No More Hunting (for me, at least!)

Well, I just wanted to thank everyone out there who's been praying for me to find a job...I finally got a call back from CarQuest, and I go in at 8am to start tomorrow! So thanks! We're still not sure exactly what's happening with Terra's job - there are a few opportunities out there for her (several she applied to that looked and sounded great), but we're just not hearing back from them about the jobs. So keep her in your prayers, and thanks for praying for me!

In school news, I've started my classes, and man do they have a lot of reading! You might want to keep checking my Thinking Blog, because I'll probably hash out some ideas and stuff on there from classes.

Stupid Hunt

Okay folks, the continuing saga of Terra and my respective hunting for jobs must come to an end...but unfortunately, it won't be this weekend. We do want to thank everyone out there for your prayers. Terra is meeting with a lady on Monday (I believe) who might have a job for her, and it seems like the job will pay pretty good, so keep that in your prayers. I did the drug test for the CarQuest job I applied to, so things look pretty good there (they usually don't do a drug test unless they want to hire you, I understand), but I haven't heard back from them. What I'm finding is that CarQuest seems to take it's own sweet time in the hiring process.

But classes started Thursday, and that was interesting. I'm taking Christian Ethics, Old Testament II, and Marriage and the Family. I'll actually be writing a research paper for Christian Ethics, and I'll probably post that somewhere on my website when I get it done - but don't expect to find if anytime soon, it's not due until the middle of may.

Also, keep Rick Evans and his children in your prayers (their whole family really), because Rick's mom died yesterday. We love you Rick and we're praying for you! Athleen was a wonderful woman - she was an incredible encouragement to me while I was there, a blessing all around. We'll miss ya, but we know you're in a better place.

And here's a quick shout out to all the kids at New Life Temple - we miss ya and we love ya! Thanks for keeping in touch!

Concluding the hunt

Well, I think the job hunt is just about over. I think I'm going to end up either tossing around car parts at a local CarQuest distribution wharehouse or mixing up coffee and lattes at a nearby Starbucks. Terra and I are praying for the Starbucks one to work out - they have benefits (which will save us almost as much as I'll earn!).

I don't know if any of you read the comments on my last post, but Lauren wrote that her mom was in the hospital with something going on with her sight - so I want to encourage everyone out there to pray for her.

If you can, toss up a prayer for Terra and I as we finish up our job searches. Terra hasn't heard back from anyone yet (I think they're crazy to not hire her right away! ;-). I've been to a couple of interviews, and I'm just waiting to hear back from 'em.

The Hunt Continues....

Well, sorry I haven't been on here much lately...it's just, well, not much is happening.... Terra and I still haven't found jobs, so keep praying with us that we'll find 'em soon enough (Lord willing, this week!). But I did finally hash out some more thoughts for my Thinking Blog, so you might want to check it out...

In other news, looks like Terra and I might have found a church. We're still gonna visit a few more, but we've both pretty much agreed that this is where we're gonna go. It's called North Wake. It's a really young congregation, with a very contemporary perspective and style. What we love the most about it is the emphasis on Study, Service, and Worship (they're basically the core values of the church in a nutshell). I don't like going on about how much we like it, when I know some of you reading this are from New Life Temple, and we really do miss everyone from there - but Wake Forest is where God has called us to be, and we're just excited that we've been able to find a church where we really feel like God has a purpose for us and where we can really meet God every week.

Well, that's about it for now - hope everyone out there is doing well! Drop me a line if ya get a chance!

My very own store!

Well, my wife and I are still in the hunt for a job, but in the mean time we decided to start selling stuff online. "Online?!" you say...yes, online. We've opened up an eBay store called "Zach's Shack", and you can find it online at www.stores.ebay.com/Zachs-shack. Check it out if ya feel like it! You might note the records we have on there - I got a bunch of old LPs when my grandparents moved out of their place, and I'm selling 'em to raise money for school and stuff. I don't necessarily endorse the music of the artists I'm selling. We may try and put some of my wife's purses on there eventually (did you know she made purses?). You'll never know what we're going to put on there next!

Job Hunting...

Man, you know, job hunting stinks! Especially when you NEED a job. Terra and I are having bunches of fun applying at different places, for different types of positions. The bad part is that most of these places were on vacation over Christmas, and so they have a bit of catching up to do now, and they're pretty slow about getting back with you. I have had fun applying online - that's been neat, just sitting at home and filling out forms over the internet. But it's kinda rough when you spend an hour or more filling out these online applications, and then after you send it in you get an email saying something along the lines of, "Don't call us, we'll call you." So you just spend a lot of time sitting around waiting for your phone to ring.

But yesterday was encouraging, I finally got a call back on a job. But at the end of the conversation I found out that the person I was talking to was just calling to confirm some information before she passed it along to the Hiring Manager. So I gotta wait for my name to process through another pile of applicants, and pray that some guy who's never met me will find my application more appealing than the others competing for his attention.

I guess that's where trusting God comes in. ;-)

Yeah, we're doing quite a bit of praying about this job thing - not only that we get jobs, but that we'll be able to enjoy them as well.

Fun over christmas

Well, Christmas has come and gone - but it was fun. I hope all ya'll out there had a great Christmas, I know I did. It was great to be with my family, and the added plus this year was this was the first Christmas Terra and I have celebrated as a married couple - that was really cool, too!


I wanted to share a couple of really interesting gifts I got with everyone out there. First off, there's a neat book called "Through Painted Deserts" by Donald Miller. It looks really awesome. I was also given "Obsessed" by Ted Dekker, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I definitely suggest checking him out if you haven't read anything by him yet.

A couple of CDs I was given that I recommend everyone checking out are "Collision" by the David Crowder Band, and also "I See Things Upside Down" by Derek Webb.

Well, I hope everyone out there had a great Christmas, and that everyone took time to remember Christ this season!

Pics of our new home

Here are those pictures of our apartment I promised...

This is my little space in the office - definitely smaller than the office we had at home, but it's got just enough room to fit what we need to in it.

This is a shot of our living room. It is a little more cramped than our last one, but it is rather cozy, and so far we've been able to fit everyone we need to in it.









This is from the kitchen where our table is - we actually have a larger kitchen here than we did in our home (before we moved), so that's a lot nicer.

A new home!

Well, my wife and I have finished moving into our new place. Sorry I haven't posted anything in the last week - it's been a little crazy. I'll try to post some pictures of our new place in the next day or so. We had fun this morning checking out the employment board - we gotta get jobs now! Crazy stuff, I tell ya. Terra wants to get some sort of administrative job, but I'm not too sure what I want to get. I'd love to get some sort of technical job, but there are never too many of those out there.

I dunno - we'll just keep looking and praying. I know God will help us get the jobs we'll need.

So, for all those of you who were concerned, we're all moved in, safe and sound. The office is a little cramped, but other than that things are shaping up pretty nicely!

Ah, the joys of moving

Look at all those boxes! Yeah, my wife and I are packing up our home to head down to Seminary. We have been packing ourselves silly! And we've packed so many boxes, and yet we have so much left to pack - it's insane!

This is the question that rules my life at the moment, "What can I pack now?"

Ah, How I Love the Beach!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days - my wife and I took a short vacation to the Beach for our six month anniversary. Whoa, that's so cool - I've been married six months! And I've loved every minute of it, too! Here are a few pics (you can click on 'em for larger versions)

Well, here's what the living room of the place we stayed in looked like - yeah, it was pretty fancy. We actually got to stay there for free, courtesy of my cousin. Thanks a million, Wes!

I think that TV was at least 32", but it may have been more, it was pretty awesome - I really enjoyed watching stuff on it!

Yeah, this is the dining area, and behind it you can see the deck. It was a little too cool for my wife and I to really enjoy the deck - though on our last day there (when we were packing and leaving!) the temperature did finally jump up to 70-something. Wish it had been like that earlier...

This may seem a little weird, but this is the bathroom. Okay, from the picture it's kinda hard to see how cool it was in here, but let me tell you about it. See, first of all, there were two sinks, so my wife and I got our own personal hygene space - which is really cool, because I'm a little messier than my wife, and I think she enjoyed not having to mess with my stuff. Then there was a TV in the bathroom, and a specific light switch and fan for each section, one for each sink, and then a separate one for the shower - crazy!

And this is a picture I took on Saturday, when we finally actually went out on the beach. I think we lasted about 15 minutes - it's really windy on the beach, and it was already pretty cool that day anyways. But my wife and I had a bunch of fun taking pictures of different stuff on the beach. It's crazy, but it always seems like the view from the beach is always awesome.

So now we're back from the beach and we've begun the insane task of packing up our lives and putting them into boxes so that we can move in less than a week and a half!

Gotta love them sinuses...

You ever had a sinus infection? Well, I'm used to get 'em real bad - until I went away to college, and then I stopped having them really bad (I had 'em every now and then, but just not that often...it was nice!). Sad to say, but those days are over. I have come down with the mother of all sinus infections - okay, it may not be that bad, but it still is a real pain in the rear.

I've spent most of the day on the couch, watching TV, trying to keep my mind off the fact that my stomache is acting like it wants to reject that delicious lunch of tomato soup and crackers I just had. The back of my throat is scratchy, and I really couldn't sleep last night because of the congestion.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. God has given us amazing doctors with amazing drugs! I got me a bubble-gum tasting antibiotic and another congestion medicine called "Allegra-D" and I'm pumped full of 'em. Go drugs, go!!!

Maybe I've had a little too much medication...

Well, whatever my medicated mental state is, count yourself lucky if you're feeling good today...you are much blessed.

one of my parents cats

This is 'Princess', one of my parents' cats. She's a little "special" but we love her all the same.

Last night at New Life Temple

Well, last night was my last night at New Life Temple...it was sad saying good-bye to so many people that meant so much to Terra and I. And though I did have fun on the piano and with the band, I know I will definitely miss the youth the most. Here's a pic of my wife with some of 'her' girls:

It was fun goofing off the youth one last time...they played two of their most favorite games: Pit and also Apples to Apples.

Here's them playing Pit:
And here's them playing Apples to Apples:

So, yeah, it was rough to say goodbye, but my wife and I both know that it's time for us to go back to school...
And I've been having fun calling utility companies today - making sure we're gonna have our water and electricity that we definitely need when we get there - exciting, I tell you!

crazy dogs

These are the dogs at the home where my wife is a nanny. The smaller one has decided I'm great to snuggle with...not that i really want 2 curl up with him...

my piano...

Okay, this is the piano I normally lead worship from at New Life Temple, but this coming Sunday is my last day leading worship at this church - and the last day I get to play this awesome Baldwin baby grand piano.

I'm really gonna miss it!

And today is my last day doing the "office hours" - it's just really weird, coming in and working in my office and on my computer for the last time! That's just so weird. Because basicly, after this Sunday, I'm going to be unemployed...not sure that I really like the sound of that...even though technically I'm taking all next week off on my left-over vacation days - so November 28th is actually going to be my first true day of unemployment.

Is being unemployed really that bad? Well, I guess I'm going to find out...at least until January...

My office

Yeah, so here's what the desk in my office looks like presently. This being my last week, and me only having tomorrow (Thursday) and then Sunday here at the church, it's kinda weird... I know going to Seminary is God's will, and that this is the next step in my life. But it's weird leaving something I've grown so accustomed to and gotten so used to. Oh well - change is a fact of life, and this is a whole new life I'm stepping into!

My very own webpage...finally!

Yeah, so I've been slaving these past few days to get my webpage up and running - and it's finally done! I probably am going to completely revamp the entire website, because this was the first website I created completelyfrom scratch and I think I can create a way much better one! So here's my address on the web: www.zachjones.net

Keep checking back - you never know what I might update and do on it!

leaves and candy....

Yeah, so I've been battling leaves this week...I used a leaf blower to get all the leaves out of my front yard on Monday - only to have it completely covered again by Tuesday. I just blew off my yard again today... Man, leaf blowing is hard work!

Oh, and here's a lil pic of something I did for my wife the other day - she had told me about a chocolate/caramel candy she liked, and I went out and grabbed some for her. Presentation is everything, and so as I was trying to figure out how to give it to her, I got a little idea...

Note to all you guys out there: ladies love chocolate, and a little romanticism never hurt anyone!

My first blog...

Alrighty folks, here she is - my first blog, and my first post on my first blog! (Man, I feel like I should pop some champagne here or something because of all those "first"'s...). And I'm actually running late to work today, so I'm not really gonna post much other than to say, this is pretty cool, and when I was awake between periods of slumber last night, a part of my mind kept rolling over what I could do with this thing...guess you'll just have to check back and see what develops!