Knocking it Out of the Park

I cleaned out my desk this morning and I made it out alive!!  Phew.  It had gotten a little out of control and I’m proud to report that my laptop can fit on it’s surface again.  Ahem.

In that process, I was organizing some preschool stuff and some Bible study materials and I forgot that I had gotten out two old journals the other day, searching for some notes on a study we’d done a few years back.  I was browsing through them…which can be quite humbling, mind you.  It’s a little gut wrenching when you’re still struggling with some of the same thing you were struggling with in 2011.  Keep pressing in, Lord.

One of those journals was Wrexy’s and I was browsing through it and I came across a list he made in May of 2011 titled “Top 15 Goals for My Marriage/Family.”  I was gonna just skip right over it but I felt the Lord asking me to dwell there for a minute, so I read through them.

1. Create a loving, God-fearing environment.
2. To be someone Stef trusts and relies on.
3. To be an example to others of Christian marriage.
4. To be an involved dad, teaching my kids to do things/gain skills.
5. To be a good provider.
6. To teach my kids to hear from the Lord and leave a legacy of the fear of the Lord.
7. To be a dad/husband that my family will be proud of.
8. To instil self-worth and the truth about who they are in my kids; build each other up.
9. To grow together as a family through acts of service/giving.
10. To be an example of a loyal, honest, hard-working man.
11. To grow closer to Stef with each day and year through oneness with Christ.
12. To help nurture Stef’s gifts.
13. To remain best friends with Stef.
14. To communicate well with Stef, not just say what I think she wants to hear.
15. To not grow complacent in my role as the spiritual leader of my home.

Be. Still. My. Heart.  I was absolutely speechless and so incredibly humbled reading this list.  Talk about selfless and God-centered; he gets it and we are blessed because of it.

Let me just say, you are doing a darn fine job, handsome.  I am so proud to be your wife.  You are the glue that holds this ship together and keeps us afloat and you are knocking it out of the park in the husband/dad department!

Thank you for showing us on a daily basis how Christ loved the church.

Thank you for wanting the best for us.

Thank you for dying to yourself over and over again.

Thank you for leading us and guiding us and providing for us.

Thank you for being the most gracious, forgiving, patient, honest, loyal, generous, gentle, determined, enthusiastic, unflappable, God-fearing man I’ve ever known.

****Note to readers, W and I are that couple that shares everything (as I believe all married couples should) – passwords, prayers, bank accounts, spit.  😉  He was not at all concerned that I read his journal or that I shared it here.  His main concern was that women would be stumbling in covetousness.  Ahem.  Notice I didn’t list ‘humble’ in my description of him.  🙂 ****