John

Book of Hebrews 1:1-10🌟

Today I want to share the first 10 verses of the Book of Hebrews. This is one of the most powerful books in the Bible. We are taught in Scripture that the Word of God is sharper than a double edged sword, able to separate joints and marrow, dividing even down to the soul and spirit and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Bible provides us with fresh ‘living medicine.’

You may not feel the effects of listening to the Bible right away, but I promise you, if you meditate on the Bible for just 10 to 15 minutes a day, you will start to feel a difference. Lately, I’ve been listening to The Book of Acts, the Book of Hebrews, and John, chapters 14 through 16 are other favorites. I must say, I’ve been feeling stronger, clearer, and very good.

These verses are so great that I can’t even get through all of them before I relisten. And then when I continue to read/listen to the Book of Hebrews, I just feel more strengthened. I like to listen on the BibleGateway app by audio. I’m going to post the first ten verses so you can read them. I hope you enjoy.✨

Now, meditate on each of these verses for at least 10-20 seconds, and feel the power of God coming through them and the power of our Lord, Jesus. By the way, Hebrews 1:3 and 1:8 are my favorite verses here.💫

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book(s), Not Without God: A Story of Survival and Not Without God: Hope In the Storm. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s also been featured on The Neil Haley (media giant’s) Show, The Intuitive Edge podcast, and on ESPN’s ‘Solutions from the Huddle’broadcast as well as Grace and Truth Radio World

Zina’s written several hundred articles and has taught thousands of students from all over the world from many different backgrounds and parts of the world. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among many other places.

She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes about health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale.

Not Without God series/New Year Special!

Today I want to talk about my books: Not Without God: A Story of Survival and my most recent, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm. They are both centered around a catastrophic accident I was in at sixteen years old. While trying to cross the street on my way to school, I was a pedestrian hit by a motor vehicle. Chapter one of my book is called, “The Crash.” I write about a nurse named Mary Kay, a survival life flight nurse, who was on a helicopter ride with me to Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan.

She just kept gently rubbing my shoulder and saying, “Hold on, Zina, hold on. We’re taking you to U of M. They’ll take good care of you there.” I remember holding onto her voice and fighting for my life. I was in and out of consciousness, I couldn’t move, talk, or see. I just mumbled. I remember feeling a peace, though. The Bible talks about a peace that surpasses all understanding. I felt the Holy Spirit with me there. Mary Kay’s voice carried me through.

It’s interesting because before the accident I would ask God what life is all about. God, I know you are real, and I feel your presence. But I want to understand you and know you more. How does life work? Like many of us, life was dysfunctional at home. My surroundings had me confused. I wanted to know him and understand him better. The accident was a turning point. I experienced God’s genuine love through the doctors, nurses, Mary Kay, and others who were fighting for my life. I witnessed the love of Christ.

I would stay up each night upstairs on the 6th floor East, at the time, at Mott Children’s hospital. With a flashlight in one hand and a notepad in the other, I would write. God spoke to me through whispers in my heart. He told me I would recover and even walk again. I am not walking as well as I did before the accident, but I have completed thousands of hours of physical therapy and can now walk with forearm crutches or a walker. The progress I have made is huge. Some doctors predicted I would be paralyzed for life.

I also write about a man named Dennis. Someone I worked with at Strawberry Hills Fruit Market just before my accident. I worked there for a few months. Dennis was the kind of man that was always happy and always sang hymns to God. After my accident happened, Dennis would come to the hospital. He’d bring prayer booklets and talk to me about Jesus and having faith. My left arm had been stuck at a 90-degree angle from the crash. It was even impossible to eat with it. On one visit, Dennis got up and stood next to my bed – he held my arm gently but firmly and started to pray in what some Christians call “tongues.”

He started to slowly stretch my arm and it was very tight at first. But as he was stretching I began to feel the heat. My arm slowly stretched out. All the while he was looking up to the ceiling and praying and stretching it. Finally, my arm became completely straight. If God didn’t heal my arm through Dennis that day, I never would’ve walked again. I never would’ve been able to get up on parallel bars. That story is also in my book.

My latest book, which was just published in January of 2022 is also a narrative, like my first. But Hope In the Storm is more of a teaching book. I offer journaling sections at the end of various chapters where the reader can write and reflect. I ask questions like, “When was the last time God was there for you?” or “How much time do you spend on prayer or reading the Bible?” We are told in the Bible that the Word of God is sharper than a double-edged sword it can divide joint and marrow, soul, and spirit, the Bible provides life-giving medicine. When you soak the verses up, they can strengthen and even heal you inside.

I also write about how physics and religion merge in my book. You may have learned in school or at church when you were younger that everything will come to an end. Physics and the Bible both verify that one day everything will end. All structures will come down, there will be nothing standing, and all black holes will even disintegrate. We don’t know when this day will be, Brian Greene, a famous world-renowned physicist says it will be a long time from now but since nothing can truly be predicted, it can happen sooner.

However, there will be new beginnings or fluctuations. All that will be left are particles floating around in the void. These particles will at times get large, so then new particles will form. If you wait long enough, any rare thing can happen, says the famous philosopher, Sam Harris. These particles will form new beginnings. The number one rule of thermodynamics says that energy can never be destroyed, but it is transferrable.

In Revelations 21 John says, “For then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and earth were gone. There was no longer any sea. In Revelations 21:2 he states: “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”

John continues in 21:3-4, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Thus, science and the Bible merge. There will be new beginnings… Thank the Lord!

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s also been featured on the Intuitive Edge podcast as well as ESPN’s “Solutions from the Huddle” broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World! Zina’s written several hundred articles and has taught thousands of students of all ages from many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes about health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT

Some things you may want to know part 7

Did you know that one day every single black hole will disintegrate? The universe may continue to expand, forever, though. However, there will be a time when everything will end – and everything we know about, matter itself will all disintegrate; it is called the Big Freeze or Heat Death. The universe will get ever colder as it gets ever larger. All black holes will evaporate and give off a particle spray in the void; nothing will be left. There will be electrons and neutrinos that are floating around. The temperature will get very low.

Think of the Empire State Building in Manhattan where the ground floor is the 1st unit and the next unit is the 10th floor, the next floor is the 100th, etc. But if you go to about 10 to the hundred years into the future, that is when this could happen (a long time from now). Every black hole will have evaporated by that time. Now we are at about ten to the tenth floor, Brian Greene says – a world renowned physicist and NY Times best-selling author in his book, “Until the End of Time.”

The only thing that will be left are the most “refined” or stable elementary particles that will be around. They will be roaming around in the void and there will be fluctuations where these particles will AT TIMES BE LARGE, so then, new particles will FORM, if you wait long enough – rare things can happen – Brian continues. These particles will create new beginnings or fluctuations “on their way to eternity,” is how Brian Greene puts it.

I love the line that when you have an eternity every rare thing can happen. Space goes on infinitely far. There are no limits to the universe or edges. Space goes on forever. Thus, if space is eternal, we are eternal.

St. John has a vision in the Book of Revelation 21: In the vision, John saw the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down from Heaven to the new earth, for the old earth had been destroyed. While the new city was coming down, John heard a loud voice that said the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.

Bible Gateway read in Revelations 21:1-3, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

²And John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

³And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

You don’t have to be religious to have heard the Lord’s prayer before. In the Lord’s prayer, we say, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven…” We are actually praying for heaven to come down to earth when we do this.

This is why I believe the universe is infinite and eternal. Brian proves it. In my opinion, there has been more than one ‘Big Bang,’ or ‘Big Event’ as I like to call it. I don’t call it a bang because there were no air molecules at the time. I believe that there are multiverses.

As a matter of fact, some physicists believe there is assimilation. Which means there could actually be copies of yourselves out there in other universes. However, don’t worry much about copies or you or other universes. This one is the only one you should be concerned about. Bottom line: “It is spectacular that collections of particles can come together to yield a human being,” the famous physicist says. I love that, again the miracle is that you’re here.

I am open minded so it wouldn’t surprise me if there were multiple or an infinite number of universes with multiple copies of ourselves out there. There is even an app: it is called the Universe Splitter. You should download it. You can ask it any question about your life, and it will tell you what will happen in one universe vs. another. Again, I take this with a grain of salt but have used the app before. When you click “split” the app sends a signal to a laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. The photon gets hurtled toward a splitter and can either go left or right. It will tell you your future: if you will marry, if you will become rich, etc.

Again, I have used this for fun. I don’t dwell on these things too much. I am worried about the universe I am in now. But it is very interesting to me that physics and science agree with the Bible in some instances – the universe is eternal and infinite.

Here is the link to Brian Greene’s interview in case you want to watch it:

About Zina

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven 💭💫💖

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven; not treasures on earth—where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal (Matthew 6:19). In heaven neither moth nor rust destroy and no one can break in and steal! WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS; THERE YOUR HEART ALSO WILL BE.

When we say the Lord’s Prayer, we are praying for heaven to come down to earth. When we pray, ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’ we are making this request.❤️ In the Book of Revelation, Saint John has a vision: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,” and then there is a new dwelling place where we dwell with God forever.✨

In heaven, our light is Jesus and he lights up the sky. Imagine there is no ‘day’ or ‘night’ but only light from Jesus and God? We are told we will be given a ‘heavenly body.’

“For we know that when this earthly tent is taken down (that is when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands” (2 Cor. 5:1).

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s just been featured on the popular, Intuitive Edge podcast! She’s also been on ESPN’s ‘Solutions from the Huddle’ broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World! Zina’s written several hundred articles and has taught thousands of students from all over the world from many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT

The Lord’s Prayer🙏

⁹Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us this day our daily bread.
¹²And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Amen.❤️

We are told to pray for his ‘kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven,’ here in Matthew 6:9-13, the Lord teaches us how to pray. Can you imagine, how beautiful? The Lord has told us his kingdom is not of this world. In this world, there is evil. But if his kingdom comes, if his will is done, there will be no more suffering.

This is a very powerful prayer!

In the Book of Revelation, John has a vision—while on Patmos, God gave John a vision of the final days of earth, and a peak at heaven. In the vision, John saw the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down from heaven to the new earth, for the old earth had been destroyed.

When we pray for the Lord’s will to be done. We are praying for perfect peace.☮️ Even when you feel like you’re in a dark world, remember, there is a light, Jesus, and he has overcome the world.🌍🕊✨

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s just been featured on the well-known and popular, Intuitive Edge podcast! She’s also been featured on ESPN’s ‘Solutions from the Huddle’ broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World! Zina’s written several hundred articles and has taught thousands of students from all over the world from many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT

Today’s Bible Study, John Chapter 15✳️❤️‍🔥⚕️

https://www.facebook.com/zina.hermez.7/videos/5310744068945652/?d=n

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s been featured on ESPN’s ‘Solutions from the Huddle’ broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World. Zina’s written more than 500 articles and has taught thousands of students from all over the world spanning many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! Order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT

Therefore I Will Rejoice and Be Glad (my heart will rejoice)!♥️

Mary was the first to see Jesus after he rose from his (temporary) death. She was the first to report the Good News to the disciples that spread all across the world! Jesus is risen! Hallelujah! He is risen. The above verses are taken from the Book of John (Chapter 20), NIV.

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s been featured on ESPN’s ‘Solutions from the Huddle’ broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World. Zina’s written 500 articles and has taught thousands of students from all over the world spanning many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm has just been released, on Jan 24! Order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT

‘A new earth’🌍

Last night I was thinking about the famous Bible passage by John in the Book of Revelation. In John’s vision, he saw a new heaven (the city of Jerusalem coming down from the sky), and he also saw a new earth! 🌍♥️ As I was thinking more about it, I thought back to Lex Fridman’s podcast I recently heard with the famous world renowned physicist, Michio Kaku. EVERY star🌟 has a planet🪐 going around it. ONE in FIVE of those planets ARE EARTH🌍 sized planets! There are billions of galaxies besides ours, 100,000,000,000 with 100,000,000,000 stars✨🌠 in each one! So, if there are billions of ‘earth sized planets’ and in the book of Revelation John sees ‘a new earth’🌍, THEN who is to say there aren’t other ‘earths’ out there (with people in them?). I mean, maybe it’s not necessarily extraterrestrial life we’re searching after. Maybe we are searching for copies of ourselves. I would also imagine that if there are other earths 🌍🌍 out there with other humans👩‍🦳 their planet would be more advanced. We are just on the cusp of a Type 1, and not quite able to modify natural disasters such as hurricanes yet. But once we harness more planetary power and stop getting our energy from dead plants, coal, and oil, climate change won’t be a problem and the effects of natural disaster will be lessened. You see, we are a young planet. For the end timers out there: the end is no where near, it is only the beginning!

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the best selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. Recently she was featured on ESPN’s ‘Solutions from the Huddle’ broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World. Zina’s written hundreds of articles and has taught thousands of students from all over the world spanning many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog and Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. Her goal is to help others. You can connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, Linked In, or Twitter.

A new earth 🌍

Good morning, friends. One day everything will be swallowed up by entropy. Every building, every structure, everything you see (including us) will come to an end. There will be no such thing as thought itself. Thought itself will be swallowed up by life. This is predicted to happen far into the future, but anything can happen, so it could happen sooner. I don’t mean to sound so dim. Our mortality is real. Fortunately, in the Book of Revelation, John has a vision while on the island of Patmos, and we are told that he saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. He wrote that he saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully adorned for her husband. We are taught by physics that once there is nothing left other than some particles forming in the void, there can be a ‘reforming’ of particles. All we are is particles brought to consciousness, quarks, neutrinos, protons, etc. In an eternal universe, life repeats itself.☀️🖤⚛️🌅🏞🌠🦒

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the best-selling book, “Not Without God: A Story of Survival.” Her stories have been featured in various guest articles, medical journals, magazines, newsletters, and over 250 of her own blog articles. As an educator for more than twenty years, she’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. Her upcoming book, “Not Without God: Hope In the Storm” will be out later this year. Her writing endeavors earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity, and she strives to do what she longs to–help other people. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Southern Writers magazine, and Suite T blog among other places. Socializing with friends, taking business trips, listening to music, and meeting new people are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, or Twitter.

Have your dreams been met?🙏✨🌟

Have you found what you’ve been searching for? Do you know what it is? Have you accomplished what you’ve been dreaming about? If not, how can you get to it? There is no limit to what God can do. But we are the miracle workers, too. Without Him we can do nothing, but we have to do something to start! We can be co-workers with God!

When you are praying for your wishes to come true, you are RECEIVING, too. Whether you realize it or not, God is giving. You open the gateway. The Holy Spirit gives you guidance. You may not hear directly from the Lord. However, once you ask or make prayer requests, there is an unfolding of events that take place and you eventually get your answers.

The essence of faith is the ability to see something good in your life with no evidence.

Although everything does not turn out the way we want it to. There is God’s will, and there is our will—they don’t always coincide. The sooner you accept that the happier you will be. Take heart, though, God knows what is best for you, when something doesn’t work out the way you want it to—remember, God could’ve been shielding you, or teaching you a life-lesson.

There will be new experiences, you will plan, hope, and believe!

When I got out of the hospital after my accident at sixteen, I got settled at home, I pondered upon how I would go back to school. I was active before it. It took me a long time to adjust and even think of myself as beautiful. I knew that life would be difficult. I wondered what it would be like. I wondered if I would make new friends, or have a career like I always wanted.

I wondered about my future, a lot.

I hoped that I would one day walk again, and indeed, I am, but not the way I expected to. I use crutches (the kind with the rings around the arms) because of weakness, pain and tightness. Considering the fact that there were a few physicians who predicted I would not walk at all, I have made huge progress.

I held onto what I knew–God would get me through, because that is his promise!

I didn’t know what the next day would bring; I could not predict anything. But I knew that with God by my side, overcoming would become second nature!

I’m someone who wants to maintain a relationship with the Lord. Even when friendships failed, I knew Jesus would be there. Every time someone rejected me, I became closer to him. I want you to remember that in your trials; His love is sufficient.

Making God your best friend can prepare you for any life event. Throughout my life, I’ve asked God what to do. Jesus says “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever” (John 14:16).

The advocate is the Holy Spirit, and He will lead and guide you. Get to know God as soon as you can. Talk to God like you would your best friend. Was there a time when you knew that only he could help? Were you ever in a desperate place? A minute to minute, moment to moment, dependence-on-God-kind-of-place?

Maybe you weren’t too spiritual when you encountered it, or maybe you were but then needed Him more than ever before!!!💫

About Zina

5A1B90A4-7231-46E9-A9FD-907EC16171A5 Zina Hermez authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, the Southern Writers Magazine, various guest blogs, medical journals, newsletters, and she’s written over 200 of her very own articles. She’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. She’s taught at automotive corporations like General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Bosch, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and worked with students of all ages. She began her own teaching services incorporating math and other subjects. Her writing endeavors have earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity. Socializing with friends, taking trips, listening to music, and networking are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Heaven Is For Real!

“Life has a myriad of opportunities that await us!”

As I read this line, I almost can’t believe I wrote it. All of the positive things I’ve written, make so much sense, but none of them feel as powerful as they once did—since I lost my father a month ago. Dad departed this earth and went to heaven on November 23, 2019, and my life will never be the same again. My dad and I were close. While I know he is in a better place, and I don’t mean that to sound cliché, I still miss him so very much!

My mind swirls with things I could’ve done different, more time I could’ve spent, I am filled with sadness, and the pain of knowing I won’t get to see him on a daily basis anymore really hurts. I visited him every chance I got and was his caregiver for many years. I really watched over him as best I could! Apparently, that wasn’t enough. The disease still got him in the end. It’s hard for me to even write this post.

I don’t want to work anymore. I wonder why I aspired to do so much before this, my dad was more important to me than anyone. If only I hadn’t traveled, if only I hadn’t extended myself and been so busy, if only I would’ve stayed at home more.

While I know it was REALLY hard for him here, I am still sad that he is not with me anymore. I keep thinking, if only I had more time… At the same time I know there is hope, I feel a peace and warmth of love that I have never quite felt before. It is coming from my dad and Jesus. With that said, I’d like to leave you with this video—this miraculous story that I believe to be true!

It was a book that became a New York Times bestseller that sold over 13,000,000 copies and even became a movie! This is a one-of-a-kind interview with Pastor Todd and Colton Burpo! I have had some correspondence with them by email and they are genuine people. I am sure you will be able to spot that from watching the video.

Heaven is for real, yes, and we will be there. Heaven is a journey, also, not only a destination. Our journey to heaven has already begun. With that said, one piece of scripture I want to leave you with is this one: “So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything (John 16:22-23).” ~Jesus

And I hope you enjoy the video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmNrQ7Smung

With much love & respect,

-Zina

XoXo

B3474396-48BA-4E50-A53F-9F4AF180988B

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Her stories have been featured in various guest articles, medical journals, magazines, newsletters, and 200+ of her very own blog posts. As a long-time educator, she’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. She’s taught at automotive corporations like General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Bosch, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and she’s worked with students of all ages, K-adult. She began her own teaching services incorporating math and other subjects. Her writing endeavors have earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity. Socializing with friends, taking trips, listening to music, and networking are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Your Promise Is the Reason I Don’t Fear Solitude

Lord I feel your presence and I hear you whisper in my heart, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” I know that life will be hard. But your promise is the reason I can be alone when others can’t. It’s why I’m not afraid of solitude. When I’m riding my bike, gently, you whisper in my heart: “This road will not be easy, but you will get through it. In the end you will be with me…forever!” ~my thoughts as a teenager

Don’t let anyone throw you off your trajectory. No matter what happens stay focused and on your path. Don’t get off balance. It is easy to get distracted. Some situations will hinder you. But if you stay on your course, sooner or later you will be rewarded. I’m constructing a self-help book for others to learn how to handle grief and overcome negative thoughts. I want it to be a quality work.

One of the questions I ask is, “Can you remember a time when God was really there for you?” Were you ever in a desperate place? A moment to moment kind-of-place? We’re you just confident you would overcome? Sometimes we know that God will deliver us. Jesus says, “ I will ask the Father and He will give you an advocate to help you and be with you forever” (John 14:16). I am open to comments, and remember that writing your thoughts down can be a healthy pattern.

Your Miracle Will Happen!

Ever wonder why it’s taking so long? I used to think I had to wait for miracles? Sometimes we do. Miracles are a process though. We can play a part in making them happen. Prayer and exercise are my two faith pillars. They keep me grounded. I pray while I’m working out. I ask God to help in different areas of my life, and I pray for loved ones. It helps me sort out thoughts!

Have you ever become content in a bad situation? Have you ever told yourself that you can’t do something because it’s been too long? In order for a miracle to occur, you have to do something. Miracles seem to be spontaneous, but we have to act as co-creators with God by taking action!

God hears every prayer. You may be praying for one thing, but He can answer a prayer you prayed for long ago. You may have forgotten how badly you wanted it! Think about the lame man that was healed in Acts 3. He was a beggar. He wasn’t asking to be healed from his paralysis anymore. When John and Peter were going into the temple the man asked them for alms.

Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk (Acts 3:6).” Then Peter took him by the right hand and helped him up. I think the man gave up on hope because he was that way for so long. However, he still had a spark! If he didn’t, he would not have gone around leaping, excited, and telling everyone!

Remember: when you lose your hope, you lose your faith, you’re emptied of desires, and your belief disintegrates. You can lose your opportunity for any potential miracle!

God knows what’s best for us. He doesn’t always say yes, but he usually doesn’t say no when we are reasonable. I learned he sometimes says “not right now.” But we have to be mobile. What is your plan of action? He could be waiting on you to start!

Work on Yourself

Are you someone who likes to help other people? Have you ever tried to clean up someone’s mess? I’m a nurturer by nature, but here’s what I’ve learned: you have to take care of yourself first. How do you care for YOU? Pray a simple prayer. Jesus says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever” (John 14:16). The advocate is the Holy Spirit and He will guide you.

My accident happened at a young age, I kept asking God what to do and all through my twenties continued. He explained every step of the way. For example, I felt Him “nudging” at me to go back to school. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I didn’t know how everyone would react to my wheelchair.

But many students were warm and friendly. I knew I would get through the year. I was able to graduate on time with everyone in my grade. Taking care of you also begins with your health. You have to rest, eat right, and exercise. I put myself on an exercise plan, and I notice that my tasks have improved! I’m sharper and faster. When you nourish your body, you nourish your brain too.

Be an example!

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the book Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She works as an English Instructor and has been an educator for more than fifteen years. Her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, guest posts, newsletters, and medical journals. To learn about Zina visit: http://zinahermez.com.

Make Progress

The survivor, the victim, the recovering addict, the overcomer, and the high achiever all have a fear in common–going back! If you fit into any of these categories, I’m here to tell you that is not God’s purpose in your life. I know first hand.

When we survive or recover, we don’t have to fall into depression, or regress back into what was hindering us before. The suffix ‘Gress’ means to take a step. God does not want you to take a step back–He wants you to make PROGRESS! I don’t know who I’m writing this for, but I felt that someone needed to read it.

When Jesus raised a man from the dead (John 11), the man didn’t die soon after that. He lived a long time! When Paul the Apostle made the lame man to walk in Acts 3, he didn’t go back to lie in his bed when Paul left town!

You overcame because you fought. You accomplished because you worked hard. You withstood because you prayed. You got better because you worked on yourself. God will not take that away. You lose your blessings when you believe the lies that say you won’t amount to anything!

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the book Not Without God: A Story of Survival and created the Spinal Injury Solutions! website. Zina works as an English as a Second Language Instructor and has been an educator for more than fifteen years. Her thousands of students have been from many parts of the world, and she writes articles on faith and overcoming challenges. Her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, guest posts, newsletters, medical journals and other publications. To learn more about Zina visit http://zinahermez.com.

John 3:16

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the book Not Without God: A Story of Survival and created the Spinal Cord Injury Solutions! online website. Zina works as an English Language Instructor, and has been an educator for nearly fifteen years. Her thousands of students have been from many parts of the world, and she’s worked with all ages.

Zina writes articles on faith and overcoming disability, and her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, Spinal Cord Injury Zone, SCI Access, newsletters, and medical journals among many other various publications. To learn more about Zina visit http://zinahermez.com.

Suffering and Joy are interchangeable!

Life is hard enough. Imagine you could not walk? Imagine you could not move? Better yet, don’t imagine. It’s one of the worst things that could happen to you. Don’t imagine. It happened to me. I was hit by a car while crossing the street on my way to school, at only sixteen.

Paralysis is eye opening. Paralysis is real. Paralysis is undesirable, a nightmare to say in the least. I’ve woken up before and thought this was all a dream, more than once. Then I see my crutches on the wall, my wheelchair in the corner–tucked in my closet, as far away as possible. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Well, not really.

There is loss in life. Loss of friendships, relationships, divorce, accidents! Accidents, a Spinal Cord Injury— it can take everything but your life.

I was pretty. I was popular. I returned to school in a wheelchair my senior year. When everyone was excited for prom and spring break, I was learning to be disabled. There are things we live through only by God’s grace. And only God has kept me.

At sixteen I was healing, but how would life be in a wheelchair? Our home was not handicapped accessible. I knew when the dust settled the visits would lesson. The calls would start to fade. During my stay in the hospital, I would pick up my pencil with a flashlight in the dark at night and write letters addressed to God. I know he heard me.

I finished high school on time, even though I missed most of my junior year. I still made it to prom. My real friends stayed and I made new ones. I learned to drive, went to college, worked, and even walked! I’m walking everywhere with two forearm crutches, and learning how to walk with one cane. I’m still not walking as good as I’d like, but it’s better than using a wheelchair. I still have faith.

Thank God he replaces suffering with joy!

“Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.” John 16:20

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5