Weekend Getaway

 

Last summer Dustin and I began dreaming of how we would celebrate our 10th anniversary. We hadn't done anything too exciting together in a long while, so we eagerly anticipated this excuse to do something big!

 

Little did we know just how big things would turn out!

 

David Judah was born just seven days before our 10 year mile marker! Not so great timing for a cruise or a trip to the Bahamas! But we still enjoyed a nice dinner to a local favorite on the day with baby Judah as a tag along. We didn't mind. Can you believe we didn't take a single picture? I think we were both in a sleep deprived state.

 

Well, to 'make up for it' we decided to go away for the weekend just a few weeks ago. It had been ages since we had done that and we needed it.

 

We had the hardest time decided what we wanted to do. We are pretty boring people, not too adventurous. But we finally figured out one thing we like to do together besides eat. And that is hunt for antiques! And we did just that.

 

We went to a tiny little town upstate SC and stayed at a B&B where they are famous for their breakfast AND antique shops. A perfect fit! Here are some snap shots of our weekend getaway...

 

 

 

The Main house of the B&B. This is where we had our breakfast. It was just a few minutes stroll from our little cottage. 

Our first night there we enjoyed looking around our quaint little cottage and a wonderful meal at a German restaurant, Oskars. They seriously had the best grits EVER!  We even attempted some frog legs, something neither of us had ever tried before. They were a weird combination of fish and fried chicken, quite yummy!

The next morning we got up bright and early (thanks Judah) and headed down for our much anticipated breakfast. Not only was it scrumptious (my mouth is watering) it was beautiful, which I loved and so appreciated. It's always been a dream of mine to have a B&B, so as to have an excuse to use fine china for breakfast every morning! I was jotting down notes the whole trip!





After our amazing breakfast, we began our hunt for treasurer's. We had a whole list of places throughout several different surrounding towns but ended up only making it to three places all within walking distance of where we stayed. It was so much fun. These are a few of our finds!

Our second morning, we enjoyed a nice stroll through their well manicured paths and another wonderful breakfast. Judah wasn't so thrilled about it (although you can't tell from the above picture!) so Daddy took him out on the front porch so that he wouldn't disturb the other guests and so that Mommy could finish her breakfast (and his!). I love that picture of them through the foggy glass from where I was sitting. He's such a good daddy.

 

 

It was a great time away, but not nearly long enough! We hope to do it again soon. And can you believe we still didn't get our picture together! Oh well. Maybe next year!

Happy Anny to Us!

I know you must all be waiting with bated breath for another 6 part Anniversary post. I am so sorry to disappoint. Yes, it is our 10th Anniversary today and probably warrants such. But alas, that ship has sailed and another has sailed in (we call him Judah) so this will have to suffice.

The other day I was napping on the couch. The older three were at Nana's and baby was snug by my side. I turned on a Netflix movie for some background noise, something I could sleep through. The cursor landed on Emma, a Jane Austin movie. Good enough.

I dozed in and out for most of the movie. At one point my ears picked up the monologue Emma was having with herself.

Emma, making it her personal mission to play match maker has found herself in a possible match with Mr. Churchill. This was what she wrote in her diary that night... 

"Well, he loves me! He was on the verge of telling me when his father burst in.

I felt listless after he left and had some sort of a headache, so I must be in love as well. I must confess, I expected love to feel somewhat different than this. I may determine how deep a love I feel through his absence."

As I laid there with my eyes closed, feeling the warmth of the little body next to me, I smiled. Laughed really. "Listless and a bit of a headache...??" Is that all love is?

No, of course not. I mean, he does give me a headache every now and then. And I'm sure I make him feel listless after a week of playing 'housewife'. But I'm pretty sure that's not the kind of listlessness or headache our dear Emma was referring to.

Thankfully, for those of you wondering, Emma does come to her senses, as much as a character from a Jane Austin movie can. She sees the irredeemable faults in Mr. Churchill (not to mention he was engaged to another anyway) and suddenly awakens to the love she has for the one and only Mr. Knightly. *Sigh*

HOW ROMANTIC!!

(gag)

So what does love look like 10 years later?

Love is ~

Watching your man rock a baby in the middle of the night.

Stretching across fuzzy heads to steal a kiss.

Your heart leaping just a bit when you hear the front door open after a long day.

Waking up to five loads of laundry folded neatly on the table.

That feeling of security.

Him calling to let you know he got a babysitter for tonight.

My head against his chest.

Catching him staring at me.

Long car rides of comfortable quiet.

Working it out.

Forgiving and being forgiven.

Holding his hand and still loving it.

Understanding without words.

Deep compassion for the other, even when you're hurt.

Crying at the thought of losing him.

Praying so hard.

Watching him hug the other little lady in his life.

Seeing the trash can out by the road.

Watching him play catch with my little men, their eyes glowing.

Text messaged pictures of him and the kids having fun on dates.

Him saying no to meetings to be at baseball games.

Conversations about nothing that mean everything.

The quiet "I love you's".

Smelling him while making the bed every morning.

Picking up clothes dropped on the floor.

Seeing him in each of my four children.

Looking forward to more of him...

If you ask me, that beats any silly Jane Austin movie!

Happy Anny, Baby! Can't wait for the rest of our lives...

An Anniversary Post (6)

In lieu of our 9^th anniversary: A celebratory post, to remember, to give thanks for, to reflect and of course post pictures!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 we celebrated our 9th year of marriage. It is still hard for me to say the words. Nine years! It is hard to believe...

We enjoyed a wonderful evening together in Old Savannah. It was fun trying a new, tucked-away place (17 Hundred 90). It is one of the oldest Inns and Restaurants in all of Savannah and supposedly the most haunted. It was fun reading about the history of the restaurant on the back of the menu and being 'introduced' to the ghosts we might encounter...! Thankfully we didn't. But there was a wonderful pianist we enjoyed listening to. And the food was amazing. The company was quite scrumptious too! It was great being able to have a conversation without being interrupted 27 times...

After they rolled us out of the restaurant, we strolled around River Street, taking in the sights and enjoying just being with each other.

We started walking back to the car to head home. I glanced down at my watch. It was only 8:30pm! Yes, a lot has changed in 9 years... we have forgotten how to stay 'out late'... it was getting close to our bedtime!

Thanks for allowing me to reminisce this past week. It has been so good thinking back over these last 9 years, remembering the good times and the things that made me first love my husband, reflecting on what God has done and where He has taken us. Through it God has brought continual healing to our marriage, more evidence of our Redeemer. I am thankful.

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God."

                                                      Philippians 1:9-10

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."   Philippians 1:6

This is the promise I hold fast to.

An Anniversary Post (5)

In lieu of our 9^th anniversary: A celebratory post, to remember, to give thanks for, to reflect and of course post pictures!

Journal entry the morning of June 1, 2002:

"The day I have waited for for so long... I will be Mrs. Dustin Lee Qualls at the end of this day! Father, thank you for your provision and protection, for giving us patience, for meeting our needs. I ask you to be with us today in a special way. Calm our nerves and help our focus to be each other and the meaning of today. Thank you for your word, for conviction from you. Help us to become true imitators of you in every aspect of our lives beginning anew each day. I am so overwhelmed with joy and so very thankful."

Some of my favorite shots from that day. Look closely, some of you who were there may see yourselves in some of them!

At my parent's house with my girls,  preparing ourselves for the wedding.

Erin helping Ashley, on the deck, Cally my lil' sis.

With Daddy, trying not to cry. With Mom, you can see the nerves! The veil and the 'window picture'!

 

At Dustin's parents house, Denise helping Taylor, Gary assisting Dustin.

 

Tim and Rebecca (I would be in their wedding the following summer). Brandon and Jordie, Dustin and Jordan, Dustin with his parents Scott and Denise.

Daddy giving me away. He cried for a whole week after the wedding...

Lighting the unity candle, the kiss, our vows.

Mr. and Mrs. Dustin L. Qualls, the bridal party, the flower girls

Gary got us this awesome car to use for the day. It was a surprise!

 

Dustin's parents hosted the reception in their back yard. It was beautiful! The pics don't do it justice. Yes, we smashed the cake in each other's face - my favorite part of the day! A friend made our beautiful wedding cake. The bouquet toss, the toasts.

 

Our first dance (literally)

The sunset was beautiful!

 

The birdseed toss. We were picking birdseed out of everything for months afterwards! On the way to the honeymoon!

And here we are, 9 years later... can't wait to see what happens next!

An Anniversary Post (4)

In lieu of our 9^th anniversary: A celebratory post, to remember, to give thanks for, to reflect and of course post pictures!

Today marks the 9th year anniversary of stress like no other: The day BEFORE the wedding! Running last minute errands, packing for the honeymoon, picking up wedding dress, attending the bridal brunch, remembering to breathe, making sure the right people had the right rings, wrapping gifts, getting nails done, greeting family and guests, remembering to eat, trying to make the rehearsal on time, not making the rehearsal on time, wishing it wasn't so hot, spending last precious moments with family, being nervous, finding something borrowed something blue, focusing on the fact that I will be married at the end of the next day no matter what may go wrong...

Here are some snap shots from that hectic day!

At the Bridal Brunch: My bridesmaids - Rebecca, Ashley, Michelle, Shanda, Tricia, Cally (sister) and Erin 

Rehearsal

My Aunt Kim "Sissy" helping the flower girls Danielle, Taylor and Addy

Dustin's Grandparents hosted a beautiful rehearsal dinner at their home - the spread!

With Dustin's Memaw

In the gazebo, Papa giving me last minute advice, my bum arm I had surgery on two weeks after we were married.

My mother and I

Me and my almost-husband!

On the patio over looking the Whale Branch River, Dustin and my brother Hunter thought something was funny... apparently nobody else did!

It was time to pass out the gifts. Us with the best man and dear friend Gary.

This is how much Dustin loves Gary

Me and my Maid of Honor Erin

Ashley, Dustin's sister, had a very special gift for us, her painting of us the night we got engaged.

It is still very special

The flower girl gifts

The Bachelor Pary. Gary had a foot washing ceremony for Dustin... not sure what happened after that!

This is what I wrote in my journal that day:

"The day before tomorrow. THE tomorrow. The tomorrow I marry Dustin. I am surprised at how nervous I have been! I am trying to be more excited than nervous... I figured I would be calm, I figured wrong. Father be with me today, fill me Holy Spirit. Give me your calm, your peace, your patience, your love..."

And this is what I wrote in the journal I had been keeping for Dustin that was part of his wedding gift. The journal that held a years worth of my thoughts and prayers for the man I would marry.

"The night before we marry. I feel like the little girl on 'Father of the Bride'. The little girl in her father's memory, that little girl telling him that she was getting "Maaarrieeeed!" She was so little, so young. I feel as such. So young, a little scared. Ok, very scared, but extremely hopeful of what the future holds for us. I am nervous too. About walking down the isle, balling my eyes out, seeing you standing there waiting for me, my beloved. After that I know I will be fine... the moment I can look into your eyes. This, the moment we have waited for for so very long. But it has been worth it, all of the trouble and struggle and heart ache. I love you Dustin. I love you with a heart that is purely yours. I pray we learn to love each other more and more as Christ loves us. I know we will fail many times. But as Daddy encouraged me tonight, we must never stop, never give up, never quit. "And let endurance have it's perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." This is what God is showing me life is all about. Persevering. Enduring. Marriage will require both. Yes, I am scared. But I trust God. And I know that He has chosen you for me. I am excited to be your wife and your helper. I love you with all of my heart.

Your almost-wife (in 17 hours), Mika'l

Hmm... almost prophetic.

An Anniversary Post (3)

In lieu of our 9^th anniversary: A celebratory post, to remember, to give thanks for, to reflect and of course post pictures!

 I remember it as if it were yesterday. His form walking slowly, deliberately across the church parking lot. Head down, hat on, arms lanky, hands already calloused. I was watching through the window, I knew he was walking towards me, to find me. And I couldn't breathe. I was matching hot dogs to buns. Why was it so hot all of a sudden? I meant to get a way, to catch my breath but I couldn't move so there I stood with hot dog in hand, staring as he walked in. He smiled. Then I smiled, my heart beating faster. I think it was then that I knew.

I loved this boy-man.

I had been fighting it for so long. Not sure if it was right. I had told him I wasn't ready to be committed to a relationship. I needed to focus on God and His call for my life. I was prayerful. I was scared. I had been told not to. So how do I ignore this? This feeling that controlled my every thought, and now my very breathing?

I remember sitting next to him that night, very aware of his closeness, his smile, his smell. I remember praying. God, help me to trust you, with these feelings, with my life, with his life, I want to obey, help me to trust...

When I think back to those moments I am reminded of God's care and of His providence. Even then he was preparing us for something greater.

I have found that same prayer on my lips so many times these last 9 years. In the moments of not knowing, not understanding, wishing it were different... God help me to trust... I want to obey.. help me...

And He has. He has been faithful to carry us in the times of darkness, to hold us up when we wanted to give up, to whisper, I'm here, when we felt abandoned and Just wait, when we knew this couldn't be 'it'.

Several months ago a dear friend asked me, "Do you view your marriage as a blessing? Can you be thankful for it?"

In my answer I saw my heart. God had carried me so far, yet still I had not yet fully surrendered to what I did not understand... His providence... His perfect plan for our lives... His heart for His people.

God has used that simple question to transform my heart and turn it towards my husband and towards my marriage in such a sweet, miraculous way. I could not write these posts if it were not so.

I can honestly say that God has brought Dustin and I to a very sweet place in life, with each other. I am even saying that after a little spat we had last night! Oh how thankful I am!

It has taken a long time, but God is faithful even to the most wayward of hearts. What I had to realize was that God had been working the whole time. Not only working, he had been in my very midst, a vital part of what was happening in and around me. Before time He had chosen to use what would become my biggest idol (my marriage) to break my ideal of how life and God worked together.

I thought I had to protect Him from all of the bad and ugly, to separate Him from it. What I am learning is that God chooses to use the "foolish things of the world to shame the wise; He chooses the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chooses the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of Him..." (1Cor.1:27-30a)

I am the foolish, I am the weak, I am the lowly, the despised, the broken, the blind, the crippled.

And through the pain, the suffering, the questioning, He was calling me to something more, something greater. Just as he does each of us, my friend.

God has given me new sight. He has allowed me to see some of the purpose in it all, an unpromised blessing I do not take for granted.

Refreshment from repentance - Acts 3:19-20

Eternal glory that far outweighs my troubles - 2 Cor. 4:17

Comforting others with the comfort I have received from God - 2 Cor. 1:4

Post - abortion ministry

Submitting to God, resisting the devil, him fleeing - James 4:7

The peace of Christ ruling - Colossians 3:15

The word of Christ richly dwelling - Col 3:16

Going to Ukraine to encourage women

Bearing with one another, forgiving one another and being the recipient of - Col 3:13

Being met by God - Philippians 4:19

The eyes of my heart being enlightened to the HOPE to which I have been called - Eph.1:18

Learning to truly love my husband

Seeing Christ's power being worked out in my life - Eph. 1

Having proof that He works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will - Eph. 1:11

Finding contentment in the midst of discontentment

Fulfilling the law of Christ through bearing another's burden - Gal 6:2

Being Free - Galatians 5:1

Being restored to grace - Galatians 3:3; 4:8-9,15; 5:1

Having the opportunity to show my children what grace looks like in the every day.

God working - John 5:16

Watching my son walk with the same gait of his father

A heart of flesh instead of stone - Ezekiel 11:19

Sowing tears and reaping songs of joy -Psalm 126:5

Being set free - Ps. 117:5


Forgiven, healed, redeemed, crowned, satisfied - Ps. 103

Seeing beauty in the un-beautiful

Being given a crown of beauty instead of my ashes - Isaiah 61

Marriage becoming a blessing...

An Anniversary Post (2)

In lieu of our 9^th anniversary: A celebratory post, to remember, to give thanks for, to reflect and of course post pictures!

Today I want to begin with a section of the book, The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis. A strange way to start you might think. Hopefully you will see just how strange things can be.

Shasta is the boy. At this point in his life he is quite tired and lost, figuratively and literally. He is tired because he has been running and running and for all of his young life. He is lost because he hasn't quite found his way. He is tired of being tired and he is tired of being lost and is feeling quite sorry for himself at the moment.

So he begins to cry.

He thinks himself to be alone. You can hear him sniffle as he wipes his nose. Why he must be “the most unfortunate boy that ever lived in the whole world!” Then out of the darkness he hears a voice. The voice asks him to share what's troubling him...

~~~*~~~

"And then he told the story of his escape and how they were chased by lions and forced to swim for their lives; and of all their dangers in Tashbaan and about his night among the Tombs and how the beasts howled at him out of the desert. And he told about the heat and thirst of their desert journey and how they were almost at their goal when another lion chased them and wounded Aravis.

And then the Voice answers.

“I do not call you unfortunate,” said the Large Voice.

“Don’t you think it was bad luck to meet so many lions?” said Shasta.

“There was only one lion,” said the Voice.

“What on earth do you mean? I’ve just told you there were at least two the first night, and –“

“There was only one: but he was swift of foot.”

“How do you know?”

“I was the lion.”

And as Shasta gaped with open mouth and said nothing, the Voice continued.

"I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you.”

“Then it was you who wounded Aravis?”

“It was I.”

“But what for?”

“Child,” said the Voice, “I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no-one any story but his own.”

“Who are you?” asked Shasta.

“Myself,” said the Voice, very deep and low so that the earth shook: and again “Myself,” loud and clear and gay: and then the third time “Myself,” whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, and yet it seemed to come from all around you as if the leaves rustled with it. " (p. 157-159)

~~~*~~~

When I first heard this on Focus on the Family's Radio Theater I was struck deep. I had been Shasta. "Why I must be the most unfortunate girl in the whole world!" I had thought. 

I had been struggling with the fact that my story wasn't as pretty as some. Things hadn't gone the way I had planned. And I was fighting it, hard. It is still a struggle. I would be lying if I said that it wasn't. I would love to be able to say that our marriage is blameless, without blemish, we as parents always respond in a loving way, that we take every sin moment and turn it into a gospel moment.

But it is not so. We have experienced deep hurt, deep pain, deep regret. Out of the pain we react. We have to choose to forgive every day, to let each other off the hook, to extend grace. And sometimes we don't. And it's ugly. And oh the shame.

"I tell no-one any story but his own.”

This was what first struck me.

My story... no one else's story... He only tells me my story...

Ahhh... My story isn't supposed to look like your story. My story was written this way on purpose with a purpose.

I heard it again soon after that, but from a different source. God has a way of whispering it again and again until we are willing to accept, to carry it, hold it. Come to love it.

This time it was through the study of Esther. This precious woman had been asked a lot from God. And it wasn't fair. First she is taken from her homeland, stripped of her Jewish heritage and nationality, then her parents are ripped from her, most likely murdered. She is left to be raised by her male cousin. And just when life started to settle down, she was taken from the only one who loved her and was thrown into a harem with hundreds of other young, scared,  defenseless girls who she would be forced to go up against in a beauty contest. She was groomed for 12 months to be a sex object and became just that. She was chosen by the king to be his queen on the basis of her looks. And just when she had broken in her crown, she almost lost it, and her head, forced once again, to go before the king. Un-summoned.

See she had been called by God to plead for the lives of her people, the Jews.

It would be easy to look at Esther's life and justly say, that's not fair. How unfortunate. How could THAT be God? It's just too hard. Life. Is. Just. Too. Hard.

And it is.

But then we hear the Voice coming out of the darkness... "I was the Lion."

Nothing happens by chance, dear one. God has given you your story for a purpose. He sees you in the midst of the dysfunction, the sin, the pain. He is the One guiding you, protecting you, leading you to the broken places so that He can raise you up. Restore. Heal. Mold. Use...  and all for His glory and purpose.

The problem is, we try to amputate our history from our destiny. *  And we can't. We walk in shame instead of grace. We try to cover it up instead of allowing it to be exposed by the Light. Our story will always be our story and that is exactly how God meant it to be.

Remember, God sees you past, present and future. The experiences He gives you whether they be painful or pleasant is so that you can fulfill the destiny He has for you. It's not just for you. What He has given you, pain and all, is meant to be shared. If we kept it to ourselves then what good is it? How else is God going to use you?

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."

(2Corinthians 1:3-7)

The key to fulfilling your destiny is transparency. Otherwise what did it all mean?  * It's scary I know. But "who knows but you have come to (this) position for such a time as this?"  (Esther 4:14) Who knows? God knows. And He wants you to know that He knows. Is it enough?

Ok, still not finished, might need a few more tries!


*Taken from the Beth Moore Study: Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman.

An Anniversary Post (1)

In lieu of our 9^th anniversary: A celebratory post, to remember, to give thanks for, to reflect and of course post pictures!

I love hearing a good love story. It's fun seeing how God brings two people together time and time again. It never gets old.
But what does get old is hearing only the 'good' side of the couple-story. I'm not looking for the 'dirty' side by any means. I only mean that life is messy! People are too! And God loves to get ahold of that kind of story!!
So excuse me please for stepping out of the white satin-lace mold for a minute. I'd like to get real with you if you don't mind.

The thought of planning a wedding made me want to take a nap. I was never one of those who had everything mapped out in a fussy wedding scrapbook since childhood. In fact, I ordered my wedding dress (and bridesmaids dresses) from a magazine. I'm sure I drove those helping to organize and plan our wedding absolutely wedding crazy! My answer to their questions was always some form of, "Really, I don't care." We had even seriously considered the idea of eloping!

What I had dreamed about the most was what my life would be like after the wedding. It was going to be wonderful. Perfect! Why, I had been a good girl. I deserved a good life, void of any problems. I followed God with my whole heart. I desired His will for my life and marriage...
or did I?

What God was about to show me was that His view of 'ideal' and my view of 'ideal' was very different. I honestly believed if you followed and obeyed God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength and pretended you didn't have any problems, He would bless you in ways that would make life... well easy, pleasant, holy.
It has taken a long time but finally I am able to see how wrong I was.
And how thankful I am.

  "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing POWER is from God and NOT from us." (2Cor4:7)
God gives each of His children treasures and they are often hidden in jars of clay.

When I first came across this verse I didn't fully understand what it meant. Jars of clay? Isn't that the name of some singing group?

Let me share with you what my commentary says: "This treasure, the gospel, jars of clay. Treasures were concealed in clay jars, which had little value or beauty and did not attract attention to themselves and their contents. Here they represent Paul's human frailty and unworthiness. 'All-surpassing power is from God and not from us.' The idea that absolute insufficiency of human beings reveals the total sufficiency of God pervades this letter."

God has something to show us through our frailty and struggles as humans. He knows the idols of our hearts. And often turns those idols into jars of clay. For me, it was (and is) my marriage and my own self-righteousness. And if God was to have full ownership of my heart He would have to get down and dirty. So that is exactly what God did. He began to slowly chip away my ideal to show me His. And to also show me his all-surpassing power.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I think I am going to need a couple more posts to fully explain what is going on in my mind and heart. I know I am risking a lot here. But I don't want to risk being misunderstood. More than anything I want you to hear how much I love my husband (yes, I can say that now!), how thankful I am to be his wife, and how thankful I am for God lovingly and patiently revealing more of Himself to me through the sin and pain of this Christian life. He truly is a great and mysterious God!!