admire you, and want to live the way you did. I received a phone call on Tuesday night from Randy while cruising to a concert at my church and he told me what God confirmed and it was beautiful. He said "Chris my brother and I weren't the most religious people in the world, but I've learned from this that if you don't have faith, you have nothing at all." Did God answer my prayer that fast? Nope, but he answered it in a way I didn't expect, and is working in our lives and Randy feels a lot of love right now, through his brother, and through God whether he will admit that or not you would have to ask him, but I know. Rick you were a good man, you made me laugh, you worked your butt off, and you seemed to enjoy life. If those words can be said about me when I rest my head and leave my body to experience the most real relationship with my Creator, I can say I would be pretty happy, and people on Earth would celebrate the way they are now for Rick's life. Randy said "my brother is finally resting" and we need that now too. To slow down, experience life, and instead of jumping on that rollercoaster of life, we should be on a boat on a slow moving river, taking in the beautiful world God created for us to temporarily enjoy. And if we don't have faith, we have nothing.

R.I.P. Rick Bang 02/27/2009

The funeral was tonight at 7pm C.S.T. and I wish I could be there, I know you understand and I love you. God is with you always, and he loves you more than you know. Amen.....

Looking at schtuff on the interweb

2009-03-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

Lets talk about porn:

So I had the opportunity to attend a service at my church and heard a message about pornography and the effects it has on peoples relationships. Pastor Craig Gross (founder of the website www.XXXchurch.com) was a youth pastor and had noticed that a lot of his students were struggling with similar issues, and he noticed it over a long period of time how much effect it had on their personal lives, that issue was porn. Students getting suspended, employees getting fired, people getting divorces, and ruining the images that God intended that we carry about our body. So what Craig did (I know him by first name basis now since I've heard him speak) was start a website called www.XXXChurch.com and it would be a place people could go to get help with their addiction and it would be a place for people in the porn industry to come and find out about something deeper they are trying to fill, through Jesus. Now if you are offended or are starting to feel uncomfortable my guess is you struggle with this yourself (probably just got done looking at porn on www.YouPorn.com, the same site I struggle with), or you struggle because you don't have a relationship with Jesus. Now we could go into detail about porn, drugs, alcohol, and other things that temporarily fill this void that we seek to instill in our heart, because emotions are the grim reaper of our minds oooo scary to feel things. But what I do want to discuss is a few things that Craig said that blew me away. First, he talked about how he went to Porn conventions (which he got a Christian discount for being at haha) and he would set up a booth and at these booths he had a huge poster up that said the words "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" and he noticed that people would come up to them and ask what its about. Now in my opinion Craig stepped into a very dark and broken world when these conventions are basically supposed to be one big orgy, but instead was a place to feel comfortable to talk about a relationship with something better than porn. I mean what is better than porn? Sex? Continued.....So he would have porn stars come up to them and ask what they are about, because hands down they were the most interesting booth when other booths are handing out sex toys and had info on how to fill your sexual desires. So Craig travels the country with Ron Jeremy (yep the huge porn star idol I would someday like to never be like.) Craig and Ron talk about the industry and talk about Jesus on college campuses. Powerful stuff in my mind and Ron describes how porn ruins marriages, yep he states that he knows his industry could be ruining lives. Which brings me to my second point of interesting facts by Craig 101. At the convention Craig had a CNN reporter come up to him because they had a lot of buzz and the reporter asks Craig "are you really friends with Ron Jeremy?" Craig waves over Ron and says he Ron come here and do something nice for the camera (not awkward but joking around). So the reporter asks Ron "are you really friends with this man and what do you think about what he is doing?" Ron responds with "I love what he is doing, and I enjoy having a relationship with Craig." Which then puts Craig on the spot for the question that had me tickled in a non-sexual way. The reporter asks Craig "is Ron Jeremy going to heaven?" Craig brilliantly responds back with "its not porn that is keeping is keeping Ron out of heaven, its the other voids in his life that allow him to see Jesus in a distorted view, God loves Ron as much as he loves me, and I will see Ron in Heaven." It gave me the chills when I heard that response because so many of us whom are both believers and non-believers get wrapped up on the view of heaven and hell; when heaven and hell aren't the most important thing we can learn from Jesus. Jesus wants to renew your broken heart, he wants to be the nose candy you fill your mind with, he wants to be that last shot of Jack Daniels before you go home every night, he wants to be the porn star that makes you feel good, and he wants to heal you and love you..... and show you a better life. I would recommend checking out Craig's website www.XXXChurch.com because he has a FREE software that you can download and what is does is monitor questionable websites. Once you view a questionable website you have 2 people that will hold you as accountability partners and they get an email stating "Chris viewed www.YouPorn.com at 11:47pm P.S.T. on Sunday, March 1st." It prevents you from going that path, and continues to remind you that there better things out there on the internet, like www.XXXchurch.com, so check it out. If you are reading this and you need an accountability partner for this put me down; czrodman1@yahoo.com

Jesus Loves Porn Stars, and he loves you.

Musik

2009-02-24T18:12:00.001-08:00

Madonna once said "music, makes the people come together, yeah." I agree with her:

I look back at my musical influences over the years and its definitely a wide spectrum. Starting out listening to Ace of Base, Vanilla Ice, Kris Kross, Arrested Development, Boyz II Men, R Kelly, Green Day, Nirvana, DMX, Eminem, and the list goes on. One style that affected me more than any was probably late 80's and early 90's R&B. Singing from the soul and having some catchy little hooks that had me boppin my tiny little 12 year old head with my 22 pound Sony Cassette player. I remember sitting in my room late at night thinking to myself that I could sing decent if I wanted to; but sometimes it was more entertaining trying to imitate voices, and make people laugh by doing impressions. It was during these times that my older bro was jammin on his Black and white Fender Squier and my little brother was droppin beats on his drum kit; all of this happened while I was sitting in the other room playing video games and making funny voices to myself and thinking of a hysterical quote I could nail head-on. This may be the exact same Chris Zach you know at age 25 but I gots to be honest, it is for the most part. Obviously I can now grow peach fuzz, and over a few week span I think I can rock some pretty gnarly side burns, and flip my hair like nobodies buziness. I was always a sucker for lyrics, always finding inspiration from movies; whether it was Pistol Pete or Forrest Gump I could find something to take me to the next level of my thinking in my attitude, because at an early age I learned that if you make yourself happy and entertain yourself, entertaining others is like brushing your teeth. Now having the power of picking up a six-string and doing a fairly decent job making it rain I now have more ammo to attack the world with. I could see myself traveling the world meeting people, making people smile, playing guitar, learning more about life, and loving every minute of it. The closer and closer I draw to God it becomes more and more obvious that I have to get ready for what the world is going to bring me, I just hope the world is ready for me.
"I cannot live, I can't breathe, unless you do this with me." Tom Delonge of Angels & Airwaves in "The Adventure." I'm ready for my adventure to start, to allow people to see how music has changed my life, and ready to save people from the misery they live in. I'm ready for you to enjoy it with me.

Spiritual Warfare

2009-02-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

So I recently attended a sermon at my church about "Spiritual Warfare" by a pastor that I'm pretty sure was raised in the south at a Pentecostal church. If you have never experienced a Pentecostal church and your a believer, I'd recommend it once because its intense and they definitely interactive with God during a message. This spiritual warfare topic was something I choose usually to ignore because I enjoy what amazing things God is doing in my life, and would rather not acknowledge how the devil is on my other shoulder telling me what I'm doing wrong in my mind. Lets start with that:

I've been a believer for about 9 years now and I would say its been an amazing ride so far, God has shown me a lot, and tried to push me in many different areas in my life. I done good (yep meant to say it that way) in a few categories, but failed God in a few others. A beautiful thing about God is I can wake up tomorrow and say "forgive me father lets start over again." This isn't a Christian crutch as some may refer to it as but an amazing characteristic of someone who loves me more than I deserve. We fail God daily and sometimes we recognize that; the one thing we need to recognize more is that this world needs more of Jesus and less of this world. You think about starting a revolution in the world the same way that within the last 10-20 years homosexuals have come forward to begin something "against the norm" and how they have done pretty well. %5 of people are considered homosexual or bi-sexual and yet this would seem it would be closer to %50 because you hear about it daily. How come we never hear about Jesus %50 of the conversations we have? How come we never see people falling to their knees completely broken, sick of running, sick of struggling, and ready to die, and die for nothing except to escape reality? The answer is they never had a relationship with our Creator Jesus Christ. And I would guess a lot of people never had the opportunity to get to know him (God speaks to everyone but maybe they never got invited to church or never had a friend tell them about how amazing life is with God.) I have a lot of friends and I would say %75 of them know that I'm a believer, I would say %50 of the people I work with know I'm a believer, why isn't that number %100 in both categories? My rebuttal Jesus is until probably about 6 or 7 months ago I was embarrassed to call myself a believer, and now I'm on fire again and I don't want to go back to that world that everyone else lives in. Spiritual warfare for me was this fight for a long time and finally Jesus knew I was ready to experience it, he knew I was ready to write a song called "Welcome to the Good Life" and I could sit in a bar with my guitar and say "this next song is about how amazing my life is because I have Jesus and if you don't know Jesus listen to this song." I'm growing and will continue to see the devil on my shoulder tempting me but I know God is going to win this battle, but I've got a sword in my hand, my pride is swallowed?! That's my spiritual warfare.

CZ

P.S. I overuse the word amazing so any suggestions would be amazing; because when I look for synonyms for the word I get a few corny words that don't describe Jesus, whom is amazing.

January 31st, 2009

2009-02-16T18:39:00.000-08:00

This is actually being wrote on February 1st, but its 12:39am P.S.T. and technically I haven't called it a day on the 31st so lay off. The only reason for me writing this blog tonight is because I'm overwhelmed with how fantastic the last 2 years of my life have been. January 31st, 2007 (2 years ago to the late one) I arrived in Sunny San Diego after an extremely difficult and easy decision to move out here from Sunny Apple Valley, MN. When I left Minnesota the warm -12 degrees I remember thinking to myself (in a daydream since I got about 19 minutes of sleep the night before) that I was going to travel across the country with a girl I thought I was going to marry and my life would be perfect, because when you move away from your problems life is solved. We won't talk about that right now because this blog is dedicated to the monumental day of January 31st and its significance in my life. Lets first start with the road trip out. We set out in a 14-foot Penske Rental Truck and a 2001 Dodge Stratus R/T (which is completely custom on a side note). We being James Harold Zach who was the sperm donor to my mother that I call my lovely father, Pablo also known as Paul LeTourneau, Melissa Sue Barlament AKA Miffy Mikflipper, Gomez the Black Ninja, Bucky the annoying bitch, and myself. That cold morning we thought it would be a good idea to give Gomez the Black Ninja and Bucky the annoying Bitch some drugs to knock them out unconscious for a few hours while we drove from Apple Valley, MN to Denver, CO. The drugs didn't work so I listened to Dumb and Dumber on my portable DVD player while laughing with my dad about how we just witnessed a scene from Dumb and Dumber while driving through Nebraska. "That John Denver is full of shit." We giggled and continued driving. I remember stopping at rest stops and we all going into the restroom and how I would rush into the mens room so my dad and Pablo could see that I was standing at the urinal with my pants over my ankles only to make them feel incredibly uncomfortable, and lucky in my mind. Little kid style urination truly made me smile and the trip that much more enjoyable. I remember looking behind me and seeing a trucker walk in and seeing complete disgust on his face as he stared at my pastie Minnesota ass. Hilarious walking out of the bathroom and seeing how badly that man wanted to punch me in the face. I remember driving from MN to Denver, from Denver to Albuequerque, Albuequerque to Phoenix, and Phoenix to my home in San Diego. Stopping and eating crappy gas station food, farting in the car, listening to corny music to make my dad happy, and laughing my butt off while thinking of how awesome my life was going to be in a few short days. I slouch here in my bed while typing an amazing story that I call my life. January 31st, 2009 was an awesome day that started with me waking up to my cousin inviting me to breakfast, to going on a bike ride with my good friend BQ to listen to him address how far he has come in life, to cheering a bottle of Andre Champagne that my roommate got for me because she knows how much this place means to me, to walking down to the cliffs with smog and Jesus in front of me, leaning on that white fence that seperates me from the Pacific Ocean where I have spent so many hours thanking God for what he has given me. And so many hours begging God to continue to provide for me, to reflecting back on how many one hitters I smoked out there while hoping life gets better. Well it did and I'm thankful for that, I'm thankful to have what I have, I'm thankful to have what I don't have, and I'm thankful to be Chris Zach. Katt Williams says in his stand up routine "you gotta take a look in the mirror at the star player" and I love that star player. God created a cool cat in Chris Zach and I'll be slouched here again next year on this day simply to adjust how much better my life has got. Welcome to the Good Life came to me in 2008, and I know God has some bigger things in store for me in 2009. Thank you San Diego for making me smile, and thank you San Diego for allowing me to love myself in a way that I can make the world a better place. God used San Diego to speak to me, to help me, to create me to be the man he wants me to be. Thank you Ron Burgandy for making me say this cities name with a grin on my face. You stay classy San Diego.

CZ

P.S. I applaud you San Diego the same way this picture displays

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

2009-02-16T18:38:00.001-08:00

True Love

"Come close and listen to a story, about a love that's more faithful than the morning." Lyrics to a song that floored me the first time I heard it by Phil Wickham. A song dedicated to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 2008 was a year of darkness and a year of more light and love than I ever expected. When you try and reflect back on 365 days I try and think of one day that meant a lot to me, but I think 2 will define it. First, October 21st when I played my first open mic night at Portugalia in Ocean Beach, California. Singing lyrics from my soul that used to destroy my heart knowing that I felt the way I did, and then 8 months later using it to express a message I feel needs to be heard. "I'm Fighting, I'm Fighting To Be Heard." A struggle to deal with life, but finding a way to survive in my gift of music. Having numerous goals and accomplishing virtually everyone of them except finishing the 10 songs that I had wanted to complete; however, I blame (and appreciate) me having the honor of playing in my dear friend Corey George Hansons wedding. Seeing his beautiful wife walk down the aisle to one of the most compelling songs I've ever heard by an artist known as Eric Clapton and his heart felt song "Wonderful Tonight." Seeing Corey look back at me with an expression on his face saying "wow this is why God brought you to Minnesota for this weekend." Truly amazing.com The second day being when I debuted "Welcome to the Good Life" and stating "All I need is Jesus and my six-string, and a little bit of love, welcome to the good life!" At that moment I smiled and looked into a broken and fallen world in a bar staring at this guy up on stage with a guitar that was trying to preach the Gospel of JC (Jesus Christ to the late one). At that moment I knew how far God had taken me in my life and how I am no longer embarrased to call him my Father, my Lord, my Creator, and my God. Music has changed my life, but Jesus has transformed me. 2009 is a year that God has geared me up for my whole life to finally live what he has built for me, to use me to further his Kingdom called Heaven. I cannot even begin to accept a single ounce of what Heaven will look, feel, or sound like. Can you imagine the soundtrack for Heaven? Hopefully its not a bunch of people fingering harps but rather a sound system of a Metallica concert worshipping a father that has created it all, I hope at least one Metallica member knows of Jesus, go James Hetfield!!! I know that my short journey on Earth I will experience happiness, sorrow, pain, anger, bitter feelings, loss, and suffering. But I will experience God living among us and helping us to enjoy the life, and to live our lives. Our entire lives we seek to find love, to fill this void inside us that we struggle to fill. Some choose drugs, some choose women (or men if thats how you roll), some choose alcohol, some choose violence, some choose music, and we all try love. Once we find that Jesus is the only one that will ever fill this void all of those other "things" seem to fade away. That euphoria we want is filled and love comes easy. True love is my thought for the day. I'm Chris Zach and thanks for stopping by. I'm Ron Burgandy?

Sunday, December 28, 2008

2009-02-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Good Life

2008 coming to a close and its been quite a journey so far. Alphabetizing movies for customers who seem oblivious to the world I call my own. Struggling and finding God again. Not a Christian "religion-type" fiend; but a relationship with our Creator. A creator whom doesn't give up on people, that doesn't answer to people who don't want to hear. But speaks to our hearts and rescues us from our temporary Bed & Breakfast style world we exist in. Speaking of existence, the cold blooded fact that a place and culture like that of that of Saint Diego displays God's an extremely fined-tune machine as a Maker. After rediscovering what Jesus has done for me and how he seeks to provide for me daily will also baffle me. Only because his love is simple, but impossible for us to truly know all that he does; but what we do get is a life that allows love to be on display 24/7 throughout the world. Perfection of God's art is the simple fact of looking at the Universe and realizing that God looking down on his Creation must be amazing. A solar system and at the other end of the spectrum Micro-organisms, a ocean that below a few thousand few is undiscovered. 70% of what this Earth is created from, and the oceans will continue to grow until Jesus comes back to save us from the fallen and broken world that struggles around me. Enough deep thought for today; however, I will end it with a bit of my music that God continues to show me. I wrote a song about 2 people being on separate paths and how life comes together for both of them because life is good, and so is God. Welcome to the Good Life is the name of the song. Enjoy it
"Just keep searching in your mind,
Finding something in everyone
Take bits and pieces of this life
Install it in your mind
Keep on growing, keep on loving, keep on fighting, this good fight
For this good life, with these bad lies, through these bad times, and you will see the light
Not through my eyes, but its God’s light, this is your life and it’s full of love
Just know that life, it gets better from now on
Just know that life, it gets better from now on, from now on
When I’m here
Don’t be afraid, it’s okay
Don’t be afraid, it’s okay
Thank you and your welcome
Welcome to the good life
All I need is Jesus and my six-string, with a little bit of love, Welcome to the Good Life.

Amen.
Eph 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

2009-02-16T18:36:00.002-08:00

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Wrapped around another world.

I started this blog for a few reasons. One of the things I admire about life is the simplicity of looking around where I live and realize this is my home. I've been listening to an artist from Scotland named "Alexi Murdoch" and his work is incredible. Some of the most heartfelt singing, soft-toned, dark, and exciting world that shares with people that he lives in. The lyrics "In Your Love My Salvation Lies." Hearing this and how 2 chords on a guitar can make a song sound so true, but so distant from reality. Sometimes the world wraps up the people around them and never learn to appreciate what is good in the world. Its easier to say "man today was a crappy day" than saying "tomorrow is a new day and I'm alive." If I can make an impact on this world I know I will see a path that some will laugh at, someone will de-throne me from what life has been given to me. People whom live at home with there parents, and are going to be asking me "paper or plastic" in 6 months. I won't belittle them or mock them. I have done that and it brought pain to others, had people disgusted with me. But God came in and broke me; to the point of an uncontrobable fear of how amazing his power is. I realized that I needed to stop speaking "Christianese" and actually live like a few of my influences. My brother, my friend Brianna, my father, my friend Eddie D., God's art known as "Ocean Beach" to the modern day world. That is why I write, that is why I sing. Thats what I'm living for.

June 30th, 2008

2009-02-16T18:36:00.001-08:00

June 30th, 2008

Returned from a fun trip to Minnesota. After this trip it continues to remind me that I made the right decision in moving to San Diego. Life doesn't get any better right now and its the best I've ever felt. I hear music, I see light, I feel love. Its funny when life is going horrible its easy to just give up on life but when life is good, life is good. I'm in the good part of life right now and I don't think I will let myself see the bad side of life anymore. Everyday I'm reminded of the art of God and how simply amazing his creation is. You take the human eye and look at it in detail and that is fascinating enough. Take the human body and that is %250,000 more complex. The fact that everything in this world is perfectly formed proves to me everyday that God exists. I have had some good conversations with people over the years on religion and debated God. The more and more I debate with people about religion I've realized God has a time and a place for everything and some people accept and live the life God has intended for us. If I had a plan for my life I wouldn't be living alone and working at an office on a computer all day with a head set on answering silly Real Estate questions. We come across people and situations to teach us moments in life. As cheesy as it sounds I love reading emails that say "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breathe away!" Its true though if you can see the simplicity in happiness and find happiness in the tinyest and most unmaterial items we can treasure what we have. Anyways thats enough for one blog and my first blog. I dig writing though and even though its serious at sometimes its good to know I have a sensitive side to go with my unpredictable movie quote lifestyle. With that being said Stay Classy.