family

#SurpriseUsin6 – Doing more by doing less

February 1, 2019 by zharrod

Written by Míša Harrodová

Not many things change your world like becoming a parent. I thought I had some idea what it’d be like because I helped a lot with my brother, who’s 16 years younger than me.

Nope.

Really, I can’t think of a single thing that hasn’t changed since Ollie joined us almost 2 years ago.

A lot of those changes have been valuable lessons. God’s been using all of the unexpected, tiring yet miraculously energizing, overwhelming and fulfilling to teach us things that – I think – would not be normally accepted.

For me, one of the lessons applied to my demand for control. I have a plan, a way I expect things to go, and I want everything to go according to that plan. When things start going awry, I get anxious and even unpleasant.

When Ollie joined us I learned quickly, I wasn’t in control anymore, it started during labor and continues!

I pictured being able to do A LOT of things I used to do with little to no change. Things like getting coffee with my friends, reading, getting to places on time, NEVER working around my child’s nap time, preparing for meetings I have, studying and getting deeper into things I want to give my time to and etc.

To my surprise, that’s not how it went. I often feel like I’m just trying to navigate through a lot of chaos, don’t have any time to myself, and have no capacity to read, study or prep. Sometimes it is really hard just to listen to another person and sometimes even harder to simply shower.

But through this all, something amazing happened. The relationships that I had seemed to be deeper! How? Instead of being prepped and having a plan of how my meeting would go, I had to start being real – share my mess, hang out, be ok with the fact that we don’t always have a clean house, I don’t always take shower or put my make-up on and I ultimately learned to trust God in the midst of it all.

God showed me, that by me doing less – and He understands why – HE IS CAPABLE OF DOING MORE! By learning to give up control, I learned this amazing truth about our heavenly Father.

Want to help us reach out goal before we head back to Prague on February 12th? CLICK HERE to help us!

Blessing or Burden?

December 10, 2016 by zharrod

Zach speaking at NCC Uprising, youth group.

I have been a “full-time missionary” for close to 14 years, which is absolutely crazy to consider! Fourteen years is a long time. It makes me feel a bit old as I type it and ponder those 14 years, close to 12 of them have been spent in Prague, the other two spent in Xenia, OH.

As I ponder those 14 years there are so many things to be thankful for and stop and praise God for. That is not a small amount of time and I can’t begin to imagine how many prayers have been prayed, how many dollars have been given and how much people, maybe including you, have sacrificed to be part of what God has, is and will be doing in Prague, Czech, Europe and beyond! I am moved to shout and sing out loud THANK YOU TO EACH OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN PART OF THIS AND WHO WILL BE PART OF THIS!

As we have been in Washington DC this week, we have been very blessed. We have seen God’s generosity through many people here. It’s moving and I’m speechless as I think about it all. In the midst of this all, something that I have been carrying around for 14 or so years stood out to me. Somewhere in the midst of this “career” of mine and the support raising I, and we, have done for all these years I started carrying around a “I am a burden” mindset.

What do I mean by “I am a burden” mindset? That’s a good question that I’m still trying to unpack, but somewhere in those 14 years, while I would write people, call people and try to create avenues to see the support we need raised, I started to believe that as missionaries that need to raise support, that we are not a blessing to people, but a burden to them. That when they see my name in their inbox or in their caller ID, they say something like, “Oh it’s that Zach guy again, he needs money.” This might be true, but I don’t believe it is the overwhelming response of people. However, in the midst of interactions, some how, some way I started to believe this.

Then God brought us here to DC and Míša and I have had this blown up this week. We have had people remind us that we are a blessing and not a burden. It has been freeing for us. It also has helped us to see that we aren’t trying to “sell” ourselves or what we do, but we are honestly giving people an opportunity to be part of what God is doing to woo people to Himself through our presence and work in Prague and beyond.
We are excited to see how God will surprise us the rest of our trip and we are actually slightly giddy with anticipation to see how He will show up. Of course, we will have those “burden moments,” but in those moments we will preach these words to ourselves: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Romans 10:15) Once again, THANK YOU to all of you who have been part of this crazy adventure in some way! You are all amazing. Please pray for us, as we are trusting God to once again show up and bless us, so that we can be a blessing to people in Prague! If you would like to be part of it, please CLICK HERE to help. THANK YOU!

Jon and his wife, Anne Marie, who put together an amazing week, to allow and show us we are a blessing not a burden.

BIG NEWS

December 9, 2016 by zharrod

We have made our rounds on social media with our BIG NEWS, but we didn’t get it up on our website until today. We are so stoked for this little person to join us in May, but till then we wait in anticipation and are trying to prepare in practical ways and in deeper, spiritual ways as well.

Practically we will need to prepare his or her room and all that comes with that, but we are also practically preparing for his or her arrival with our trip back in the States right now. One of the most practical things we need is a salary and living expenses that will be for a family and not a couple. We are trusting God to help us raise an additional $1000/month to help us raise our salary and living expenses for a family of three, but we are also needing to re-raise some monthly support, as people have had to change their giving for a variety of reasons.

Would you consider joining our team, but giving monthly? Your regular monthly support helps us do the day in and day out ministry in Prague. Please CLICK HERE to give today and be part of what God is doing in Prague through us.

We are also praying for this little one’s arrival as we wrestle through what it means to be parents, how we are going to parent and the ins and outs of being a parent. Both of us have a bit more experience with kids, thanks to our siblings who our 15 and 16 years younger than us, BUT still that doesn’t prepare us for having our own little one. Would you pray for us, as we wait in great expectation to meet little Oliver or Anabella? Please pray that God would shape and prepare us to be the parents he or she will need.

Thank you for being you and as always BE A

a grandfather’s influence

December 24, 2011 by zharrod

What can I grandfather impart to his grandson?

I’ve been asking these questions, and more, since my mom called me last week, with the news that my grandfather (or G-Pa as I like to say, it’s his gangsta name.) passed away, peacefully, in his sleep – “What did my grandfather, Robert Shisler, impart to me? What in my life can I see is a direct result of my Grandfather’s presence in my life?”

We all process death and grieving differently, but I have been fighting to find these things, as well as fighting to cling to the great memories of my G-Pa that I have, rather than feel sorry for myself and my family. I think this is what my G-Pa would have wanted from me, if I would have asked him, how he would want me to grieve and remember him. My G-Pa was a man of few words, but his actions, life and how he lived spoke volumes to me throughout my 31 years of knowing him.

I thought it would be great to remember him here on my blog and I hope that this will, in some way, be a challenge for me and you to consider these values and characteristics in our lives!

So here we go… A few things that my G-Pa, Robert Shisler, imparted to his oldest grandchild…
[Read more…]

happy mom’s day!

May 9, 2010 by zharrod

Happy MOM’s day to every Mom out there, but especially to my Rock Star, Diva of a mom, Kate Harrod! Below is one of my fav pics of my mom!

So here is my Mom’s Day post for you Kate Harrod!

I pray you have a great day and know that your kids one-third of the world away from you miss you and adore you so much!

Thanks for everything you have done for you us and will do for us!

As I was thinking about you this morning, I thought of many things about you that have insprired me (or us) in our lives, so I thought I shared them with you and the two readers of zACHhARROD.com! Mom, thank you for inspiring us to…
…put our whole hearts into anything we did!
…love.
…not be afraid of emotions. It’s okay to cry.
…be in touch with our roots, your roots.
…travel. My mom would take us kids with her to her midwifery conferences all over North America. I think this is where her kids’ travel bug came from. (So mom, I guess , in some ways, it’s kind of on you that we live overseas! 😉 Thank you for taking us with you!)
…work hard.
…never quit.
…be good citizens, even if we voted differently than you voted!
…never settle for mediocrity.
…dream.
…strive to excellence in all do!
…make the most of what we have.
…love learning.
…be more than the status-quo.
…and much, much more….

I love you so much Mom! Thank you for everything you are and more over thank you for being my friend! Happy Mom’s Day!

zhtv #28 a taste of barcelona

January 22, 2010 by zharrod

As promised some time ago, here is a little taste of Barcelona in zhtv fashion! I hope you enjoy it and I hope it encourages you go get a passport and see this great world that God has created! Get out there in the midst of it and be a REVOLUTION for the King and His kingdom!

the last year of my twenties…

May 17, 2009 by zharrod

It’s here. Today is the last day of the last year of my twenties. It’s intriguing really. I’ve heard a lot of banter from my younger friends, my players, and even my ‘older’ friends who are well past 30. It makes me wonder what next year will be like!

To be honest with you, I’m not afraid of getting older and the banter doesn’t bother me. In fact, I welcome age coming! Getting older means more experiences, more wisdom and the like. So I say bring it!

With that, last year I wrote a post entitled, 28 Reflections, and as this year’s birthday approached I’ve pondered, “Can I do 29 new reflections?” I’m not sure, so I’ve tweaked it a bit and I’ve got 29 reflections/highlights/insights/things I’ve learned from the 28th of my life. So here we go, complete with pictures!

I have been “on the field” longer than I’ve ever been “on the field” before. With that being said, this means I’ve been separated from family and dear friends longer than ever before too. I was so very blessed to have my worlds of Xenia, Ohio (AIA Headquarters and Czech mix last summer with the visit of my dear friends the Garretts!

I love my roots and would love to learn more about them! This is my Swedish friend, Gustav, and his birthday cake from last year. Gustav and I studied together and now sadly they are back in Sweden. Gustav helped me love on my Swedish roots more than ever before!

I’ve once again, been inspired by the person of Jan Hus, the Czech reformer from the 15th century. This statue of Jan, is in the city of Tabor, and I loved it. “Why?” He’s clutching his Bible with flames at his feet. The courage, the faith, and more of this man inspire me. I normally pray that God would raise up Jan Huses within this generation, now and that God would move mightly to bring deep changer here.

Last summer I drove 790 km and spent 12 hours in a car alone driving around this country helping out with AIA sport camps. In the midst of that I was once again reminded of the overwhelming need all over this country. The need is so overwhelming! As I was traveling, I again fell in love with this beautiful country! This is me in the beautiful, quaint, medieval town of Telc. Check out a zhtv from the camps! Or to read more head to my July 2008 archive.

I often pinch myself and ask myself something like, “Is this really my life?” I never could have imagined that I would live where I live, travel where I have traveled, and do what I do. It’s all unreal to me! Very unreal! Like Saint Basil’s Cathedral. in Moscow, that seemed like it was out of a book or Disney. I’m so very grateful for every bit of it! Thank you to each of you readers and ministry partners who make this possible and are part of this! Thank you so very much.

One of those “pinch myself moments” came last summer, when I had the opportunity to travel to the Olympics! It was an amazing experience and I was equally amazed by the Chinese people. Who were Olympic crazy, but were also so warm and friendly!

While I was in China it felt like a Twilight Zone episode to me, as I tried to grasp the many different time zones that I was dealing with.

To make the experience even more amazing last summer, I was so excited to take Honza Gabriel to the Olympics with me. I’m hoping that in the future I will be able to take many more guys outside of Prague to experience things like Honza got to experience! Thank you to each of you helped Honza get there!

The Great Wall – need I say more?

I felt like a rock star in China! Being a 6’3″ white man attracted some attention. I think people thought I was special, meaning an athlete, but I sadly wasn’t there to compete!

Last October, I got to meet my sister’s then boyfriend, Tom, when Megs and him came through Prague for a long weekend and an interview for Megs. I instantly fell in love with Tom – in a “hetero life mate” type of way! ;-)I’m now excited to call him my future brother-in-law, as he asked for my sister’s hand in the big “M” word! Love you two!

I love what I do with AIA, but I do have had a growing passion, that is controlled and checked, to church plant in this city and in this country. Last fall, I met another young man, Bedrich, who has a heart to plant churches in this country, and who is also a pastor! It sparked my heart and desire to see the Church in Czech grow in love for its countrymen in practical, relevant, loving ways to see the hard soil of this country burst to life!

I’m still very much committed to seeing God transform the sport of American football in this country, and Europe, for His glory and the good of the Czechs! Last fall, I loved coaching once again and being able to work with guys from other teams here in Czech. Shortly after this I was also asked to become the head coach of the junior team, which has been a blast thus far!

I still scratch my head over some of the customs of this country. They aren’t wrong, they are just different! I like that every year I have the same wondering and head scratching experience! Read about my 2007 experience here.

After I returned from my short trip to the States to surprise my family for Christmas, I noticed several pics of my sweet littlest sister, Mikaela, and I. I realized how much she loves her big sister, Megan and I. She looks up to us and reveres us and I love her dearly and pray for her often! She’s an amazing little woman!

I once again realized, my parents rock! This picture might be one of my favorites from my time back in the States! My dad is busting a move here and had a huge smile on his face! I love it! I know my goofiness drives him crazy, but there are moments where I realize where I get it from!

Quite simply – my sisters are gorgeous! I’m repeatedly moved at the things they say about and their actions towards me. I love being their big brother!

I love seeing budding love! It was at this time where Tom, in a rather gentlemanly manner, approached my parents and myself asking for permission to purpose to Megs! Classy, classy, classy…. I love you Megs and Tom and I’m excited to see how your marriage unfolds!

“SURPRISE!” One of the highlights of my 28th year was surprising my whole family for a Christmas visit! So cool. I loved seeing the faces of shock and joy! Love you Harrods, Shislers and Backs!

Here are a few of my guys at my place, while we were watching the NFL play offs on my projector (graciously provided by a supporter! Thank you!). I love the NFL season because every Sunday night we watch to games, eat pizza and hang out! So much fun!

I love my church, Faith Community Church, and the dear friends that I have that I worship and serve with. This is one of the many blessings to me here in Prague. In the midst of hard weeks, struggling to get the language, work with the hard soil that is this place and the toil I feel, I’ve continually been blessed by this growing body of believers from many walks of life.

Highlights! Megs moves to Prague to manage the hub office of Czech Inn, Miss Sophie’s and Sir Toby’s!

My director, Billy, is a Stud! He directs, leads, guides and runs…. And runs a lot. This year has presented a few unexpected challenges and I’ve had the privilege of seeing the Gospel played out between Billy and myself and amongst my AIA teammates here. It’s no secret that doing ministry is tough, especially in a place like Czech, and of course there will be hard things to work through and with. Throughout some bumps this year, I’ve learned much about myself, leadership, and ministry, while Billy has had my back and gone to bat for me.

Having the Rutgers guys here! (read a previous post) Thank you Bel, Billy, Tariq and John for giving up your spring break to come and serve and love my guys and myself here! One word to describe their time here – Momentum! Please continue to pray that this momentum increases!

While I had the Rutgers guys here, I was praying about who I would ask to translate for me and I immediately longed to have Ondra translate for me. He did great and it was so encouraging for me to here him translating the Gospel to his countrymen! I’ve written much about Ondra in the past (here is the oldest post on my blog and here are some others about my dear friend) and how he was the first guy that I’ve seen come to faith. He continually grows in his walk with Jesus and will be getting married this summer! Click here to see some engagement pics!

New Life! The newest Stewart arrived this spring, which meant that I am yet an “Uncle” again! So stoked to have little Izaak here and see the Stewart clan increase to 4!

Most recently I got some good time with another one of my dear friends, Jason, in Salzburg. Sadly in the next few weeks Jason will be leaving us and Prague for some support raising time in the States and then a move back to Europe, but unfortuanly not to Prague but to Kandern, Germany. Jason will be missed, but I’m glad we got one last little adventure in before he leaves!

Did I really do 29 of those? Really? I was thinking I would struggle! There was even one more, that I don’t need, but in honor of my 30th year, which is approaching, I’ll post it anyway!

This is my home. Well kind of. This is at the center of the city I call home. Unfortunately, I can’t get any living space in the castle!! Over the last year of life, I’ve felt my love, passion, resolve and much more for this city, it’s people, this country and it’s people increase! This has all increased in ups and downs, and I would say that I’ve never longed more for this place than I do today. Thank you for being part of what God is doing here, what He’s doing in my life and just being part of this crazy thing we call life! Here’s to 29 and bring on 20-10! Ok, bring on 30!

my birthday would never be the same…

May 15, 2009 by zharrod

It was the day before my 3rd birthday, and sure enough my birthday(s) would never be the same. Shared birthday parties, shared cakes, even though we had our “own” day – a birthday but a day apart would mean that we would share, share, share….

Yes today 26 years ago my lovely, talented and creative sister came into the world and ‘ruined’ my 3rd Birthday! Ok, she didn’t but she did! And I’m glad she did! Although, after all these years we never considered that it could have been a reality that we could have shared the same exact day! That would have been intriguing… But that is not how things fell, God, in his sovereignty, gave Megs the 15th and allowed me to keep the 16th to myself amongst the Harrod and Shisler clans.

There she is! Isn’t she beautiful?! We now live in the same city! Who would have ever thought it! But sadly our schedules are opposite and we don’t get to see each other as much as we would like. We still have yet to do a sibling adventure, they will surely come! I love her, she has become, and is becoming, an amazing woman and sister and friend and manager and fiancee and wife, sooner than later (man Tom, you are marrying up! 😉 hehe… Love ya!), and much, much more! She is worth a run-on sentence too!

Love you Megs! Welcome to your late twenties! Love you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

happy mother’s day!

May 10, 2009 by zharrod

This is Kate Harrod.

She is a Diva!

She is Super Mom!

She had caught like 4,000 babies!

She loves on my sisters and I in amazing ways!

She is my mother!

And I’m very much, my mother’s son!

Happy Mother’s Day MOM! Know I love you and miss you dearly! Also a Happy Mom’s Day to each of you Mom’s stopping by zACHhARROD.com today! There are many sweet women out there that have served, and serve, as my “Spiritual Moms” of sorts throughout the years! Happy Mom’s Day to each of you as well! Love you all!

head coach harrod…

April 29, 2009 by zharrod

For most of my life I have known one “Head Coach Harrod.” His name is Doug, not Zach. Zach is the son of Doug. Doug has been the “Head Coach” most of my life and now tonight I will be the one Head Coach in the Harrod family, at least at the moment! Tonight is the first practice for the Junior team of the off-season. Tonight I’m no longer the “other guy” when it comes to coaches but “the guy.” To be honest, I’m a bit nervous and a bit reluctant. “Why?” I’m not sure, there are a lot of things swirling in my head. It could be because I’m nervous about my language ability. Or it could be because I really respect the man that was the coach over the last few years and I liked being an assistant to him. Those are two of the reasons. There are probably more, but I would ask for your prayers. Prayers that I would coach in a way that honors God and my guys. Coach in a way where my guys really wonder why I’m so different and they would realize that it’s more than just being an American. Please pray that I don’t sound too much like an idiot as I long to speak, and coach, only in Czech and not in English. Please pray that my guys would be receptive and respond well to the changes we are experiencing. More than anything, please pray that Jesus would be depended on greatly and lifted up in all of this! Thanks for being you! Grace….