Happy Anniversary

I know you show up here to get a little something to take with you. A little giggle or a nugget of some sort. Well, this morning I'm going to tell you where my cup of cold water tends to come from. Today Mike and I celebrate 8 years of marriage.

A little history. My Junior year of college I had the privilege of joining a team and pioneering a ministy opportunity in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mike, unbeknownst to be had also taken the same opportunity. He's from Lancaster, I'm from Augusta. I was coming from Georgia College and he was coming from Valdosta State. The buzz was that some engineer quit his job to be a P.E. teacher...what a whacko! Well, as I've shared before, he won my heart over the summer. The following year we were married.

It was a struggle at first. I have told him that I married him more on a promise that he would become the husband of my dreams. I had been in a long relationship that, well, it was sort of hard to just move on. I wish I could say it was total crazy love...I knew I loved him and that God had promised good to me. I said yes with excitement and fear of the unknown. I knew that Mike loved me with every fiber of his being. I was 22 and just out of college. I had a lot to learn.

Fast forward and Mike is the promise. God was right about this man. Mike has provided me with the life of my dreams. I'm sure it might not look like much to someone else, but I spend my days doing what my heart has always desired. We are in agreement in my role as wife and mother and there is never any pressure for me to get a job. He laughs when I fall apart, knowing that I'll pull it together...and probably write about it later. He knows that women's bible study will always have a place in our life and that sometimes I'm just not going to cook.

He is my cup of cold water. He is the reason I blog. He believes that I am good at this. He has urged me several times to do more than write a Christmas letter and never balks at the time I spend on the computer when an idea just hits me and I have to get it out. He is not offended when I tell him EXACTLY what to do for our anniversary..he's thankful. He doesn't want to disappoint me, so I give a cheat sheet. Buy a card, sign your name, and write in our journal. That's it.

So, I don't wish to make any other woman struggle. I know that for many women their husband is not their cup of cold water. Marriages are under attack, we must join together and beg God to show us mercy and favor. I believe that biblical marriage can and will change the world. When men love their wives as Christ loved the church and when women respect their husbands as the head of the house. Ladies, this is different than the model of the world. God tells us not to be conformed to the pattern of this world, but transformed by the renewing of our mind. I think our marriages fit into this model. Imagine someone walking into your home and finding peace and harmony because husband and wife are in accordance with God's will. If you think for one minute you won't have an opportunity to share Christ you've got another thing coming. The lost world is watching...let's give them something to talk about.

Happy Anniversary, Babe. You are the greatest promise ever fulfilled...besides Jesus!

Note: Mike and I have screamed and yelled (have screamed and yelled, he is extremely level headed) and stayed up late duking something out. We recognize when the enemy is using us against each other and we pray like heck to be safe. I cry, he grovels...we struggle...we are all supposed to be struggling with all of His energy that works so powerfully in us. Also, a pretty intense book that I have read is called Created to be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl. This is not light reading by any stretch...she's pretty intense, but I gleaned alot from her wisdom.