Happy Birthday, David!

To my best friend,

Just a quick note to tell you how thankful I am that forty-six years ago your mother had a smooth, safe delivery.

I'm thankful for your parents who demonstrated Christ's love to you on a daily basis, raising you in a godly home, letting you grow up in church, filling your mind with scripture in Awana, sacrificing to put you in Christian schooling and teaching you to work hard and finish what you start.

I am thankful for your brother and sisters who taught you to laugh often and probably how to ski and swim, and that family matters.

I'm thankful that you had Christian professors who poured into you in college, that you had soccer teammates who challenged you to play your best, and for Pastor Owens who let you fill in the pulpit when he was out of town.

I am thankful for the experiences my father exposed you to, teaching you that a second decision is always a better one, that biblical principles apply even to the business world and that above all else, your relationship with Christ would affect every area of your life.

I am thankful for my mother's trust of your character to allow you to faithfully serve the family after my father's death, who continues to encourage you in whatever direction you head and whose example has taught you to be responsible and generous with everything the Lord has entrusted to you.

I am thankful for the godly friends that God has strategically placed in your life to hold you accountable, to encourage you, to golf with you, to work with you and goof around with you, and to confront you when needed.

I am thankful for the children you have raised, as well as their spouses, who seek your counsel, love your advice, laugh at your antics, follow the Lord, and simply enjoy being around you.

And finally, I am thankful that the Lord has saved you, that He has paid the price for your sin, that He has given you the Holy Spirit and has equipped you for the work He has laid before you, that He continues to lead and guide, proving daily that He is the God of reversals and that He has a sense of humor, as well!

I love you, David, and I love the whole package that comes with being your wife. Thank you for sharing so many decades of your life with me, for being a faithful and loving husband, for being an involved father, for working hard, for fishing with me, for making me laugh till my sides hurt, for making me feel as though my advice is necessary when I know you are way smarter than me, and most of all, for listening to the Lord's call and acting on it.

As usual, I am excited for what our future holds.

Happy Birthday,

Kristen