Thirteen

A teenager? Seriously? It seems like yesterday that it was day one and you were laying with your mom on the hospital bed. Then you sat up. Yep. You sat up in the bed because you were turning blue. Okay so maybe not the best memory, but everything turned out great and we knew from that moment that you were going to be a determined young lady! 

Fast forward thirteen years. We’ve got a little world changer. A girl that has a heart the size of Texas…well, as an Arkansas fan I can’t really compare anything to that state so we will just say a REAL big heart. The sky is the limit for you. That’s probably not even a good ceiling because knowing you with your ambitions, I should probably say that somewhere in outer space would be your limit. 

Lots of memories so far. All of them are pretty hysterical too. From The Big Hungry Bear (I can’t tell that story on here), to you remembering exactly where we were at any given point and the food we were eating at the time, to all of your "Maddeeism's" (like your mom), to so many of your quick witted comments over the years, they all have one thing in common…your amazing, fun, loving, big personality!

Your mom (aka my Smokin Hot Wife) and I are so proud of you. Keep leading strong, even at your young age. Your actions have already spoke volumes to people younger and older than you. We love you so much and we thank God for blessing us and giving us the awesome privilege of being your parents!

Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. -1 Timothy 4:12

Happy Birthday Maddee, we love you! 

My Best Friend

It's funny because the first birthday I ever celebrated with her, we were already married. You see, we started dating in August of 1995, got engaged in January of 1996 and then we married in May of 1996...two months shy of her 21st birthday. I'm talking about my best friend who just happens to be my wife, Mel.

Nineteen birthdays together and I'll tell you a couple of truths. Number one, she is my smoking hot wife and she gets hotter every year! Number two, I am more thankful to God with each year that passes because it becomes more and more obvious that I married way out of my league!

She is the most selfless person I know. She always puts our girls and me before herself. She is the picture of a Godly woman. I watch with awe as people that have never met her before are able to talk with her like they've known her for a lifetime. She is wise beyond her years. I watch our girls look at her with admiration and pray that they take after her in all they do. She knows that God is her number one and I am her number two. She amazes me every day. 

Mel, putting the perfect words down to describe the way I feel about you is difficult. However, you are perfectly described in 5 verses in the book of Proverbs:

She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: "There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!"                - Proverbs 31:25-29

I love you so much Mel, Happy Birthday!!! 

B

18

May 4, 1996. Eighteen years. I have been married to my Smoking Hot Wife for eighteen years today!

Ever heard those stories about how a man and a woman go on their first date and they "know" that the person they are with is the one they will be with for the rest of their life? Yep, that happened.

We have had so many adventures in these eighteen years. God's story for our lives has been nothing short of incredible and we can't wait to see what the next chapters hold.

What has eighteen years brought so far? A marriage that somehow keeps getting better every year. Two daughters that have their mom's beauty, inside and out. Living in three different states. Great times, hard times, scary times. Times that required extreme faith. Faith that was then stretched even more. Laughter. Tears. Happy tears. More laughter. A love for our heavenly father that grows consistently deeper as we both seek to always keep Him as our number one and each other as our two. Extreme love.

In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered. - 1 Peter 3:7

Mel, you are beautiful. Your love for me is more than I deserve. Today I say Happy Anniversary and one more thing...Let's do this for several more years, what do you say?!

I love you with all that is in me.

B

Sweet Sixteen

It doesn't seem possible. I should still be holding her in my arms as she falls asleep. I should still be drinking "tea" from a princess cup while my little princess is busy scurrying around her kingdom and inviting other various stuffed animals to join me in tea time. Today feels like we should be celebrating the fact that she is starting kindergarten or maybe explaining to her that she will soon have a baby sister to play with.

The reality today though is my little princess is now my beautiful sixteen year old princess. That stings a little. I always heard that time flies when you have kids but I never knew how fast it would fly by.

The stinging, however, is quickly replaced with a feeling of immense joy. My heart overflows with love for her. She, in my opinion, is the definition of a young lady after God's heart. Mel and I could not be more proud of the young woman that she is today. She has set an example for and made an impact on so many lives already in her short life. I can't imagine how many more lives she will impact in the years to come.

There are countless "favorite times" that I could talk about. I could write a book and have sequels to it. One of my most favorite times to see her though has to be when it's her and her heavenly father together. I have often looked over during certain worship songs at church and I've seen it. Although the room has hundreds of people in it, as far as she is concerned, it's her and God. Hands lifted high worshiping her creator. It's a feeling for a dad and a mom that you can't put into words. All I can say is we are blessed. We don't deserve to be her parents but God has blessed us and picked us to take care of her on this earth. To think that God actually cares about all of us as much as and more than we care about and love our daughter is almost too difficult to fathom. But it's true.

We are so proud of you. Keep seeking, keep loving, keep being you. You are truly one of a kind. You live out this verse:

Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. -1 Timothy 4:12

Happy Birthday Maylee, we love you!

A pathway no one knew was there

So say you were following Moses and running away from Pharaoh's army. The miracles that had been performed up to this point were nothing short of, well…miraculous. Then you come up against an obstacle. A pretty big obstacle. It's the Red Sea. Oh crap. This is it. We are never going to make it now. There aren't any more miracles that could get us out of this one. Then, as you may have heard, God uses Moses to do the impossible. He tells Moses to pick up his staff and raise his hand over the sea and what happened? The Red Sea parts and the Israelites get to walk through to the other side on dry ground. Pharaoh's army? Well, let's just say that a whole lot of spouses got to collect on life insurance after that day.

There's a really cool verse in Psalms that recounts that day. It says, "Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters - a pathway no one knew was there!" (Psalms 77:19)

Let's focus on that last line. A pathway no one knew was there. You see, God promised Moses that he would use him to lead his people out of Egypt. God promises us that if we seek him with all we've got, He will show us which path to take. The difference sometimes is that when we are faced with major opposition (Red Sea), we give up. Moses could have given up, but he believed that the path he needed to take was already there even though he couldn't see it.

Our paths are there. God's plans for our lives are there. Our paths may be covered up with water right now and no one can see it, but if we seek God with all we've got, have faith in him, trust him and truly listen…then we can start hearing the wind. The wind that is pushing the waters back and showing us our next step. Showing us the pathway that we need to take.

Seek his will in all you do and he will show you which path to take-Proverbs 3:6

Keep seeking. Your pathway is there.