June 14, 2010

We had the opportunity for a rare off day during the season to shoot home to Nashville and enjoy some R & R at our house here before heading down for the series in Atlanta tomorrow.  What a great off day it has been!  Zion and I slept in this morning and after all three of us had a late brunch with my sister Jess at one of our favorite local breakfast places (J. Christopher’s), we met with our pastor to get a church update along with some regular Godly counsel/advice.

It is important to us to have some accountability in our lives even from a distance and our church body in Nashville readily provides that for us whenever needed.  I cannot underestimate the importance of their presence in our lives in the offseason as well as periodically during the season.  We will get a chance to see a few of them at the series this week in Atlanta as well.

After our meeting, later in the day we had a few friends over for a mini-cookout in the backyard.  There’s just something about cooking out in the backyard that feels so far from the baseball season.  We caught up a little bit together and had some laughs before they headed home.  All in all today was a great chance to get a mental break from the game of baseball.

As an everyday player, you really need that mental day away from the field even more than the physical days at this time of the year.  To take your mind far away from the challenges that await you every day at the field is a welcome treat even when you are playing well.  The season is demanding and though it may be hard to imagine needed a break from playing, we must do our best to retreat on off days and no better place than at your offseason home.

Rest is an interesting subject for a baseball player.  The competitor’s heart to compete never rests, but even the greatest competitor’s grow weary and weak.  It is a reminder of our nature, that though strong, we all become weak at some point.  We all have something we run to in those times when we need release from the stresses of our regular work.  Some people watch TV incessantly, some people smoke, some drink or do drugs, some people wait till the weekend to party hard and let loose, some need to eat, some need their family, some just need a little peace and quiet alone, some need to go to a baseball game!!!……whatever it is, we all need help to rest.  While I wouldn’t want to use drugs or abuse myself on the weekend to let out stress, my unsettled heart has directed me into a couch-potato-like state more than once as well as into a dictatorial demand for either alone time or junk food to rest my weary body, soul, or mind. Don’t tell me you’ve never done it in one way or another.

However, Jesus Christ told us “Come to me all, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)  I believe He’s reminding me that the only true rest for our souls cannot come through a good day at home just chilling out, but rather through the unconditional love that He offers us in a relationship with the Father through His shed blood for us.  Isn’t it funny that I always feel more refreshed when I spend a little time every day meditating on this truth as opposed to a whole week of entertaining myself?!! He was telling the truth.  True R & R comes through Him.

April 26, 2010

I never left the house today on our off day and it was fantastic!  I love to just chill when we get the opportunity to because I know how quickly things get crazy again.  It was great today to not feel rushed or pulled in any specific directions.

We started the day on the right foot by spending some time in God’s Word.  It is the most refreshing thing I can do and it always recalibrates me to the right frame of mind and heart.  We ate breakfast together, prayed together, talked, took naps and then went down to the beach/pool for a little barbecue with some teammates and their families!  What a great time we had!

Rest is much more important than I usually realize.  For me, I have to get away from everything and almost everyone to recharge.  For Julianna, it is the opposite.  She recharges by being around people so good thing for her tonight she had a band rehearsel for a gig tomorrow!  Zion and I kicked at the casa like a couple of men……watched a little Rambo, some motorcycle jumping on youtube, wrestled and headbutted eachother, ate leftovers, and finished with a little band rehearsal of our own.  He played the gymbee while I played the guitar and neither of us played well.  It was a classic guys night at home.

April 21, 2010

Hello again friends and family!  We are back in the Midwest near where both Julianna and I grew up.  As we visit the White Sox in chilly Chicago this week, I am reminded of the spring weather I grew up playing ball in.  55 degrees seemed warm when I was a kid but since I have migrated south, 55 degrees now is much colder.

It has been a difficult start to the baseball season so far.  I have been frustrated at my lack of plate discipline to start the season as I have been swinging at a lot of borderline pitches and striking out a lot.   It is a work in progress and sometimes it takes longer to get into a groove than you would like.  My Dad reminded me that I have always been a slow starter throughout my career so I have to be patient even though I want to do it asap.  The good thing is we have been playing extremely well as a team and have accomplished much of what we set out to do to start the season.  If we can continue to play well, this team has the potential to win it all and that certainly is our goal.

Another fun thing for our family recently has been the opportunity to see family.  We have seen my parents 3 times in just over a month now (I might’ve seen them 3 times all of last season!).  I think Zion probably has something to do with it too!  They just returned from a missions trip to Brazil and made the trip up to Chicago here from our hometown of Eureka with my brother Pete.  Julianna’s parents have also traveled over from Iowa as well as my grandparents from Morton, IL along with other friends and family from the central Illinois area.  I was just reminded this morning of how blessed we are as a family to have all of these people in our lives.  Sometimes I just shake my head and wonder why God has been so good to me!  There is so much to be thankful for and yet I always seem to focus on the things I want to change right now instead of the things I am so blessed by.  Ambition and self-centeredness is difficult to overcome when you are a major league baseball player.  Everyone wants to be the best they can be, but if you don’t realize the ways you have already been blessed, you will miss out on much joy in life.

It has been great to meet new people recently and pass out my testimony cards of what Christ has done in my life!  To those I have come in contact with, I apologize if I have seemed short or hurried these last few weeks.  My intention is to be an encouragement,  and I must admit sometimes I am too concerned about myself to take the time to listen.  I am a work in progress and Christ is working on my heart!  I pray that the grace that He has given me in my life would be given in yours as well.  God bless!

Ok so the 2010 baseball season is just a few days from getting underway and we have been in Port Charlotte, FL for spring training for over a month now.  One of the things I would like to do with this website is keep it updated weekly for those of you that are keeping up with us.

There is a lot going on in the Zobrist household these days, even though there are only 3 of us.  During spring, we have spent a lot of time at the ballpark (for Zion this means the playground!) and most of the rest of the time at our rental house.  We have hosted a weekly bible study for the guys and their wives this spring and tried to spend much time with friends catching up after the offseason.  My parents visited at the beginning of spring and occasionally we have friends stopping through to see a game during spring break.  Julianna has had a few singing opportunities and one unique experience in Orlando hosting “The Music Behind the Movie” special for the new upcoming movie Letters to God.

Spring Training is always an interesting transition period for us.  We always spend a few weeks getting acclimated to the different schedule and the life in the baseball world, but by God’s grace it has been getting easier.  This spring has been a breath of fresh air to not have to fight for a job on the big league roster after an incredibly blessed 2009.  We are looking forward to the year with anticipation.

As for Julianna’s music, she is currently booking shows for this season and spending time writing new music.  This offseason, she recorded three new songs that simply rock if I do say so myself, and she is looking forward to performing them.  For those of you who have asked how to book Julianna for a show, contact her management Michael Grimm at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . I will be coming to the plate this year to one of her new songs as well as mixing in a song recorded by a new friend of mine TobyMac.

Last week we traveled to Fort Myers to see Toby in concert with Skillet!  We came away from it with a tshirt, a hat, a jacket, and permanent hearing damage!  But the good news of Christ was shared at the concert by Toby so we enjoyed every second.

I have had some opportunities this spring to share the good news of Jesus Christ with several interviewers along with some teammates and what a thrill it has been!  It is so freeing to know that we cannot and do not have to live up to a standard to have a good relationship with God!  Realizing that Christ is our perfection and His Spirit in us changes us through faith gives us confidence to live in freedom knowing we are justified and forgiven in God’s sight.  It is a powerful mystery that has been shown to us!