On this day 14 years ago I was married to Vicki and thus began our wonderful and blessed life together.  June 26th, 1999 at Taylorsville Baptist Church in Taylorsville, Georgia she and I said “I do” and promised to love each other until the Lord calls us home.

She is my hero in many ways and so much more capable than I in ways that really matter.  She keeps our house in order in both a literal and a figurative sense and she is one of the most patient and kind persons that I have ever met.  God truly blessed me when He brought Vicki into my life and He’s still blessing me through her today.

We met in an elective class at Shorter College called “fitness walking” (it was an easy and fun way to get a PE credit!) and she quickly became my walking buddy for the duration of the class.  On the last day of the class after our final exam (yes, we had a written final for fitness walking, believe it or not) I decided that this was someone I that I would like to know better and I asked her for her phone number.

We went out on our first date soon after and from the very beginning I hoped that she was someone that I could spend the rest of my life with.  We have always gotten along very well and I believe that I was made for her and her for me and that God brought us together in His perfect time.

Proverbs 16:9 says “A man’s heart plans his way but the Lord directs his steps” and I am so thankful that the Lord directed me to Vicki and that He is still leading and guiding us today.  We’ve enjoyed 14 wonderful years together and I am still discovering things about her and learning to be the mate that God would have me to be.  Please join me in celebrating Godly marriage today and I ask you to pray for us as we continue this journey together.

A rare treat is a day that both my wife and I are not working and neither of us has pressing engagements.  Yesterday was such a day and we took advantage of it.

I first suggested that she allow me to take her out on a lunch date as I am serious about continuing to “date” my spouse but she gently reminded me what an expensive month we’re having and suggested that we just have a day at home together instead.  Undaunted I suggested the Lawn Date as the next best thing.

As we got closer to lunch time I told her I’d like to set up our outdoor table and chairs on the lawn and asked her if she’d like to join me for an outdoor picnic.  She enthusiastically agreed and we both set about preparing for our date.  There’s a little picture of our table and chairs on the lawn at the top of this post and as you can see it was a really nice day to be outside.

We sipped sweat tea and ate chili dogs and talked for a good long while and just enjoyed being in each other’s company and being outside together.  It was sweet and cute and most definitely romantic and I think better than any restaurant lunch could have been.

Proverbs 18:22 says “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord” and yesterday I felt favored indeed.  I genuinely believe that the spouse that God has blessed us with is to be treasured and should be our number one priority as far as earthly relationships and time commitments go.  I don’t always live up to that standard but with God’s help I’m working on it and I soon hope to post a book review of a title that has helped me in that regard.  I’ve read it and found it to be helpful and based on biblical principles and passages and I’ll be sharing the name of that book and more information on it in the coming weeks.

For today I just want to take a moment and be thankful for the wife that God has given me and for the way that she’s blessed my life.  We’re coming up on our 14th wedding anniversary at the end of this month and I’m still learning new things about her and striving to be the kind of mate that she deserves and that God would have me to be.  Thank you, Lord, for the Date on the Lawn.