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Friday, August 19, 2011

23 Years

23 Years ago I said "I do".
At the age of 17, I had no idea what I was saying "I do" to.
But I did and I'm so thankful.
We have beat the odds...All by God's grace.
I can truly say he is the love of my life and
my best friend.




We have had quite a journey since that day in August 1988.
Just a few weeks later, we became parents.
Again, it's all by God's grace our girls have become the young women they are today.
We have done so much to mess them up.
So thankful for the Lord intervening in our lives and putting us on a new path.

That path has been amazing.
It's taken us places I would have never expected or even chosen.
But wherever the Lord leads him, I'm gonna follow.


I could share much about our last 23 years together but instead, 
I'm gonna share what our youngest had to say about our marriage.
~Having my children rise up and called me blessed is the greatest gift I could ever receive~






This is what she wrote:
Dear Daddy and Momma,
    As soon as I saw this card, I thought of y'all.  Thank y'all for always showing me what a true "in love" couple should look like and act like.  One glance at the two of you and anyone would know that y'all were obviously made for each other, but watching y'alls relationship grow throughout the years has made me realize how special a marriage is.  Through Christ y'all have a love that is forever and true and I am so blessed to have parents that are not only in love with each other, but most importantly in love with Jesus Christ!  I pray that I will be able to have this kind of love one day in a marriage.  Y'all are a beautiful example of what true love is through Christ.  Happy Anniversary!
Love Y'all,
Lauren
To have my daughters want to have what we have, to be like us...what they've seen lived out before them day in and day out.....well,  that's it for me!
 I'm smiling.  Big time.  :) 
Especially, from our sweet Lauren, who at one time in her life did not value the importance of a Christ-centered relationship... Man! God is so good!!

The card alone was enough for me but she even treated us to a date!

How awesome is that? 


When I was a little girl and would think about my "Happily Ever After"....




Even in my wildest dreams I never pictured it this amazing!


It truly does get sweeter and sweeter and I pray the Lord allows us to get
 old and gray and wrinkly together.

"By the grace of God I am what I am, 
and His grace towards me was not in vain,"
1 Corinthians 15:10

Stephanie :)
Nick's Bride

Linking up with Rachel today.
friday favorite things | finding joy

16 comments:

  1. Wow! Beautiful post. Congratulations. My husband and I will be celebrating 18 years this Sunday. I am also thankful for God's amazing grace. What a beautiful family. You are truly blessed. Thank you for sharing and passing on those blessings!!

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  2. Happy Happy Anniversary! 17 wow! What a great story. LOVE the monkey card. I have to find this for a friend.

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  3. This was such a sweet post! Your family is beautiful :) And wow, 17!!, what a great picture of how faithful our God is.

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  4. Oh my gosh you have a the most beautiful family! I hope you enjoy celebrating your love for one another! I find inspiration in your commitment and passion for love, family and being a great momma!

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  5. You guys are stinkin' adorable!! Happy Anniversary! Here is to 23+ more!!!! Romans 8:28, "And we know that IN ALL THINGS God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose!" Amen?

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  6. Wow, you are truly blessed! Thanks for sharing your amazing journey with us :) (and how sweet are your kids?!?)

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  7. Oh what a beautiful couple, beautiful family! I know I say that all the time but I can't get over it, not just outward beauty but the best kind as well, that true down in the heart beauty. Happy Anniversary!

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  8. What a beautiful post and such a sweet, thoughtful daughter. I love hearing about your life :)

    Oh and I put your button on my Veggie Mama blog! <3
    http://www.theveggiemama.com/

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  9. aww ... i just love everything about this post ... happy anniversary ... enjoy!

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  10. tears to my eyes. beautiful! praise jesus for his work in your lives and for your awesome LOVE! happy (late) anniversary, stephanie! xo

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  11. Your post brought tears to my eyes. So beautiful and such a testimony to the faithfulness and tenacity in marriage. Such a great post.

    Your daughter's card? Lovely.

    You are very blessed.

    Rachel
    (and thank you for linking up)

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  12. you look beautiful!! you and husband look great together! i love that picture of both your shoes, thats so like me and my hubby. congratulations, you have a beautiful family! i really enjoy your blog, just stumbled onto it today. definitely following now!

    xoxo
    ashley
    www.laluceimagery.blogspot.com

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  13. Oh my goodness gracious, you have such a beautiful family!! What a sweet sweet love story (the bits and pieces you shared were enough for me!)
    You are SO genuine and SO sweet, I can totally see why your daughters turned out so well.
    LOVE your blog!
    This post encouraged my heart... marriage can be rough at times, but God is faithful.
    (I gave you a shout out on my blog today because I think ALL of my readers should come join you here at The Honey Pot! You have so much to share! They'd love you!)

    hugs
    xxx

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