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!