Tuesday, August 5, 2008

We Turn Eight!

In honor of our eighth wedding anniversary,
here is a list of eight things I love and/or appreciate about James.



** James is a Godly man. One of the things that first attracted me to James was his desire to know and love God. Different things about James and his personality have changed over these last many years, but this one thing has never changed. James loves God and longs to be like Jesus, and I know with absolute certainty that there is no better quality under the sun.

** James is an excellent husband. Long before I ever became a married woman, I had an idea in my mind of what a good husband would be. Little did I know, I had no idea. At various times in our lives together, I've realized he's much more than I ever knew I needed. James is kind and generous, loving and reliable, funny and compassionate. I thank God for bringing him to me.

** James is a family man. There is no place in the world James would rather be than somewhere with his family. A slight disadvantage to this is that his friends often think I'm keeping him home or somewhere else with us, when that is not at all the case. However, that disadvantage is far outweighed by the fact that he loves to spend time with us, just to be with us.

** James is an incredible provider. He works hard and without complaint to make sure we have all we need and much of what we want. He works long hours, spends a lot of time in traffic, travels often -- all for us. Fortunately, James loves his job and finds great satisfaction in his work, but I believe he works as diligently as he does as a sacrifice for us.

** James is an amazing father. James is not a perfect father, just as I am not a perfect mother, but he loves his kids deeply and makes them a priority. He is diligent to spend one-on-one time with both Bub and Gracie cultivating their relationship, and helping them to understand just how special and loved they are. His qualities and capabilities as a dad make me long even more for that "quiver full" of children.

** James is exceedingly generous. James gives of himself and of his resources without question. More than once, he's opened his heart, his home, his checking account to others in our life. He has given hours and hours and hours to others who struggle with various habits and hangups. He didn't hesitate when we had the opportunity to adopt Bub. He didn't hesitate when we had the privilege of taking in Chelsea. He doesn't complain when our house is filled with people and our pantry is rapidly depleted. He actively looks for ways to give.

** James is devoted. Primarily, James is devoted to God; secondarily, to me. Beyond that, he expresses intense devotion to a few select things -- to our children, to our church, to our extended family, to our ministry opportunities, to his job. When he sets his heart towards something, he is completely devoted to it in an unswerving, unmovable way, and I respect him deeply for it.

** James is the love of my life. Before James, I missed out on a lot of love. I came from a very complicated family situation where love and affection wasn't really available, and followed that with dating relationships with men who were quite self-centered. From the time that he knew he loved me, James has never been shy or reluctant to express that to me, and his tenderness towards me has brought healing to very deep wounds in my heart. Throughout the course of our lives together, we've had ups and downs and dramatic challenges, but whether through actions or by spoken words, James consistently reminds me of his unending love.



Happy Anniversary, James!
Here's hoping you can stand me for eight or eighty more years!

10 comments:

  • Unknown

    Happy Anniversary. You are a great couple. I hope the next year is a fun and full year.

  • Elizabeth

    Happy Anniversary! What a sweet tribute to your hubby. He's a lucky guy! :-)

  • Emily

    Can you believe it's been 8 years! I was so blessed to be a part of your big day, and I am blessed by you both still. Happy Anniversary, and I love you both.

  • Randi~Dukes and Duchesses

    Happy Anniversary! That's a beautiful post ... a tribute to a great guy. You're an awesome couple and I wish you a long future filled with happiness.

  • Amy

    Happy Anniversary!!!

  • The Zavocki's

    Congratulations!! What a sweet way to honor your marriage and your man!

  • taralynn819

    Bon anniversaire!!! (One of the few phrases I actually remember from French class...although I think it also means Happy birthday, but anyways...)

    Hey thanks for the thought! Our anniversary (we're 6 years behind you!) is Tuesday, the 12th. We were taking a huge chance with the Southern Maryland heat when we planned for an August wedding, but the weather turned freakishly 70 with no humidity! We had originally planned on an October 21st wedding, since we had met on October 21st the previous year, but circumstances changed and it seemed the best option to marry sooner. We weren't too horribly upset about that. ha! (Although, I do love Fall weddings!)

    We're driving up to PA for a friend's wedding this weekend and extending the our stay for a couple days in Lancaster. Just because the Amish country is SO romantic. ;)

    I guess I just don't have time to write these days, though I wish I did. Besides being a lot busier at work, I wonder if maybe God has taken away writing for a season in my life, to teach me something maybe? I just know that lately the writing has been forced, and it's hard to get alone by myself with the laptop! I know my posts have been extremely random! lol (I have like 5 posts in tween stages, twiddling their thumbs in my draft folder.)

    I'm still here...just living life, I guess! :)

    So what does an old couple like you guys do to celebrate 8 blissful years???

  • Emily

    Happy Anniversary!!! What a sweet post to honor your hubby. I knew that he was a blessed man to have you in his life, but it seems that it goes both ways.

  • amy

    Awww... Happy Anniversary!

  • For The Girls

    Congratulations! You two are great together and you have such a wonderful family - ENJOY!

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