Happy Anniversary

Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Isaiah 34-35
NT: Acts 20
W&W: Proverbs 28

Today’s Reflection:
I am going to skip ahead three days to quote a few verses from Proverbs 31 (This Friday’s W&W passage):
10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life… 27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."

Today, Lana and I celebrate 30 years of marriage. Reiterating what I wrote May 19, in these thirty years I have personally known the truth of what the Wisdom Writer meant when he wrote in another place: “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD” (Proverbs 18.22).

We did a little reminiscing this morning as we thanked God for our years together. We have lived in many places in these thirty years:

• Bowling Green, OH as we started out together – I a chemist and she a student at BGSU.
  Findlay, OH where Jenny was born.
• Laurinburg, NC where Emily and Amy were born and where God called us into ministry. There we met life-long friends Don and Marian Ekis.
• Kings Mountain, NC where we pastored our first church. It was a three year “honeymoon.”
• Concord, NC where our girls discovered that band kids really were nerds: They all became just that (in varying degrees).
• Hendersonville, NC where Jenny and Emily got all grown-up on us and left for college. We still have the mountains and friends of Hendersonville in our hearts!
• Sterling, IL where our baby, Amy, grew up and went off to college. That baby is now married! Bob and June and others from there are still "with" us on the journey.
• Circleville, OH where God brought us back to our “home” of Ohio and gave us the joy of being grandparents. While we were there, God also gave us Jon and Eric, two additions to our family that have warmed our hearts and brought us so much joy. There were others who wove themselves into the fabric of our hearts: Gabrielle, Nicklaus, and Jonathon – “the trips”; Audrey; Joel and Halle; these and other precious little ones along with their moms and dads. Other friends – too numerous to mention – still give us great happiness in conversations, visits and memories.

Now, after two months of the gypsy life, we are settling in at Bethel, OH. We don’t know what good memories are in store for us here, but we are looking forward to serving and loving the people of the Bethel Nazarene Church and to making new life-long friends. We also will welcome Annabelle Grace soon. She is “scheduled” to arrive in Georgia on June 19. "Nana" and "Pahpooh" are ready to take off at a moment’s notice to celebrate her arrival.

I know I have left some people out of this recitation. We will remember them with joy on other occasions. But to you, Lana, I say that every place has been a place of love and happiness for you are my constant companion in all things “us,” and I thank God for you today. Who knows, if you keep me healthy, maybe we’ll have another 30 years – or more! – to enjoy the favor of God’s blessings together!

This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
1 John 1.7-8: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.