Making Gifts, Buying Gifts and Remembering the Ultimate Gift

So this time it's 1am as I am writing this (I really need to learn how to go to bed) and I have an awesomely full day. I am going to bore you with the details whether you like it or not, so enjoy. Rebekah and I went Christmas shopping today and I have to say it was a resounding success. We got everyone on our list taken care of (YAY!) and even got to spoil the bug a little bit via stocking stuffers. Big Lots is the way to go when you have a 9 month old. We even stayed way under budget! I had a lot of fun even though I am still in quite a bit of pain after the discogram I spoke of when we were together last. I have to admit I have a very different outlook on the holiday season as a whole this year. Most of this paradigm shift seems to involve the people I came in contact with today. I made a conscious decision not to let the normal "stressed at Christmas time" crowd bother me. When people would run me over with their cart or push through an area that I had been occupying up to that point, I chose to either say 'excuse me' or just ignore them completely. I have to say it made the day go by much smoother.
Then after coming home from that adventure, I decided to venture out again alone to take care of my presents and stocking stuffers for my lovely wife. This is the first time I've done Christmas shopping alone in a very long time, and although it went by pretty quickly, I had a blast! It is so much fun buying gifts for someone you love. The whole time I was picking out these gifts I was thinking about the look on her face when she opens them. Needless to say, I am thoroughly looking forward to Christmas.
To end the evening, I spent a great deal of effort on my homemade gift for my cousin whose name I drew. Obviously I cannot go into detail at the present time because there may be an off chance she reads this blog and I don't want give it away, but if I must say so myself, it turned out AWESOME!!!! I am so proud of this project and believe me I will be taking and posting a ton of pictures on the next post.
So to make a long story short (too late), I am going to leave you with this. Never, for one second, forget the reason we are on this earth. Never forget what the true meaning of this season is all about. Never forget to stop and thank God for everything in your life, and last but not least do not forget to love. Without love we are all just one sinking ship in a raging ocean called life. Keep you eyes on Jesus, and you will walk on water.

Until next time,
Zachary <><

Christmas Leave, Happy Babies, Physical Pain and Things Thereof...

Posing with my hottie of a wife!

As I sit down to write this it is 12:25am and I have just returned from signing out on leave, which is basically the Army's version of vacation time. Things are so much different than they ever were in the civilian sector. So many forms to fill out and things to print off the internet that accompany the leave packet. But, nevertheless, I am home with my wonderful family for the next 2 weeks or so. I love being home with Rebekah and Layla. They both seem to enjoy having me around the house so I definitely count that as a blessing.

Update on Layla. She is growing like a weed. She is such a happy baby. She has had some other interactions with other babies over the past few days and I am so glad to say that she seems to be very sociable. I would much rather have a child that can easily communicate and relate with the people around them, than fall into the shadows unnoticed. She was such a trooper on Monday when I was going through a hard time.
Which brings me to my next bit of news. I had what's called a discogram done on me. Basically they lay you out on a table and stick several needles in my discs in my spine. Then they pressurized the discs to try to recreate my pain. That in and of itself was horrendous, but the absolute worst part of the whole deal was that the doctor kept missing my lowest disc and hitting my spinal nerves, sending excruciating pain down my leg. At one point I was literally screaming in pain. The only silver lining out of this is that it brings us one step closer to back surgery, which is something that I am actually looking forward to now. I know it sounds weird that I am looking forward to something like spinal surgery, but I truly am looking forward to moving forward and hopefully becoming well again. Only time will tell.
So I will leave you with this. As you go through your day to day, find something to thank God for. Whether you are thanking Him for your loving family, or having a roof over your head, or you just thank Him for being able to have your morning cup of coffee, find something worth being thankful. Also never forget why we are here. Jesus has called His people to fight sin, wage war against the devil and in His name we will prevail. All glory to God in the Highest.

Living Everyday Unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

PEACE <><

Quiet Time and other ventures...

Since I last posted on here, well since Monday to be more specific, I have made a decision to start my mornings with a different mindset. Normally my morning consists of rolling out of bed at about 0600, haphazardly throwing on my uniform, going to formation at 0630 and then coming home and going back to bed. I had no "quiet time" to speak of and I just felt like my life was off center. Things just weren't in balance. (Quick side note, for those of you reading this who are not Christians, a "quiet time" is a time set aside each day to spend with God. Whether it is reading your bible, or a book on a certain aspect of Christianity or just quietly reflecting and meditating on God. The bible says "Be still and know that I am God." This is an extension of that.) So I took the first step and decided to change my morning routine. My first (yes I said first haha) alarm goes off at 0430. I get up, start the coffee, eat a bowl of cereal or a poptart (or in the case of this morning, both) and then crack open the word. I started on Monday by listening to a sermon by Trip Lee (who is a Christian rap artist. Really good music) over Romans 12:1-2 after that I was unsure of what to study so I just kept reading. I am now in 1st Corinthians and have decided to just keep reading until I run out of book and then start over. I am also taking part in the Love Dare. Because of the things that I have done to her in the past, Rebekah's heart, while totally committed to making this marriage work, is very guarded. I can't blame her one bit. She is the most forgiving person I have ever met and I never want to take that for granted. So I am doing the Love Dare because I want to win my wife back. So the quiet time is to become the man that God has called me to be. The Love Dare is to become the man my wonderful wife deserves. I have a long road ahead of me, but she is totally worth it. I wish there was a way to truly show your heart to someone, I want her to know that I love her and that I know God is working on me. I am opening up to God for probably the first time ever and it scares the heck out of me. But I also know that by doing this, not only my life, but my family's life will become better because of it.
Completely changing directions, a little update of the family. Rebekah is starting an etsy shop called Piccolo. It should be live here in the next day or two and I will post a link to the shop and her facebook page. She makes different crafts and they all look AMAZING! She is so super talented that it makes me a little jealous. In the next post I will be putting up some pictures and such so that you can see what she has available. Everything she makes is super cute and very high quality. I'm so proud of her for stepping out in faith on this.

Layla is moving around more than ever. I can't believe she is almost 9 months old! It seems like just yesterday we were in the hospital welcoming her in to the world. I really need to start stepping back and cherishing things so I don't wake up one day and my life be gone.

Ok I have rambled enough. I will leave you with this charge. Take your time to stop and smell the roses (or dirty diaper if you have a little one) Try to notice something new today and thank God for it. If you are married say I love you (to your spouse preferably) a few more times then normal. Read your bible. Be still and know that He is God. He has a plan even if you can't see it yet. Until next time, keep living unashamed. See y'all soon!

Little eyes and the Future.

It's a BIG world out there!

So December is here again. It never fails to sneak up on me. I cannot seem to figure out how in the world time seems to fly by quicker now that I am an adult, but oh well. This will be my first Christmas with Rebekah as a married couple and Layla's first Christmas period, so there is a lot of anticipation. Most of that anticipation...ok ALL of that anticipation is coming from Rebekah and I. Layla just knows that the twinkle lights that magically appeared in her room are AWESOME!!!! She likes to talk to them. It is amazing to me how innocent wonder in things is lost the older we get. I mean, think about how beautiful twinkle lights are. Really think about it. Yet most of us, just think of it as just another part of another holiday season coming and going. One thing I have been trying to do is see the world through the eyes of my daughter, as if I've never seen these things before. It has been quite an eye opening experience.

We feel poopy!

Which leads me to the next thing I have noticed through her eyes. There is a case of the common cold running through our house (thanks Tiane) and Layla has been feeling a bit down. She also has her first tooth coming in so that may be it, but can you imagine being sick for the very first time ever. My God she must be totally freaked out. I wonder if she really feels that bad or if she is scared to death because for the first 8 months of her life she has felt great and then out of nowhere this feeling comes on that just isn't right....Poor little girl. :-(
Ok on to a happier subject. Rebekah and I will be going through the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University starting in January. We are both super excited about where our lives are headed. It is amazing how things tend to fall into place when you have some semblance of a plan. Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't put your trust in God that He will guide your footsteps, but this hippie doofus idea of having no plan for the future is just ludicrous. I fully believe that God wants us to use the teachings He gives us to plan our steps, not to sit around waiting for an all mighty sign. Like dying on the cross and rising from the dead wasn't a sign enough... but I digress. It will incredible to be debt free, earning wealth and giving a bunch of it away!
So here is my charge for everybody going forward. Look to the Father for stability. In your finances, your relationships, even your own life. Then take what God teaches you and pass it on to someone else. Much love. Until next time, keep living unashamed. 1-1-SIX for life!
Proverbs 22:7
Romans 1:16 

I SURE DO LOVE COMING HOME TO MY SWEET LITTLE GIRL!!!!

Part Deux

So it's getting close to thanksgiving so let's talk about what I am thankful for. I am thankful for my God. I don't know where I would be if I hadn't turned around and asked for God's forgiveness for all the junk I've pulled in this life. Without His grace and love, I am a mess.
I am thankful for my amazing wife, Rebekah. She is the most amazing woman I have ever met and I am so very very blessed that she chose me. After coming through a very rough first marriage, I had almost given up on love. Then she walked into my life again, and my life has never been the same. I found joy that I thought was gone from my life and I love her with all my heart.

I am thankful for the most awe inspiring little girl I have ever met! She is all mine too. :-) My daughter, Layla, is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. I fall more and more in love with her everyday. God really knew what He was doing when He blessed us with her. I love you Laylabug!
I am thankful for my parents, Randy and Letha, for showing me what it is to be a follower of Christ. My father is the most amazing example of a Godly man I have ever encountered. My mother has shown me more love than any person on earth. She has stood by me through everything I have put her through. I love you Mom and Dad.
I am thankful for my sister, Tiane. She has shown me a lot of love and support and I am so blessed to have her as a sister. I love you, Tiane.

To Samuel and Jacob, I want you to know that I am thankful for the men you are becoming. I know I have missed so much of you guys growing up, and for that I am so very sorry. But know that I am always proud of you both and I will always be there for you no matter what. I am always just a phone call away. I love you guys!
There are so many more things I am thankful for this year, but I won't bore you guys anymore.
So until next time. Stay unashamed! 1-1-SIX for life.
John 3:30
Romans 1:16
Psalm 23
Proverbs 22:6
Proverbs 22:7
Phillipians 4:13

Let's see if I can keep this up...

Ok so here we go again. For those of you who know me, you know that this is probably about the 7 millionth time I have started a blog. I seem to have this innate ability to either forget about the blog or just being too lazy to write new posts. So we are going to try this again. A little bit about me. I am a 29 year old man serving in the army. I am  a husband to the love of my life, Rebekah and father of a beautiful 8 month old girl named Layla. Life is good right now. I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. He has saved me from my sins and I am forever in His debt. I look forward to see where this blog leads. So until next time (hopefully) I leave you with this charge.

Live your life as it says in Romans 1:16
"I am unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the salvation of man, first the Jew and then the Gentile"

Stay unashamed my friends!