Happy 16th Anniversary Babe!

God has incredibly blessed me with a man who loves the Lord with all his heart and one who sacrificially gives of his time to his family and others in serving in many capacities.  From the day that we said "I do" our lives have been knitted together through the ups and downs of this life we live.  God has graciously blessed us beyond what we could have imagined or hoped for.

Through the struggles and trials of our sinfulness and of living in a broken world God has used those very things to cause us to seek Him and to cling to one another.  We can look back and see His imprints in those areas where we needed to be pruned and stripped down in order to see what was ultimately keeping us from glorifying Him.  The lessons we have learned have been and continue to deepen our love with each other as we together seek to grow in Christ as one.

To my husband, I love you so much more today then I did l6 years ago.  Never did I think that I could love someone this much.  Your love for me is an incredible gift that encourages and strengthens me in my walk.  Your example of godliness is a model for me to live out for Christ. I am so thankful for Him who gave you to me!  May we continue to draw closer to the ONE who brought us together and continue to seek His will for our lives as we love our children and show them by example how to love Christ and one another!  I love you with all my heart!!

John Piper shares the following:

The main meaning of marriage is to display the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his church.  In other words, marriage was designed by God most deeply, most importantly, to be a parable or a drama of the way Christ loves his church and the way the church loves and follows to Christ.  This is the most important thing for all husbands and wives to know about the meaning of their marriage.

Marriage Portrays the Magnificent

The key passage has been Ephesians 5:23-25: “The husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Don’t be so familiar with this that it doesn’t strike you as amazing. Where in all the world would anyone talk about marriage this way? In three verses, he says it three times:

• Verse 23: marriage: even as Christ is the head of the church.
• Verse 24: marriage: as the church submits to Christ.
• Verse 25: marriage: as Christ loved the church.

What is the most important meaning of marriage? It is found in the words: “as Christ . . . asthe church . . . as Christ.” The ultimate meaning of marriage is not in marriage itself. It is not in the husband and not in the wife and not in the offspring. The ultimate meaning of marriage is in: “as Christ,” “as the church,” “as Christ.” Marriage is a magnificent thing because it is modeled on something magnificent and points to something magnificent. And the love that binds this man and woman in marriage is a magnificent love because it portrays something magnificent—“as Christ loved the church” and “as the church submits to Christ.” The greatness of marriage is not in itself. The greatness of marriage is that it displays something unspeakably great, Christ and the church.

Fantasy Island..."de plane..de plane"

We've all read about the "destination weddings" and "elope at the islands" which promise the most romantic settings to commit yourselves to each other in matrimony on the Island of Love....which is some remote beach where the beauty is breathtaking. Come on, BE HONEST we've all imagined it...."your hair blowing ever so gently in the breeze as you walk down the beach to your prince charming as he is gazing adoringly at you.....while your sun-kissed skin is glistening from the dew of your carribean setting. The sun is just perfect...no sweat on the brow as the singing love birds fly overhead while the nuptials take place. The waves splash upon the sand with just a hint of strength and the slight tinge of the ocean air wafting through your senses. The guests sit in awe of the beauty of the moment and with tears streaming down their faces they look in rapt silence as the magic unfolds before their very eyes. A momentary twinge of envy washes over them hoping that someday they too could find a love so strong and beautiful, one that words could never express. When the final murmerings of the couple's love and devotion have been spoken he sweeps her ever so gently up into his strong arms and they ride bareback on a white stallion....into the sunset...............

BUT.....I had the unsettling opportunity to capture the harsh realities behind the aforementioned nuptials...take a look with me now.......
(for added effect double click on each picture)











Imagine the let down I felt as I heard the snap
of the tape recorder playing here comes the bride
while abruptly ending mid song.

the onlookers irreverently got up to get a drink at the "tiki bar"

frrrrt....the attire was quite disappointing

as the uninvited onlookers were an eye-sore

Needless to say, I found myself appreciating, all the more

my wedding from 15 years ago with my sappy(handsome)

prince charming crying while I walked down the aisle.

15th Anniversary in JAMAICA.....Yea Mon!!!

The cabana.....we loved it here!

This is where we had our "couples massage" while

listening to the waves crashing(such brats!)

Scuba Bob!

Now that's confidence! what more can I say?!

This pic I was laughing so hard I was crying because

when we were on our honeymoon we took an awesome

impromptu pic while in a hammock and we loved

the pic so we decided to try it again...but in 15 years

we don't look quite the same! Haaa haaa! Nor can

we get out of the hammock as easily!

What a blessing and treasure he is to me!

Hello, it's been toooo long, I know! Bob and I are back from our fabulous anniversary trip to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. 15 years ago we went as newlyweds and now 15 years later got the opportunity to go again and walk down memory lane. We had such a wonderful time relaxing by the pool, hopping from hot tub to hot tub, laying by the carribean sea, and sipping pina-colada's! We were so thankful for this time together. Aunt Pat and Uncle Tom moved in to our house to watch(and school) the kiddos while we were there. Both moms pitched in to help as well as my good friend Karen. The kids had a blast while we were gone...bowling with Aunt Pat and Ice-skating(inspired by watching the olympics). So wish I had pictures of that....Aunt Pat and Gracie did spins and twirls...double toe loops. I was so thankful to have my kiddos in the hands of people who care and love them so deeply. Which leads me to this...

I am a worrier....I hang my head low when I say that. It's something that I am constantly giving over to the Lord as I know that it is my way of trying to control life. I recognize this and am humbled over and over again by God's goodness to me as he is using this in my life to draw me close to Him. I share this with you because I was very apprehensive about the trip. Second guessing myself and the decision we made up to the very last minute. All because of my fear in leaving my children and worrying about their every move. Miraculously, God gave me a peace that I can't even begin to put into words. I did not worry. Not because I put "mind over matter" or willed myself good thoughts, or thought positively, or reached within myself...no...this was because of His power and His amazing grace and His love for me....nothing short of that.

God's word comes to our rescue in Matthew 6:34
His command-
Do not worry about tomorrow,
His insight-
Tomorrow will worry about its own things, and
His challenge for us today-
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

More Jamaica to come......