Will Bing Crosby Grant Us All Our Wish?

In case you haven't heard, us weather people have been discussing the potential for a major winter storm in the Mid Atlantic on Saturday, Christmas.  Of course, this means, a chance of snow, on Christmas Day.

So here's what is up:  Sometime during the Tuesday - Wednesday time frame, a low pressure from the Pacific, will enter the Continental United States around the San Francisco Bay area.  This is a good position for snow in the Mid Atlantic - and I'll tell you why.  It is a general rule in meteorology, that any storm system will leave the US at the same lattitude, as it entered.  So this means, that the storm will probably leave the US somewhere off the NC/VA coastline, a favorable position for us to get snow. 

Now there are a few scenarios that I will try to explain. 

Scenario One -  The storm enters somewhere just South of San Francisco, and goes straight accross the country, leaving the East Coast somewhere around Hatteras, and kind of goes up the coast - but does not blow into a Noreaster. - this would spread a swath of  moderate snow accross much of the Mid Atlantic from Boone, NC to New York City.  I would say right now this would be a pretty good possibility.

Scenario 2:  The storm enters much further South than expect, - sparing the Mid Atlantic from NOVA north.  The Carolinas and Southern Virginia would see a major snowstorm with this track.  I would say right now, this track is NOT LIKELY  but nonetheless, still a possiblity worth mentioning.



Scenario 3:   This would be the biggest storm for the whole East Coast.  The storm "digs" kinda into the Tennessee Valley, rather than the Ohio Valley, and transfers it's energy to a developing storm off the Carolina Coast.  This would spell a heavy wind blown snowstorm from the Southern Appalachians to New England.  I would say, this has a chance to happen, the pattern is there, - however storms do often not transfer energy this far South.  So while this is a possiblity, it is very hard to do.  A track further north is historically, more likely, much like track 4.  However - the signs are there for a track like this - too far out to tell.

Scenario 4:  The Storm digs further North, into the Ohio Valley, redeveloping off of the DelMarva Penninsula.  This would spread heavy snow from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia into New England, perhaps a historic storm.  With a major Ice Storm into Southern Virginia and North Carolina.  I don't think it will go this far north - however this is a significant option - much like the President's Day Storm of 2003 - a storm that burried DC. 

Scenario 5:  I won't even post a map - the storm goes well west of us and we get rain - I DON'T THINK THIS IS AN OPTION AS OF TODAY.

Right now, I would say the storm would do something similar or in between tracks 1 and 3, and 4.  Those seem to be the most likely tracks - anything other than that doesn't look like an option from here on out. 

So from a week away, I feel like I can farely confidentely say there is a Major Winter Storm Threat from the Southern Appalachians up to the I 95 Co-ordor Christmas Day.  Right now, I think the Southern Half of Virginia and Northern North Carolina stand a better chance of seeing ice than snow.  The best chance of snow from here looks like it will be from the Shenandoah and Alleghany Highlands of Virginia to NOVA.  There is just really no storm track that looks completely likely to miss them, and no storm track that looks warm enough to bring in ice.  A storm track surpressed to the South, like Track 2, would miss these guys out on snow, but that doesn't look likely.

I will update throughout the week.

Snow Map for event tommorow

Increasingly likelyhood this will be all Snow with sleet in the last few hours.  Bullseye over 460 Co-ordior - Yes Lynchburg, you will see quite a bit of snow.

Tale of two tracks...

Is what we will be watching all week.  There is the potential for a major snowstorm over the area this weekend.  If the storm rides up the coast, as depicted in scenario one, it will snow heavily over the entire Southern Apps.  If the storm goes further east, the snow area may needed to be shifted to the coastal plain..

Time will tell what happens.

Someone stacked the deck...

Here in Carroll County anyways.  Last weekend a clipper dropped 5" of snow.  This past weekend, a cold front supposed to be all rain, dropped around 1-3" of snow depending on your elevation.  What's so good about this you ask?  These two snows, both within a week of each other, in a La Nina winter, are very very rare exceptions.  We usually don't see accumulation of snow out of a clipper, and very very rarely, do we see a cold front come through, with just mainly snow.  Blame it on the cold air.  It has felt like February for the first half of the month, and the pattern shows no signs of letting up until after Christmas. 

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The gun is loaded:

Let me try to explain this to you in simple terms.  Earlier this winter, we were seeing storm systems slam into British Columbia, and the Pacific Northwest.  It is an old saying that wherever a storm enters on the west coast, it will leave at that lattitude on the East Coast.  While we haven't seen a single Nor-Easter yet this year, we haven't had a storm dig far enough south in the Jet stream to do this.  This was the pattern til about the first of December.  However, each time a storm would run this way, the cold air, (The cold air is always in the trough, a trough is essential to storminess), it would push the trough further east. This is the pattern depicted in the picture above.  To the East of the cold front, the atmosphere was simply warm, with ridging going on.  Eventually though, the storminess, and a Block over Greenland, forced the Trough to set up over the Eastern US. ( Below)

Here we have the current pattern.  It is incredibly warm in the SW, with records being set all over the place in California.  While in the Eastern United States, the trough has set up, and given the coldest start to the Winter in recent memory.  The one problem, there is no southern storm track.  When this happens, it is hard to get snow in the winter months.  Our snows here in the South come from the Gulf of Mexico.  We are always on the fine line between snow and rain, warmth and cold, due to our lattitude.  However, we have seen a couple a system dive in from the NW that brought us several inches of snow.  Even Yesterday, we had a brief respite of the pattern described earlier, only the air was so cold on the front end of it, what is usually rain turned out to be snow in the Mountains.  This type of pattern is good, for cold weather but not for snow.  So now, onto how the gun is loaded.  I'm about to show you.

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We have two oppurtunities for significant winter weather over the next week.  The first will be a rather light to moderate event.  An overrunning event, that won't be a monster, but will probably cause some headaches. It's a very simple setup.  The warm air to the South will try to fight the cold air to the north.  A weak wave of low pressure will form somewhere in the Tennessee Valley, finally a Southern piece of energy, albeit weak, we will finally have a classic setup for Southern Virginia.  The problems:  It is a fast mover, and weak, and the track will be huge to if we get snow, snow and ice, ice, or rain.  Here is the setup.

Scenario One:  This is a good setup for snow in the Mid Atlantic. Ice, in the Kentucky, Tennesee Regions. Someone will get several inches.  Fine tuning where, is tough.  In the first scenario, the cold air surpresses the storm somewhat, allowing the cold air to remain along the Eastern slopes of the Appalachians, providing a significant ice storm for the Piedmont of NC and Virginia, and several inches of snow from the Mountains of North Carolina up through the entire Southern Half of Virginia. 

Scenario 2:  This is a good setup for snow over the Shenandoah into DC.  and Ice into the Southern half of Virginia, with rain over North Carolina and Kentucky.  Right now, the models are showing this scenario. 

Really, there is no difference, except the placement of the low, and how far north the warm air can intrude.  Two things: 

1. This will be a fast mover, no one should see more than 6" of snow, or .25" of ice.  I think Virginia will get the main beef from this snow.  If it sets up North or South, or right over Roanoke, is where we have to fine tune.  One thing we could have going for us is this.  The cold air is so incredibly deep, that even if the warm air does nose in, it may not matter.  We saw this last year twice.  Two "Miller B's", (storms that traditionally bring warm air and rain), rode to the west of us, however the cold air was so deep and hard to dislodge is ended up snowing with ice at the end.  This could happen again, time will tell.  Right now, my early early call is 2-4" of snow followed by a layer of ice. 
2. This storm sets the stage for the next one.  It could very well be a good opening act, to the main show. There are some signs showing this could be a historical storm, or a no storm.  Many of the early signals are lining up with the January 1996 storm that obliterated the Mid Atlantic. Or, it could dissappoint, and the main show might not even come to the stage at all.

I will post on this storm maybe later tonight or tommorow.  It's on and off the models.  Also, if anyone is interested in joining an in depth weather discussion, check out Kevin Myatt's Blog at Roanoke.com

Sorry for the lack of posts

I've worked 7 out of the past 8 days, and it's finals week so I've been busy.  Just a quick update.  If you read my winter outlook - I'm on track so far.  But that could change.  We have another oppurtunity at light snow this weekend, with another chance coming midweek at perhaps more significant snow.  The pattern continues to be ripe and to be honest shows no sign of letting up like I thought.  Highs Monday and Tuesday might not hit 13 degrees.  Winter is here.

I will post more beggining next week.  Everyone stay warm!

Well, it snowed.

Abou 4" widespread.  My forecast was spot on.  I'm back at LU, and already watching the potential for another storm into next weekend.

Away from the weather some random thoughts

• How about them Hokies?
• Really, 8 days left at Liberty til' I'm gone for a month?!
• I miss baseball.
• As much as I hate the Yanks, I love Derek Jeter.  He's what baseball is about.
• Zack Hall owes me 20 bucks.  Thats 2-0 on sports bets this fall.
• Tech vs. Stanford - - this will be fun.
• New post later this week. Stay warm :)

Snow this weekend...

Here's my initial snowmap for the storm this weekend.  I will post an update later tonight.

My Winter Forecast

On the eve of the official start of meteorogical winter, I'm releasing my official Zach Robinson Winter Forecast.  Feast those eyes.

First of all, this coming winter will be nothing like last.  Last winter, we experienced 3 major snowstorms, each one dropping over 12 inches of snow.  We also recieved two six inch snowstorms, one in December, and one in March to kickoff and end the winter seasons. ( You can see my complete summary of last winter, HERE)  The six inch snows, are common, however, the multiple burrials of a foot plus of snow was not.  So, don't expect that again this year, it simply won't happen.

So what will happen?  Well, it's extremely evident that we have a moderate to strong La Nina in place, and when this happens, it virtually takes away the Southern jet stream.  As many of you know, this is where we get our storminess from.  There are signals showing that La Nina will weaken, and signals are already supporting the pattern breaking down somewhat allowing for more oppurtunities at colder air.  However, as long as the Southern Stream stays shunted south of us, snow will be hard to come by.  A storm or two will come frome the Pacific, and track across the nation, but these are mild, and make snow hard to come by.

December will start out cold.  I think it could stay cold for a good portion of the month, however - storminess will be hard to come by.  If we can eak one out, that will help us out, but I don't look for it to happen.  There are some very light signals pointing to a potential storm system around the 10th of the month.  This is about the only one I see.  Despite the lack of storminess, I look for this to be the tipping point that really begins to push La Nina pattern out. 

By January we should be entering a pattern of more storminess, with less Pacific influence ( if you haven't noticed, Pacific influence is not helpful for snow around these parts).  I think we will start warm, but by the middle to later parts of the month we will see an active Southern Jet Stream brining storminess, as well as frequent cold shots coming in from the North.

I expect this to last into February and March, as weak El Nino should begin to develop.  Weak El Nino, ESPECIALLY in the begining stages, is good for snow around here.  When El Nino forms, it often amplifies the Southern Jet stream to cover the Southern portion of the United States.  In it's begining stages,  it is what snow lovers LOVE in the East, because the Jet is not strong enough to push the cold air out, resulting in frequent snow events.  When El Nino Strengthens, the stormy pattern stays in place, however warm air is too often brought in due to the strength of the jet.

I think late January through March will practically be our winter in terms of snowfall.  The first half of December will be very, very cold, however, it will quickly rebound and I look for much of the Eastern US to be relatively mild from Mid December to Early January.  Keep in mind, that the pattern should be slowly breaking down, allowing for more storminess.  In Early January, I look for alot of storminess in the Central US, with lots of snow in the Ohio Valley and Central Plains.  By the middle of the month, well into March I look for that pattern to shift to the Eastern US. 

Let me now translate this to what it will mean for our area.

Light snow in December.   IF we get any kind of storm, it will probably be around the 10th of the month.  Average temperatures.  Around Christmas time, I look for warm temperatures, much like the pattern we're in now.  I see the potential for Ice Storms around the later part of the month, following Christmas into early January. 
December snowstorms - 1 (1-4") - Possilbe Ice Storm end of the month as we enter La Nina's final warm stand.

January-  will be stormy for the Central US.  It should be relatively nice here for the first half of the month, but a major pattern change should take hold by the later part of the month.  Look for again, another virtually snowless month.  After the 20th, I look for us to see more and more oppurtunites for snow. 
January snowstorms 0 - Possible Ice Storm End of the Month, as we leave La Nina's final warm stand.

February - March will be our snowiest months.  We should see lots of it, if what I'm forecasting comes true. I think we will see enough snow in these two months to push us above normal slightly for the year.
February Snowstorms - 4 - 1(1-4") 2 (4-8") 1(6-12")
March Snowstorms 3 - 2( 4-8") 1 (1-4")

In Summary:  It will start slow, people will be begging for snow, but it will come at the end of the season.
Boone - 40"
Roanoke 23"
Galax/Hillsville/Independence - 35"
Bluefield - 45"
Blacksburg - 29"
Winston-Salem - 10"
Tri Cities - 10"
Lynchburg - 27"

Signals supporting my forecast:

• A weakening La Nina
• A NAO that has trended negative for the majority of the fall - these types of patterns, not related to La Nina, are very stubborn.  A negative NAO means  trough formation along the East Coast is more likely, and that means more storminess.
• A strong pacific Jet in November - - will probably not hold on most of the winter.  One extreme always leads to another in the weather world.
• Finally, my gut.

*Disclaimer- This is the first time I have ever done a long range forecast.  I am not that familiar and still learning a great deal about long range forecasting, so if I completely blow this one, cut me some slack :).

I went a month without blogging.

Today - I discovered Twitter.  Apparently I'm behind the curve. Follow me at @zachhrobinson.

Get Excited.  Zach Robinson's official winter forecast comes out tommorow.  Get reallllllllllllly excited.

A couple of thought's.

1. Please, please, please, if you haven't, read Boy Meets Girl.  It completely changed the way I view women, friendships, dating, purity, my relationship with Christ.  Everything.  It is a good read for any young adult, single or taken.
2. I LOVE my parents.  I am so thankful for them, and realize it more and more each and every day.  I wish I would have treated them better, and still do, but I can not possibly express how much I am grwoing to appreciate everything they have done for us over the years.
3. James 1:12, and James 4:7.
4. Jason Aldean's new CD, My Kinda Party, is probably my favorite country album of the past 3 years.  It's good.
5. FINALLY - Tyrod Taylor, easily the most accomplished qb ever to play at Virginia Tech, played his final home game this past weekend.  He was garnered 1st team all ACC selection today, and will go down as one of the greatest qb's to ever play in the ACC.  Gonna be different not seeing him on the sidelines next year.  Hokienation will miss him. 

Everlasting.

"Your light will shine, when all else fades, neverending, your glory goes beyond all fame. And the cry of my heart, is to bring you praise, from the inside out, oh my soul cries out"

Do you ever just feel like living for God is really worth it?  Is giving up our lives, so that we may truely live, really worth it?  I mean, afterall, being souled out to Christ isn't exactly easy. 

So far, for me, it has been a continuously daily struggle.  A struggle that agonizes me to the core.  I want to grow in my faith, yes.  But often times when I truely ask myself, I just want the end results - without putting the work in.  To grow, it requires work and discipline on our parts. 

Staying focussed on Christ, on our ultimate goal of glorifying God is just as difficult.  With my own personal experience, these past two weeks have been a mess.  From a bad grade in statistics, to work, to wondering about a girl, it is so easy to get distracted in life, and it shows.  When I lose focus, bad habits begin to creep back into my life.  I start to curse.  Lustfull thoughts are harder to get rid of.  The old insensitive "jerk" comes back up inside of me., and it AGONZIZES me.  I find no joy in any of those things.  It bites me to the bone, yet I continually fall because I continually lose focus of Christ.

Underoath has lyrics that say

"This time I'll be nervous, cause I can't see your hands, in front me"

This song I feel like describes our battles as Christians.  We trip, we stumble, sometimes we feel God's presence, sometimes we don't.  Often times, with me, I feel about 100 miles from God, but I know he is stilll there.

So how do I regain focus?  To me, one thing that helps is listening to Christian music.  Find some artists that are good, and load up that ipod.  If you listen to your ipod as much as I do, and you have Christian lyris flowing into your head, imagine the possibilities.  Think about how much differently you would live your life if you listened to just 20 minutes of Christian music a day, and truely take it in.  Try it.

Another thing is pray.  Make it a point to get on your knees and pray, every night.  Even if it's only for 20 seconds.  It will help you focus on actually talking to God, and not letting your mind wander.  If you get in the habit of doing this - I PROMISE - it will make a difference.

Spend time in the Word.  This is my least favorite.  Who wants to read the Bible when you have litterally almost everything a 20 year old man could want to do within walking distance?  Make time.  Even if it's five minutes.  Don't read more then what you feel being led to.  If you feel like God is telling you to read a verse, then read a verse.  Don't feel "guilted" into reading enough.  Soak up God's word, when it just becomes reading, and not listening, it's not doing any good. 

On the same token, journal.  Journal about what you read - write letters to God.  Write about your struggles.  Write about your worries, your fears, your praises, write it all.

So going back to my original question?  Is it worth it?  Is giving up my life for Christ really worth it?  Without a doubt yes.  I'm miserable when I stray, and I'm comforted when I am in the Word.   It is well worth the struggle.  Just to know that God will work out all my problems - my grades, my friends, my emotions, my worries, is reason enough to give it all to him.

Note - I know I'm not perfect, I don't strive to come accross as i am.  I am simply sharing things I struggle with and how to help get back on track for those who are struggling as well.  If anyone has anything or any questions, just feel free to send me a message.

Thanks - and I'll leave you with this verse.

James 4:7  "Humble yourself before the Lord, resist the Devil, and he will flee from you" - memorize this, so when temptation comes, it comes to your head. 

Peace Out.

First flakes of the season..could we see a white Lane Stadium Thursday Night?

Above 2,500'.  Time Frame:  Thursday night into Friday.

The Setup:  A low pressure system will form along a deep trough in the Eastern US and ride up the coast - a CLASSIC setup for snow in our region.

If this were 5 weeks from now, we would be looking at widespread snowfall.  However, it is only early November, and the cold air has to catch up with the moisture.  This thing is very very far out, and will be hard to pull off, but the chance exists for several inches of snow west of the Blue Ridge Thursday night into Friday.

For this to happen, two storms, a low pressure coming from the NW in from Canada, will have to combine (phase) with a low pressure coming up from the Gulf somewhere around the Chesapeake - a setup that is rare even in Winter.  However, the potential exists.  Here's a graphic for easier understanding - -



This is what has to happen for widespread snow in the mountains - - not likely - - at least not yet.



The more likely scenario would be that the low pressure in the Southern US, sweeps up faster ahead of the lows coming in from the Northwest - - this is called progression.  This would mean just a cool rain for us, with snow flurries on the backside - no widespread snowfall.



This is the far more likely scenario



What could help us here?

There is a Hurrican in the Carribean.  How does the affect us?  This speeds up the Northern Stream energy, and at the sametime, cuts off (slows down) the Southern Stream engergy, bettering the chances of the two phasing.


It should be noted the chances of Scenario 1 happening are probably less than 40 percent, as for now.  But to have those kind of chances, the first day of November, is something worth forecasting and spending time reviewing nonetheless. 

One thing that looks certain ?  Flakes will at least fly over the Southern Appalachians by Friday.





Sneak Peak at the winter forecast...

It all depends on the NAO.    If it is negative, we will have a more amplified Jet Stream.  For you non weather nerds, in simple terms that means a much much greater chance at storms along the East Coast, AS WELL, as a pattern favorable to open up the Gulf of Mexico for moisture.  Many of you know that this is essential for us to get snow.

If it is positive, the flow becomes more zonal, meaning a lesser chance of storms, and an even less likely chance of tapping into Gulf moisture.  Let me give you a graphic...

Top 23 thoughts for the day...

Thoughts for the day...

1) It is so much warmer in Lynchburg than it is back home, in the Blue Ridge.

2) Every 19 year old should read Josh Harriss' "Boy Meets Girl" - It is completely changing my whole approach to dating, and relationships with the opposite sex.  For me, it is really helping me grow in my faith, but at the same time helping me realize the value of having a christ centered relationship.

3) If Virginia Tech would not have lost to Boise State, we would be the number 1 team in the nation.

4) A Winter forecast will be coming in early November.  If early trends continue, get ready to use those shovels.

5) Everyone should read a chapter of Proverbs everday.  Just try it, you'll see.

6) My mother is an amazing cook.  The past two weekends she has cooked for me everytime I have been home.  If you want some amazing BBQ, call her.

7) It will rain tonight through tommorow morning.

8) I hate statistics.

9) I hate statistics.

10) I hate.... you get the point.

11) I thought Desean Jackson, a Philadelphia Eagles wideout was seriously injured after sustaining this hit.

12) Cliff Lee is the best pitcher in baseball. The Yankees would agree.

13) Looks like me trying to steal home plate.

14) Start reading more, wheher it be online, in books, magazines, or whatever.  A convocation speaker here at Liberty suggested that if we read 1 hour a day, by the time were like 28 or something, we would have read around 540 books.  That's alot of knowledge.  I have started, not an hour a day, but reading more, and I don't seem to be as tired.  Seems odd, but at least that's one positive.

15)  Do I really have 10 thoughts left?

16)  I can't wait til Thanksgiving week.  Deer hunting and working trees, and home cooking.  Maybe some snow too.

17) Everyone with a free Sunday should come to Octoberfest at Fincastle Baptist Church, on October 31st.  I'm using this chance for extra credit in some classes.  Plus, it should be fun. 

18) The preacher of the aftermentioned church, actually came to evangelism class Monday night to talk about creative ways to evangelize.  The end result?  We ended up playing let's make a deal, and he actually gave away close to 50 dollars in prizes.

19)  Really Brett Favre?  In case you haven't noticed, your a grandfather.  I don't want to believe you sent pictures of your 41 year old male genetilia to a 27 year old super model.  Then again, you also said you retired like 72 times, so it's kind of hard to believe whatever you tell us.

20) Radford University is a fun place to hang out.

21) This explains alot.

22) Good luck Austin Larrowe at the National FFA Convention this week!

23)  I really hate Zack Hall's love for the Green Bay Packers

Who says these mountains ain't real?

Check it out; Mt. Leconte Tennessee recorderd approximately 3.5" of snow over Monday-Tuesday. 

Mt. Leconte is in the Great Smokie Mountains sits at an elevation of 6593'.   Snow this far south and high up is not uncommon this time of year.  In fact, snow has been recorded as early as September 9th, in Bluefield, Va, at approximately 2500'. 

Here are some pictures from the recent snow at Mt. Leconte.

I'mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm not good enough.

I'm a sophomore/junior at LU.  This however, is my first year.   Being Liberty University, I'm required to take some classes not required at most liberal arts colleges.  One of these, being evangelism. 

I have evenagelism Monday's from 5-8.  Talk about a long class.  In this class, the focus has been learning in a practical way to share your faith.  We've been presented numerous ways, ideas, etc. etc. on how, when, where, to evangelize.  It is a very interesting class, and the professor's, David Wheeler is one of the most passionate people I've ever met.  Come to one of his classes, and within 30 seconds, you'll realize how much he cares about bringing people to the lord.

Yesterday, in class, we were presented with this question.  " How many of you are comfortable sharing your faith"?  The more I thought about it, the more I realized I wasn't, and I had never really truely evangelized to anyone. Anyone who knows me, knows I struggle with many things.  I struggle with being compassionate.  I struggle with language.  I struggle with pride.  A constant struggle is going on inside of me, trying to set myeslf apart from this world, spiritual warfare.  With all of this stuff going on, I have never felt, "worthy" to share my faith.  I know I'm changed.  Changing, transforming into a disciple of Christ, but I'm no where close, and I feel unworthy.  As class ended, I approached Dr. Wheeler, and pretty much just told him all of that, and he had one thing to say to me.  One phrase that caught my eye..  " Don't look at me, look at what Jesus has done for me".  If we make evangelism about us,  not God, not Christ, not the Holy Spirit, then I believe were missing the whole point.  Hopefully that phrase will encourage others, the way it has encouraged me.

Which leads me to another point
Where does Disciplship tie into my evangelistic outreach?  One thing Dr. Wheeler does an excellent job of, is keeping the two together, and I don't even know if he realizes it.  Listen to just one of his classes, and you will understand what I'm saying.  He doesn't try to make evangelism out to be some big thing we do on the weekends.  He strives to make it a point and an aspect of every single part of his life.  So, maybe he won't even have to introduce Christ to someone, maybe they will notice, by his actions.  How he mirrors the image that Jesus set forth for us.

Which leads me to another point .. 

Many of my inner struggles come from my struggles with discipleship.  I believe whole heartedly that we are called, as Christians to become like Christ.  If we don't, if there is no transformation, then does Christ really live inside of us?  That has been one of the things that gets to me, because I know, I see in my own life, that I am not a little Christ, I'm not perfect.  We will never be perfect, but we will begin to change, we will begin to transform once we truely have Christ inside of us.  Spiritual Warfare will begin.  I'm no expert, and I hope not to sound like one, I'm just speaking purely from personal experiences and struggles in my own life. 

James writes in Chapter 2

“What good is it, my brothers if a man claims to have faith, but has no deeds?  Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes or daily food,  if one of you says to him, go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” In the same way – faith if not accompanied by action is dead, it is USELESS”

Part of my testimony revolves around this aspect of it.  I got "saved" when I was like 7.  But, was I really saved?  Throughout the years, did I really bear the faith that James talks about?  No way.  Not in anyway, shape or form.  I consider the true date I gave my life to Christ Novemeber 15th, 2009.  It was here where, at a low point, completely seperated from God, completely useless, I surrendered my life truely to Christ.  Since then, the Holy Spirit has been moving in me, putting questions on my heart, in my mind, about what it truely means to be a Christ follower, and if "saying a prayer, saying " I believe", is just enough. 

Growing up, in the "Bible Belt", the word discipleship didn't exist.  What I was taught from the church was pretty simple.  Say a prayer, get saved. Jesus loves you. Duh.  It was so simple.  It was purely  Evangelism/Salvation. Was that all it was, though?  For years, I compromised.  There's a problem though.  Compromise only satisfies for the time being.

Discipelship, therefore, is a fairly new term, introduced to me by my parents several years ago.  I used to hate it, (dad doesn't know this), but I couldn't stand it.  I'd say "this is stupid, Jesus saved me when I was 7, it's impossible to become christ like, to do the things Jesus would have done, were humans, he's God. etc. etc. etc".  I mean, I had every excuse in the book.  I never told my father that, because I knew it would break his heart.  Something he was so passionate about, his son couldn't stand.  Every time I would hear the word, I would tune out, because I knew if I didn't, God would begin to convict me, and I didn't want that.  I didn't want to live like Christ, afterall, God had "saved me" right?  It's that mentality, I believe that is responsible for such hatred towards "Christians" around the world.  Many "Christians", aren't even true Christ followers at all, and they are too prideful (like I was) to begin to recognize it.

Matthew 7:21-23 says it VERY clearly.  It is a verse often overlooked, but I believe one of the most powerful verses in scripture.

Obviously, I struggled with this, with understanding it ( still do), discipleship, but it has been a good struggle, one that has helped me grow in my relationship with Christ.  My father, Mark Robinson, recently spoke on the topic of Evangelism and Discipleship at Cornerstone Community Church, and how the two go hand and hand, rather than be seperated from each other.  I encourage everyone who has struggled with these same things to watch this sermon , it may help clarify some questions.   

Hopefully this made some semblence of sense, and has raised some good questions, in your own mind about your faith.

A winter recap on the eve of my winter forecast..

First, let's start by looking back at one of the snowiest winter's of all time in SWVA.

It started December 5th, when a low pressure system shot up the coast, dropping 3-6" accross the New River Valley and NW NC Mountains.

The biggest storm since 1996 occured two weeks later, when a low pressure system tracked through Alabama, Georgia, SC, and eventually off the coast of NC.  This was a slow mover, with cold air in place, it was nearly all snow.

Totals ranged from 10-20" accross SWVA and NWNC, with 14" at my house in Woodlawn, and as much as 26" in the Shenandoah Mountains.

January was mainly dry, until the last two days of the month, when a storm tracked straight accross the South.  With an artic high pressure to the north, overunning of two vastly different air masses occured, and it once again, dumped on us.  Temperatures struggled to hit 20 for 3 days, as 12" fell on the 31st, then 3" over the next two days.  This was a historic storm for many in Eastern Virginia, with places south of Richmond picking up 15-20" of snow.

While not the best map, you can see how the area of white expands over SE Virginia, and over the SW Blue Ridge Mountains.

A week later, February 6th, an odd setup for snow occured, a low pressure tracked west of the Appalachian mountains.  In most winter this would be a set up for rain, but with Cold air entrenched on the Eastern slopes of the Appalchians, a solid 12-24" fell from Boone, NC up through SWVA into DC.  For many in DC this became one of the largest snowfalls ever, with totals well over 2 feet in many places.

A week later, another storm with the same setup dropped  lesser ammounts, on the order of 3-6" accross SWVA.

Finally, to cap it off, we had a shot of elevation dependant snow on March 5th-6th, dropping around 6-8" in the higher elevations of Grayson, Carroll, and Floyd counties.


So, many of you are asking, will this winter rival that winter?  My answer, is no, it will not even come close.  Last winter was a winter where we saw twice our average snowfall, that happens about once every 10 years.  It certainly looks like that will not occur this year.  So what will happen?

Come back later to find out.

It's been a long time

I haven't really felt too inspired to write anything... but here's some things I want to touch on.

• Boy Meets Girl - Is a book by Joshua Harris I'm currently reading.  I encourage  all college aged students to read it.  Caution:  This is not a relationship book for anyone under the age of 17.  It's not a graphic book, younger high schoolers however would have trouble relating.
• Well known auther Benjamin Wilkinson, author of the Prayer of Jabez spoke at Convo today.  He gave an interesting sermon.  He called it the three chair sermon.  The chairs were based on generations, based on an illustration out of the book of Joshua.
• Chair One:  The generation of our Grandparents, and SOME of our Parents, my parent's fall into this Chair.  People who actively serve God.  People who strive every day toward discipleship and truely following God.
• Chair Two:  The generation below our Grandparents.  Most of our parents.  They grew up watching Generation One, but never figured out why or how they were so close with God.  They grew up in Church.  They have some semblance of a relationship with God  They are still saved, still going to Heaven, but are very lackadaisical in their faith.
• Chair Three:  This generation is my generation, or partly future generations.  They saw how their parents, the one's in chair two acted, so lackadaisical toward God, they don't see the point in it.  They don't see anyworkds in Chair Two's live's.  There is simply no point to follow a God.

This challenged me, and I encourage those who haven't heard this message, try to find it online somewhere, because he tells it much better than I do, and it will change your whole outlook on your faith.

On another note, looks like it's about to get wet.  Rain all next week.

It's been like full week...

And a busy one at that.

Tuesday morning was quite possible the worste feeling I've ever had waking up.  As many of you know, my Chokies, choked one up in the last 2 minutes of the game, giving away a victory over #3 Boise State.  It was however, one of the most entertaining games I have ever watched.  I felt like I got hit by a truck the next day.

Meteorogical Summer started 10 days ago, and we have already had several nights in the 40's :) :) :).
I am a huge huge huge huge closet weather nerd.  Why I didn't go to school for meteorology is beyond me, but I'm here at LU and I love it.

Anyways, here's a few fall predictions for Central and SW Virginia for this fall.

Average Temperatures:   We are coming out of the hottest summer on record, which is coming out of the snowiest winter on record.  I expect within 2-3 weeks the mountains will have their first freezing temperatures.  Normalcy for once? Possibly.

This is the "cold snap" I refer to coming in the coming weeks.

Below Average Precipitation:  We have already seen a trend begining of dry, cool Canadian cold fronts cross the region in the first several days of September.  When this happens, any type of tropical system gets deflected away from the Eastern US by the subsequent high pressure system.  Look for this to really establish itself toward the middle/ later part of the month.    Rain has been very minimal for several weeks now, look for this to continue at least toward the last week of September.

The broadness of this map speaks to me.  The browns are abnormally dry, over such a vast area, this indicates that it is a pattern of dry weather, not just an isolated incodent.

When will the leaves start to change?  Our area is known for it's diverse color in the fall.  Often times a 20 minute drive and a 2,000' elevation change are the difference between a sea of green and an ocean of bright orange, red, and yellow.  The season this year, looks to be alot duller than most, which is a real dissapointment.  A combination of very little rain, and a very hot summer, have things kind of dried out.  Winds look to be common this fall, too.  Providing easy access for the dry, dead leaves not to stay long.  Elevation is a good guide to go by, in determining when the leaves will start/peak/end.

• 0-1,000' (coastal areas):  Start Mid October Peak, Mid November
• 1,000'2,000' ( valley areas of the mountains/ Piedmont):  ; Start, Early October; Peak, Around November 1st
• 2,000 - 3,500; (Blue Ridge Parkway, West)  Start, Mid September; Peak, Early October-Mid October
• 3,5000' (Grayson Highlands, Higher Elevations of the Shenandoah) +; Start, Early September, Peak; Late September, Early October.

The question I'm dying to answer is, "When will it snow"? Here in Lyncburg ( the Piedmont ), don't look for any before Thanskgiving.  Again, this is an elevation thing, here are my best guesses.

• First flakes above 2800', Late October.  First Accumlation of Snow - I'm going early this year, Fall Break, the week before Thanksgiving.
• First flakes above 4,000' - Early October; First Accumulation of Snow, Late October.
• Piedmont:  First Flakes/ Accumulation - December.

1. Two Bold Predictions about the fall.  No Hurricane will strike the U.S.  The pattern just doesn't support it, at least until Early October, and by then the tropics will be dying.  Not impossible, I just don't see it happening.

                                         
2. A Major Snowstorm  will strike the interior NE in late October.  With a cooling trend coming the next several weeks, I look for a warm up in the Eastern US in the beggining of Octbober, followed by winter establishing itself in the Eastern US the later part of the month.  It is not unheard of to have heavy wet snowfalls in the mountains of WV/PA/NY in late October, and I see a pattern favorable for that this year.  Check out this map summarizing a storm last October 18-20th in the Eastern US, snow fell from the high mountains of NC to New England. (See Above)

I'm have a pretty good idea of my winter forecast, I will  post it the later part of this month, as some trends in the upper air patterns for the coming season still have to present themselves.

I'm done nerding it up for the week.  Deuces.

God's Timing

My prayer for myself, for my friends, for everyone I know is that we all will work in God's timing.  That we will just be still and know, that God is truely God, and no matter how hard we try to forget that fact, it will never change.  He was, he is, he will forever be". That we will all truely place God first in everything we do, and believe me that is such a hard hard thing to do.

This is so cliche.  "God's timing".  But really? Should it be cliche?  Let me explain..

Let's say there is a job I am really, really looking forward to.  However, lets say, that my boss is a non believer, as well as my co-workers.  If I wasn't spiritually ready to enter that environment, what kind of impact would I have?  What kind of image would I put on the word Christian?  Just probably more fodder to non christians who spend their days searching for Hypocites.

Now, lets look at it from a different perspective.

Say, I pray about it, ask for God's patience, and against my human nature, listen to God, and tough it out.  Let's say I still get the same job, nothing changes.  However, I am much more spiritually  mature in Christ.  I am much more prepared to share my faith.  I am much more disciplined spiritually, so my sinful nature doesn't control me. 
See the difference?

The same t concept can be applied to almost anything in life.  Work, relationships, financial decisions etc. etc. If we are not where God wants us to do something, to accomplish something - - don't. 

I was talking with a friend today.  She was explaining to me how she was so excited to go on a missions trip during spring break.  She went to the meetings, spent a while filling out the forms.  She got to the last page.  The last box on the last page, where it asked " Define your relationship with Christ, where your at, and what not".

She quit filling it out.  Her response to my question "Why?" was simply: (not word for word)  It would have been selfish.  I know spiritually I am not ready to go on a missions trip yet.  I am not where God wants me to do that.

Pretty humbling, eh?

Jimmy Eat World.

I'm totally nerding it up right now. The flu is what I'm dubbing this illness but it sucks pretty bad.  I've been in bed all night and can't sleep, so I'm up trying to read some scriptures/ jam out some, but here's what I've come up with.

Here's some quick thoughts running through my mind. 

• It's gonna be an amazingly beautiful weekend.  High's in the 70's and low's in the 40's.
• Business Managment is gonna be tough.
• Seek God's timing, don't try to do things on your own.

Provers 16:9, without a doubt comes to mind tonight. 
 "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps"

I can't help but think of my story, and how I got here, to where I'm at in my relationship with God now.  While I'm certainly new to this, I'm so much closer to God now, then I have ever been at any point in my life.

I was reading through Hebrews tonight when I came accross this passage in Chapter 6:4-6

"It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."

Don't read into this the wrong way.  Hebrews was written mainly toward believer's in Christ.  This passage, or at least it is my understanding that in this context, was written to Believer's.  I don't see this passage as a simplified warning " if you fall away from Christ, there's no hope".  I believe that is foolish because everyone, no matter what is always going to go through a rough time in their walk with Christ.  There will always be highs, lows and everything in between. 

However, I believe this passage is stating that once we are Christians, once we truely believe, if we choose to walk away, if we fade away, then there is ABSOLUTELY no hope for us, and there never was.  If we've truely expereinced, truely tasted God's Majesty and power, yet still fall from faith, then there is no hope for us to come to our senses.

Rather than look at this passage from a "dont fall from your faith" standpoint; I believe it's pretty clearly saying "Look, you've tasted me, you've seen me, you've seen that I am God, yet you still choose to fade, it is completely useless, and there is truely no hope".

"I'm just not good enough"

This post is gonna try to stay short and too the point.  It's late, I had class all morning, then worked 7 hours this evening, so I'm beat, but here goes.  I was reading through some scipture earlier this evening when I oppened to 2 peter.  I was going to read the whole book, but just stopped after one because of what I read.

2nd Peter 1:3-4 says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for a life of godliness throuhg our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and prescious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption of the world caused by evil desires".

vs. 1:5-8 reads "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness;, and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For it you possess these qualities in incerasing mesaure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.".

This is pretty straightforward to me.  Romans 10-9-10 reads "If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart he died, you will be saved; (KEY PART most people leave out) for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, with your mouth you confess". 

If we are saved, and claim to be saved, we have no excuse not to be living it.  2 Peter makes it very clear that we have all of these tools necessary, and that it is a matter of the heart weather we actual live up to our billing as Christians.

A friend of mind talked to me today, and said "Ya know, we've grown up in a place where were pretty much born Christians", yet me, my friends, we don't live that way, so why claim to be it? Until I get some things figured out I'm not even going to claim to be a Christian." 
As painful as that is to hear, as a follower of Christ, I say kudos to her, because she has the guts to standout and s'ay look, were not living like God has called us, so why even claim it?" 

I'm praying for her because God has put alot of big questions on her heart, and at least she has the guts to put her foot down, and say look, this isn't right, even if that means denying the Christian faith. 

On another note, I started a book today called "Sex God, exploring the endless connections between spirituality and sexuality".  I'm looking forward to this book.  In the preface it says " to make sense of one, we have to explore the other".  I'm hoping to gain a greater appreciation of purity, and hoping it will help me grow and stay strong in my walk with Christ.

Until next time, stay classy San Diego.

Campus Churchhh

So today at Campus Church was pretty great.  The sermon was on Enoch, and how he walked with God. 

He used this example to really drive the point home.  Throughout history, we can see that if a King were to go somewhere, he would send out his servants ahead of time, to make sure everything was set for the King's presence.  That would be the same as us walking before God, or serving God.

Enoch though, walked with God. As opposed to going ahead and preparing the way for God, Genesis 5:24 says "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away".  Imagine, being that close to God.  Enoch didn't die either, evidence by the end of this verse, God took him away.

Enoch was also the father of Methuselah, the oldest man to ever live.  If you break down Methuselah's name into Hebrew it means, "when he dies, it shall be sent".  Genesis 5:21 -22 states that Enoch fathered Methuselah, as well as many other children, but specifically mentions Methuselah.  The significance in this ( this kind of confuses me), but the flood was prophecized by Methuselah and his life.  If you look at the definition of his name, when he dies, it shall be sent.  When Methuselah died, the flood came, after he lived his whole life prophecizing. 

This suggest to me that this was a turning point in Enoch's life, giving birth to Methuselah, and this enabled Enoch to walk with God on a level to my knowledge no one ever has.  We were given three points at the end of the sermon.

1) There has to be a turning point, something has to happen in our lives to allow us to become closer to Christ.
2)  We have to actively and consistently pursue God.  We can't just have this occurance, this turning point, then fall back into the same pattern of sinfullness.  We have to keep trying, do the necessary things to grow in our walk with Christ.
3)  We have to humble ourselves, surrender ourselves, and let our pride down. 

It was a really inspiring, humbling, and spiritual song.  While praising I started weaping, just weaping honestly for the first time in a long, long time.  "Be my everything".  That is my cry.

You're Ever so Inviting

..... It's a song by the popular Christian band Underoath.  There's a line in this song that is stuck in my head, playing over and over.

The opening line verse goes... " The time has come for you to sit this out, to fit inside your mold, would be to sell myself short.... I think he's talking about a christian, whose stuck in the sinful ways of the world.

"Oh, my story's growing and growing it is
on my last request
Don't make me feel so contradicting
There's no room for cheating and being yourself
Failure leaves such a bitter taste in their mouth"

With this line, I personally take out of it this.  We as Christians are growing, but yet at the same time our human nature, our sinful nature is dragging us down.  The songwriter is expressing
 not only his struggles with overcoming his own sinful nature, but yet the spectrum that we as Christians are viewed under to the non saved world.  "Failure leaves such a bitter taste in their mouths".  When we fail, when we give in to our sinful nature; it does leave a bitter taste in a non belivers mouth.  Why would they want to be like us? They see no difference.

"Taste and see... I swear I know what's good
Be still and know that they won't... lie to you, every
single time you're facing lies"

Psalm 34:8 says "Taste and see that the Lord is good..."

and Psalm 46:10 says " Be still and know that I am God"....

------ I guess what I take from this lyrical quote I a man struggling, yet God reaching out to him, as evidence by "taste and see", and "be still and know".  At the same time the world, people out there are looking at us, holding us to a higher standard, because we are called and often claim to be "Christ Like"?  And they won't lie to us, they will tell us exactly what they think....That we are hypocrites and we contradict what we say, in the way we live our lives...


Before that verse he  sings.....

"Oh it's getting longer and longer come on

To see it through their eyes
Would bring me so much closer
You can't do this night after night after night
Failure leaves such a bitter taste in my mouth"

To me this clearly just emphasizes the constant struggle between the Holy Spirit inside of use, and the sinful nature that we face every second of every day.  Failure does leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

This is just what I take out of this song, I think it's a great illustration of what we face every day, and the constant struggle within us.  Alot of my struggle is not necesarrily oh I'm going to mess up, and stumble, it's a fear of what will happen if I do.  This is so close to home for me because for the past 2 years I've been no where close to God, I've been a mockery of Christianity.  So it hit's close to home...

Anyways. That's just been on my heart. Thanks for reading.

Nothing beat the fresh cut grass, the chalk, and the eye black...

I'm going through some major baseball withdrawls.  I haven't really enjoyed it since my senior year of high school, I was miserable at Bluefield, where I played my freshman year.  The other night, I was thinking about my old man, and how we used to ride home together after almost every game, and just talk about baseball.  I was always so hard on myself, and he would always tell me "Zach, just relax, it's that simple!"? ( or something along those lines)

That year, my senior year, Galax had their first winning season in like 20 years.  We were litterally one shoestring catch from making the playoffs for the first time since the 80's.  However, I will never forget the bond I shared with those guys.  We were such a team, and I miss it like crazy.

That's what we did when we got on base ;)

Me and Todd (Back Left) after a big win vs. Auburn

Me diving....almost..

The Team

hahahaha. "sliding" back to first..

Without a Doubt my most favorite... Me and the old man waiting for the change on the mound...

Getting hit in the Elbow with an 80 mph fastball doesn't feel to great..

 Single to left. haha.

Alright, like for real.  I'm done nerding it up.  This is probably the most homo thing I've ever done. hahaha. It's whatever.  It's late. Peace.

Up Against A Wall...

So I started my new job today at the Crown Sterling, it's pretty chill. A couple of pruney hands haha but it is all good.  Life is crazy sometimes though.  If you read my last blog, I told you that I was really excited about my evangelism course.  Why? Because I see it as an amazing oppurtunity not just to get a college credit, but to legitametly grow in my faith. 

Turns out, one of my professors assistan'ts works at the Crown Sterling as well.  Just started too!.  It's so crazy because sometimes you just feel like God maybe puts the right people in your life, but you don't know what for. Anyways, I got talking to this guy, heard his testimony and what not and it was pretty cool.   Really cool to know that now at work, I have a Christian brother there to help hold me accountable and lift me up. ..

On another note.  I'm trying to "clean up" my ipod.  I mean, i'm not gonna get rid of all my crap, but some of it can go.  I'm a big fan of bands like Underoath, A Day to Remember, Breaking Benjamin, but if it sounds good, I'll listen to it.  Please someone hit me up with some good Christian bands to listen too!!!!

What Year am I?

I've been asked this question alot recently.  My answer has been sophomore, cause this is only my second year on a college campus, but I have enough credits to graduate in 1.5 years if I work hard. So you can be the judge of that...

On another note, I have now attended all my classes and drawn the following conclusions

• Evangelism is gonna be my best class.  My professors seems to have a true passion for God, and it almost doesn't even feel like your sitting through a class.
• My business classes are dull so far, but Marketing will be a fun class.
• Business Managment is gonna be alot like the real world.  Real world business projects and such, so maybe I will get a glimpse of my future?
• Philosophy is a very C.S. Lewis based class.  It will be a hard class.
• Statistics seems much easier than I expected. I'm not taking it lightly, but it is certainly different from pre-calculus. 

While doing philosophy homework, I ran accross a beautiful Italian girl named Julia, who was a fan of C.S. Lewis.  I was impressed, cause I was reading C.S. Lewis.  More impressed, because she liked The Chronicles of Narnia, totally didn't strike me as a Chronicles of Narnia type.

Anyways on another note, I got put in my prayer group tonight, and it is pretty legit.  My prayer leaders is Ian, and he is a cool Godly guy.  We even have food.  We need a salary cap, we're that good.  I start my new job at the Crown Sterling tommorow! Wish me luck!

My Land and Destinations of the Fall..

I've always been a mountain boy.  I'm from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, and have an absolute passion for the beauty and solitude of my hometown and surrounding mountains.  I've always took great pride in my home county, quite simply because I truely believe it is one of the most beautiful places in America, if not the world.  The Blue Ridge Parkway disects my County, as you can watch the gentle rolling mountains drop from a steep couple thousand feet into the Piedmont of North Carolina seemingly below your feet.  To the west the highest mountains in Virginia often provide some pretty amazing views late in the evenings and in the winter.  To the north the Great Valley of Virginia is home to the New River, and the Interstate 81 Co-oridor.  The picture in my header is actually a picture taken of Carroll County from Buffalo Mountain, about 1.5 miles outside of Carroll County.  It's a pretty amazing place.

I said I have a passion for my hometown, but I also have a passion for all nature and beauty.  I love exploring, and recently knocked out the Smoky Mountains of NC and Tennessee, as well as the Coal Country of West Virginia and far Southwest Virginia.  One place I haven't gone yet, is the Shenandoah Mounatins of Virginia.  Living in Central Virginia for the next several months, it looks to be a great fall!

Some places on my list of must sees this fall are -

Devils Marble Yard - located just southeast of Lexington, its a mountainside of boulders with some majestic views.

Crabtree Falls - Known as the largest waterfalls east of the Rockies, this series of waterfalls cascades over 1,000' down the Eastern Slopes of the Appalachians.

Skyline Drive - A highway built along the crest of the Blue Ridge runs right through the middle of Shenandoah national park.  To the west look into the Great Shenandoah Valley, and to the east, the Piedmont of Virginia. 

Peak of Otter -  Originally thought to be the highest mountains in the Eastern U.S., peaks of Otter rises 4,000' above the Virginia Piedmont.  Although a greater elevation change occurs, the Peaks are actually no where close to the highest mountains in Virginia.  Situated in the southernmost parts of the Shenandoah, the Peaks offer a majestic view with alot of history. Thomas Jefferson once wrote "the mountains of the Blue Ridge, and of these the Peaks of Otter, are thought to be of a greater height, measured from their base, than any others in our country, and perhaps in North America."

Innaugural Post

Hey what up guys. I'm Zach. First let me start this off with telling you guys a little bit about myself. I'm from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwestern Virginia. I'm 19 years old and attend a pretty amazing Christian University - Liberty U. It is a rocking place to be at.




I got here in a weird way. I swore to myself in high school I'd never show up here, stupid rules. I went to a small NAIA school my freshman year for baseball, and I couldn't stand it. All my dreams and aspirations just kind of evaporated right in front of me. Everything I had worked for, I just kind of lost interest and gave it up like that. I was going through a pretty down time in my life. I was away from home for the first time. I had it bad for this girl, and I mean bad. Ha-ha. Baseball wasn't going good, and my shoulder was all tore up. Worst of all though, I was far from God. I was standing right next to him, but there was a glass wall in between us. I could see him, but I couldn't feel him, hear him, anything like that. I was numb.



I had made the decision in April that Liberty was going to be my new school home. I was nervous; I was taking a leap of faith. While still not super close to God, I had gained some ground thanks to some close friends at Bluefield. I didn't know why, not a clue, but I knew God was calling me to LU; I had such a peace with it. It was one of those things where I didn't (still don't really) know what I was doing, but I knew I was doing what God wants me to do. Proverbs 16:9 says

"A man's heart plan's his ways, but the lord directs his path"

I stumbled across this when I was reading my bible one of the few times I have this summer. I've never forgotten it, because it is so true, and I have seen how it has worked in my life. No matter what Zach Robinson tries to do, God holds the trump card, and he'll play it eventually.



Anyways, back to my story. About mid July I'm still kind of in this glass in between me and God stage, when some of my closest, lifelong friends, had the courage to tell me straight up I wasn't living right. I put the word Christian to shame. Looking back, Gosh did me ever. I wasn't drinking or partying or whatever, but I just wasn't living right. I had no respect for my mother, the most amazing woman I know. I treated my friends like dirt, and girls were just a number. God? He wasn't even around. I just didn't care. Then it hit me, and it hit me hard. It was a heart problem, I had none. I don't even know what happened to it, or how I got to that point, I just did. It hurt at first, but I think God for putting the right people in my life, to hold me accountable.



That was like less than a month ago - - but I'm making some major progress or at least I think so. I've cut the whole cussing thing down quite a bit and that glass wall between me and God is really cracking, which is a pretty cool feeling. I'm nowhere, I mean nowhere close to where I want to be. I dropped the F bomb today on the way to work and I'm really ashamed of it, but I had someone there to hold me up and tell me what's up. Accountability is key. I want people to look at me and say "hey, he's different, he actually lives like a Christian", not just some athlete who goes to church on Sundays.



God's putting a lot of big questions on my heart - like how to lead? How to grow? Is there a right way to do Christianity? Discipleship? - - Stuff along those lines, so hopefully I'll keep you guys interested.



I will talk about a lot of other stuff too, baseball, college football, weather. Poems (I love to write Poem's songs, raps) and random Random Crap. Ha-ha. Anything you name it. I'll try to hit the whole God topic once or twice a week.



Peace Out.