When called by God CZ took such a step. And because he trusted God, he was richly rewarded by finding his kingdom.<\/em><\/p>\n Chief Editor~ Ricky Jean<\/em><\/p>\n Ricky: Tell me a little about yourself. Where did you grow up, stage in life, working, going to school, are you from DFW originally?<\/b><\/p>\n CZ: <\/b>I\u2019m twenty. I was born in Arlington, TX. I lived there for about seven years before moving to Fort Worth. That\u2019s where I actually grew up. I played basketball my entire high school career.<\/p>\n Ricky: Really?! What position?<\/b><\/p>\n CZ: <\/b>I played the post position. Big. Now I play guard in my transition to college. I graduated high school in 2019, then I went to Texas State. It’s between Austin and San Antonio. I stayed there for about two years, but while I was down there I experienced a lot of growth. During my freshman year I actually got involved into a business, which really flourished while I was down there. I was leading over 70 people in my market. <\/p>\n Ricky: What type of business was it?<\/b><\/p>\n CZ: <\/b>An investment group. I was basically helping people understand how to trade and get into Crypto. I currently work at Wal-Mart. I\u2019ve been there for about a month and a couple weeks. It\u2019s an easy job. <\/p>\n Ricky: What do you do there?<\/b><\/p>\n CZ: <\/b>Right now I\u2019m an online shopper. So it\u2019s a light job. Plus they give me the hours I need for the ministry. Hopefully, I can transfer to one in Oklahoma. <\/p>\n Ricky: That\u2019s right, you\u2019re on the OKC Mission Team! Are you excited?<\/b><\/p>\n CZ: <\/b>Yea, I am. I found out when I was like two months old spiritually. I was surprised. I\u2019m a Blue. So I\u2019m a very logical thinker, and I like to plan things out. But at that moment when they told me I was going to OKC\u2013 I had to throw away my logical side, and just be open to the new direction.<\/p>\n At that moment I was like\u2013 yes! But then after, all the logical steps started coming to my mind. And I was like: I need to take care of this, I have to do that, this, that, and a third, etc. But as the date gets closer I get more excited. It\u2019s going to be a new journey, so I\u2019m excited for how God is going to use me.<\/p>\n Ricky: What are some of your hobbies and\/or something you would consider unique about yourself?<\/b><\/p>\n CZ: <\/b>I love playing basketball in my free time. Lately, I\u2019ve been getting more into my fitness. Basically my overall wellness; flexibility, mobility, and just feeling good. Sleeping better and eating right. I\u2019m currently reading two books on having a proper diet (Eat Smarter & Sleep Smarter). Both are written by the same author. And I\u2019m also working on being more consistent in the gym.<\/p>\n I\u2019m in a choir now. I started learning how to sing. I want to learn how to play the piano, I actually used to play the Tuba back in high school. I was in band and choir during high school. Choir only ended because I needed a fine arts credit, but whenever I auditioned, I made the Varsity Choir. So I ended up staying for like a year. <\/p>\n Ricky: Tell me how you were met\/invited to church?<\/b><\/p>\n CZ: <\/b>It was through the business. I was one of the top leaders there. But it started when Derrick, who was also part of it, got asked to study the Bible. After studying he reached out to me around late June 2021. I was supposed to study with Hugo, but I said I didn\u2019t have any time, and that I was really busy. <\/p>\n I think about four or five months went by, but during that time a lot of people in the business started leaving. I started wondering why? Then the next person to leave that I knew was Jordan; after he left Kattie started studying the Bible as well. Some of the other members studied the Bible too, but they never made it all the way through.<\/p>\n The next person to make it was Terrence, he was actually the key to how I got into the kingdom (DFWICC). Even though he was studying the Bible, he was still in the business. That\u2019s what left a gateway for me to eventually make it. At first I didn\u2019t want to have anything to do with the kingdom, because I felt like it was taking all of my friends away. Terrence acted as a mediator and kept me up-to-date on all the church meetings. <\/p>\n One day the business held an event at the UC, and that\u2019s when Allen Ramos came in to share with everybody in the room. He was unafraid, and I was so impressed that I wanted to get him into the business. Finally, he came and spoke with me. That\u2019s when he invited me out to Devo (church meeting), and since I already told him I was Christian\u2013 I had no choice but to go. And that\u2019s really how I started studying the Bible.<\/p>\n Ricky: Describe your relationship with God prior to studying the Bible and how it has changed?<\/b><\/p>\n CZ: <\/b>I was always kind of hoping I had a relationship with God. I never knew for sure if I had a relationship. I had a form of Godliness, but denying its power. I was definitely religious. I would read like a chapter a day, basically whatever the verse of the day was on my Bible app, I would read that chapter. I wasn\u2019t really living out the scriptures.<\/p>\n During that time period I always knew I didn\u2019t have a real relationship with God. It wasn\u2019t really there. I was only hoping that it was. Whenever I got into the Kingdom (DFWICC) it was completely different. Now I was seeing people who do have a relationship with God. I was actually studying the Bible. I was reading and praying. Every single day I was living out the scriptures.<\/p>\n I was actually doing it now, which in turn made me feel a lot closer to God. I could trust him with a lot more of my problems. Before I was in the kingdom I would take on all the troubles by myself; but then that would only increase my worries because I could only do so much. I used to really worry a lot, but ever since I got here I\u2019ve been learning to put God first.<\/p>\n I prioritize all the meetings of the body before my own desires. In the world I never had the ability to let everything go and just let God take control. I would always ask him to take control, but I would still be trying to do everything on my own. <\/p>\n Ricky: Since you\u2019ve been baptized you\u2019ve grown so much. What is something that you do in your spiritual journey that has helped strengthen your love for God?<\/b><\/p>\n CZ: <\/b>Growing in my knowledge of God. Especially when it comes to learning the studies (First Principles). I finally led the Seeking God study, now I want to go after the Word of God study. Reading spiritual books also helps. Right now, I\u2019m reading First Love\u2013 it’s been teaching me how to restore my relationship with God. It\u2019s giving me more faith. It’s been teaching me that we need to learn how to capture our negative thoughts. <\/p>\n You have to replace them with scripture in order to cancel them out. Now I just want to keep learning more about God. I feel so enthused about my Quiet Times (studying scripture), because I\u2019m learning so much. The journey itself has taught me a lot too.<\/p>\n Ricky: Which Bible story or book relates to you the most and why?<\/b><\/p>\n CZ: <\/b>John 7. Jesus\u2019s brothers were basically making fun of him for his message. The brothers didn\u2019t even believe he was the Messiah; they were prompting him to perform signs and wonders, but Jesus knew it wasn\u2019t his time and trusted God. He kept emphasizing him doing things on God\u2019s time.<\/p>\n What I learned from that is\u2013 we can have the same will as God but not the same timing. We try to go after the will with our own timing and not with God\u2019s timing. Once we learn to submit with his timing, we realize that the will that he has for us is the same as what we wanted. Or even better.<\/p>\n Ricky: What do you love about the Kingdom?<\/b><\/p>\n CZ: <\/b>Being with a group of people who love God and prioritize their relationship with him. Just because you are who you surround yourself with; so if you surround yourself with people who want to grow with God, get closer to him, do things for him, that\u2019s who you will be also. The kingdom is really just one big family, and we\u2019re all working towards a common goal. Which is to evangelize the entire world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Brave Sometimes life will challenge us in unexpected ways, and much like Abraham, we have the option to act out in faith. When called by God CZ took such a step. And because he trusted God, he was richly rewarded by finding his kingdom. Chief Editor~ Ricky Jean Ricky: Tell me a little about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":36560,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-fullwidth.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-post"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tribechurches.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_1157-225x300.jpg\")
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